Licences and capacity: Free vs Pro vs PPU vs paid capacity (and what unlocks Copilot)
Verdict: Per-user Pro or PPU creates workspaces and authors content. Copilot is gated on paid capacity, Fabric F2 or higher or Premium P1 or higher, not on any per-user licence. Free Viewers consume only on paid capacity.
| Criterion | Free | Power BI Pro | Premium Per User | Paid capacity (Fabric F2+/Premium P1+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create a collaborative workspace beyond My workspace | No: New workspace command is missing | Yes | Yes | Author still needs Pro or PPU |
| Use Copilot in Power BI | No | No: Pro alone is not enough | No: PPU alone is not enough | Yes: F2+ or P1+, supported region, 'Users can use Copilot' enabled |
| View and interact with content | Only as a Viewer, and only if the workspace is on paid capacity | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rules
- Copilot needs a paid Fabric capacity (F2 or higher) or Power BI Premium (P1 or higher) on the workspace, in a supported region, with 'Users can use Copilot' enabled.
- For Power BI Desktop authors the Copilot gate is write access to a workspace already on qualifying paid capacity.
- Creating a workspace beyond My workspace requires Power BI Pro or PPU; a Free licence sees no New workspace command.
- On paid capacity a Free-licence Viewer can view and interact, but still needs Build permission on the semantic model to Analyze in Excel.
Traps
- Pro is enough for most collaboration but not for Copilot; Copilot is gated on capacity, not on the per-user licence.
- A Fabric trial SKU does not enable Copilot; only paid F2 or higher, or Premium P1 or higher, does.