Microsoft Azure App Service vs Microsoft Power Apps comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jun 6, 2022

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Azure App Service and Microsoft PowerApps based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of both solutions agree that their initial setup is straightforward.
  • Features: Users of both products are happy with their stability and scalability. Azure reviewers like its debugging and insight tools and say the solution is feature rich but say the logging and monitoring could improve. PowerApps users say it allows them to create applications quickly, is comprehensive, straightforward, and flexible. Some users mention that the user interface could improve.

  • Pricing: Most Azure users feel that the solution is fairly priced. PowerApps users give mixed reviews for its price. Some feel that it is reasonable, while others feel that it is high.
  • ROI: Azure users do not mention ROI. PowerApps users report seeing an ROI.
  • Service and Support: Reviewers of both products report being satisfied with the level of support they receive.

Comparison Results: PowerApps is the winner in this comparison. According to its reviewers, it is flexible and easy to use. In addition, it has a proven ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure App Service vs. Microsoft Power Apps Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"It allows you to host your App Service on Azure and provides the ability to bypass online.""The technical support from Microsoft Azure App Service is good.""What I found most valuable in Microsoft Azure App Service is that it's a PaaS. I also like that it supports Docker and multiple frameworks so that you can work on Java, Ruby on Rails, PHP, and Python.""App Service's best features are that it can be scaled easily and it includes Kudu.""The most valuable feature is that it's an ideal solution when it comes to lifting and shifting monolithic applications from on-premises to Azure Cloud. It allows for a quick shift into the cloud without having to analyze and design very specific infrastructure and services for monolithic applications hosted primarily on-premises. Let's say that the team does not want to really redesign monoliths in a microservices-based application and that they want to make a quick move towards adopting the cloud tech stack. Then, Microsoft Azure App Service is probably the best option.""I'm a decision-maker, not a technician. From my perspective, the most significant advantage is that Azure is a one-stop shop. Everything we needed was included in the Microsoft Agreement. During COVID, it was the most convenient and most straightforward decision.""The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure App Service is customization. It provides the building block from its modularity. You can add what you need with the appropriate code.""I've used Microsoft Azure App Service quite a lot, and what I like best about it is that it's a serverless HAM, which is a feature that can run a function, a single function, but faster and more frequently without needing any other assistance. This has been what I found most valuable in Microsoft Azure App Service, the serverless option that's very easy to utilize, and you only need a minimal setup to use this and to enjoy the functionalities required, so the solution gives me a lot of comfort whenever I'm using it."

More Microsoft Azure App Service Pros →

"The most valuable feature is the simple data connectivity components.""The initial setup is very simple.""It is stable and reliable.""The support is the most valuable feature.""I would say that the most valuable features are the user interface, navigation, and business routes.""Ability to generate QR codes and scan barcodes.""I would say that it's a very advanced product because it empowers people to do simple things, which previously may have required people to have some technical skills.""The solution works great and is stable."

More Microsoft Power Apps Pros →

Cons
"I would like to see faster adoption and templates that we can use.""The pricing is average. It could be lower.""App Service sometimes becomes very slow to respond, and it can be difficult to find the issue causing this.""It would be fantastic if Microsoft morphed after my exit service, removing it from subscriptions and moving it to different regions, especially for that service.""Microsoft Azure App Service has a lot of complexity because there are a lot of options and functionality. It is simple to become confused, there are many technical elements to learn before you can utilize the solution. If they could make the solution easier to use it would be a benefit.""The solution is somewhat expensive.""I would like to see some significant improvement in the technical support provision for this solution.""Initially, there were some rare instances when the server went down because it was deployed on Linux."

More Microsoft Azure App Service Cons →

"PowerApps can't do a lot of things that users need now. For example, it can't handle signatures.""The user interface is pretty good, although it is a little bit clunky and can be improved.""Customization is somewhat complicated.""I have heard from developers that there is documentation missing in the reporting.""We'd like more features and less to no coding.""One area where the solution lacks is the limited size of the database it offers its users.""In some cases, PowerApps would have some limitations in terms of the data, the number of transactions, and so on, but for a normal solution, it would be enough.""Technical support could be faster, and more accurate."

