TL;DR
Power BI Report Server is Microsoft’s on-premises server for publishing Power BI reports and paginated reports inside your own network. It suits organizations whose data or reports cannot sit in a public cloud. You license it through SQL Server core licenses or Fabric F64+ reserved capacity, not as a separate purchase. It trails the cloud service, with no dashboards, apps, Q&A or shared semantic models, and only three releases a year. Since SQL Server 2025, it is also the only on-premises reporting server Microsoft still develops. Stay on it while hosting rules demand local control, and move to the Power BI service once those rules ease.
Key Takeaways Power BI Report Server hosts interactive Power BI reports and paginated reports on servers your team runs and patches. It fits regulated, air-gapped or data-residency-bound organizations, and rarely anyone else. Rights come from SQL Server 2025 Standard or Enterprise cores, older Enterprise cores with active Software Assurance, or Fabric F64+ reserved capacity. Dashboards, apps, Q&A, real-time streaming and email subscriptions for Power BI reports stay cloud-only. Authors must use Power BI Desktop for Report Server, a separate build released three times a year with the server. Decide in order: can the data leave, do you need cloud-only features, and which option costs less to run? Watch on YouTube
End-to-End Microsoft Power BI Implementation and Migration with Kanerika
Kanerika outlines its approach to Power BI implementation and migration, the same work that sits behind a move off Report Server.
Your Data Can’t Go to the Cloud. Where Do Your Reports Live? What happens when the business wants Power BI and the compliance team says the data never leaves the building? That question lands on BI leads in hospitals, defense suppliers, banks and plants with sealed production networks. The cloud version of Power BI is off the table, yet users still expect interactive reports instead of static PDFs.
Power BI Report Server exists for exactly that reader. It runs the same report format on a Windows server you own, behind your firewall, with your own identity and backup rules. The catch is what comes with it. You inherit a slower release cycle and fewer capabilities, and the licensing rules confuse even experienced buyers.
So the real decision is about your reason for staying on-premises. That reason has to stay strong enough to justify those trade-offs every year, because the bill for them never stops.
What Is Power BI Report Server? Power BI Report Server is an on-premises report server with a web portal where people view and manage reports and KPIs. According to Microsoft’s product overview , it hosts Power BI reports (.pbix), Excel files and paginated reports (.rdl). Users open them in a browser, on the Power BI mobile apps, or as scheduled emails.
In other words, think of it as the on-premises sibling of the Power BI platform . The report files look the same, but the server, the database and the upgrades are all yours. That ownership is the whole point for some teams, and the whole burden for others.
How Report Server Works The flow has four moving parts, and each one stays inside your network. Authors build reports in Power BI Desktop for Report Server, a version of Desktop tuned to the server release. They save or publish the .pbix file to the server, which stores it in a SQL Server catalog database along with folders, permissions and schedules.
Readers then open reports through the web portal, which organizes content in a folder tree much like a file share. When a report uses imported data, the server refreshes it on a schedule. Sources can be SQL Server, Oracle or an Analysis Services model, and because everything runs inside your network, no cloud gateway sits in the path.
Underneath, the server loads Power BI data models into an internal Analysis Services engine, the same layer that sits in most business intelligence architecture designs. That detail matters later, since rendering and refresh compete for the same CPU and memory on the box.
What You Can Host on It Microsoft’s portal overview still lists five content types, but the September 2022 release discontinued mobile reports, so four remain in use. Interactive Power BI reports are the reason most teams buy it. Paginated reports cover the pixel-perfect invoices, statements and regulatory extracts that used to live in SQL Server Reporting Services.
The portal also stores KPIs, Excel workbooks, shared data sources and shared datasets for paginated reports. If paginated reports are new to your team, our guide to Power BI paginated reports explains where they beat interactive reports. For many organizations, that mix in one portal is what makes the server worth running. It also sets it apart from other enterprise reporting tools on a typical shortlist.
Power BI Report Server vs Power BI Service vs SSRS All three products publish reports, but they differ in where they run and how fast they change. Microsoft keeps a feature-by-feature list in its Report Server and Power BI service comparison . The table below condenses it and adds SSRS, which most on-premises shops still run somewhere.
