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I am working on a B2B platform where customers (external users) need to access Power BI dashboards integrated into the platform. Here's the current setup:

The data is stored in Azure SQL Database. Dashboards are developed in Power BI and currently hosted in Power BI Service. Customers are external users, authenticated via the platform's own authentication system, and do not have Azure AD accounts. I want to embed these dashboards into the platform securely. However, purchasing Power BI Embedded (or Premium Capacity) is not currently an option due to budget constraints. I understand that with Power BI Pro:

Each user needs a Pro license to access shared reports. Users must be part of Azure AD or added as guest users (Azure AD B2B). Given these limitations, I’m exploring possible solutions:

Can I embed Power BI dashboards using a single Pro license with Row-Level Security (RLS) to restrict data visibility based on the logged-in user? Are there any programmatic approaches (e.g., REST APIs) to securely integrate Power BI reports for external users without requiring individual Pro licenses? Is there an alternative, cost-effective way to implement this setup without exposing sensitive data (e.g., avoiding "Publish to Web")?

I’m looking for guidance or examples on how to handle this situation effectively, considering:

The dashboards must remain secure. External users do not have Azure AD accounts. The solution should minimize additional costs. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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Can I embed Power BI dashboards using a single Pro license with Row-Level Security (RLS) to restrict data visibility based on the logged-in user?

If by this you mean run your external app using a single PBI Pro license, and use RLS via the logging in details, no. This would violate the terms of the Pro license. You can use it to develop the application in a none production environment, then transfer it to an embedded capacity one it is in production. Microsoft do limit the number of requests if you use a single Pro license to do this, there have been a few questions on SO, where they have done this and found that the external portal has stopped working as they haven't moved it to a capacity.

You have two options:

  1. get an embedded sku. This will be a PBI A SKU, which starts around £550 per month (That is the cost running it 24 hours a day, you have the option to pause it)
  2. Add the users as external users in MS Entra, and assign a pro license on your tenant to each one.

If you do 2, and you have 60-70 PBI users, it would be cheaper at that point to get an 'A Embedded SKU'

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