Power BI data sources for marketing: which have a native connector, and the route in for the rest

Power BI has native connectors for three common marketing sources (Google Analytics 4, Google Sheets and CSV files) and none for Google Search Console, Google Ads, Meta (Facebook) Ads, LinkedIn Ads, TikTok Ads, Microsoft Advertising or Shopify. Microsoft documents every source Power BI can read in its list of Power Query connectors, and that list, checked on September 26, 2026, is where this answer comes from.

A source without a native connector still gets into Power BI by one of four routes: a Google-run export into BigQuery, read by Power BI's BigQuery connector, for Search Console and Google Ads; a partner connector from a vendor such as Funnel, Supermetrics or Windsor.ai, each of which ships its own connector in Power BI's Get Data list; the platform's API, called from Power Query; or a file export. The table below gives the answer and the usual route for ten sources, with step-by-step guides for GA4, Search Console, Google Ads and Meta Ads. TableBI is a different kind of option: TableBI is not a Power BI connector; it connects Search Console, GA4 and Google Ads live, Meta Ads in beta, and CSV uploads, and it replaces the Power BI step for recurring marketing questions that an AI agent can answer in SQL.

Ten marketing sources, checked against Microsoft’s connector list

Power BI reads data through Power Query, and Microsoft documents Power BI's data sources as its Connectors in Power Query list. In this guide, native means a connector Microsoft builds and ships in Power BI; a partner connector also appears in the Get Data list but is owned and provided by its vendor. A source missing from Microsoft's list has no native connector, whatever a landing page implies.

Checked on September 26, 2026 against Microsoft Learn's Connectors in Power Query list and its Power BI Desktop data sources page; connector lists change, so check before you build. The TableBI column says which sources TableBI itself connects (Live, or Beta for Meta Ads); TableBI does not send data to Power BI.

The three native connectors, and what each one limits

Three of the ten sources connect without a middleman. Each native connector comes with conditions worth knowing before a report depends on it.

Google Analytics 4: the Google Analytics connector

Power BI's Google Analytics connector is generally available and reads GA4 through V1 of the Google Analytics Data API when the Implementation = "2.0" setting is used, which Microsoft calls the default; the Power BI Desktop walkthrough on the same page still labels Implementation 2.0 as Beta. The connector supports Import only and signs in with a Google account. Microsoft's troubleshooting notes warn that Google Analytics returns only a subset of values when a date range is very large, and suggest appending several queries with shorter ranges. Data API quotas, privacy thresholds and the BigQuery alternative are covered in GA4 to Power BI.

Google Sheets: the Google Sheets connector

The Google Sheets connector is generally available for Power BI semantic models and dataflows. It signs in with a Google account, supports Import only, and treats every sheet URL as a separate resource path, so each new sheet asks for its own authentication. It suits data someone keeps by hand, such as a budget sheet or an offline-conversions log.

CSV files: the Text/CSV connector

The Text/CSV connector is generally available in Power BI semantic models and dataflows, which makes a CSV file the fallback for any platform that exports one. For a habit of monthly exports, Microsoft points to a multi-file connector such as Folder or SharePoint folder to import many files at once. A file on a local drive needs an on-premises data gateway before the Power BI service can refresh it, because the service can't reach a local drive over a direct network connection, per Microsoft's data refresh documentation.

Power BI Desktop's Online Services category, where the Google Analytics connector sits, also lists Adobe Analytics, Salesforce Objects, Salesforce Reports, Marketo (Beta) and Mixpanel (Beta), according to Microsoft's Power BI Desktop data sources page, which also says a Beta or Preview connector has limited support and shouldn't be used in production.

The seven sources without a native connector

Each of the seven gets one plain answer, then the route that works best for it.

Google Search Console

Power BI has no native Search Console connector. The route that refreshes on a schedule without a vendor is Search Console's bulk data export, a daily export of performance data into a BigQuery project you own that covers everything except anonymized queries, billed only as BigQuery storage and queries beyond Google Cloud's free usage level; Power BI then reads BigQuery through its Google BigQuery connector, which supports Import and DirectQuery. According to Google's setup guide, the first export arrives up to 48 hours after setup, and data from before setup has to come from the Search Console API or the reports. Every route, priced, is in Search Console to Power BI.

Google Ads

Power BI has no native Google Ads connector. Google's own route is the BigQuery Data Transfer Service for Google Ads: a daily transfer into date-partitioned BigQuery tables, a refresh window of up to 30 days (7 by default) that re-pulls recent days, and backfills as far back as Google Ads data retention allows. Google's BigQuery pricing page lists Google Ads among the transfer connectors with no charge, so the bill is BigQuery storage and queries. Anyone going straight to the Google Ads API should know the sign-up changed: Google sunset developer tokens on September 9, 2026, and API access levels now belong to Google Cloud projects, per Google's developer token page. Every route, priced, is in Google Ads to Power BI.

Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Ads

Power BI has no native Facebook or Meta connector. The practical routes are a partner connector, the BigQuery Data Transfer Service's Facebook Ads connector (paid), read through Power BI's BigQuery connector, or an export from Meta Ads Reporting, which offers XLSX and CSV according to Meta's Business Help Center. The full walk-through is in Meta Ads to Power BI.

LinkedIn Ads

Power BI has no native LinkedIn Ads connector, although it ships two LinkedIn connectors: LinkedIn Sales Navigator (Beta) imports Sales Navigator contacts, and LinkedIn Learning reads course completions and viewing time. For ad performance, Campaign Manager's Export button downloads CSV reports with a daily, monthly or all-time breakdown, per LinkedIn's help center. The programmatic route is LinkedIn's Advertising API, which an app can call for reporting only after LinkedIn approves its application for Advertising API access, per LinkedIn's API access page.

TikTok Ads

Power BI has no native TikTok Ads connector. Without a partner connector, the closest thing to a feed is a scheduled custom report: TikTok Ads Manager can email a custom report on a schedule to up to five recipients, and it cancels the schedule when nobody downloads a report from it for three consecutive months, according to TikTok's help center. The file still has to reach a folder Power BI reads.

Microsoft Advertising

Power BI has no native Microsoft Advertising connector, even though Microsoft makes both products. The programmatic route is the Microsoft Advertising Reporting service: an app submits a report request, polls until the report is ready, and downloads a compressed file in CSV, TSV or XML. Calling that API takes a developer token plus user credentials, per Microsoft's API guide, so for most teams a partner connector is the realistic route.

Shopify

Power BI has no native Shopify connector. Shopify's Orders page exports a CSV file; a large export, or an export of orders by date, arrives by email to you and the store owner, and an order with several line items spans several rows, per Shopify's help center. For code, Shopify's REST Admin API has been legacy since October 1, 2024, and new public apps must use the GraphQL Admin API, per Shopify's developer documentation.

The four routes for a source without a connector

BigQuery in the middle

Google runs three exports into BigQuery that Power BI can read through its BigQuery connector: Search Console's bulk data export, the BigQuery Data Transfer Service for Google Ads, and GA4's BigQuery Export, which exports raw events and caps the daily export at 1 million events on a standard property. Search Console's export holds nothing from before the day it is enabled, while the Google Ads transfer can backfill, so the cheapest insurance is to switch the exports on before a Power BI project needs the history.

Partner connectors

Funnel, Supermetrics and Windsor.ai each ship their own connector inside Power BI's Get Data list, owned and provided by the vendor according to Microsoft Learn. Funnel's connector needs a Funnel subscription and imports 12 rolling months by default. Supermetrics' connector is listed as Preview and reads queries saved in the Supermetrics Hub; the Supermetrics connector directory lists all seven sources above. Windsor.ai's connector reads queries saved in Windsor's own app. Microsoft documents a 30-minute timeout for polling query results on both the Supermetrics and Windsor connectors. Pricing shapes are compared in the Supermetrics and Windsor.ai comparisons.

The API, called from Power Query

Power Query's Web connector can call a reporting API, but its sign-in options are anonymous, Windows, basic, Web API key, organizational account and service principal, per Microsoft's Web connector page; none of them runs a Google, Meta or LinkedIn OAuth sign-in. A query that builds its URL in code at run time is also a dynamic data source, and Microsoft's refresh documentation says semantic models with dynamic data sources usually can't be refreshed in the Power BI service. The supported fix is a custom connector built with the Power Query SDK, whose documented use cases include implementing an OAuth 2.0 sign-in for a SaaS product. That is a software project with an owner, not a setup step.

File exports

Search Console, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok and Shopify all export report files, and Power BI imports CSV and Excel files natively. Exports make honest one-off answers and fragile pipelines: nothing refreshes, someone repeats the download every cycle, and some exports are capped. Search Console's report export, for example, is truncated to 1,000 rows, per Google's export documentation.

The other option: skip the Power BI step

TableBI is not a Power BI connector and does not send data to Power BI. TableBI replaces the Power BI step for recurring marketing questions: it connects Google Search Console, GA4 and Google Ads live, Meta Ads in beta, and CSV files by upload, keeps the rows in its own store, and an AI agent such as Claude Code answers questions in read-only SQL from the terminal. Meta Ads is in beta because our Meta app has not passed Meta's App Review, so only people added to the app as test users can authorize it today. Nothing is installed on your website.

