Comparison
VizForge vs PowerBI.tips
The free VizForge Design Studio and PowerBI.tips, compared for Power BI report design. Every fact about PowerBI.tips links to its source, checked 5 Nov 2026, and we say where PowerBI.tips is the better choice.
By Nawaf Sharaf · Founder & Reliability Engineer · Updated
PowerBI.tips is a long-running Power BI community site with free tools, tutorials and a podcast. Three of its tools overlap with the VizForge Design Studio: the free Theme Generator, which writes Power BI theme JSON; the Layouts Gallery, which since September 2026 offers free report layouts as PBIR project downloads; and Power Designer, the Tips+ design product for wireframes, layouts, themes and AI auto-layout, which exports a PBIP and is also offered as a Microsoft Fabric workload.
The VizForge Design Studio covers the same ground in one free editor without an account: page size and brand, layout, background art, KPI cards and icons, then a theme JSON, a PNG or SVG background and a PBIP project. Our galleries (templates, themes, backgrounds) each have their own crawlable page with a preview and downloads.
Where PowerBI.tips leads is reach inside the Microsoft ecosystem and the Fabric route: Power Designer runs as a workload in your tenant, which suits organisations that prefer tools inside Fabric. Its Tips+ pricing isn't published on the Power Designer page, so we don't quote one here. If you want a free, browser-only path to a branded page with background art included, or a published price, the Design Studio is the simpler start.
PowerBI.tips pricing model
The Theme Generator and the Layouts Gallery are free. Power Designer requires a Tips+ licence managed on the PowerBI.tips account portal; the Power Designer page does not publish a price. The VizForge Design Studio is free with no account; anonymous exports carry a small VizForge mark that a free account removes.
Visit PowerBI.tips’s official site →
PowerBI.tips: the facts, checked 5 Nov 2026
Read on PowerBI.tips’s own pages on 5 Nov 2026. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you buy. We re-read these pages every quarter.
| Fact | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Theme Generator | Free visual editor that writes Power BI theme JSON. | powerbi.tips/power-designerchecked 5 Nov 2026 |
| Power Designer | Tips+ report-design tool: wireframes, layouts, themes, gallery and AI auto-layout; exports a PBIP. | powerbi.tips/power-designerchecked 5 Nov 2026 |
| Power Designer price | Requires a Tips+ licence; no price is stated on the Power Designer page. | powerbi.tips/power-designerchecked 5 Nov 2026 |
| Fabric | Power Designer is also offered as a Fabric workload; the tenant has to allow it. | powerbi.tips/power-designerchecked 5 Nov 2026 |
| Layouts Gallery | Free layouts downloadable as PBIR projects, announced 2 September 2026. | powerbi.tips/2026/09/02/power-bi-layouts-pbir-gallerychecked 5 Nov 2026 |
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | PowerBI.tips | VizForge Design Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Theme JSON | Free Theme Generator | Free, exported with the page design |
| Layouts | Free PBIR layouts from the gallery | Free templates and a layout generator, exported as PBIP |
| Background art | Not listed on the Power Designer page | Free PNG and SVG backgrounds from the studio and gallery |
| Runs in Fabric | Yes, Power Designer as a Fabric workload | No; runs in the browser, outside your tenant |
| Published price | Tips+ price not stated on the Power Designer page | Free; credits only for AI custom visuals |
| Community | Podcast, tutorials and a long-standing community | Guides and how-tos; no podcast |
Choose PowerBI.tips if…
- Your organisation wants design tools that run inside Microsoft Fabric.
- You already hold a Tips+ licence.
- You learn best from long-form tutorials and the PowerBI.tips podcast.
- You only need a theme file and want the Theme Generator's per-visual controls.
Choose the VizForge Design Studio if…
- You want background art, theme and layout from one free editor, with no account.
- You want to see each template, theme or background on its own page before you download it.
- You want an optional AI custom visual for a slot that Power BI doesn't cover.
Can you use both?
Theme JSON is portable: a theme from either tool imports in Power BI Desktop (Design ribbon → Import theme in new reports). You can download a PBIR layout from the PowerBI.tips gallery and style it with a Design Studio background and theme.
Runs in your browser. No account needed; a free account removes the small VizForge mark on exports.
FAQ
Is the PowerBI.tips Theme Generator free?
Yes; their Power Designer page describes it as the free Theme Generator. Power Designer itself needs Tips+.
What's the difference between PBIR and PBIP?
PBIP is the Power BI Project you open in Desktop; PBIR is the folder-based report format inside it. Both tools give you a project that opens in Power BI Desktop.
Start from a design
Free starting points you can open in the Design Studio, re-brand and export.
Gallery
Power BI dashboard templatesPage layouts with KPI lists and a PBIP download; many with sample data (Beta).
Gallery
Power BI themesTheme JSON files with a preview of each palette on a report page.
Gallery
Report backgroundsPNG and SVG page backgrounds with visual slots on a grid.
Tool
Theme LabBuild or import a theme JSON and check its contrast.
Related comparisons
Comparison
VizForge vs Nudge BIVizForge Design Studio vs Nudge BI: a paid Figma UI kit for Power BI prototypes vs a free browser studio that…
Comparison
VizForge vs Power BI GraphsVizForge Design Studio vs Power BI Graphs: a $199 Figma UI kit and $29 industry PBIX files vs a free studio…
Comparison
VizForge vs Report Hacker (BiNexus)VizForge Design Studio vs Report Hacker by BiNexus: two free browser page designers that export PBIP. Where…
Compare with another tool?
Browse all VizForge comparisons →