Table 1: Report Server vs the Power BI service vs SSRS
Capability Power BI Report Server Power BI service SSRS Where it runs Your servers or Azure VMs Microsoft cloud Your servers Interactive Power BI reports Yes Yes No Paginated reports (.rdl) Yes Yes Its main purpose Dashboards and apps No Yes No Shared semantic models No Yes No Q&A and Quick insights No Yes No Email subscriptions Paginated reports only Power BI and paginated reports Paginated reports Row-level security Yes Yes Yes Release cycle January, May, September Monthly No versions after SSRS 2022 Lifecycle Modern Lifecycle Policy Fully managed SSRS 2022 supported to January 11, 2033
Report Server vs the Power BI Service The Power BI service gets new features first, once a month. Report Server gets a rollup of Desktop updates three times a year, and many service capabilities never arrive at all. Examples include dashboards, apps, Q&A and data alerts, as well as composite models and real-time streaming.
Shared models are a good example. In the service, one certified model, including Direct Lake semantic models on Fabric, can feed dozens of reports. On Report Server, each report with imported data carries its own copy of the model unless it connects live to an Analysis Services model, so the same measures get rebuilt and refreshed file by file.
The day-to-day difference shows up in sharing. In the service, a team publishes an app and hundreds of people get a curated set of reports with one link. On Report Server, sharing means folder permissions and portal URLs, much like a file share. It works, but it feels older, and users who have seen the service will notice.
At the same time, responsibility shifts. With the service, Microsoft patches, scales and backs up the platform. With Report Server, your team owns the Windows host, the catalog database, the certificates and the upgrade calendar.
Report Server vs SSRS After SQL Server 2025 Report Server started as a superset of SSRS, so everything SSRS does, it does too, plus Power BI reports. Then, in 2025, that relationship became a succession. Microsoft’s Reporting Services consolidation FAQ states that no new SSRS versions will ship after SSRS 2022. Instead, Report Server becomes the default on-premises reporting server for SQL Server, as the SQL Server 2025 reporting announcement also explains.
SSRS 2022 still receives support until January 11, 2033, so nobody has to move this quarter. Existing RDL reports are fully compatible with Report Server, which makes the server the natural home for an SSRS estate that must stay on-premises. Teams heading to the cloud instead can follow our SSRS to Power BI migration guide , which covers the move step by step.
Case Study
40% Lower Operational Costs with SSRS to Power BI
A global healthcare provider replaced static SSRS reports with governed Power BI, gaining 30% faster data processing and 25% less manual maintenance.
Read the Case Study → Who Needs Power BI Report Server? An on-premises report server earns its keep in a short list of situations. Each one comes down to a rule or a network that keeps data out of a public cloud. If none of them describes you, the cloud service is usually the simpler choice.
Data Residency and Sovereignty Rules Some contracts and regulations name where data may be stored and who may operate the systems that hold it. The EU’s rules on international data transfers , for example, set conditions on personal data leaving the bloc. Defense programs, public-sector agencies and some healthcare and banking workloads fall into this group. When those rules cover report content as well as source data, an on-premises report server is often the cleanest way to comply.
So ask for the actual clause before you commit. A policy that names a data class, such as patient records, is different from one that bans every cloud service outright. Teams building wider controls around that question can start with our healthcare data governance guide , which covers how regulated data gets classified.
Restricted and Air-Gapped Networks Plants, labs and ships often run on networks with no route to the internet at all. Even so, operators there still want quality trends and shift reports. Report Server runs inside that network and refreshes from local sources, so it fits where the Power BI service simply cannot reach.
Existing SQL Server Reporting Estates Organizations with hundreds of SSRS reports and a seasoned SQL Server team have a head start. Those teams already know report server databases, folder security and subscriptions, and they often run the wider SQL Server data migration work too. So they can add interactive Power BI reports next to their paginated ones without moving users to a new portal. That is why many SSRS shops land here first.
When On-Premises Is an Unnecessary Constraint Plenty of “no cloud” rules were written years ago for different systems and never revisited. Meanwhile, the hidden costs of a local server keep growing, from Windows patching to certificate renewals and catalog backups. Business users also start asking for apps, data alerts and Q&A, which the server does not offer.
So test the constraint before you build around it. If legal, security and the data owners agree that reports may live in the cloud, the case for Report Server gets much weaker.
Power BI Report Server Licensing in 2026 Licensing is where most Report Server projects stall, because the product has no price tag of its own. Instead, rights come with other Microsoft licenses, and the rules changed with SQL Server 2025. Everything below comes from Microsoft’s own licensing text, so confirm the final position against your agreement before you buy.
