QuerySurge vs Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector)
Verdict: QuerySurge scores 8.1/10 against 7.9/10 for Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) on our data score for power BI report testing tools.
Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) has a free plan; QuerySurge does not.
Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) leads on 2 checks and QuerySurge on 1; 2 are even, out of 5 checks (yes/no, price and seats) where we have data for both.
Choose QuerySurge for enterprise QA and data teams testing data warehouses, migrations and BI reports. Choose Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) for power BI developers enforcing report standards in Azure DevOps or GitHub pipelines.
Scoreboard: 5 checks
| Check | QuerySurge | Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Leads | |
| Free trial | Leads | |
| Smaller seat minimum | Leads | |
| Power BI | Even | Even |
| CI/CD integration | Even | Even |
| Total | 1 | 2 |
At a glance
| QuerySurge | Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 8.1/10 (#4) | 7.9/10 (#5) |
| Best for | Enterprise QA and data teams testing data warehouses, migrations and BI reports | Power BI developers enforcing report standards in Azure DevOps or GitHub pipelines |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Paid from (annual) | $500.50/user/mo | See vendor |
| Paid from (monthly) | — | — |
| Free trial | 1-day hosted cloud trial (1 user), 15-day download trial (2 users), 45-day proof of concept | — |
| Minimum seats | 2 | 1 |
| Platforms | On-premises, Private cloud (Azure, AWS, GCP and others), Azure and AWS marketplace (pay-as-you-go), Private cloud, Azure (pay-as-you-go), AWS (pay-as-you-go), Public cloud, AWS and Azure pay-as-you-go | Windows, macOS, Docker |
Features
| Tool | Score | Power BI | Report data validated against source | Report regression testing | Report performance testing | CI/CD integration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuerySurge | 8.1/10 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) | 7.9/10 | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes |
- Only QuerySurge confirms: Report data validated against source, Report regression testing.
Pros and cons
QuerySurge
Pros- List prices are published on the vendor's site, including per-user and 5/10/25-user package prices
- Connects to 200+ data stores, including Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Excel, Parquet, JSON and XML files
- BI Tester validates Power BI, Tableau, IBM Cognos, Strategy, Oracle BI and SAP BusinessObjects reports against source data
- Several trial options: 1-day hosted cloud trial, 15-day download trial and 45-day proof of concept
- Subscription per-user pricing starts at $6,006 per full user per year with a 2-user minimum
- BI Tester, Full API and Query Import/Export are paid add-ons on the smaller packages
- Customer-installed software (on-premises, private cloud, or pay-as-you-go Azure/AWS marketplace image) rather than a vendor-run SaaS
Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector)
Pros- Free and open source (MIT license)
- Outputs Azure DevOps task commands or GitHub Actions annotations for pipeline gating
- Rules can include DAX query and T-SQL query conditions, not only layout checks
- Runs against local item folders or published Fabric workspaces
- Community project, not supported by Microsoft
- Does not read PBIX files; reports must be saved as PBIP / PBIR folders
- Rules are written as JSON, which takes time to learn; base rules focus on report visual quality
Frequently asked questions
How do QuerySurge and Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) compare on features and price?
Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) leads on 2 checks and QuerySurge on 1; 2 are even, out of 5 checks (yes/no, price and seats) where we have data for both.
Is QuerySurge better than Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector)?
QuerySurge scores 8.1/10 against 7.9/10 for Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) on our data score for power BI report testing tools. QuerySurge is best for enterprise QA and data teams testing data warehouses, migrations and BI reports; Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) is best for power BI developers enforcing report standards in Azure DevOps or GitHub pipelines.
Which is cheaper, QuerySurge or Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector)?
Check each vendor's pricing page; one of them does not publish an entry price.
Do QuerySurge and Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector) have free plans?
QuerySurge: no. Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector): yes.
See the full Power BI Report Testing Tools ranking for other options.
Sources
- QuerySurge: official pricing page · QuerySurge licensing & pricing · QuerySurge feature list · QuerySurge integrations · QuerySurge BI Tester · QuerySurge trial options · About RTTS · QuerySurge Power BI integration page · QuerySurge DevOps for Data page · QuerySurge FAQ
- Fab Inspector (formerly PBI Inspector): official pricing page · Fab Inspector GitHub README · PBI Inspector (original) GitHub repository