SQL Server Reporting Services features supported by editions

Applies to: ✅ SQL Server 2016 (13.x) Reporting Services and later ✅ Power BI Report Server

This article explains the SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) features supported by the different editions of SQL Server. SQL Server Evaluation edition is available for a 180-day trial period.

SQL Server Reporting Services

For features supported by the Evaluation and Developer editions, see the SQL Server Enterprise edition column in the following table.

Feature name Enterprise Standard Web Express with Advanced Services Developer
Power BI reports and Excel workbooks4 Yes, with Software Assurance Yes
Mobile reports and analytics Yes Yes
Supported catalog database SQL Server edition Standard or higher Standard or higher Web Express Standard or higher
Supported data source SQL Server edition All SQL Server editions All SQL Server editions Web Express All SQL Server editions
Report server Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Report designer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Report designer web portal Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Role-based security Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Export to Excel, PowerPoint, Word, PDF, and images Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Enhanced gauges and charting Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Pin report items to Power BI dashboards Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom authentication Yes Yes Yes Yes
Report as data feeds Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Model support Yes Yes Yes Yes
Create custom roles for role-based security Yes Yes Yes
Model item security Yes Yes Yes
Infinite click through Yes Yes Yes
Shared-component library Yes Yes Yes
Email and file share subscriptions and scheduling Yes Yes Yes
Report history, execution snapshots, and caching Yes Yes Yes
SharePoint integration2 Yes Yes Yes
Remote and non-SQL data source support1 Yes Yes Yes
Data source, delivery, and rendering and RDCE extensibility Yes Yes Yes
Custom branding Yes Yes
Data-driven report subscription Yes Yes
Scale-out deployment (web farms) Yes Yes
Alerting2 (SSRS 2016) Yes Yes
Power view2 (SSRS 2016) Yes Yes
Comments3 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

1 For more information on supported data sources in SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), see Data sources supported by Reporting Services (SSRS).

2 Requires SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services in SharePoint mode. For more information, see Install SQL Server Reporting Services in SharePoint mode. In SQL Server 2017 Reporting Services and following versions, integration with SharePoint is no longer available. Power View support is no longer available after SQL Server 2017.

3 Only in Power BI Report Server and SQL Server 2017 Reporting Services and later.

4 Only in Power BI Report Server.

Note

SQL Server Express with Tools and SQL Server Express don't support SQL Server Reporting Services.

Edition requirements for the report server database

When you create a report server database, not all editions of SQL Server can be used to host the database. The following table shows you which editions of the Database Engine you can use for specific editions of SQL Server Reporting Services.

For this edition of SQL Server Reporting Services or Power BI Report Server, Use this edition of the Database Engine instance to host the database.
Power BI Premium (for Power BI Report Server) Enterprise or Standard editions (local or remote)
Enterprise (including Enterprise Software Assurance) Enterprise or Standard editions (local or remote)
Standard Enterprise or Standard editions (local or remote)
Web Web edition (local only)
Express with Advanced Services Express with Advanced Services (local only)
Evaluation Evaluation
Developer Developer

Business intelligence clients

The following software client applications are available on the Microsoft Download Center. They help you create business intelligence documents that run on a SQL Server instance. When you host these documents in a server environment, use an edition of SQL Server that supports that document type. The following table identifies which SQL Server edition contains the server features required to host the documents created in these client applications.

Tool name Enterprise Standard Web Express with Advanced Services Developer
Power BI Desktop optimized for Power BI Report Server, .pbix Yes, with Software Assurance Yes
Report Builder, .rdl and .rds Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
SQL Server Mobile Report Publisher, .rsmobile Yes Yes
Power BI apps for mobile devices (iOS, Windows, and Android), .rsmobile Yes Yes

Note

  • The preceding table identifies the SQL Server editions that are required to enable these client tools. However, these tools can access data hosted on any edition of SQL Server.
  • SQL Server Mobile Report Publisher is the single point for creation of mobile reports. Connect to an SSRS server to access data sources and create reports. Then publish them to the SSRS server for others in the organization to access, either on the server or on mobile devices. You can also use SQL Server Mobile Report Publisher stand alone with local data sources. However, SQL Server Mobile Report Publisher is deprecated for all releases of SQL Server Reporting Services after SQL Server Reporting Services 2019.
  • Whether you use SQL Server 2016 (13.x) Reporting Services or later (SSRS) on-premises, Power BI in the cloud, or both as your report delivery solution, you only need one mobile app to access dashboards and mobile reports on mobile devices. The Power BI apps are available for download from the Windows, iOS, or Android app stores.

More questions? Ask the SQL Server Reporting Services forum.