Overview

Power BI is a business analysis service offered by Microsoft and comes with an extensive range of data visualization options and business intelligence capabilities. With its simple and intuitive user interface, users of all levels are able to build their own reports and dashboards from one or more datasets. 

Currently, there are five different tools for creating map-based data visualizations on Power BI.

Process

There are five standard map visualization options in Power BI Desktop. Click on the bullet points to find out more information about each tool:



  • Basic Map (powered by Bing)
    • Simple or sliced points
    • Requires GPS points or known locations 
  • Filled Map (powered by Bing)
    • Polygons, requires known location names
  • Shape Map
    • Polygons, possible to use your own TopoJSON file
  • Mapbox
    • Simple points, heatmap, cluster map, cloropleth map (limited geographic locations)


Comparison

The table below brings together the main features, requirements and pros and cons of each map tool. 
For further information, take a look at the document



Basic MapFilled MapShape MapArcGIS MapsMapbox
Visualization typeSimple or sliced pointsFilled polygonsFilled polygonsAll visualizations supported by ArcGIS OnlinePoints, heatmap, cluster map, cloropleth map (for certain locations)
Basemap optionsBingBingNo basemapAnything from the ArcGIS Online collectionStandard or custom basemaps hosted on Mapbox
Data pre-requisitesGPS points or known location namesKnown location namesTopoJSON file of the location in questionPublically available map on ArcGIS OnlineGPS points or known location names



Outputs/Resources



Guidance