When deciding between Power Apps and Power Pages, it’s important to understand their distinct purposes, features, and use cases. Both are part of the Microsoft Power Platform but serve different needs. Here’s a breakdown to help you decide which one to use:
Power Apps
Power Apps is a low-code platform designed for building custom business applications. It allows users to create apps that can be used on mobile devices, tablets, and web browsers.
Key Features:
- App Types:
- Canvas Apps: Highly customizable apps where you design the user interface from scratch.
- Model-Driven Apps: Data-centric apps that are automatically generated based on your data model (e.g., Dynamics 365).
- Custom Pages: A hybrid approach that combines canvas app flexibility within model-driven apps.
- Use Cases:
- Internal business apps (e.g., employee onboarding, inventory management).
- Mobile-friendly apps for field workers.
- Automating workflows and integrating with Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, or other data sources.
- Target Audience:
- Business users with little to no coding experience.
- Developers looking to build custom apps quickly.
- Integration:
- Connects to hundreds of data sources, including SharePoint, SQL Server, and third-party APIs.
- Licensing:
- Requires Power Apps licenses for users or per-app plans.
Power Pages
Power Pages is a low-code platform for building external-facing websites that allow interaction with external users (e.g., customers, partners, or the public). It’s ideal for creating secure, data-driven websites.
Key Features:
- Website Types:
- Public or private websites with forms, dashboards, and interactive features.
- Built on the same Dataverse platform as Power Apps, enabling seamless data integration.
- Use Cases:
- Customer portals (e.g., self-service portals for support or account management).
- Public-facing forms (e.g., event registration, surveys).
- Partner collaboration portals.
- Target Audience:
- Businesses needing to engage external users.
- Web designers or developers looking for a low-code website solution.
- Integration:
- Integrates with Dataverse, Power Automate, and other Microsoft Power Platform tools.
- Supports authentication and role-based access control for external users.
- Licensing:
- Requires Power Pages licenses, often based on the number of external users or page views.
Key Differences
| Feature | Power Apps | Power Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Internal business apps | External-facing websites |
| Audience | Internal users (employees) | External users (customers, public) |
| Customization | Highly customizable (canvas apps) | Pre-built templates with customization options |
| Integration | Connects to various data sources | Built on Dataverse for seamless integration |
| Licensing | Per user or per app | Based on external users or page views |
When to Use Power Apps
- You need to build internal business apps for employees.
- You want to create mobile-friendly or tablet-friendly apps.
- You need deep customization and flexibility in app design.
- Your focus is on automating workflows or integrating with internal systems.
When to Use Power Pages
- You need to build external-facing websites or portals.
- Your goal is to engage customers, partners, or the public.
- You want to create secure, data-driven forms or dashboards for external users.
- You need a website that integrates with Dataverse and other Power Platform tools.
Which One Should You Use?
- Choose Power Apps if you’re building apps for internal use, automating workflows, or creating custom mobile-friendly solutions.
- Choose Power Pages if you’re building websites or portals for external users, such as customer self-service portals or public-facing forms.
In some cases, you might even use both together—for example, using Power Apps for internal processes and Power Pages for customer-facing interactions, with both connected to the same Dataverse backend.