Tutorials › Power BI › Installing Power BI Desktop

Installing Power BI Desktop

Download, install and set up Power BI Desktop on Windows — step by step

What you will learn
  • How to download and install Power BI Desktop
  • The three main views in Power BI Desktop
  • How to navigate the Power BI interface
Power BI Desktop is a free Windows application. It is not available on Mac natively (though you can use it via Parallels or a Windows VM on Mac). This tutorial walks you through downloading and setting up Power BI Desktop so you are ready to follow every tutorial in this series. System requirements: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), 2 GB RAM minimum (4 GB recommended), 1.5 GB available disk space, .NET 4.6.2 or later (usually already installed). You do not need a Microsoft account to use Power BI Desktop for local work. You only need an account when publishing to Power BI Service.

Example

Step-by-step installation
OPTION 1 — Microsoft Store (Recommended)
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1. Open Microsoft Store on Windows 10/11
2. Search "Power BI Desktop"
3. Click "Get" → installs automatically
4. Updates automatically (always latest version)

OPTION 2 — Direct Download
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1. Go to: microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=58494
2. Download PBIDesktopSetup_x64.exe
3. Run installer → click Next → Accept licence → Install
4. Launch Power BI Desktop

FIRST LAUNCH:
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• Splash screen appears — close it (X button)
• You will see: Report view | Data view | Model view
• You do NOT need to sign in to start building
💡 Microsoft Store version is preferred — it updates automatically. The downloaded .exe version requires manual updates.

Key Points

  • ✓Power BI Desktop is Windows-only. Mac users need Parallels, Boot Camp, or a Windows VM
  • ✓Close the splash screen to go straight to the canvas — sign-in is optional for local work
  • ✓Three views: Report (building visuals), Data (seeing your tables), Model (setting relationships)
  • ✓Power BI updates monthly — new features appear in every release
  • ✓Check Help → About to see your current version

Practice Question

Where in Power BI Desktop do you go to see and manage the relationships between your tables?