Power BI connects smoothly to both cloud-hosted and local PostgreSQL databases once you know where to enter the right details. This guide explains the simplest possible process for connecting Power BI to:

PostgreSQL hosted on Aiven, and

PostgreSQL running locally on your machine

All steps below match screenshot placeholders so you can insert your images exactly where they belong.

1. Connecting Power BI to PostgreSQL on Aiven Step 1: Open Power BI and Start a Blank Report

Launch Power BI Desktop. Click Blank Report → Get Data → More → search for PostgreSQL Database.

Step 2: Enter Aiven Connection Details

In Aiven:

Open the Aiven Console

Click Services

Select your PostgreSQL service

View your connection information (host, port, database)

Use these values in Power BI:

Server: host:port Example: pg-12345.aivencloud.com:28643

Database: your Aiven PostgreSQL database name

Data Connectivity Mode: Import

Step 3: Enter Aiven Credentials

Power BI now prompts for authentication.

Use:

Username: Aiven database user

Password: the associated password

Step 4: Choose Tables in the Navigator

Power BI opens the Navigator panel. Select the tables you want from your Aiven PostgreSQL database and click Load.

The data imports and appears in the Power BI report interface.

1. Connecting Power BI to PostgreSQL on Localhost

The process is almost identical — only the connection details change.

Step 1: Open Power BI → Blank Report → Get Data → PostgreSQL

Step 2: Enter Localhost Database Details

Fill the fields with your local PostgreSQL configuration:

Server: localhost:5432

Database: usually postgres or your custom database name

Data Connectivity Mode: Import

Step 3: Enter Local Credentials

Typical local PostgreSQL credentials:

Username: postgres

Password: your local password

Step 4: Select Tables → Load

Choose your tables in the Navigator → click Load → Power BI imports the data.

Screenshot here: Navigator showing local PostgreSQL tables.

Conclusion

Connecting Power BI to PostgreSQL is straightforward once you know which values to enter. Aiven uses a cloud host and port, while your local setup uses localhost. After that, both connections behave exactly the same inside Power BI.