Last updated: 13 October 2026 (full refresh; syllabus, prices and reviews re-checked 13 October 2026). Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. See our review methodology.
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Udacity’s Data Analysis and Visualization with Microsoft Power BI Nanodegree (program key nd331) is a 57-hour program in three courses: preparing and modeling data, building reports, and advanced analysis with Power Query and DAX. Each course ends in a reviewed project built on a business case. It is rated 4.7 from 113 reviews and was updated on August 11, 2026. Two claims in the earlier version of this review were wrong and are corrected below: Udacity does not list Microsoft as a partner on this program, and it is not a no-prerequisite course.
QUICK VERDICT
Our rating: 3.9 / 5
- Best for: Spreadsheet-heavy analysts who want three reviewed Power BI projects for a portfolio.
- Not for: People who mainly need the PL-300 certification, or Mac users without access to Windows.
Good structured practice in data modeling, DAX and report design, with feedback you cannot get from videos. It does not cover the Power BI service side that makes up 15 to 20% of PL-300, and Coursera’s Microsoft-built certificate is the better route if the exam is the goal.
See the Power BI Nanodegree on Udacity →
Power BI Nanodegree at a Glance
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| Detail | What Udacity lists (13 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|
| Program | Data Analysis and Visualization with Microsoft Power BI (nd331) |
| Level and length | Beginner (as labeled), 57 hours |
| Structure | 3 core courses, 19 lessons, 3 reviewed projects |
| Prerequisites listed | Power BI proficiency, intermediate spreadsheet use, database schemas |
| Rating | 4.7 from 113 reviews |
| Credit | Eligible for master’s degree credit (Udacity badge) |
| Price | $249 a month, or $846 for four months paid up front |
| Refund window | 7 days from first purchase |
Who teaches it
| Instructor | Title listed by Udacity |
|---|---|
| Joseph Lozada | Data Scientist |
| Sean Chandler | Senior Business Intelligence Engineer at Humana |
| Lenore R Flower | Senior Business Intelligence Specialist |
All three teach from business-intelligence practice rather than academia, which shows in the projects: each is framed as a report a manager would actually ask for.
What is a Udacity Nanodegree?
A Nanodegree is Udacity’s name for a multi-course program built around projects. You watch lessons and work exercises at your own pace, then submit each project for a written review; you pass when the project meets its rubric. Programs sit inside a monthly subscription. Udacity has been part of Accenture since Accenture completed the acquisition on May 20, 2024; several recent reviewers mention taking Udacity courses through employer training programs. For the full picture, read our Udacity Nanodegree review.
Corrections to the earlier version of this review
- Microsoft partnership: the earlier page said the program was developed with Microsoft. Udacity’s program page lists no partner for nd331; Microsoft appears only in the title because the tool is Microsoft’s.
- Prerequisites: the earlier page said no prior skills were needed. Udacity lists Power BI proficiency, intermediate spreadsheet use and database schemas, even though the program is labeled Beginner.
- Length: the earlier page said three months at 10 hours a week. Udacity now estimates 57 hours.
Price and how to pay less
Udacity charges $249 a month, or $846 as a single payment for four months (about $212 a month, 15% less than paying monthly). A subscription opens the whole catalog, so a second program in the same months costs nothing extra. At 57 hours, a learner putting in 8 to 10 hours a week finishes in about six to seven weeks, so the realistic cost is $249 to $498 at list price.
Live sale
Udacity sale: 50% off all programs. 4-month bundle $423 instead of $846. Verified 21 Oct 2026 05:15 UTC by the detector (HALLOWEEN50 $423.00 vs our code $507.60).
See the Udacity sale →Udacity runs percentage-off promotions most months; on 13 October 2026 its program pages advertised 40% off any plan for new users. Our links pass the best discount we can verify to the checkout automatically, so you do not need to type a code. Confirm the final price on the checkout page before you pay.
Udacity’s Terms of Use give you seven days from your first purchase of a subscription or a single program to cancel for a full refund. After that, fees are not refundable, and canceling a monthly plan keeps your access until the end of the month you already paid for.
