Most Asked Power BI Interview Questions and Answers with Tips [2025]

Are you preparing for a Power BI interview in 2025? Whether you’re a fresher, experienced analyst, or BI developer — mastering these questions will boost your confidence and help you impress recruiters with practical knowledge and real-world examples.

In this blog, you’ll find 50 carefully selected Power BI interview questions, clear answers, practical tips, and bonus insights to help you ace your next interview!

 What is Power BI?

Answer:
Microsoft Power BI is a leading business intelligence tool that helps you connect, transform, analyze, and visualize data to make informed decisions.

Tip: Keep it simple — mention your real use case if possible.

 What are the main components of Power BI?

• Power BI Desktop (for creating reports)

• Power BI Service (cloud-based sharing & collaboration)

• Power BI Mobile (mobile app)

• Power BI Gateway (connect on-premises data)

• Power BI Report Server (on-premises publishing)

• Power Query (data transformation)

• Power Pivot (data modeling)

 Explain Power BI Desktop vs Power BI Service

• Desktop: Build and design reports.

• Service: Publish, share, collaborate, and schedule refresh.

What is DAX?

DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is a formula language for custom calculations in Power BI.

Name some DAX functions

Examples: SUMX, CALCULATE, FILTER, ALL.

 What are Filters in Power BI?

• Visual-level Filters

• Page-level Filters

• Report-level Filters

 What is Power Query?

A tool for connecting and transforming raw data before loading it into Power BI.

Explain Power BI Gateway

A bridge to connect on-premises data with Power BI cloud services securely.

 What is a Tile?

A single visualization pinned to a dashboard.

 Measures vs Calculated Columns

• Measures: Calculated dynamically.

• Calculated Columns: Calculated during data load, stored in the model.

What is Row-Level Security (RLS)?

It restricts data access based on user roles.

What is a Star Schema?

A fact table connected to multiple dimension tables for better performance.

 Import Mode vs DirectQuery

• Import: Data stored in Power BI.

• DirectQuery: Queries run directly on the source.

 What is a Composite Model?

Combines Import and DirectQuery in one model.

Explain Drillthrough

Navigates from a summary page to detailed insights on a specific data point.

What is Drilldown?

Lets users explore lower hierarchy levels within visuals.

What are Bookmarks?

Bookmarks save the current view, filter, and state for storytelling.

What is Q&A in Power BI?

Users type natural language queries — Power BI generates visuals automatically.

What is Power BI Report Server?

An on-premises server for publishing Power BI reports within your organization’s firewall.

Explain Power BI Embedded

Embed Power BI visuals into your custom web apps.

What are Custom Visuals?

Visuals created by developers or third parties and imported from AppSource.

What are Dataflows?

Reusable ETL pipelines for transforming and managing data in the cloud.

What is Incremental Refresh?

Refreshes only new or updated data instead of reloading entire datasets.

 Explain KPI Visual

Tracks progress toward a target value.

 What is a Card Visual?

Displays a single metric or number.

What is a Waterfall Chart?

Shows how incremental changes affect a starting value.

 What is a Scatter Chart?

Plots data points to show relationships between variables.

 What is a Decomposition Tree?

Breaks down data step-by-step to analyze factors driving a metric.

 What is a Slicer?

A visual filter to allow users to slice data interactively.

 Table vs Matrix Visual

• Table: Flat view of rows/columns.

• Matrix: Pivot-style with rows, columns, and values.

 What are Themes in Power BI?

Predefined or custom color schemes for consistent branding.

 Explain Relationships

Links between tables using keys.

What is Cardinality in Relationships?

One-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many.

What is Bi-Directional Filtering?

Filters flow in both directions between tables.

 What is Cross Filtering?

Interaction between visuals to filter related data.

 What is Sync Slicer?

Sync slicers across multiple pages in a report.

 Dashboard vs Report

• Dashboard: Single-page, high-level summary.

• Report: Multi-page, detailed visuals.

 What are Data Categories?

Set data type (e.g., Address, Web URL, Image URL).

 What is a Quick Measure?

Prebuilt calculations without writing DAX manually.

 Explain Performance Analyzer

Tool to analyze report performance and optimize visuals.

 What is Query Folding?

Pushes transformations back to the source for efficiency.

 What is Aggregation Table?

Pre-aggregated data tables to improve performance.

 What is a Parameter in Power BI?

Dynamic input used in queries for flexible data loading.

 Explain M Language

Used in Power Query for data transformation steps.

Explain Sandbox Environment

Isolated workspace for development/testing before publishing.

 Explain Power BI Apps

Package multiple dashboards and reports for easy sharing.

 What are Roles in Power BI Service?

Define user access and permissions.

 Explain Publishing Workflow

• Design in Desktop

• Publish to Service

• Share via Apps/Dashboards

• Schedule Refresh

 Explain Usage Metrics

Tracks report views, interactions, and user activity.

 How to Optimize a Large Report?

• Use star schema.

• Remove unnecessary columns.

• Optimize DAX.

• Use aggregation tables.

• Limit visuals.

• Use Incremental Refresh.

💡 Final Tips for Power BI Interviews

✅ Highlight hands-on experience: real dashboards, gateways, RLS.
✅ Brush up on core DAX functions.
✅ Know when to use Import vs DirectQuery.
✅ Be ready for scenario-based questions.
✅ Practice explaining your past projects clearly.

🚀 Ready to Ace Your Power BI Interview?

Use this guide as your go-to checklist. Practice these questions, understand the concepts deeply, and you’ll be fully prepared for your next big opportunity!