The best power bi training courses and what you really pay
The best power bi training courses differ less in content than in what they leave you to pay for, because most of them do not include the exam.
Paid Power BI and PL-300 training, checked 31 October 2026| Program | Provider | Price | Length | Practice tests | Exam voucher |
|---|
| PL-300 exam | Microsoft via Pearson VUE | $165 | 100 minutes | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate | Microsoft on Coursera | Subscription $49 to $79 a month, or Plus $59 a month and $399 a year | 188 hours across 8 courses | Quiz based | No, the $165 is separate |
| PL-300 certification training | Simplilearn | Listed in Indian rupees, check the current rate | 30+ hours blended | Yes | No |
| PL-300 track | Great Learning | About $900 to $1,100 as an add-on, verify on the provider page | 10 weeks | Yes | No |
| PL-300 exam prep courses | Udemy | $9.99 to $20 on sale, new learners from $14.99, list $84.99 to $199.99 | Self-paced | Yes | No |
Two Udemy courses dominate on volume and current updates. One from Maven Analytics and Aaron Parry was updated in June 2026 and holds a 4.5 rating from more than 13,000 ratings, and one from Phillip Burton was updated in September 2026 with a 4.6 rating from about 39,000 ratings.
Both are one-time purchases with lifetime access, and neither includes an exam voucher. The price band makes them the cheapest real exam prep available, but you still budget $165 for the exam itself.
Total cost by scenario
Three budgets cover every learner, and the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive is mostly a mentorship fee.
What Power BI certification costs in total| Scenario | Course cost | Exam cost | Total | Time to credential |
|---|
| Self-study plus exam | $0 | $165 | $165 | 2 to 3 months |
| Microsoft series on Coursera | About $147 to $294 | $165 | About $312 to $459 | 3 to 6 months |
| Coursera Plus plus exam | $399 a year | $165 | $564 | 3 to 6 months |
| Udemy prep plus exam | $9.99 to $20 | $165 | About $175 to $185 | 1 to 2 months |
| Mentor-led add-on plus exam | About $900 to $1,100 | $165 | About $1,065 to $1,265 | 10 weeks |
The Udemy row is the best value for most people who already work in Excel. Add the free Microsoft practice assessments, and you get exam practice for nothing next to a course that costs about the same as the exam.
That makes it the cheapest sensible route through the best power bi training courses, and it keeps the mentor-led prices out of your budget.
After you pass, and how to start
The credential is the easy part, so pair it with one published report and a plan for renewal.
- Publish one Power BI report on a dataset people can open, and write 300 words on the insight.
- Put the report link and the certification ID on the same line of your resume.
- Renew each year with the free online assessment on Microsoft Learn.
- Decide later whether you need DP-600 or Fabric, which are the next steps after PL-300.
The exam is offered in English, Japanese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese from Brazil, and Italian, so language is not a barrier for most candidates.
Our Power BI course and PL-300 course cover the modeling and dashboard work, and Excel covers the Power Query side.
What are the next steps to get certified
Start with the free Microsoft Learn course PL-300T00 this week, and register for one practice assessment so you learn the exam format before it counts.
If your practice score is already close to 700, book the $165 exam directly. If it is not, buy the cheapest course with real practice questions, not the most expensive one, and put a date on the exam so the practice has a deadline attached.
Photo: Goumbik, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/photos/office-business-notebook-statistics-2717014/)
Fazlur Rahman
