SQL Server Reporting Services vs Power BI (On-Prem and Cloud): A Detailed Comparison

When you work in data, sooner or later you’ll need to make a choice: stick with SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), or move into the Power BI world (on-prem with Power BI Report Server, or cloud with Power BI Service).

This post takes you through the details — visuals, scheduling, data connectivity, the Power BI Gateway, install prerequisites, pros and cons — so you can decide what’s right for your environment.

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What They Are

• SSRS: Microsoft’s long-standing, battle-tested reporting platform. Think pixel-perfect invoices, statements, and operational reports.
• Power BI Report Server (PBIRS): A hybrid on-prem option. It hosts SSRS paginated reports and Power BI reports — but with fewer features than the cloud.
• Power BI Service (Cloud): A SaaS BI platform hosted in Microsoft 365. Modern visuals, collaboration, mobile, AI, and near-real-time data.

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Visuals and Reporting Styles

SSRS

• Tables, matrices, charts, gauges, indicators, maps.
• Great for “classic” business reports — invoices, regulatory docs, anything that must export cleanly to PDF/Excel.
• Interactivity: drillthrough, drilldown, parameters.

Power BI Report Server

• SSRS visuals + Power BI visuals.
• Limitation: you must use the special “Power BI Desktop for Report Server” to publish, and features often lag behind the cloud.

Power BI Service

• Modern visuals (cards, slicers, maps, scatterplots, tree maps, custom visuals from the marketplace).
• AI visuals like Key Influencers and Decomposition Tree.
• Natural language Q&A.
• Mobile layouts and app integration.

👉 If you need pixel-perfect outputs: SSRS wins.
👉 If you need interactive dashboards with drill-and-filter: Power BI is your tool.

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Data Connectivity and “Live” Options

SSRS

• Queries data at run time.
• You can cache reports, take snapshots, or set execution schedules, but there’s no “DirectQuery” concept.

Power BI (both PBIRS and Service)

• Import: best for performance; data is loaded into an in-memory model. Needs scheduled refresh.
• DirectQuery: queries the source directly on every interaction (SQL Server, Oracle, etc.). Live, but performance depends on the source.
• Live Connection: connects to Analysis Services or another Power BI dataset.

Automatic Page Refresh (APR)

• Power BI Service Premium allows refresh as fast as every second (for DirectQuery).
• PBIRS has limited refresh options; it’s not a replacement for Service APR.

Streaming

• Only Power BI Service supports true real-time streaming datasets.

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Scheduling and Delivery

SSRS

• Standard subscriptions: same report, fixed format, delivered on a schedule.
• Data-driven subscriptions: parameters, destinations, and formats driven by a query.
• Delivery: email (via SMTP), file shares, SharePoint integration.

Power BI Report Server

• Refreshes Import models on the server itself.
• Schedules set in PBIRS; no dependency on cloud.

Power BI Service

• Scheduled refresh: up to 8/day (Pro/shared capacity), up to 48/day (Premium).
• Email subscriptions for reports and dashboards.
• No file share delivery — but can export to OneDrive/SharePoint or automate with Power Automate.
• Supports API refreshes, though limited by capacity.

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The On-Premises Data Gateway

If you want the cloud Power BI Service to reach your on-prem SQL Server or Oracle database, you need the gateway.

• Modes:
  • Standard: recommended, supports multiple users and sources.
  • Personal: for a single user, quick setup, not recommended for production.
• High Availability: cluster gateways (up to 10 servers) for load balancing and failover.
• Security: credentials are encrypted, stored securely.
• Don’t install the gateway on laptops or domain controllers; use a dedicated, stable server.

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Installation Prerequisites

SSRS

• Windows Server, SQL Database Engine instance (for ReportServer/ReportServerTempDB), .NET Framework.
• SMTP access for email subscriptions.
• Recommended: use a domain service account, enable HTTPS, back up the encryption key.

Power BI Report Server

• Same as SSRS, plus SQL Database Engine for PBIRS catalog.
• You must use Power BI Desktop for Report Server (not the regular one from the Store).
• Recommended: service account, HTTPS, backup keys, match PBIRS Desktop versions.

Power BI Service (Cloud)

• Subscription (Pro, Premium Per User, or Premium capacity).
• Workspaces for organizing content.
• Gateway for on-premises data.
• Recommended: cluster your gateways, use incremental refresh for large datasets, configure row-level security.

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Security

SSRS/PBIRS

• Windows Authentication.
• Role-based security: Browser, Publisher, Content Manager, etc.
• Backup the SSRS encryption key for stored credentials.

Power BI Service

• Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD).
• Workspace roles: Viewer, Contributor, Member, Admin.
• Row-level security (RLS) and object-level security (OLS).
• Sensitivity labels and audit logs for governance.

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Embedding Options

• SSRS: embed via URL access or ReportViewer controls in custom applications.
• Power BI: embed with the Power BI JavaScript SDK, token-based auth, and row-level security — more flexible and modern.

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Pros and Cons

SSRS
✅ Pixel-perfect, paginated reports.
✅ Strong automation with subscriptions.
✅ Secure, on-prem, no cloud dependency.
❌ Limited visuals.
❌ No cloud collaboration.

Power BI Report Server
✅ On-prem + interactive visuals.
✅ Supports both paginated and Power BI reports.
❌ Fewer visuals/features than the cloud.
❌ Slower update cadence.

