What is a calculated column in Power BI conceptually?

< 1 min read

A calculated column in Power BI is a column created using DAX that is computed row by row and stored in the model.
It is calculated during data refresh, not at query time.
For example, I created a column like Sales[Profit] = Sales[Revenue] – Sales[Cost].
It is useful when we need row-level logic, such as creating categories or flags.
In one project, I created a Customer Segment column based on total purchase value.
Calculated columns increase model size because values are stored.
So I use them only when row-level calculation or relationship logic is required.

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