Power BI vs Power Query vs Power Pivot: A Comprehensive Guide

If you've ever worked with Microsoft Excel, you've probably come across terms like Power Query, Power Pivot, and Power BI. But what do these tools actually do, and how are they different from each other? In this guide, we'll demystify the differences between Power Query, Power Pivot, and Power BI, and show you how they all work together.

What is Power Query?

Power Query is a data connection and transformation tool that allows you to import, shape, and combine data from various sources. It helps you clean and transform your data before loading it into Excel or Power BI for analysis.

What is Power Pivot?

Power Pivot is a data modeling tool that allows you to create relationships between tables, perform advanced calculations, and build powerful data models. It extends Excel's data analysis capabilities by enabling you to work with large datasets and create sophisticated business intelligence solutions.

What is Power BI?

Power BI is a business analytics tool that allows you to visualize your data and share insights across your organization. It combines data from various sources, including Excel, Power Query, and Power Pivot, to create interactive reports, dashboards, and visualizations.

How do these tools work together?

Power Query, Power Pivot, and Power BI are designed to work seamlessly together, providing a comprehensive solution for data analysis and visualization. Here's how they fit together:

• Power Query enables you to import and transform data from various sources, preparing it for analysis.
• Power Pivot allows you to create relationships between tables, perform calculations, and build data models.
• Power BI lets you visualize your data using interactive reports, dashboards, and visualizations.

By combining the power of these three tools, you can easily extract, transform, and load data from multiple sources, build complex data models, and create compelling visualizations to gain valuable insights.

Time to power up

Now that you have a better understanding of Power Query, Power Pivot, and Power BI, it's time to put them to use. Whether you're a beginner looking to learn the basics or an advanced user seeking to take your data analysis skills to the next level, these tools offer a wide range of capabilities to help you succeed.

Excel Challenge 40: Create a Custom Excel Calculator

Sort Functions in Excel — How to Use SORT and SORTBY

Excel Challenge 39: Generate Unique Random Values

Need more help?

Want more options?

What is Power BI Desktop?

How is Power BI different from Excel?

How Power BI, Power Query, and Power Pivot are related

How do these tools work together?

FluentPro Power BI Consulting Services

Related articles

Power Query versions

How Power Pivot works

Power BI vs Excel

Power BI vs Power Pivot help: am I in the right spot?

Helpful resources

How to Get Your Question Answered Quickly

Jumpstart your career with the Fabric Career Hub

What is Power BI, Power Query and Power Pivot? How they are related?

What is Power BI? It is a software to create and publish interactive, web-enabled reports & visualizations for your audience. Use Power BI, Power Query and Power Pivot to create data rich reporting and analytics for your team.

What is Power Query?

What is Power Pivot?

How Power BI, Power Query and Power Pivot are related...

Getting started with Power BI, Power Query and Power Pivot...