Power BI Service
✅ Rich visuals, AI, collaboration, mobile, streaming.
✅ Frequent refresh, DirectQuery, Live connections.
✅ Cloud-based governance and security.
❌ Requires gateway for on-prem data.
❌ Refresh limits unless on Premium.

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Example Scenarios

• Monthly invoices emailed to customers: SSRS with a data-driven subscription.
• Interactive sales dashboard updated 4x/day: Power BI Service with Import mode + scheduled refresh.
• Real-time call center dashboard: Power BI Service with DirectQuery + Automatic Page Refresh.
• Strict on-prem environment (finance, defense): Power BI Report Server with approved Desktop version.

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Summary and Final Thoughts

SSRS remains the king of pixel-perfect operational reporting. If your world is invoices, compliance documents, and heavy automation via email/file share — keep SSRS around.

Power BI, whether Report Server or the cloud Service, is the go-to for interactive analysis, visuals, collaboration, and near-real-time dashboards. If you need modern BI, cloud features, and mobile access, the Service is the clear winner — provided you set up the gateway correctly.

The truth is, many organizations use both: SSRS for operational reports and Power BI for analytics dashboards. If you’re planning new deployments, remember Microsoft’s roadmap is shifting investment toward Power BI Report Server (and the Service), not classic SSRS.

👉 My advice:

• Start with SSRS if you need operational reporting.
• Add Power BI Service (with the gateway) when you’re ready for dashboards, collaboration, and analytics.
• Use Power BI Report Server only if you’re forced to stay on-prem — but know it lags the cloud.

Workshop: Choosing and Configuring the Right Reporting Platform

Objective
Walk through how to evaluate, install, and compare SSRS, Power BI Report Server, and Power BI Service in a hands-on way—so you can understand where each one fits in your data environment.

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Step 1: Prepare a Test Environment

Option 1 – SSRS On-Prem

1. Spin up a Windows Server VM (SQL Server Developer Edition).
2. During setup, include “Reporting Services – Native Mode.”
3. After install, open Report Server Configuration Manager and:
   • Create the ReportServer and ReportServerTempDB databases.
   • Configure a Web Service URL and Web Portal URL.
   • Backup the encryption key.
   • Send a test email using SMTP.

Option 2 – Power BI Report Server (PBIRS)

1. Install the latest Power BI Report Server (from the Power BI download center).
2. Connect PBIRS to a SQL Server instance for its catalog database.
3. Download and install Power BI Desktop for Report Server (make sure versions match).
4. Publish a sample Power BI report (.pbix) and a classic SSRS report (.rdl).
5. Note which Power BI visuals are missing compared to the cloud version.

Option 3 – Power BI Service (Cloud)

1. Sign up for a Power BI Pro or Premium Per User trial.
2. Create a workspace and upload the same .pbix report you used for PBIRS.
3. Compare available visuals, refresh settings, and collaboration options.

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Step 2: Configure Data Connectivity

SSRS:

• Use a shared data source pointing to your local SQL Server.
• Test both manual execution and scheduled subscriptions.

PBIRS:

• Use the same data source, but deploy a Power BI report.
• Set up a scheduled refresh under “Manage > Data Sources.”

Power BI Service:

• Install the On-Premises Data Gateway (Standard Mode) on your local server.
• Connect your Power BI dataset to the gateway.
• Schedule refreshes (up to 8/day for Pro, 48/day for Premium).

Test that data refreshes successfully in all three environments.

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Step 3: Compare Key Capabilities

Feature	SSRS	PBIRS	Power BI Service
Report Type	Paginated (RDL)	Paginated + Interactive	Interactive (PBIX)
Scheduling	SQL Agent / Subscriptions	PBIRS Scheduler	Cloud Scheduler
Delivery	Email, File Share	Email	Email, Teams, SharePoint
Visuals	Basic Charts, Tables	Moderate + Power BI Visuals	Full Marketplace
Data Access	Direct SQL	Import, DirectQuery	Import, DirectQuery, Live
Real-Time	No	Limited	Yes (Streaming, APR)

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Step 4: Security Hands-On

SSRS / PBIRS:

• Create two users (Report Viewer and Report Publisher).
• Assign roles in Report Manager (Browser vs Content Manager).
• Test access restrictions.

Power BI Service:

• Create a workspace with two members: Viewer and Contributor.
• Apply Row-Level Security (RLS) to your dataset.
• Test both users in the web service to confirm filtered views.

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Step 5: Scenario Simulation

1. Operational Report Scenario
   • Build an invoice-style report in SSRS.
   • Schedule it as a data-driven subscription that emails results daily.
2. Interactive Dashboard Scenario
   • Build a Power BI dashboard in the Service that refreshes four times per day.
   • Add slicers, filters, and AI visuals (Key Influencers).
3. Secure On-Prem Deployment
   • Use Power BI Report Server in a restricted network.
   • Publish both report types and test using HTTPS.

Compare usability, performance, and maintenance overhead across all three.

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Step 6: Document Your Findings

Create a short table summarizing:

• Setup complexity
• Performance (refresh times, interactivity)
• Security model
• User feedback on visuals and ease of use
• Integration options (Teams, SharePoint, email)

This helps define your organization’s reporting roadmap—for example:

• SSRS → continue for invoices and audit reports
• PBIRS → use for hybrid internal dashboards
• Power BI Service → migrate analytics dashboards to the cloud

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Outcome
After this workshop, you’ll understand:

• How to configure all three Microsoft reporting platforms.
• The trade-offs between pixel-perfect, hybrid, and cloud-first BI.
• How to choose the right tool for each workload, from finance to executive dashboards.