Is Power BI Report Server Free? The download is free, and the installer offers free Evaluation and Developer editions. Production use, however, is not. Microsoft’s guide to finding your Report Server product key says a production installation needs a product key. A developer key also cannot be used in production.
That product key comes from one of two places. Either your SQL Server licensing covers it, or your Fabric or Premium capacity does.
Route 1: SQL Server Core Licenses SQL Server 2025 widened this route considerably. Customers with SQL Server 2025 Standard or Enterprise core licenses may run Report Server on the licensed server, on allowed failover environments, or in Azure. The core count you can use equals the core licenses assigned to that server, with a minimum of four per operating system environment.
Running it in Azure, though, works a little differently. There, you allocate one SQL Server Standard or Enterprise core license per virtual core, again with a four-core minimum. Earlier versions are stricter. For SQL Server 2022 and before, only Enterprise core licenses with active Software Assurance carry the right, and it ends when that coverage lapses.
That last point catches teams during renewals. If procurement drops Software Assurance on older Enterprise licenses to save money, the right to run Report Server goes with it.
Route 2: Fabric F64+ Reserved Capacity The second route, by comparison, runs through Microsoft Fabric. A reserved F64 or larger capacity lets you run Report Server on up to the number of cores that capacity includes. Microsoft’s Fabric licensing table maps F64 to eight Power BI v-cores, so that is the ceiling for an F64.
However, smaller F SKUs do not qualify, even when reserved. Older Power BI Premium P SKUs include the right, but EM SKUs never did. If you are still sizing capacity for other workloads, our explainer on Microsoft Fabric capacity shows how F SKUs are measured.
Do Authors and Viewers Need Power BI Pro? Viewers never need Pro to open reports on Report Server. Authors are another story, since the rule depends on your route. Under SQL Server licensing, authors need Pro only to publish Power BI reports. Under Fabric F64+, by contrast, they need it to publish both Power BI and paginated reports.
For how Pro, Premium Per User and capacity licenses compare beyond Report Server, see our breakdown of Power BI Premium vs Pro .
How to Check What You Already Own Many organizations already hold the right without knowing it. Before buying anything, work through these checks with procurement.
List every SQL Server license by version, edition and core count, and note which Enterprise licenses still carry Software Assurance. Check whether you hold Fabric capacity, its size, and whether it is reserved or pay-as-you-go. Ask a Fabric or Premium capacity admin to look for the Report Server key in the admin portal. For SQL Server 2025, the SQL Server product key itself activates Report Server; for SQL Server 2022 and earlier, find the separate Report Server key in the Microsoft 365 admin center or Visual Studio Subscriptions. Confirm the final position against your Microsoft agreement or licensing partner. Requirements and Core Components The minimum specs are modest, but production servers need much more headroom. The pieces around the server, such as the catalog database and the authoring tool, cause more trouble than the hardware does.
Server and Operating System Microsoft’s Report Server system requirements list .NET Framework 4.8 or later and at least 1 GB of free disk. Memory starts at 1 GB, with 4 GB recommended, and the processor must be x64 at 1.4 GHz or faster. Supported systems are Windows Server 2025, 2022 and 2019, plus Windows 11.
Still, treat those numbers as the floor for a test box. Real sizing depends on how many people open reports at the same time, which the features section covers with Microsoft’s own load-test results.
The Catalog Database Every Report Server needs a SQL Server Database Engine to hold its report server databases. Those databases store report definitions, folders, permissions, schedules and cached data. The engine can be local or remote, on SQL Server 2014 SP3 through SQL Server 2025, or on Azure SQL Managed Instance.
Where that database lives is also a platform decision in its own right. Our comparison of Azure SQL vs SQL Server walks through managed and self-hosted options for this kind of workload. Since the September 2026 release, the server can also connect to its catalog with Encrypt=Strict and MultiSubnetFailover, which helps teams running availability groups.
Configuration Pieces That Bite Later Installation itself takes minutes. After that, Report Server Configuration Manager asks for a service account, the web service and portal URLs, and the database connection. Teams usually get those right, because the wizard forces them.
The encryption key is the piece people forget. Each report server database has one symmetric key, and that key encrypts and decrypts its protected data. Microsoft’s guidance on backing up report server encryption keys explains why. You need that copy whenever the service account name changes or its password is reset, the server is renamed, or hardware fails.
