Microsoft Power BI vs Smart Access
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Microsoft Power BI
Access and analyze your business data from anywhere with powerful mobile tools. Visualize key metrics, filter information, and share insights on the go. Get real-time notifications and ask questions of your data with a virtual analyst.
- View data in one place
- Explore, filter, and focus data
- Annotate and share reports
- Set data alerts and notifications
- Q&A virtual analyst for insights
- Secure on-premises data access
- Scan barcodes/QR codes for data
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Access your data from anywhere. Get notifications, annotate and share, and dive deep into your data with powerful features for decision making on the go. Highlights: • View all your important data in one place • Tap to explore, filter, and focus on what’s most important • Easily annotate and share reports and visualizations • Set data alerts and get real-time notifications • Ask questions in your own words and get meaningful insights into your data with the Q&A virtual analyst • Securely access your on-premises data • Scan barcodes and QR codes to easily track inventory and get real-world data in context • Start exploring your Power BI data instantly, with no setup needed Get the full Power BI suite and never miss a beat with Power BI Desktop, the Power BI web service, and Power BI Mobile! By installing this app, you agree to the terms at: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2178902
Smart Access
This platform provides frontline workers with actionable task guidance on their mobile devices. It helps businesses rapidly onboard, upskill, and adapt their workforce to changing operational needs, replacing traditional training methods.
- Actionable task guidance
- Mobile device delivery
- Context-tailored information
- Rapid onboarding
- Upskilling capabilities
- Role adaptation
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Smart Access equips frontline workers to do the right work. Our workforce productivity platform helps retailers to rapidly onboard, upskill and adapt worker roles as operations shift. Smart Access provides task guidance to workers’ mobile devices, in an actionable format that’s tailored to their context. Abandon training for good by putting actionable task guidance in the hands of frontline workers.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Microsoft Power BI at fortnightly against Smart Access's every 3 months. Microsoft Power BI also leads on ratings volume (97K vs 2) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). Smart Access's advantage is iOS requirement (13 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Microsoft Power BI holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft Power BI has 97K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Microsoft Power BI ships an update fortnightly, Smart Access every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Microsoft Power BI | Smart Access |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (97K ratings) — better | 4.5 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 46.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 97K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #139 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 13 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 215 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Microsoft Corporation | 1904038 Alberta Ltd |
Customer experience
Microsoft Power BI
Smart Access
Bugs and requests
Microsoft Power BI
Reported bugs
5 issues- Frequent login issues and SSO problems
- Visualizations not rendering correctly
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between reports
- Drill-through functionality not working as expected
- Scaling and layout issues on iPad and larger devices
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to refresh data and reports remotely
- Enhanced navigation and bookmarking features
- Improved support for touch-based interactions
- Better optimization for smaller mobile screens
- Integration with other Microsoft 365 apps
Smart Access
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Microsoft Power BI
No in-app purchases
Smart Access
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Microsoft Power BI free?
Is Smart Access free?
Which has better reviews, Microsoft Power BI or Smart Access?
Do Microsoft Power BI or Smart Access have ads?
Which is updated more often, Microsoft Power BI or Smart Access?
Other comparisons
