Updated June 15, 2023
Differences Between Power BI vs SSRS
Power bi is a data analysis tool that can be used for reporting and data analysis from a wide range of data sources. Power bi is simple and user-friendly in use which helps business analysts’ skills and power users to work efficiently on it. For complex and massive data analysis,, power bi is very useful. It is widely used for modeling and structuring unshaped data.
SSRS stands for SQL Server Reporting Services; it is a comprehensive extensible reporting platform. This includes an integrated set of processing components and programmatic interfaces. It is used to design,, test,, and deploy the report. Mainly this is a server-based platform. Power bi has more graphical components than SSRS; it makes it more efficient and easy to use, whereas SSRS has more manual effort for analyzing and generating reports.
Power bi will help generate the report based on cloud data. However, it will analyze and create the information found on relational storage, which can access through your computer, but SSRS is only valid where your data resides on the system. SSRS is a vintage solution for publishing or generating reports, whereas power bi is the latest and most user-friendly tool.
Head to Head Comparison Between Power BI and SSRS (Infographics)
Below are the top 11 comparisons Between Power BI and SSRS:
Key Difference Between Power BI and SSRS
SQL Server Reporting Services has the capability to work with Power Bi report, along with all the existing quality and capability of SSRS. So it’s clear that PBIRS will be the next version of SSRS and will definitely replace SSRS in the near future. As power bi has the component which is present in SSRS and along with it, it has more add-ins also present.
From the features point of view, the differences between the two Power BI and SSRS are straightforward. PBIRS is a superset of SSRS. It contains everything that SSRS has, and it adds the ability to render both Interactive (PBIX) and Analytical (XLSX) reports. Licensing is where things get a little more involved. SSRS was always included on the SQL Server installation media, but with SQL Server 2017, this is no longer the case; it’s a separate download.
If you have a license for Standard mode SQL Server, you will be able to use the Standard mode features of SSRS, Enterprise unlocks the Enterprise features, etc. As of the 2017 version, there is also no longer an integrated model of SSRS, it is Native Mode only.
Power BI Report Server is licensed in one of two ways. Purchasing Power BI Premium capacity gives you licenses to run the same number of cores as you have in the capacity. This only applies to Premium P SKUs, not any others, such as EM. The other way that it can be licensed is by purchasing SQL Server Enterprise Edition + Software Assurance.
This is not the case for PBIRS. Since PBIRS is considered a standalone product, this makes sense, and the constant pace of change in the Power BI service itself necessitates a more frequent update cadence.
Cortana integration has added a feature in power bi which is especially popular on mobile devices and allows users to verbally query data using natural language and access results using Cortana, Microsoft’s digital assistant. This feature is not added in SSRS.
Power BI vs SSRS Comparison Table
Below is the comparison table between Power BI vs SSRS.
| Basis of Comparison | Power BI | SSRS |
| Definition | Power bi stands for power business intelligence which is the product of Microsoft. Used for analysis and generating the reports from the cloud as well as server | SSRS stands for SQL server reporting services, it is also a product of Microsoft. Used for analysis of data and generating reports on server-based data. |
| History | Power bi report server was first introduced in 2017. | SSRS was first introduced in 2004. |
| The Implementation | It is used to generate cloud-based reports as well as server-based reports | Only used for generating server-based reports. |
| Benefits | Easy to use due to enriched graphical component | Drill-down capability is more. |
| Accessibility | Can be used through the web, mobile App, and desktop | The only access to the web and desktop |
| License | It is free to use. | It is paid tool. |
| Component | It is HTML 5 open source app-enabled and cloud-enabled SAAS. | SSRS is an enterprise visualization tool based on old technology. |
| Learning Curve | In Power BI, users can complete their tasks through drag and drop, but the tool hides its internal processes, making it challenging to understand how it operates internally. | In SSRS developer has to do all the coding and designing of the report so the developer has a better picture of the process. |
| Usage | It is easier to use because of the rich graphical component | Less user-friendly |
| Data Dependency | Can deal with structured and unstructured the data | Can work with structure and semi-structure of data. |
| Occurrence | In IT market, power bi is emerging and replacing SSRS | Till now, SSRS has a lot of presence, but now power bi has more presence. |
Conclusion
The choice between Power BI and SSRS will likely be straightforward and likely driven by requirements. If your organization only uses paginated reports on-premises, you will decide that SSRS is a more cost-effective option. On the other side, if you have the need to render interactive or analytical reports on-premises, or you already have SQL Server Enterprise Edition with Software Assurance, then PBIRS will likely be your preferred choice. There are no circumstances I can think of where both Power BI and SSRS will be advisable; if you have PBIRS, you have everything SSRS offers and more. But yes, it will definitely have some more cost-effectiveness.
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