Finally, scale-out adds one more rule. Every node in a scale-out deployment must use the same product key, so plan licensing for the whole farm rather than one machine.
Power BI Desktop for Report Server Authors cannot use the regular Power BI Desktop from the Microsoft Store. They need Power BI Desktop for Report Server, a separate build released alongside each server version. Both versions can sit side by side on one laptop, which helps authors who publish to the cloud as well.
Also keep the Desktop build in step with the server. A file saved from a newer Desktop may use visuals or settings the server cannot render. Since the May 2025 release, the authoring machine also needs a CPU with AVX instructions enabled, so check older virtual desktops before rollout.
Checklist
Power BI Best Practices Checklist
A practical checklist for building, securing and running Power BI reports, from data models and refresh to access control, useful for any Report Server rollout.
Get the Checklist → Features and Limits Compared With the Cloud Report Server covers the core of interactive reporting well. The gaps sit in sharing, AI features and anything that depends on Microsoft running the platform for you.
What Works Well On-Premises Interactive visuals, slicers, many-to-many relationships, full-screen mode and custom Power BI visuals all work on the server. Row-level security works in both Import and DirectQuery mode, so one report can show each region only its own numbers. Our walkthrough of Power BI row-level security shows how to design those roles.
Data can also come from on-premises and cloud sources alike, through certified connectors. The Power BI mobile apps also connect to Report Server. Remote users still need a network path to it, though, usually through a VPN.
Scheduled Refresh and Subscriptions Scheduled refresh applies only to reports with imported data. Reports on a live connection or DirectQuery read the source each time, so they need no refresh plan. Microsoft’s scheduled refresh documentation also sets a hard cap of 2,000 MB on a refreshed data model, and that limit cannot be configured.
As a result, that cap shapes model design from day one. Lean star schemas in Power BI and pre-aggregated tables keep large reports under it, as our guide to Power BI data modeling best practices explains. Email subscriptions, meanwhile, work only for paginated reports, which surprises users who expect the service’s report subscriptions.
What You Give Up The list of cloud-only features is long and still growing. These are the gaps users notice first, especially in finance and sales teams.
Dashboards, apps and template apps for packaging content. Q&A, Quick insights and the key influencers visual. Shared semantic models and composite models . Real-time streaming, automatic page refresh and data alerts. R and Python visuals, Analyze in Excel and sensitivity labels. Bookmarks, cross-report drillthrough, personalized visuals and preview features. None of these blocks a classic reporting estate. Still, each one is a request your team will have to decline, and the list rarely shrinks. Pinned-tile views, for instance, are a cloud habit, as our guide to Power BI dashboard development shows.
Performance and Sizing Microsoft also published load tests in its capacity planning guidance for Report Server . In a four-machine test setup, a single Report Server VM with 8 cores and 32 GB handled about 1,000 users on a Power BI-heavy workload, and about 2,000 users when paginated reports dominated.
Doubling that server to 16 cores and 64 GB lifted those figures to 3,000 and 3,200 users. But those tests assumed only 5% of users were active at once. CPU ran out first in every run, so cores buy more headroom than memory.
Release Cadence, Updates and Support Running your own report server means running an upgrade calendar. The cloud service changes monthly without you, while the server waits for your team to install each release.
Three Releases a Year Report Server ships three times a year, in January, May and September. Each release brings a rollup of Desktop features that have already reached the service. Patches also land between releases when Microsoft fixes bugs or security issues.
What the 2026 Releases Changed The Report Server change log shows what a typical year of releases looks like. The May 2026 release added support for the new card visual in Power BI , and summer patches fixed refresh problems in scale-out farms.
Earlier, the January 2026 release removed Office Online Server support, so Excel workbooks no longer open for viewing in the browser. The September 2026 release then arrived on September 29, followed by a portal fix on October 1. It added Encrypt=Strict and MultiSubnetFailover for catalog connections. Setup also stopped installing the Access Database Engine, so teams using Access or Excel data sources must now install it on the report server themselves.
The 12-Month Support Window Each release gets security and critical fixes until the next one ships. After that, it receives security updates only, until 12 months from its own release. In practice, any release older than 12 months is out of support, so budget for at least one upgrade cycle every year.