More Microsoft Power Apps Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Azure doesn't cost as much as other services."
  • "Less than USD $100 per month."
  • "We have no complaints about the pricing."
  • "Azure App Service is expensive compared to its competitors, especially its cloud-only version."
  • "Where there are different customer sizes, some customers consume $5,000 US dollars per month. I have some customers who pay and consume more than $20,000 US dollars per month, for example. It is determined by customer sizes and requirements, which vary from month to month."
  • "The pricing and cost of this solution depends on the use and needs of a business."
  • "On a scale of one to five, with one being expensive and five being competitive, I would rate this solution as a four."
  • "The pricing for this solution is set in tiers, with the overall cost depending on the features that are required. I would advise organizations to have a detailed look at the functions they need, to ensure that they are in the correct pricing tier."
  • More Microsoft Azure App Service Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "If you start to use any premium connectors that are not stored in a SharePoint list or on an Excel workbook, then it costs $4 per user per month. If you want unlimited, it's about $16 per month for unlimited apps, and unlimited connectors."
  • "The company has a subscription where you can use certain features for free, but there are features that require a premium subscription to use."
  • "The enterprise-level costs a great deal of money, and you have to purchase additional licenses to scale it."
  • "We use the Office 365 package, and Microsoft PowerApps is a part of the package. We don't pay any separate price for this. There are no additional costs. We just pay for the Office 365 package."
  • "There are two licensing costs, one is pay-as-you-go, or you can develop it for one year."
  • "This is not an expensive product and there are no licensing fees."
  • "It is not expensive. There is no licensing cost."
  • "The pricing is too expensive and the licensing system is complicated. There are many pages of instruction on how to do the calculations for the price."
  • More Microsoft Power Apps Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rapid Application Development Software solutions are best for your needs.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Microsoft Azure App Service is helpful if you need to set up temporary servers for customers to run their programs in locations that other cloud providers do not cater to. When servers are closer to… more »
    Top Answer:I highly recommend Microsoft Azure. We have been using it for nearly four years. We mostly use it for creating and maintaining websites, such as content management systems like WordPress sites, which… more »
    Top Answer:The primary and standout feature is ease of deployment.
    Top Answer: I think it depends on your use case. If your organization uses Microsoft Enterprise products, PowerApps will work better in your environment. Similarly, if you have a Salesforce integration in… more »
    Top Answer:Hi Netanya I will choose ServiceNow because ServiceNow is a very good tool compared to Microsoft PowerApp.  Because ServiceNow has a very strong module (Performance Analysis) reporting which will… more »
    Top Answer:We use only Portals Studio and we are satisfied with the price for it. Now you can pay only for that builder, no need to pay for the whole Power Apps product, which is fair, I think. However, if you… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    8,922
    Comparisons
    5,089
    Reviews
    30
    Average Words per Review
    528
    Rating
    8.3
    Views
    34,175
    Comparisons
    27,083
    Reviews
    35
    Average Words per Review
    562
    Rating
    7.8
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Azure App Service, MS Azure App Service
    PowerApps, MS PowerApps
    Learn More
    Overview

    Microsoft Azure App Service is an HTTP-based mobile application development platform and solution. It is designed to enable organizations to completely control their application development and hosting processes.

    Microsoft Azure App Service Benefits

    Some of the benefits that come from using Microsoft Azure App Service include:

    • A high level of security. Microsoft Azure App Service comes with enterprise-level and industry-standard SLAs through the use of PCI security standards. Users can go about developing their applications without having to worry about exposure to security risks. Microsoft Azure App Service keeps the application development process secure so that all that users have to worry about is creating their application.
    • Collaborate and develop applications from anywhere. Teams that are spread out across the globe can collaborate and build applications from anywhere that they happen to be. Microsoft’s global data center is a cloud hub that developers can take advantage of to connect their teams if they are located in disparate locations. It can handle all of a developer's application hosting needs.
    • Multi-format and multi-lingual support. Microsoft Azure App Service supports both physical machine and virtual machine formats. In addition, it also supports a variety of different programming languages.
    • Utilize pre-fabricated templates. Microsoft Azure App Service gives developers access to an extensive list of templates. These can both ease the process of planning the development of applications by providing developers with ideas and make it easier for the developers to build them.

    Microsoft Azure App Service Features

    Some of the many useful features Microsoft Azure App Service has to offer include:

    When users choose to employ the Microsoft Azure App Service solution, they gain access to many different capabilities. These features include:

    • Manual or automatic auto-scaling capabilities. Microsoft Azure App Service enables developers to control how their applications auto-scale. Developers can employ the auto-scaling feature by hand or set it so that it automatically rescales according to their needs.
    • IDE integrations. Microsoft Azure App Service can easily integrate with various IDE software solutions. This gives developers access to many analytic, debugging, and monitoring options.
    • Deployment slots. These are virtual spaces where developers can test and deploy new versions of their applications while working on them. This feature allows developers to resolve any issues before the new version of the application is put into production.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Microsoft Azure App Service’s versatility offers organizations that use it a great deal. It is a very complete, ready-to-use, out-of-the-box mobile development solution that gives users the capabilities that they need to design their mobile applications with the greatest level of ease. In addition, users can employ the cloud to scale operations so that their applications have the proper amount of space to run at the time that they need it.

    Andriy L., the Azure practice leader at a computer software company, writes, “I like that it's a ready-to-use, out-of-the-box solution that provides all of the necessary functions for customers, such as codes that can be quickly switched from the production version, or test and DEV versions to production.”

    Yasir M., a solution architect at Komatsu, writes, "The best feature is scalability, which allows you to target potential clients worldwide by connecting the application to a local server. This makes the application readily accessible, and the response time will be much better."

    Microsoft Power Apps is a rapid application development software and low-code development platform. The solution consists of a suite of apps, services, connectors, and a data platform. It provides an environment for building custom apps which is suitable for different businesses.

