About This Article
This article organizes the positioning of Power BI Pro and M365 E3/E5 based on official Microsoft information as of September 17, 2026.Verification Status: 📘 Official Microsoft Information Confirmed, Actual Device Not Tested
Power BI Pro is a user license required to publish and share reports in the Power BI service and collaborate with other Pro users. Official Microsoft documentation states thatEach Microsoft 365 E5 subscription includes one Power BI Pro licenseSince E3 does not include the same treatment, separate licenses or capacity planning should be reviewed for sharing purposes.
Do Not Confuse Free, Pro, PPU, and Capacity
While Free users can create and view content for personal use, standard sharing and collaboration require Pro or PPU. Conversely, users with Free licenses may view content placed on an appropriate capacity, such as Fabric F64 or higher. Not only the license, but also the workspace and capacity where the content is placed are important.
Try This First: Read-Only DAX
Create a measure in the sample model to sum the existing sales column.
Total Sales = SUM(Sales[Amount])
Check This
Place Total Sales on a card visual and verify that it matches the total of the line items.
Change One Thing
Add a date slicer and verify that the measure responds to filters when the period changes. Source data is not updated or deleted.
For Professional Use
Rather than simply replacing Excel distribution, define metric definitions, update responsibilities, workspaces, and sharing targets. The design changes depending on whether sharing is between Pro users or broad distribution using Fabric capacity.
Points for Administrators to Check
Check Pro/PPU assignments, Fabric capacity, workspace roles, external sharing, data source credentials, gateways, RLS, auditing, and migration status from P SKUs to Fabric F SKUs.
Official Microsoft Information
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/enterprise/service-admin-purchasing-power-bi-pro
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/fundamentals/service-features-license-type
The fact that E5 includes Pro is separate from whether all users can unconditionally share and view all reports. Consider user licenses and capacity together.
