Power BI and SharePoint Online integrate in three ways: embedding reports in SharePoint pages, connecting to SharePoint list data, and using OneDrive for Business as a data source. This guide covers all three methods with step-by-step setup.
Key Facts
- Power BI reports embed in SharePoint Online pages using the Power BI web part.
- The SharePoint Online List connector reads list data directly into Power BI Desktop.
- The SharePoint Folder connector reads Excel or CSV files from a document library.
- No gateway is required for SharePoint Online — cloud connector authenticates directly.
- Report viewers must have a Power BI Pro license or access to a Premium/Fabric capacity.
Power BI SharePoint How To Setup Power BI Integration With SharePoint Online
How to Set Up Power BI Integration with SharePoint Online
Power BI and SharePoint Online integrate in three ways: embedding reports in SharePoint pages, connecting to SharePoint list data, and using OneDrive for Business as a data source. This guide covers all three methods with step-by-step setup.
Key facts
- Power BI reports embed in SharePoint Online pages using the Power BI web part.
- The SharePoint Online List connector reads list data directly into Power BI Desktop.
- The SharePoint Folder connector reads Excel or CSV files from a document library.
- No gateway is required for SharePoint Online — cloud connector authenticates directly.
- Report viewers must have a Power BI Pro license or access to a Premium/Fabric capacity.
Method 1: Embed Power BI Reports in SharePoint Pages
Add the Power BI web part to any modern SharePoint page. Paste the report URL from Power BI Service. Report viewers must have a Power BI Pro license or access to a Premium/Fabric capacity.
- Step 1: Publish your report to Power BI Service.
- Step 2: Copy the report URL from the browser address bar.
- Step 3: Edit your SharePoint page and add the Power BI web part.
- Step 4: Paste the report URL into the web part configuration.
- Step 5: Save and publish the SharePoint page.
Method 2: Connect to SharePoint List Data
Use the SharePoint Online List connector in Power BI Desktop to read list data directly. No gateway is required for SharePoint Online.
- Step 1: In Power BI Desktop, select Get Data > SharePoint Online List.
- Step 2: Enter your SharePoint site URL (e.g., https://yourorg.sharepoint.com/sites/mysite).
- Step 3: Authenticate with your Microsoft 365 account.
- Step 4: Select the lists you need and click Load.
- Step 5: Transform data in Power Query as needed.
Method 3: Read Files from SharePoint Document Libraries
The SharePoint Folder connector reads Excel, CSV, or JSON files stored in a SharePoint document library. This is useful for building reports from multiple files with the same structure.
- Use the SharePoint Folder connector — not individual file connectors.
- Filter the file list in Power Query to include only the target file types.
- Combine and transform data using the Combine Files function in Power Query.
- Configure scheduled refresh to pull updated files on a set schedule.
Governance and Security
Report viewers need at least a Power BI Pro license or access to a Premium/Fabric capacity. SharePoint permissions alone are not sufficient to view embedded Power BI content.
- Apply row-level security in the Power BI semantic model for role-specific data.
- Use sensitivity labels to classify reports that embed in SharePoint.
- Monitor report usage via the Power BI Activity Log.
- Do not share premium capacity access broadly — audit viewer access quarterly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I embed a Power BI report in SharePoint?
Use the Power BI web part in SharePoint Online. Navigate to the page, add a web part, select Power BI, and paste the report URL. Viewers must have at least a Power BI Pro license or access to a Premium capacity.
Can Power BI read SharePoint list data?
Yes. Use the SharePoint Online List connector in Power BI Desktop. Authenticate with your Microsoft 365 account. The connector supports both SharePoint Online and on-premises SharePoint with a gateway.
What is the SharePoint folder connector?
The SharePoint folder connector reads files (Excel, CSV, JSON) stored in a SharePoint document library. It is useful for building reports from multiple files that follow the same structure.
Do I need a gateway for SharePoint data?
No, for SharePoint Online. The cloud connector authenticates directly. For SharePoint on-premises, an on-premises data gateway is required.
How do I keep Power BI and SharePoint data in sync?
Configure scheduled refresh in Power BI Service to pull from SharePoint on a set schedule. For near-real-time sync, use DirectQuery mode with the SharePoint connector — but note performance limitations for large lists.
Get Expert Help
EPC Group architects have completed 1,500+ Power BI deployments. Call (888) 381-9725 or request a 30-minute discovery call.
Related Resources
Continue exploring power bi insights and services
Why Organizations Choose EPC Group
EPC Group is a Houston-based Microsoft consulting firm with 29 years of enterprise implementation experience and over 10,000 successful deployments across Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, SharePoint, Azure, Microsoft 365, and Copilot. We serve organizations across all industries including Fortune 500, federal agencies, healthcare, financial services, government, manufacturing, energy, education, retail, technology, and global enterprises.
What sets EPC Group apart is our governance-first approach. Every engagement begins with a security and compliance assessment. Our team of senior architects brings hands-on delivery experience across HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP, and CMMC environments. We own outcomes, not hours.
- Fixed-fee accelerators with predictable pricing and defined deliverables
- Senior architect engagement on every project, not rotating juniors
- Compliance-native delivery for regulated industries
- End-to-end coverage from strategy through 24/7 managed services
- 11,000+ enterprise engagements refined into repeatable, risk-controlled patterns
Call (888) 381-9725 or email contact@epcgroup.net for a free assessment.
Power BI Strategy: 2026 Considerations for Power BI SharePoint How To Setup Power BI Integration With SharePoint Online
Power BI capacity sizing in 2026 starts with the F-SKU economics: F2 ($263/mo) covers small workloads with up to 4 GB of memory and roughly 30 reports, F4 ($526/mo) handles a typical mid-market deployment with semantic-model refresh windows under 10 minutes, and F64 ($5,257/mo) is the sweet spot for enterprises consuming Power BI alongside Microsoft Fabric data engineering, lakehouse storage, and real-time intelligence. Capacity right-sizing should be revisited every 90 days because Microsoft adjusts F-SKU memory allocations, paginated report performance, and Direct Lake mode availability with each major service update.
Direct Lake mode has changed the economics of enterprise Power BI in 2026: instead of importing data into Vertipaq, semantic models now query OneLake-resident Parquet files at near-Import-mode performance without the refresh-window cost. For a Fortune 500 finance organization migrating from a 30-minute Import-mode refresh, the equivalent Direct Lake model typically queries fact data in under 800 ms while removing the entire refresh-orchestration job from Azure Data Factory.
Decision factors EPC Group evaluates
- License optimization audit (Pro vs Premium Per User vs F-SKU)
- Row-level security via service principal authentication
- Capacity sizing decision (F2/F4/F64+) tied to peak concurrent users and refresh window
- Copilot grounding quality assessment of semantic-model metadata
- Direct Lake mode adoption for Fabric-resident semantic models
For a tailored read on this topic in your specific tenant, contact EPC Group at contact@epcgroup.net or +1 (888) 381-9725. Engagement options at /pricing.