What You’ll Learn
After a short welcome module, the program runs three courses. The table lists every lesson Udacity publishes, with its hour estimate and the project that closes each course.
| Course (hours) | Lessons | Project |
|---|---|---|
| Preparing and Modeling Data with Power BI (21.8 h) | Introduction to Preparing and Modeling Data; Key Concepts in Data Modeling; Getting Your Data and Initial Transformations; Bigger Transformations and Date Tables; Relationships and Relationship-Related DAX; Reports and DAX for Common Reporting Needs | Create a Data Model for Seven Sages Brewing Company |
| Creating Visualizations with Power BI (14.8 h) | Welcome to Creating Visualizations with Power BI; Building Compelling Data Visualizations; Designing User-Friendly Reports; Creating Interactive Reports for Data Exploration; Elevating Reports with Advanced Report Features | Building a Power BI Report for Waggle |
| Advanced Data Analysis with Power BI (20.0 h) | Introduction to the Advanced Data Analytics Course; Advanced Data Analytics; Power Query Transformations; DAX Functions; Advanced Visualizations | Market Analysis Report for National Clothing Chain |
Course 1: preparing and modeling data
The longest course is about the part of Power BI most self-taught users skip: getting data into a clean model. Lessons cover key modeling concepts, Power Query transformations, date tables, relationships and the DAX that depends on them. The Seven Sages Brewing project asks you to build that model for a brewing-company case, which is the skill interviewers probe when they ask about star schemas and relationship direction.
Course 2: building reports people can use
The second course moves to design: choosing visuals, laying out user-friendly reports, interactivity for exploration and advanced report features. The Waggle project produces a full report for a company case called Waggle, which makes a natural portfolio piece because reviewers judge it on readability as well as accuracy.
Course 3: advanced analysis with Power Query and DAX
The final course goes deeper into Power Query transformations, DAX functions and advanced visuals, and ends with a market analysis report for a national clothing chain. DAX is where most learners slow down: filter context and functions such as CALCULATE take practice, so budget extra hours here.
The DAX ideas to master
Most of the difficulty in this program, and in Power BI jobs, comes down to a handful of DAX ideas. Make sure you can explain each in your own words before the third project:
- Measures versus calculated columns: a measure is computed at query time for the current filter; a calculated column is stored row by row when data refreshes.
- Row context versus filter context: why the same formula returns different numbers in a table visual and in a card.
- CALCULATE: how it changes the filter context, which is the basis of most real reports.
- Date tables and time intelligence: year-to-date and prior-period comparisons depend on a proper date table, which the first course teaches you to build.
- Relationships: one-to-many direction and why a star schema keeps DAX simple.
A realistic six-week plan
| Week | Focus | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Modeling concepts, getting and transforming data | Clean source tables in Power Query |
| 2 | Date tables, relationships and reporting DAX | Submit the Seven Sages Brewing data model |
| 3 | Visual choice and report layout | Wireframe of the Waggle report |
| 4 | Interactivity and advanced report features | Submit the Waggle report |
| 5 | Power Query transformations and DAX functions | Measures for the market analysis |
| 6 | Advanced visuals and the final report | Submit the clothing-chain market analysis |
What the syllabus does not cover
No lesson title covers the Power BI service: publishing to workspaces, sharing apps, scheduled refresh or row-level security. Those are the “Manage and secure Power BI” tasks Microsoft weights at 15 to 20% of the PL-300 exam, and analysts meet them in their first week of a real job. Plan to learn them separately.
Who Should Enroll?
- Excel-heavy analysts. You live in pivot tables and want models and interactive reports instead.
- Analysts switching from Tableau or another BI tool. You know the concepts and want structured Power BI practice.
- SQL users who need a reporting layer. You can query data and want to present it well.
- Career changers in Microsoft-heavy companies. Power BI is a common reporting tool where a company already runs on Microsoft 365.
Read the prerequisites before you pay
Udacity labels the program Beginner but lists Power BI proficiency, intermediate spreadsheet use and database schemas as prerequisites. In practice that means you should be able to open Power BI Desktop, load a file and build a basic chart, be comfortable with lookups and pivot tables, and know what a primary key and a one-to-many relationship are. If those are new, spend a week on Microsoft’s free Learn modules first.
Mac users need Windows
Power BI Desktop, the tool used for every project, requires Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 or later, according to Microsoft’s minimum requirements. On a Mac you need a Windows virtual machine or a Windows PC to complete the projects.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Three reviewed, business-case projects you can show employers | Prerequisites are higher than the Beginner label suggests |
| Strong focus on data modeling and DAX, the skills most self-taught users lack | No Power BI service, sharing or row-level security lessons |
| Rated 4.7 from 113 reviews; updated August 2026 | Not designed as PL-300 exam prep |
| Eligible for master’s degree credit | Power BI Desktop is Windows-only |
| Seven-day full refund window | $249 a month is more than Coursera, Udemy or Zero To Mastery |
Check the current Udacity price →
Power BI Nanodegree vs Microsoft PL-300
PL-300 is the exam behind Microsoft’s Power BI Data Analyst Associate certification. It costs $165 in the United States (the price varies by country), and the certification must be renewed every 12 months through a free online assessment. Microsoft’s study guide weights four skill areas. Here is how the Nanodegree lines up with them.
