[ Comparison ]

Tower vs Power BI

Power BI is Microsoft's BI platform, now with Copilot. Tower automates the work before the dashboard. Here is how they compare, with sources.

The short version

Power BI is a capable, widely used BI platform, and Copilot now lets users ask questions and build report pages in natural language.

Tower's difference is end-to-end automation: it builds the connectors, joins, transformations and semantic layer, then the dashboard, so you don't need Power Query and DAX authors before the AI can help.

Comparison

Side by Side

Competitor details are from Power BI's own pricing and documentation pages, checked on 8 November 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this page.

Tower and Power BI compared, as of 8 November 2026
Area Tower Power BI
What it is An AI analytics platform that automates the path from data connection to dashboard and recommended actions Microsoft's BI platform, part of Microsoft Fabric
Data preparation Connectors, joins and transformations are generated for you, on a managed data lake Power Query for shaping data, with Fabric data engineering and warehousing for larger pipelines
Data model Tower builds the semantic layer from your connected sources Authors build semantic models with relationships and DAX measures; Microsoft advises preparing them before using Copilot
Building dashboards Describe the dashboard in plain language or quick-generate one, then refine it by chat or in the editor Drag-and-drop report authoring; Copilot can create and edit report pages from a prompt
Conversational AI Natural-language chat is the main way to work, included in every paid plan Copilot answers questions, summarizes reports and writes DAX; it needs a paid Fabric capacity (F2 or higher), not just a Pro or PPU licence
Predictive and prescriptive Descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics, including recommended next actions Forecasting in line charts and AI visuals such as key influencers; Fabric adds data science tooling
Time to first dashboard About 2 minutes after connecting a source (our estimate) Fast on a prepared semantic model; longer when data needs shaping and modeling first
Skills needed No SQL, DAX or Power Query Authors benefit from Power Query and DAX skills; viewers need little
Ecosystem Works alongside any stack and connects to Microsoft sources such as SQL Server and Excel Deep integration with Microsoft 365, Teams, Excel and Fabric
Pricing model Professional per user; Enterprise with unlimited users on tiered credits Per user (Pro or Premium Per User), plus Fabric capacity for Copilot and large deployments

Fit

When Each One Fits

Tower is a good fit if you:

  • Don't have Power Query and DAX authors to prepare models for every request
  • Want connectors, joins, transformations and the semantic layer built for you
  • Want conversational AI without buying Fabric capacity
  • Want recommended actions alongside the charts
  • Use data across many platforms, not mainly Microsoft

Power BI is a good fit if you:

  • Have standardized on Microsoft 365 and Fabric
  • Already license Power BI through your Microsoft agreement
  • Have experienced DAX authors and established semantic models
  • Need close integration with Excel and Teams

Pricing

List Prices

Published list prices in US dollars as of 8 November 2026. Negotiated quotes, regional prices and add-ons vary, so confirm with each vendor.

Tower

  • Explore: free access to public dashboards, no credit card required
  • Professional: $100 per user per month, with 11 popular connectors and up to 100 dashboards
  • Enterprise: custom pricing on tiered credits, with unlimited users and dashboards, 700+ connectors, SSO, RBAC and audit logging
  • Free trial on request

See Tower pricing

Power BI

  • Free account: create reports, but sharing needs a paid licence
  • Power BI Pro: $14 per user per month, billed annually
  • Premium Per User: $24 per user per month, billed annually
  • Fabric capacity: priced separately, reserved or pay-as-you-go; needed for Copilot

Switching

Moving from Power BI to Tower

Tower connects to the same sources your Power BI reports use. Reports aren't imported; you recreate the ones you still need, and many teams run both tools while they do.

  1. Connect the sources behind your most-used reports.
  2. Let Tower build the data model, then check its numbers against Power BI.
  3. Recreate your priority reports by describing them, and share them with users.
  4. Retire reports as they are replaced.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Key answers for technical and business evaluators.

Yes. Copilot in Power BI can answer questions about your data, summarize reports, create report pages and write DAX. Microsoft says it needs a paid Fabric capacity (F2 or higher) or Power BI Premium (P1 or higher); a Pro or Premium Per User licence on its own is not enough. Microsoft also recommends preparing your semantic model so Copilot answers reliably. Tower builds that model for you as part of connecting your data.
Power BI Pro is $14 and Premium Per User is $24 per user per month, billed annually (Microsoft list prices as of November 2026), with Fabric capacity on top if you want Copilot. Tower Professional is $100 per user per month and includes the AI assistant and the automated pipeline. Per seat, Power BI is cheaper. The comparison changes once you count the time spent preparing data and models, which is the work Tower automates. Tower Enterprise has unlimited users on tiered credits.
Yes. Tower runs independently and connects to Microsoft sources such as SQL Server and Excel. If you buy software through Microsoft, Tower is also available on Azure Marketplace as a private offer, on request. You can keep Microsoft 365 for collaboration and use Tower for analytics.
No. You describe calculations in plain language, for example "show year-over-year growth", and Tower generates them.
No. Tower can't open .pbix files. It connects to the same underlying sources, and you recreate the reports you still need by describing them.

Sources

Sources

Competitor facts checked on 8 November 2026. Vendors change prices and features often; tell us if something here is out of date.

Power BI is a trademark of its owner. Codygon is not affiliated with or endorsed by it. Tower timings are our estimates.

Next step

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