Should You Stay on Power BI Report Server or Move? Stay on Power BI Report Server when a real rule keeps reports on-premises and its features cover what users need. Move to the Power BI service when that rule no longer applies, or when cloud-only features start to matter more than local control.
When Staying Makes Sense Staying is the right call when legal or contractual hosting rules are confirmed in writing. It also fits disconnected networks and estates built mostly on paginated reports with a light layer of interactive ones. The case gets stronger when you already hold the license rights and have a SQL Server team that patches on schedule.
Signs the Power BI Service Is a Better Fit The pressure to move usually builds slowly, until one request tips the balance. Users ask for apps, alerts and Q&A, or several teams want one shared semantic model instead of copies. External partners need access too. Then the data platform team starts building on Fabric. Fabric works best when reports sit in the same cloud, as our look at Microsoft Fabric vs Power BI explains.
Cost is the other trigger, especially at renewal time. Once you add up server hardware, Windows and SQL Server patching, backups and three upgrades a year, a managed service often looks cheaper. Our enterprise data migration guide covers how larger organizations plan that kind of platform move, and a cloud migration roadmap helps sequence it.
When a Hybrid Setup Works In practice, many enterprises end up with both. Sensitive operational reports stay on Report Server, while broader analytics moves to the service. Microsoft notes that an F64 reserved capacity lets you build exactly this kind of hybrid deployment.
Hybrid is not free, though. Two platforms mean two security models and two release calendars, so set clear rules for which reports belong where. A written data governance framework keeps that split from drifting.
A Three-Test Decision Rule Run the tests in this order, because each one can end the debate. First, can the data and reports legally leave your network? Second, do users need features only the cloud offers? Third, which option costs less to run over three years once staff time is counted?
Table 2: Stay, move or run both
Factor Stay on Report Server Move to the Power BI service Run both Hosting rules Reports must stay on-premises Cloud hosting approved Rules differ by workload Feature needs Interactive and paginated reports are enough Apps, alerts, Q&A or shared models needed Mixed by team Network Restricted or disconnected Normal internet access Both kinds of site Licensing SQL Server or F64+ rights already held Pro, Premium Per User or capacity F64+ reserved covers both Operations Strong in-house SQL Server team Prefer a managed platform Can run two platforms Direction Stable operational reporting Wider cloud analytics on Fabric Phased move over time
Migration ROI Calculator
Estimate What Moving to the Cloud Would Save
Compare the running cost of your on-premises reporting servers with a managed platform before you decide to stay or move.
Calculate Migration ROI → How Kanerika Helps You Decide and Deliver Kanerika’s Power BI consulting team treats the stay-or-move question as an assessment backed by evidence. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data and AI with the Analytics Specialization, we start from what you actually run and what you actually own.
A typical engagement runs through five stages.
Inventory. We catalog every report, data source, subscription and active user on the current server.Validate rights. We map SQL Server, Software Assurance and Fabric entitlements against Microsoft’s current terms.Test the constraint. We review the actual hosting clauses with legal and security, rather than the assumptions built up around them.Recommend. We give a stay, move or hybrid verdict with a three-year running-cost comparison, shaped by your wider business intelligence strategy .Deliver. We upgrade and harden the server, or run a planned data migration to the cloud with our FLIP accelerator, then prove the numbers still match with data integrity testing .Where FLIP Fits FLIP reads RDL files and converts SSRS reports to Power BI while keeping parameters, data connections and report logic. For teams leaving SSRS, our SSRS to Power BI migration service wraps that accelerator in validation and governance.
One global healthcare provider shows the move side in practice. Its SSRS reports were static and hard to maintain, so Kanerika converted them to Power BI with governance in the Power BI service. The result was 30% faster data processing, 40% lower operating costs and 25% less manual maintenance, as the SSRS to Power BI case study details.
Our data analytics services team often sees the same pitfalls. For example, lapsed Software Assurance silently removes Report Server rights, and models drift toward the 2 GB refresh cap. Authors also install the wrong Desktop build, so a typical engagement checks all three first.
Kanerika Service
Power BI Consulting and Implementation
Kanerika assesses, configures and migrates Power BI estates, on Report Server or in the cloud, as a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data and AI.
Explore Power BI Services Wrapping Up Power BI Report Server gives organizations interactive and paginated Power BI reports without sending data to a public cloud. In return, you give up cloud-only capabilities and take on the work of running servers. Licensing now comes through SQL Server 2025 Standard or Enterprise, older Enterprise licenses with Software Assurance, or Fabric F64+ reserved capacity.