| PL-300 skill area (weight) | Covered in the Nanodegree? |
|---|---|
| Prepare the data (25 to 30%) | Yes: courses 1 and 3 (Power Query, transformations) |
| Model the data (25 to 30%) | Yes: course 1 (modeling, relationships, DAX) and course 3 (DAX functions) |
| Visualize and analyze the data (25 to 30%) | Yes: courses 2 and 3 |
| Manage and secure Power BI (15 to 20%) | No dedicated lessons (workspaces, apps, row-level security) |
Which to do first
If your employer asks for the certification, prepare for PL-300 directly: Coursera’s Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst certificate says it can prepare you for the exam, and Microsoft’s own study guide is free. If you need portfolio work and feedback on your modeling, take the Nanodegree, then close the “Manage and secure” gap with Microsoft Learn before booking the exam. Renewal each year is a free online assessment on Microsoft Learn, so keeping the certification costs study time rather than another exam fee.
Is the Power BI Nanodegree Worth It?
It is worth it for analysts who already use Power BI a little and want three reviewed projects and real DAX practice, provided they finish in under two months. It is poor value if the certification is the goal, or if you are starting from zero, because cheaper courses cover the basics well.
What it costs in practice
| Pace | Months | Cost at list price |
|---|---|---|
| 14+ hours a week | 1 | $249 |
| 7 to 10 hours a week | 2 | $498 |
| Under 4 hours a week | 3 to 4 | $747 to $846 (the four-month payment caps it at $846) |
What learners say
Udacity’s Trustpilot profile shows 4.5 stars from 3,406 reviews. Of the 60 most recent (29 August to 12 October 2026), 43 were five-star and five were one- or two-star. Reviewers praise structured lessons, practical projects and detailed reviewer feedback; complaints concern a project review left pending for three weeks, workspace problems and slow support tickets. We found no recent forum discussion specific to this program, so weigh the program-page rating (4.7 from 113) and the brand-level themes together.
Alternatives worth comparing
- Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate (Coursera, built by Microsoft): 8 courses, beginner level, about 5 months at 10 hours a week, 563,931 enrolled; it states it can prepare you for PL-300.
- Microsoft Power BI Desktop for Business Intelligence (Udemy, Maven Analytics): 4.6 from 197,782 ratings, 811,785 students, updated September 2026; the best low-cost single course.
- Zero To Mastery: Power BI Bootcamp: 20 hours with 4 projects, updated October 2026, included in a ZTM membership.
- Microsoft Learn: the free PL-300 study guide and learning paths, the cheapest route to the exam.
If you are weighing Tableau instead, read our Tableau certification guide and our Udacity Business Analytics with Tableau review. For a broader analytics program, see the Udacity Data Analyst Nanodegree, and for more options our best data visualization courses.
Start the Power BI Nanodegree →
Related: Comparing this Nanodegree with cheaper options? Our guide to the best Power BI courses covers Udemy, Coursera, DataCamp and CFI routes to the PL-300 certification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know SQL before starting?
SQL is not listed, but Udacity lists database schemas among the prerequisites, along with Power BI proficiency and intermediate spreadsheet use. Knowing keys and table relationships matters more than writing SQL.
Can I use Power BI on Mac?
Not natively. Power BI Desktop requires Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 or later, so Mac users need a Windows virtual machine or a Windows PC for the projects.
Will this prepare me for the PL-300 exam?
Partly. It covers preparing, modeling and visualizing data, but not the Manage and secure Power BI area, which is 15 to 20% of the exam. Add Microsoft Learn material or exam prep before booking.
How long does the Power BI Nanodegree take?
Udacity estimates 57 hours, about six to seven weeks at 8 to 10 hours a week.
How much does it cost?
Udacity charges $249 a month or $846 for four months paid up front, and it runs frequent promotions. PL-300 itself costs $165 in the United States.
What projects are included?
A data model for Seven Sages Brewing Company, a Power BI report for Waggle, and a market analysis report for a national clothing chain.
Is the Power BI Nanodegree made with Microsoft?
No. Udacity’s program page lists no partner for this program. Microsoft built a separate Power BI certificate on Coursera.
What is a Udacity Nanodegree?
It is Udacity’s project-based program format: self-paced lessons plus projects that a reviewer grades against a rubric, sold through a monthly subscription.
Is a Udacity Nanodegree worth it?
It is worth it when you use the project reviews and finish quickly. For Power BI specifically, the reviewed projects are the reason to pay; the lessons alone are cheaper elsewhere.
Do I get a certificate?
Udacity issues its own program certificate when you pass all three projects. It is not a Microsoft certification; for that you need to pass PL-300.
Related: Udacity hub · Udacity Nanodegree review · Data Analyst Nanodegree review · Best data visualization courses · Browse Udacity programs