    Microsoft Power Apps allows users to not only build applications, but also connect them to Microsoft's other sources, including the underlying data platform Microsoft Dataverse, as well as online and on-premise sources such as SharePoint, Dynamics 365, and Microsoft 365. The applications built using Microsoft Power Apps have a responsive design that makes them suitable for work in browsers and on mobile applications on different devices.

    The no-code side of the product makes it suitable for complete beginners to app building, allowing them to easily create fully functional applications with many features. The solution also has a specialized platform for developers where specialists can access data and metadata, create custom connectors, integrate with external data, and apply business logic. The solution allows users to create three types of apps: canvas, model-driven, and portal. They are made using:

    • Power Apps Studio: Canvas apps are designed through Power Apps Studio. This app designer is suitable for complete beginners, as the app creation process resembles the building of presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint.

    • App Designer: Model-driven apps are created through App Designer. The creation process allows users to define the sitemap and add components to build the application.

    • Power Apps Portals Studio: This is a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) design tool. It is suitable for portal applications, as it allows users to add and configure web pages, forms, components, and lists.

    Microsoft Power Apps Features

    The three different design tools of the solution, Power Apps Studio, App Designer, and Power Apps Portals Studio, come with various features which allow users to utilize the tools. Some of these features include:

    • Common Data Service (CDS): The data storage feature of the solution allows users to store and manage the data used for business applications securely. The data within the feature is stored among a set of entities, including a base set of standard entities as well as user-made custom ones, using Power Query. The data within CDS can be used to build apps.

    • Cloud connectivity: Microsoft Power Apps has the ability to connect with various types of cloud services. It can connect with MS CDS, as well as SQL, DropBox, and Google Drive.

    • Sharing feature: The tool has a feature for sharing built applications. Users can share the app they have created with users within the same organization as them.

    • Role-based feature: The product allows organizations to assign their employees roles within the platform. This is done to create customization based on the assigned roles, potentially eliminating issues that a completely free access can create.

    • AI automation: The tool has a feature that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI). It provides users with an AI builder and pre-built AI components to facilitate the application building process.

    • APIs feature: Microsoft Power Apps facilitates the app-building process through application program interfaces (APIs).

    • Collaboration support: The tool supports collaboration within the organization in the application building process. Through this feature, multiple employees can contribute to the creation of an app.

    Microsoft Power Apps Benefits

    The product brings various benefits to organizations and individuals who utilize it. Some of the biggest advantages of Microsoft Power Apps include:

    • The solution saves time for organizations by eliminating manual coding and providing ready-to-use solutions.

    • Applications built on the product can be made compatible with various platforms, including the web, Windows, Android, and iOS.

    • The premium connectors and wide integration of the platform allow developers to use data from Microsoft and from third-party services to build their applications.

    • The no-code capability enhances mobility and innovations within companies.

    • The AI feature of the product allows companies to increase their productivity through prebuilt AI scenarios.

    • The tool offers various ways to follow the data from the created applications, allowing companies to benefit from the reports of the performance of their apps.

    • Professional developers receive a platform to follow crucial metrics and access the application development in detail.

    • Power Apps can be connected across the entire Microsoft Power Platform, allowing organizations to utilize all features that the provider offers.

    Reviews from Real Users

    An IT Specialist (INFOSEC) at a government appreciates this tool because it is low-code, low learning curve, and reduces manpower.

    Rafael T., a data engineer at NTT Security, likes Microsoft Power Apps, because it is great for making apps quickly, has helpful support, and integrates with Power BI.

    Sample Customers
    Real Madrid, Absolut, AccuWeather, Heineken, NBC News, Paramount
    TransAlta, Rackspace, Telstra
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company23%
    Energy/Utilities Company14%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Construction Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company25%
    Manufacturing Company13%
    Insurance Company9%
    Outsourcing Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company12%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Government10%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise5%
    Large Enterprise67%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business21%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise66%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise50%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise12%
    Large Enterprise68%
    Buyer's Guide
    Microsoft Azure App Service vs. Microsoft Power Apps
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure App Service vs. Microsoft Power Apps and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Microsoft Azure App Service is ranked 8th in Rapid Application Development Software with 38 reviews while Microsoft Power Apps is ranked 1st in Rapid Application Development Software with 77 reviews. Microsoft Azure App Service is rated 8.4, while Microsoft Power Apps is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Microsoft Azure App Service writes "A solution with great server management and helps improve performance". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Power Apps writes "Low-code, low learning curve, and reduces manpower". Microsoft Azure App Service is most compared with Oracle Application Express (APEX), ServiceNow, Pega BPM, Appian and Adobe ColdFusion, whereas Microsoft Power Apps is most compared with Mendix, Oracle Application Express (APEX), ServiceNow, Appian and Salesforce Platform. See our Microsoft Azure App Service vs. Microsoft Power Apps report.

    See our list of best Rapid Application Development Software vendors.

    We monitor all Rapid Application Development Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.