This post has been updated as of April 2, 2025.
With the exciting release of Microsoft Fabric and the Fabric capacity SKUs, we announced last May we are consolidating purchase options and retiring the Microsoft Power BI Premium per capacity SKU (P-SKUs). The Power BI Premium product capabilities will not change, and you can continue using your existing Power BI Premium capacity until the time of your next renewal. However, the sale and renewals for PSKUs officially ended and existing Power BI Premium customers will need to transition to a Microsoft Fabric SKU at the end of their current agreement.
As you transition, we want to help ensure you keep access to all your data and can continue your existing work. That’s why we previously announced that you have 90 days to access your data in Power BI while you transition. Based on your feedback, we are also providing free Power BI Premium capacity for the first 30 days after the end of your previous subscription. The amount of free capacity will match the amount offered by your previously purchased P-SKU. This should reduce the need to pay for two capacities at the same time.
How does the migration work?
As you transition to Fabric, you will need to migrate from your existing Power BI Premium capacity to a new Fabric capacity. To migrate, all you need to do is reassign your workspaces to the new Fabric capacity. We’ve even created an automated migration tool to help accelerate the process, which is especially useful if you have thousands or even hundreds of thousands of workspaces. This automated migration tool can help you programmatically migrate using Fabric REST APIs. Learn more about the manual and automated ways to migrate your workspaces here.
What will happen at the end of my grace period?
After 30 days of free capacity, your operations will begin to be throttled and your jobs could be delayed or even rejected. Specifically, all new interactive operations will be slowed by 20 seconds upon submission 30 days after your subscription has ended. The entire capacity may be frozen 90 days or more after your subscription has ended. Learn more about Fabric’s throttling policy. However, you will still have access to your Power BI workspaces and data if you need additional time to migrate to a F-SKU.
After 90 days, you may lose access to your Power BI data. If you need more time, please contact your Microsoft account representative or Microsoft partner as soon as possible.
Once you’ve migrated your data, you should delete your Power BI Premium capacities that are no longer in use. If these capacities are not deleted, operations will be slowed after 30 days, and the capacities will be frozen after 90 days and eventually deleted.
Next steps toward transitioning to Microsoft Fabric
As you approach the end of your current agreement, create a plan to purchase Fabric and migrate your workspaces. You can view your Fabric capacity pricing options on the Fabric pricing page and get detailed instructions on how to purchase Fabric on the Buy a Fabric subscription documentation on Microsoft Learn. Please contact your Microsoft sales representative or partner to learn when you need to switch to a Fabric SKU and how we can support your smooth transition.
Frequently asked questions
When do I have to transition to Microsoft Fabric?
Depending on your existing agreement, the retirement will impact you differently:
- New customers can no longer purchase Power BI Premium per capacity.
- Existing customers without an Enterprise Agreement (EA) will need to replace their Power BI Premium capacity subscription purchase with the purchase of Fabric capacity at the end of their agreement.
- Customers with an existing EA agreement can continue to renew their Power BI Premium capacity purchase annually until the end of their EA agreement. However, at the end of their agreement, they will have to transition to Fabric capacity once the agreement has ended to continue using Microsoft Fabric.
- Customers on a sovereign cloud will not be impacted by this retirement as they do not currently have access to Microsoft Fabric. We will provide additional information as soon as it’s available.
What are the benefits of Fabric products?
Customers that migrate their purchase to Fabric capacity will enjoy a range of additional benefits. Fabric capacity is eligible for Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) which means Fabric customers can apply their Fabric spend against their MACC commitment. Additionally, Fabric capacity customers will get access to features only available in Microsoft Azure like trusted workspace access and Managed Private Endpoints, which are critical components for supporting secure and private data access. These features are native to Azure and not available to Power BI Premium capacity customers. See all Microsoft Fabric products available in your Azure region on the Microsoft Fabric pricing page.
Can I access Microsoft Power BI Embedded and Power BI Report Server from Fabric?
For Power BI Embedded, Fabric capacity is compatible with Power BI Embedded and can be used to run all of your embedded activities. Read the blog “Power BI Embedded with Microsoft Fabric” for more information.
Power BI Report Server is now included with Fabric 64 SKU Reserved Instance purchases. You can get the Power BI Report Server key in the “Fabric Capacity” tab under “Capacity Settings” in the admin portal. It’s also available with Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise core licenses with software assurance. Learn more about ways to get the Power BI report server key here.
Will I still need a Power BI Pro license to publish Power BI content?
Yes, this requirement will extend to Fabric capacity. Power BI report publishers and consumers still need a Power BI Pro license. However, for Fabric 64 SKU—a Power BI Premium P1 equivalent—or larger capacities, report viewers can view content with only a Fabric free license if the content is hosted in the capacity. Additionally, for non-Power BI activities, no Power BI Pro license is required.
How do I manage Fabric quotas when switching from P-SKU to F-SKU?
Fabric quotas limit the number of capacity units (CUs) a customer can provision across multiple capacities in a subscription. The calculation of the quota is based on your subscription plan type and your Azure region. Quotas can help you ensure that Fabric resources are used efficiently while preventing misuse. For more details on quotas, please refer to Fabric Quotas documentation.
As you transition from P-SKU to F-SKU and you have your Fabric subscription created in the Azure portal, it’s essential to register the resource provider using the Azure Resource Provider instructions before making your first quota request. Then, check your Fabric quota on the Azure Portal to confirm you have sufficient buffer to provision new capacities.