Also known as: Azure Purview.
At a glance
| Metadata ingestion and connectors | Data Map scans Azure services, SQL Server, Oracle, Snowflake, BigQuery, Amazon S3, RDS and Redshift, SAP, Teradata, Power BI, Fabric and more |
| Lineage | Yes, source dependent (for example Data Factory, Synapse, Databricks Unity Catalog, Power BI, Snowflake) |
| Business glossary | Yes, glossary terms in governance domains |
| Stewardship and workflows | Workflows, health actions, critical data elements (enterprise version) |
| Access policies | Unified Catalog access policies and self-service requests; data policies on some Azure sources |
| Classification | Automatic classification on many sources; sensitivity labels in preview |
| Search and discovery | Catalog search and browse by domain and data product, with a Copilot experience |
| Deployment | SaaS; self-hosted integration runtime for on-premises and some other sources |
| Licensing | Free version (preview), or pay-as-you-go: governed assets, DGPU, vCore-hours, capacity units |
Purview data governance is the natural catalog for organisations centred on Azure, Microsoft Fabric and Power BI, with scanning of many non-Microsoft sources as well. Its pricing has several meters (governed assets, DGPU, vCore-hours, capacity units), so model costs before you govern thousands of assets, and check which features each source supports.
Overview
Microsoft Purview is a family of Microsoft services for data security, compliance and governance; this profile covers its data governance solutions. The Data Map scans registered sources, extracts schemas, applies automatic classifications and builds lineage, while Unified Catalog sits on top for business users: governance domains, data products, glossary terms, critical data elements, access policies with self-service requests, data quality rules and scores, health controls and OKRs.
A free version is available automatically to many Azure, Microsoft 365 Enterprise, Fabric and Power BI customers; it covers search and curation of live view assets (Azure Blob Storage, ADLS Gen2, Azure SQL Database, Azure subscriptions and Fabric) up to 1,000 annotated assets. Upgrading to the enterprise version links an Azure resource and adds scanning of the full source list, automatic classification, policies, workflows, Data Estate Insights and support, billed pay-as-you-go.
Key features
- Data Map scanning with automatic classification for Azure, database, file and SaaS sources
- Lineage from Data Factory, Synapse pipelines, Azure Databricks Unity Catalog, Power BI, Fabric and several databases
- Unified Catalog governance domains, data products and glossary terms with attached policies
- Self-service access requests and Unified Catalog access policies on data products
- Data quality rules with scores at asset, data product and domain level
- Health controls, health actions and OKRs to track governance progress
- Free version for Azure and Fabric discovery up to 1,000 annotated assets
Integrations and ecosystem
Pros and cons
Pros
- Deep integration with Azure, Microsoft Fabric and Power BI
- Free version for discovery of Azure and Fabric assets
- Scans many non-Microsoft sources, including Snowflake, BigQuery, Oracle, SAP and Amazon S3
- Unified Catalog bills only assets linked to governance concepts, not every scanned asset
Cons
- Several pricing meters, and the pricing page text hides unit rates, so costs need modelling
- Feature support varies by source: lineage, classification and policies are not available everywhere
- Free version is in preview, capped at 1,000 annotated assets and has no support tickets
- The new Unified Catalog experience is still rolling out by region
Pricing
Purview data governance has a free version (preview) with a 1,000 annotated asset limit, live view of a few Azure sources and Microsoft Fabric, and no support tickets. The enterprise version is pay-as-you-go: Unified Catalog is billed per governed asset per day (only assets linked to data products, critical data elements or data quality count); data quality runs are billed in Data Governance Processing Units (DGPU, one DGPU is 60 minutes of managed compute) in Basic, Standard and Advanced SKUs; Data Map scanning is billed per vCore-hour, and Data Map capacity per Capacity Unit hour (one CU is about 25 operations per second and 10 GB of metadata), with the first 1 MB of metadata storage free. The Azure pricing page masks the unit rates in its text, but its worked examples imply about USD 0.50 per governed asset per month (200 assets for 30 days cost USD 100) and about USD 15 per Basic DGPU (two Basic DGPU in a day cost USD 30; the page says its data quality price table shows US East pricing). Scanning Power BI and on-premises SQL Server is free for a limited time.
Pricing checked on the vendor's official page on 7 November 2026. Prices change; confirm before buying.
Who it is best for
Organisations standardised on Azure, Microsoft Fabric and Power BI that want catalog, classification and governance in the Microsoft portal.
Typical use cases
- Scanning Azure SQL, ADLS and SQL Server to classify sensitive columns
- Publishing data products with owners, glossary terms and self-service access requests
- Lineage from Data Factory pipelines to Power BI reports for impact analysis
- Data quality scoring by governance domain for regulatory reporting
Who should look elsewhere
- Teams centred on AWS or Google Cloud, where AWS Glue Data Catalog or Knowledge Catalog is closer to the data.
Verdict
For Microsoft-centred estates Purview is the obvious starting point, with a free version and catalog features that tie into Fabric and Power BI. Its weaknesses are cost transparency and uneven per-source support, so check the source matrix for your systems and model governed-asset and DGPU charges before rolling it out widely.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft Purview free?
There is a free version (preview) for search and curation of Azure and Fabric assets, limited to 1,000 annotated assets and without support tickets. Scanning the full source list, automatic classification, workflows and policies need the pay-as-you-go enterprise version.
How is Purview Unified Catalog priced?
Per governed asset per day, counting only assets linked to data products, critical data elements or data quality. Microsoft's worked example prices 200 governed assets for 30 days at USD 100. Data quality runs are billed separately in DGPU, and Data Map scanning in vCore-hours.
What is the difference between Data Map and Unified Catalog?
Data Map is the technical layer that scans sources, classifies data and records lineage. Unified Catalog is the business layer on top, with governance domains, data products, glossary terms, access requests and data quality.
Is Azure Purview the same product?
Yes. Azure Purview was renamed Microsoft Purview and combined with Microsoft's data security and compliance products under one portal.
Sources
- Microsoft Purview data governance pricing
- Learn about Microsoft Purview Unified Catalog
- Microsoft Purview data governance free version
- Upgrade to enterprise Microsoft Purview data governance
- Data sources that connect to Microsoft Purview Data Map
Checked November 2026.
Listed in: Data Catalog & Governance.
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