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09 Oct 2026

Amazon QuickSight Standard vs Enterprise: One-Way Upgrade

Amazon QuickSight has two editions, Standard and Enterprise. Enterprise adds Active Directory and IAM Identity Center sign-in, Reader roles, row-level security, connections to data sources in a private VPC, encryption at rest, hourly SPICE refresh, and fine-grained access to AWS data sources; AWS states that new features are available only in Enterprise. Standard supports QuickSight-only (email-invited), IAM, and federated users. You can upgrade from Standard to Enterprise, but you cannot downgrade, and upgrading does not let you switch to Active Directory.

Amazon QuickSight is the BI service behind interactive dashboards and reports that business users can open from any device, and it now sits inside Amazon QuickSight. Many older articles on its editions predate that change, so this one follows AWS's current documentation. It leaves out dollar pricing on purpose, since rates change; confirm those directly with AWS.

Quick Summary

Standard is the simpler edition, built around email-invited, IAM, and federated users. Enterprise adds the identity integrations, security controls, sharing roles, and every new feature AWS releases. Because the upgrade cannot be undone and the sign-in method is fixed at setup, choose the edition before you build.

Key Takeaways

Both editions still exist in AWS's documentation. Standard and Enterprise are both listed, but AWS says new features are not available in Standard.
Enterprise is where identity integration lives. Active Directory and IAM Identity Center sign-in require Enterprise.
Standard is not email-only. It also supports IAM and federated users, which older articles often miss.
Upgrades are permanent. You can move from Standard to Enterprise, but AWS does not allow a downgrade.
Sign-in is fixed at setup. Upgrading does not enable Active Directory; that needs a new Enterprise subscription.
Naming has changed. QuickSight is now the BI part of Amazon Quick Suite, called QuickSight.

difference-between-amazon-quicksight-standard-and-enterprise-editions

A Note on Naming: QuickSight, Quick Suite, and Amazon Quick

AWS announced that Amazon QuickSight is evolving into Amazon Quick Suite, with the new interface and branding rolling out from October 9, 2025. The BI capabilities are now called QuickSight, and AWS's newest documentation refers to the wider family as Amazon Quick. This article uses QuickSight, the name most people still search for. Several different things get called a "tier" or "edition," so it helps to separate them:

Term	What it refers to
Standard / Enterprise edition	The account-level edition you subscribe to; the subject of this article
Admin, Author, Reader, Author Pro, Reader Pro	User roles inside an account; Reader and the Pro roles require Enterprise
Quick Suite Professional / Enterprise	Capability levels reached through the Pro roles
Amazon Quick plans (Free, Plus, Max)	Plans for accounts created at aws.com/quick; AWS says QuickSight dashboards are limited to Enterprise accounts, which are provisioned through the console, CLI, or API

AWS naming is still moving, so check the console for the exact labels on your account. For the platform's wider capabilities, see our overview of why teams choose QuickSight over other BI tools.

What the Standard Edition Includes

Standard is the simpler, original edition, aimed at individuals and small groups who want to build and publish dashboards without much administration.

User invitations. An administrator can invite an AWS IAM user to sign in with their IAM credentials, or invite anyone with an email address to create a QuickSight-only account.
Account activation. QuickSight emails each invited person an activation link to keep onboarding simple.
Role assignment. Assign roles such as administrator or regular user when the account is created.
Federated users. Users who authenticate through an enterprise identity provider are supported.
In-app management. Add, change, and delete users inside QuickSight itself.

What Standard does not include is just as important: Active Directory and IAM Identity Center sign-in, Reader roles, and the other Enterprise-only capabilities below. AWS documentation also states that the Standard edition doesn't include new features.

What the Enterprise Edition Adds

Enterprise includes everything in Standard and adds the controls larger organizations need:

Active Directory integration. You select a directory in AWS Directory Service and manage QuickSight users and administrators through its Microsoft Active Directory groups.
IAM Identity Center integration. A built-in integration released in August 2023, available only in Enterprise.
Reader roles and Pro roles. Reader, Reader Pro, and Author Pro roles are Enterprise-only, as covered in our explanation of authors vs readers in QuickSight.
Row-level security. Restrict which rows each user sees, the same control covered in our guide to migrating row-level security.
Private VPC connectivity. Connect to data sources inside a private VPC.
Encryption at rest. Protect stored data, one of the controls behind our data security compliance checklist.
Hourly SPICE refresh. More frequent refresh of in-memory data, with more on the engine in our SPICE overview.
Fine-grained AWS access and Lake Formation. Fine-grained access control over Amazon S3, Amazon Athena, and other AWS services, plus AWS Lake Formation support.
Every new feature. AWS places new capabilities, including generative BI, in Enterprise only. See our look at QuickSight security features for the access model.

Standard vs Enterprise: Side by Side

Capability	Standard	Enterprise
QuickSight-only (email-invited) users	Yes	Yes
IAM users	Yes	Yes
Federated users	Yes	Yes
Active Directory users	No	Yes
IAM Identity Center integration	No	Yes
Reader roles	No	Yes
Reader Pro and Author Pro roles (generative BI)	No	Yes
Row-level security	No	Yes
Private VPC data sources	No	Yes
Encryption at rest	No	Yes
Hourly SPICE refresh	No	Yes
Fine-grained access to S3 and Athena; Lake Formation	No	Yes
New QuickSight features	Not available	Available
SPICE in-memory engine	Yes	Yes
Downgrade back to Standard	Not applicable	Not possible

This table reflects AWS's documentation, FAQ, and identity-options guidance. AWS can change capabilities, so confirm the details in the console before you commit.

