# Alternatives to Microsoft Power Apps

Power Apps is Microsoft's low-code app development platform for building internal business tools, admin panels, and dashboards, with a drag-and-drop canvas builder, Power Fx custom code, and 1,000+ prebuilt data connectors. It is used heavily by enterprises already on Microsoft 365/Azure, with governance, Dataverse-based permissions, and Azure AD SSO baked in. A free Developer plan exists alongside per-user premium pricing.

Microsoft Power Apps ranks #5 of 11 in Internal tool builders, with an Alt Score of 86. It is freemium from $20/user/mo and available on Windows, iOS, Android and Web. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/power-apps/
Category: Internal tool builders

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Power Apps targets business users, IT professionals, and pro developers inside organizations who need to build custom line-of-business applications, from citizen developers building on their own team's data to enterprise IT teams standardizing app development at scale.
- **What you get**: Power Apps provides a suite of app-building services, prebuilt and custom connectors, and a data platform (Microsoft Dataverse) for creating canvas apps (responsive, tablet, or phone-sized) and model-driven apps, with drag-and-drop and AI-assisted (Copilot) authoring, plus a newer code-apps option for pro developers to build with frameworks like React or Vue.
- **How it works**: Makers build apps in Power Apps Studio by connecting to data stored in Dataverse or in other online/on-premises sources via connectors, defining UI and Power Fx business logic, and publishing the app; end users then run the finished app in a web browser or the Power Apps mobile app for iOS, Android, or Windows, governed by security roles, environments, and admin-center policies.

## Profile

- **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-30)
- **Starts at**: $20/user/mo (verified 2026-07-30)
- **Platforms**: Windows, iOS, Android, Web
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-30)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [UI Bakery](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ui-bakery.md) | 100 | Proprietary | Web |
| 2 | [ToolJet](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/tooljet.md) | 96 | AGPL-3.0 | Web |
| 3 | [DronaHQ](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/dronahq.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Jet Admin](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/jetadmin.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web |
| 5 | [Retool](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/retool.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web |
| 6 | [NocoBase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/nocobase.md) | 73 | Apache-2.0 + supplementary NocoBase License Agreement (no SaaS resale, branding restrictions) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web |
| 7 | [Refine](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/refine.md) | 73 | MIT | Web |
| 8 | [Budibase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/budibase.md) | 68 | GPL-3.0 | Web |
| 9 | [Superblocks](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/superblocks.md) | 64 | Proprietary | Web |
| 10 | [Appsmith](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/appsmith.md) | 55 | Apache-2.0 | Web |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Internal tool builders checklist | Microsoft Power Apps | UI Bakery | ToolJet | DronaHQ | Jet Admin | Retool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Subscription | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starts at | $20/user/mo | $20/mo/developer | Free | $100/mo (billed annually) | $39/mo | Free |
| License | ? | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Windows, iOS, Android, Web | Web | Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web |
| Data source connectors | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Drag & drop UI builder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom code (JS/Python) | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Granular permissions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audit logs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Git-based versioning | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Partial |
| Mobile layouts | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier limits | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |

## Sources

Sources for Microsoft Power Apps. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Freemium — <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-apps/pricing> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Free Developer Plan is unlimited but restricted to a non-production dev environment; production use requires a paid Premium or Pay-as-you-go license.
  - Quote: “Developer Plan (free): For individuals to build and test apps in a non-production environment.”
- **Starts at**: $20/user/mo — <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-apps/pricing> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: A discounted $12/user/mo Premium rate exists but requires a 2,000-seat minimum enterprise commitment (Contact Sales), so it is not a generally available starting rate. Power Apps and Power Automate ca
  - Quote: “Power Apps Premium $20.00 user/month, paid yearly”
- **Status**: active — <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/blog/power-apps/generally-available-host-and-run-code-apps-in-power-apps/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Recent (2025) GA feature launch on the official Power Platform blog; product is under active development.
  - Quote: “We're excited to announce that code apps in Power Apps are now generally available, empowering developers and IT alike”
- **Platforms**: Windows, iOS, Android, Web — <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/mobile/run-powerapps-on-mobile> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Web/browser play confirmed separately: 'Run apps in a browser or Power Apps mobile for iOS and Android' (learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/pricing-billing-skus). No native macOS or Linux
  - Quote: “choose the download link or scan a QR code to download Power Apps mobile. iOS Android Windows”
- **Data source connectors**: Yes — <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/connector-reference/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Marketing/code-apps docs separately cite 1,500+ connectors.
  - Quote: “This page summarizes key information of all connectors currently provided for Microsoft Power Automate, Microsoft Power Apps, and Azure Logic Apps.”
- **Drag & drop UI builder**: Yes — <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-apps> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Build apps your way—drag and drop, generative AI, or custom code.”
- **Custom code (JS/Python)**: Partial — <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/developer/code-apps/overview> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Code apps and PCF code components support JS/TypeScript (React/Vue via Node.js, or TypeScript per learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/developer/component-framework/overview). No Python support was fo
  - Quote: “Build with popular frameworks (React, Vue, and others) while keeping full control over your UI and logic.”
- **Self-hostable**: No — <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/powerapps-overview> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Power Apps is a Microsoft-hosted cloud service (Dataverse-backed); there is no on-premises/self-hosted deployment of the platform itself. The on-premises data gateway only lets cloud-hosted apps reach
  - Quote: “The Power Apps GCC environment complies with federal requirements for cloud services, including FedRAMP High, DoD DISA IL2”
- **Granular permissions**: Yes — <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/security-roles-privileges> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Table-level and record-level privilege model via Dataverse security roles.
  - Quote: “Security roles define how different users access different types of records. ... A security role consists of record-level privileges and task-based privileges of the following three types: Tables”
- **Audit logs**: Yes — <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/logging-powerapps> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “You can view many Microsoft Power Apps activities in Microsoft Purview, such as canvas app creation, usage, patching, and”
- **Git-based versioning**: Yes — <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/alm/git-integration/overview> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Native Git integration for Dataverse solutions; intended for developer environments, not directly in test/production.
  - Quote: “Source control integration allows development teams to sync solutions and solution objects across one or more Microsoft Power Platform environments.”
- **Mobile layouts**: Yes — <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/canvas-apps/create-blank-app> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “choose the app size that fits your scenario: Responsive, Tablet size, or Phone size.”
- **Free tier limits**: Yes — <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-apps/pricing> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Free Developer Plan also includes a 2 GB Dataverse database entitlement and up to 750 automation flows/month, but is limited to non-production environments.
  - Quote: “Get a free developer account to build and test unlimited apps or automation flows. Three developer environments”
- **SSO**: Yes — <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/blog/power-apps/update-for-powerapps-enabling-single-sign-on-and-more/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Source is a legacy (2016) vendor blog post still live on microsoft.com; underlying mechanism is current Microsoft Entra ID-based sign-in described in learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/canvas-
  - Quote: “PowerApps users are automatically signed in to connections for Microsoft services like SharePoint, Office 365, One Drive for Business.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/