# install the CLI, then plant the skill your agent reads
npm i -g @tablebi/cli
tablebi login
tablebi install

# each connect opens a browser for Google sign-in
tablebi connect gsc --site sc-domain:example.com
tablebi connect ga4
tablebi connect google_ads

The live connectors sync at campaign level. In the unified facts table, date, platform and account carry values on every row, and campaign on Google Ads and Meta rows, next to impressions, clicks, cost, conversions and conversion_value; ad group, ad, channel and country stay empty, although a CSV export with an Ad group or Ad set column can fill ad group. GA4's channels live in ga4_raw (date, property, channel, country, page views, sessions, users, conversions, revenue), and Search Console's query-and-page detail lives in search_console_raw, without anonymized queries, next to site totals, per-page totals and a country-by-device table. One question across every connected platform is one statement:

# every connected platform in one result, last 28 days of data
tablebi ask "SELECT platform, SUM(clicks) AS clicks, SUM(cost) AS spend,
             SUM(conversions) AS conversions, SUM(conversion_value) AS conversion_value
             FROM facts
             WHERE date > (SELECT MAX(date) FROM facts) - 28
             GROUP BY platform ORDER BY clicks DESC"

The window anchors on MAX(date), the newest day synced, because TableBI's SQL has no current date to anchor on. Every answer arrives with a trust block that lists how fresh each source is and the caveats that apply, such as Search Console's last two days still being revised. A result worth keeping can be pinned with tablebi pin to a public, read-only URL that refreshes as the sources sync, so a client opens it without a Power BI licence.

The limits, plainly: we have no connector for LinkedIn Ads, TikTok Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Shopify or Google Sheets, and the only way their data reaches TableBI is a CSV file upload. TableBI has no white-label reports, no scheduled PDF or email reports, no alerts and no rank tracking. Free covers one source and one live dashboard; Operator costs $29 a month, by request, per the pricing page.

Which route to pick

• The native connector for GA4, Google Sheets and CSV files, when one property or one file and a daily refresh cover the report.
• BigQuery in the middle for Search Console and Google Ads, when Power BI is the company standard and someone owns the Google Cloud project; switch the exports on early, because Search Console's export starts on the day you enable it.
• A partner connector for Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Microsoft Advertising and Shopify, when a subscription costs less than the engineering hours a custom connector would take.
• File exports for a one-off answer, never for a report that has to refresh.
• TableBI when the recurring question is how the channels did, the reader is an AI agent or a client with a link, and nobody needs a Power BI canvas; it covers Search Console, GA4 and Google Ads live and Meta Ads in beta.
• Google's Data Studio, called Looker Studio until April 2026, when nearly every source is Google's: Google builds free Data Studio connectors for Google Sheets, Google Ads and Google Analytics and for Search Console. The trade-offs are in Looker Studio vs Power BI.

FAQ

Related guides

• GA4 to Power BI: every route, what each one costs
• Google Search Console to Power BI: every route in
• Google Ads to Power BI: the four routes in
• Facebook (Meta) Ads to Power BI: every route
• Looker Studio vs Power BI for marketing data
• Marketing data warehouse: the smallest one that works

Sources

• Microsoft Learn — Connectors in Power Query (the connector list)
• Microsoft Learn — Data sources in Power BI Desktop
• Microsoft Learn — Power BI data sources
• Microsoft Learn — Google Analytics connector for Power BI
• Microsoft Learn — Google Sheets connector for Power BI
• Microsoft Learn — Text/CSV connector for Power BI
• Microsoft Learn — Google BigQuery connector for Power BI
• Microsoft Learn — LinkedIn Sales Navigator connector (Beta)
• Microsoft Learn — LinkedIn Learning connector
• Microsoft Learn — Funnel connector
• Microsoft Learn — Supermetrics connector
• Microsoft Learn — Windsor connector
• Microsoft Learn — Web connector
• Microsoft Learn — Data refresh in Power BI
• Microsoft Learn — Develop a connector using the Power Query SDK
• Google Search Console Help — About bulk data export to BigQuery
• Google Search Console Help — Start a new bulk data export
• Google Search Console Help — Export data directly from a report
• Google Cloud — Load Google Ads data into BigQuery
• Google Cloud — BigQuery pricing (Data Transfer Service)
• Google Ads API — Developer token
• Google Analytics Help — BigQuery Export
• Data Studio — About data sources
• Data Studio — Connect to Search Console
• Meta Business Help Center — Export and share reports in Meta Ads Reporting
• LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help — Export reports in Campaign Manager
• LinkedIn Marketing API — Increasing access
• TikTok Ads Manager Help — Schedule exports of custom reports
• Microsoft Advertising API — Reporting service
• Microsoft Advertising API — Get started
• Shopify Help Center — Exporting orders
• Shopify developer documentation — REST Admin API
• Supermetrics — Connectors directory

npm i -g @tablebi/cli && tablebi install