Identity is where the two editions differ most, and where older articles go wrong. Standard is not limited to email invitations, and Enterprise is not limited to Active Directory. AWS's access-approach guidance lists the options this way: QuickSight-only, IAM, and federated users work in both editions, while Active Directory users and IAM Identity Center work only in Enterprise.

One trap deserves a warning. You choose the authentication method when you first set up the account, and you can't change it afterward. AWS guidance also says that upgrading from Standard to Enterprise does not enable Active Directory connectivity, because the identity mechanisms differ between QuickSight-only and Active Directory users. If you will eventually need Active Directory or IAM Identity Center, create a new Enterprise subscription and migrate your assets instead of starting on Standard and upgrading. Identity design also affects governance, and our key checklist for BI modernization covers it in more depth.

Upgrading Is a One-Way Decision

Upgrading takes an administrator a few clicks in the management settings, but its effects are permanent:

It cannot be undone. AWS does not allow downgrading from Enterprise to Standard.
Enterprise rates apply. Administrators and authors are billed at Enterprise rates, and SPICE capacity follows Enterprise rates too.
Existing users carry over. Current authentication details and user data migrate, and users keep their roles.
Annual plans convert. An annual Standard subscription converts to Enterprise and stays in place for the remaining term.
Upgrades are prorated. Charges are prorated for the changeover.

Test the change with a representative group first, since there is no way back.

How the Edition Affects Your Bill

Edition and role choices drive cost, so model them before you decide. Enterprise rates apply after an upgrade, and Enterprise introduces Reader and Pro roles that are billed differently from Authors. The cost question is therefore less "Standard or Enterprise?" and more "how many authors, readers, and Pro users, and how much SPICE?" Pricing changes, so confirm current rates directly with AWS. For a view across tools, see our QuickSight vs Tableau pricing and features comparison and our broader QuickSight vs Tableau analysis.

Which Edition Should You Choose?

Situation	Better Fit
A few authors publishing dashboards, with no broad sharing and no need for row-level security or private networking	Standard may be enough, but check availability and remember it gets no new features
Sharing dashboards with many viewers	Enterprise, because Reader roles are Enterprise-only
Row-level security, private VPC access, or encryption at rest required	Enterprise
Sign-in through Active Directory or IAM Identity Center	Enterprise, chosen at initial setup
Generative BI or other new capabilities wanted	Enterprise
Already on Standard and outgrowing it	Upgrade after testing; if you need Active Directory, plan a new Enterprise subscription

Because new features land only in Enterprise and a downgrade is impossible, many growing teams treat Enterprise as the default and use Standard only for small, short-lived needs. That is a judgment call rather than an AWS rule, so weigh it against your own size and compliance needs. For a head-to-head with another platform, see QuickSight vs Tableau.

Choosing an Edition Before a Migration

If QuickSight is the target for a legacy BI migration, decide the edition and identity model before moving content, since both are hard to change later. Moving from Cognos, Tableau, OBIEE, or BI Publisher means rebuilding semantic models as governed datasets with row-level security, which needs Enterprise. DataTerrain has covered those paths in our Cognos to AWS QuickSight, Tableau to Amazon QuickSight, and Oracle BI Publisher to QuickSight migration articles, with a real example in our OBIEE to AWS QuickSight customer story.

Data preparation matters as much as the edition. Landing data in a data lake with AWS Glue and our wider AWS ETL services gives SPICE datasets a clean source, and automated validation confirms migrated figures match. For the full process, see how BI automation simplifies report migration, and for mainframe sources, our mainframe to AWS migration article. Our reports conversion and ETL Solutions pages list what we cover.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between QuickSight Standard and Enterprise edition?

Enterprise adds Active Directory and IAM Identity Center sign-in, Reader roles, row-level security, private VPC connections, encryption at rest, and hourly SPICE refresh. AWS also states that new features are available only in Enterprise.

Can I upgrade or downgrade between editions?

You can upgrade from Standard to Enterprise, but the upgrade cannot be undone and Enterprise rates apply. AWS does not allow downgrading from Enterprise to Standard.

Does Standard edition support Active Directory or IAM Identity Center?

No. Standard supports QuickSight-only (email-invited), IAM, and federated users. Active Directory and IAM Identity Center require Enterprise.

Can I switch to Active Directory after upgrading to Enterprise?

No. Authentication is set at initial setup, and AWS guidance says upgrading does not enable Active Directory. The route is a new Enterprise subscription with your assets migrated.

Is the Standard edition still available?

AWS documentation still lists both editions, but it says new features are Enterprise-only and points existing Standard customers to upgrade. Confirm whether Standard is offered when you create a new account.

Pick the Right Edition with DataTerrain

A costly mistake with QuickSight editions is starting on Standard and later discovering you can't change the sign-in method. DataTerrain brings 17+ years of experience and 400+ clients in BI migration to QuickSight projects, from Cognos and Tableau to Oracle BI, with flexible hours and no long-term binding contracts.

Talk to our QuickSight team