In the end, the decision comes down to the hosting rule. If it is real and current, stay on-premises and run the server well. If it has faded, move to the Power BI service.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Power BI Report Server used for? Power BI Report Server is used to publish and share Power BI reports and paginated reports inside an organization’s own network. Teams use it when data or reports cannot be hosted in a public cloud. Users open reports in a browser, on the Power BI mobile apps, or through scheduled email subscriptions for paginated reports.
Is Power BI Report Server free? The download is free, and the installer includes free Evaluation and Developer editions for testing. Production use needs a product key. That key comes with SQL Server 2025 Standard or Enterprise core licenses, older Enterprise core licenses with active Software Assurance, or a reserved Fabric F64 or larger capacity. Developer keys cannot be used in production.
What is the difference between Power BI Report Server and the Power BI service? Power BI Report Server runs on servers you manage, while the Power BI service is Microsoft’s managed cloud. The service gets new features monthly and adds dashboards, apps, Q&A, shared semantic models and data alerts. Report Server ships three releases a year and covers interactive and paginated reports, but your team owns patching, backups and upgrades.
What is the difference between Power BI Report Server and SSRS? Power BI Report Server is a superset of SQL Server Reporting Services. It runs every paginated report SSRS can, and it also hosts interactive Power BI reports. Starting with SQL Server 2025, Microsoft releases no new SSRS versions, so Report Server becomes the default on-premises reporting server. SSRS 2022 remains supported until January 11, 2033.
Does Power BI Report Server require SQL Server? Yes. Every Report Server installation needs a SQL Server Database Engine to host its report server databases, which store reports, folders, permissions and schedules. The engine can run locally or on another server. Supported options include SQL Server 2014 SP3 through SQL Server 2025, and Azure SQL Managed Instance for releases from January 2020 onward.
Do users need a Power BI Pro license to view reports on Report Server? No. Viewers can open and interact with Power BI and paginated reports on Report Server without a Pro license. Authors are different. Under SQL Server licensing, publishing Power BI reports needs Pro. Under Fabric F64 or larger reserved capacity, publishing both Power BI reports and paginated reports needs a Pro license.
Can I publish from the regular Power BI Desktop to Report Server? No. Authors need Power BI Desktop for Report Server, a separate build released alongside each server version. It can be installed side by side with the regular Desktop from the Microsoft Store. Keep the Desktop build matched to your server release, because files saved with newer features may not render on an older server.
Does Power BI Report Server support scheduled refresh? Yes, for reports with imported data. The server refreshes those models on a schedule from your sources. Reports using a live connection or DirectQuery read the source directly and need no refresh. A refreshed data model cannot exceed 2,000 MB, and Microsoft states that this limit cannot be configured, so large models need careful design.
Does Power BI Report Server support dashboards? No. Report Server hosts interactive Power BI reports, paginated reports, KPIs and Excel workbooks, but dashboards with pinned tiles are a Power BI service feature. Apps, template apps, Q&A and data alerts are also cloud-only. Many teams build a single overview report page on the server to play the role a dashboard plays in the cloud.
Can Power BI Report Server run in Azure? Yes. Microsoft supports running Report Server on Azure virtual machines, which it calls hosted cloud deployment. Under SQL Server 2025 licensing, you allocate one Standard or Enterprise core license per virtual core, with a minimum of four per environment. Fabric F64 or larger reserved capacity also grants rights to run it on a virtual machine.
How often is Power BI Report Server updated? It ships three releases a year, in January, May and September, with patches in between. Each release receives security and critical updates until the next one ships, then security updates only until twelve months after its own release. A release more than 12 months old is out of support, so plan at least one upgrade a year.
Is Microsoft discontinuing Power BI Report Server? No. Microsoft has moved in the other direction. Starting with SQL Server 2025, it is consolidating all on-premises reporting under Report Server and releasing no new SSRS versions. The server keeps shipping three releases a year under the Modern Lifecycle Policy, with the September 2026 release the most recent at the time of writing.
When should a business move from Power BI Report Server to the Power BI service? Move when the rule that kept reports on-premises no longer applies, or when users need cloud-only features such as apps, alerts, Q&A or shared semantic models. Running costs are the third test. Once hardware, patching, backups and three upgrades a year are counted, the managed Power BI service is often the cheaper option.
