Microsoft Power Apps vs Retool comparison

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Microsoft Power Apps

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

Microsoft Power Apps and Retool compete in the low-code development space. Microsoft Power Apps holds an advantage for enterprises integrated with Microsoft services, while Retool excels in environments requiring quick development and iteration due to its intuitive interface.

Features: Microsoft Power Apps integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 and Azure, supports robust data connectors, and provides comprehensive access control. Retool features an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, flexible API integration, and responsive design elements, facilitating the rapid development of customized business solutions.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Power Apps could enhance flexibility for non-Microsoft environments, simplify pricing structures, and improve offline functionality. Retool would benefit from better enterprise-level integration, more extensive support documentation, and enhanced security features for sensitive data handling.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Power Apps is easy to deploy within Microsoft technology stacks and offers comprehensive support and documentation. Retool emphasizes speed and adaptability, supporting quick iterations but could improve service response times for large-scale deployments.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Power Apps provides competitive pricing for businesses with existing Microsoft licensing, offering a strong ROI within this ecosystem. Retool employs a modular pricing approach, which can yield superior ROI for rapid development projects, although precise pricing information is unavailable.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Power Apps vs. Retool Report (Updated: July 2025).

Microsoft Power Apps vs. Retool

July 2025

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Helped 865,384 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Power Apps

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

1st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Low-Code Development Platforms (1st)

Retool

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

16th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Microsoft Power Apps is 12.5%, down from 20.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Retool is 0.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rapid Application Development Software

Featured Reviews

Guhan Eshwar

Solutions Architect at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees

Building tools with user-friendly interfaces abut needs integration improvements

An integration of Copilot options within Microsoft Power Apps would be useful. In UiPath apps, there is an autopilot function that uses a generative AI model, which creates layouts and connects data services automatically with a prompt. Such integration would be beneficial to build basic frameworks that can be enhanced. This would assist business process users who lack coding knowledge.

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PriyankJain

Full-stack Developer at Dashy Dash

Has notably streamlined the creation and management of admin panels in my organization

One area for improvement in Retool is expanding its library support to include a broader range of third-party JavaScript libraries. This would enhance the tool's versatility and allow more complex functionalities to integrate seamlessly into the admin panels. Retool should include enhanced graphical customization tools in its next release, particularly for creating more dynamic visual representations within the admin panels.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"I like how fast I can develop an application and put it in production with PowerApps. I think the integration is also excellent. The platforms is growing, so they are constantly adding more connectors on all these things."

"The integration with SharePoint is part of the enterprise package, making it cost-effective."

"The most valuable feature is automized processes."

"Time to market is most valuable because you can make apps pretty fast. It also has pretty good integration."

"One of the beauties of Power Apps is the fact that it's low-code."

"It offers integration with several Microsoft products, including SharePoint and Outlook, in my opinion, is a huge plus."

"Microsoft PowerApps allows you to simplify business processes and user experience. You can also create responsive applications and canvas apps through this solution. It's an easy to scale, stable, and low-code solution."

"The solution allows you to use data to create excellent UI and quickly deliver an app. It speeds up production time."

More Microsoft Power Apps pros

"We can create the dashboards quickly."

"There are several key aspects to Retool that make it stand out. Firstly, its extensive range of components makes integration straightforward. Secondly, its support for SQL and JavaScript allows for the implementation of complex logic, which is particularly beneficial for developers like yourself with experience in .NET development."

"The most valuable feature of Retool is the workflow because I can integrate multiple features, such as RESTful API, JavaScript API, or different databases on the same dashboard."

"The stability is okay."

"Retool provides us with the opportunity to save time and be more efficient."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is connectivity with APIs and other databases."

"Retool's most valuable features are its drag-and-drop components and the ability to customize them extensively."

Cons

"Can be improved to cater to complex developments."

"I have heard from developers that there is documentation missing in the reporting."

"Improvements could include more templates for application development, especially those commonly used across different companies."

"Improvements needed for Microsoft Power Apps include addressing the delegation issue."

"Integration with databases and other tools needs to be improved."

"One of the major problems with it is what PowerApps calls the delegation warning. Regardless of what platform, data source, et cetera, that you're using, you can't retrieve more than 2000 records."

"I would like to see a more intuitive merged experience for pro-coders."

"The portal and canvas apps need to be improved and brought up to speed."

More Microsoft Power Apps cons

"The solution lacks inbuilt customization to customize bar charts."

"Retool should add more resource integration."

"The components are changed frequently, which is very irritating."

"There are restrictions on the front-end side."

"Retool could enhance support, including efforts to establish support centers in Europe, which was lacking previously. However, the community is still in the growth phase, leading to potential delays in receiving responses to queries."

"The part where we can add some custom logic or custom plugins could be better."

"One area for improvement in Retool is expanding its library support to include a broader range of third-party JavaScript libraries."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are two licensing costs, one is pay-as-you-go, or you can develop it for one year."

"My company has non-profit licensing, and hence, it is affordable. Pricing depends on usage."

"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 platform's pricing is reasonable."

"The product is inexpensive."

"The price of Microsoft PowerApps is reasonable compared to other solutions."

"For me, it was free to develop with a professional license, which is about 70 euros a month."

"If we compare Microsoft Power Apps with any on-prem or other Azure solutions, I feel it can be made cheaper."

More Microsoft Power Apps pricing and cost advice

"For new users, evaluate the scale of their administrative needs as Retool provides excellent free services for smaller setups, but larger deployments might require transitioning to a paid plan."

"The pricing is very expensive. It costs for each user, for automated users, open-end users, et cetera."

"I don't know Retool's current pricing, but it cost around $12 per month earlier."

"For me, I'm in India right now, and we have Retool's subscription for one team member for $10 per month."

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

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865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

15%

Outsourcing Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How would you choose between Microsoft PowerApps and Salesforce Platform?

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 pla...

Would you choose ServiceNow over Microsoft PowerApps?

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 ...

Would you choose Microsoft Azure App Service or PowerApps?

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 t...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Retool?

For new users, evaluate the scale of their administrative needs as Retool provides excellent free services for smaller setups, but larger deployments might require transitioning to a paid plan.

What needs improvement with Retool?

What is your primary use case for Retool?

I employ Retool primarily to build admin panels that effectively manage office and backend project staff. These panels facilitate the management of various organizational functions and streamline u...

ServiceNow vs Microsoft Power Apps

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Product Reports

Download Microsoft Power Apps product report

Microsoft Power Apps

August 2025

Download Retool product report

August 2025

Also Known As

PowerApps, MS PowerApps

No data available

Overview

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.

Microsoft

Retool enables rapid construction of internal tools with minimal coding, streamlining workflows across HR, customer support, and compliance. Praised for its drag-and-drop interface, extensive component library, and SQL support, it boosts organizational efficiency by automating tasks and enhancing data management.

Sample Customers

TransAlta, Rackspace, Telstra

Information Not Available