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Microsoft Power Apps vs Retool comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

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
95
Ranking in other categories
Low-Code Development Platforms (1st)
Retool
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
16th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Microsoft Power Apps is 12.2%, down from 18.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Retool is 0.9%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Power Apps12.2%
Retool0.9%
Other86.9%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

Guhan Eshwar - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Anees Shoukat - PeerSpot reviewer
Built-in features streamline data processing and integration
Retool provides built-in features with all processing happening within the platform, which is a significant advantage. The platform is easy to use without requiring the installation of different libraries. Various features are available through drag and drop and UI-based interactions. The tool allows data retrieval through queries and displays information directly. It offers data tools that grab information based on specified queries and draws everything on screen. If a table is needed, it efficiently lists down the table data. Data manipulation happens through queries. We simply specify the table and required query, and the results are displayed immediately. Permissions are required for access. When we grant access from AWS, Retool can access the data. Without proper permissions, access is restricted. We can provide view-only access in Retool while maintaining view, edit, and delete capabilities in the main system. This allows us to control access for sales personnel and external data viewing. The platform provides an extensive range of graphs and visualization options.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Time to market is most valuable because you can make apps pretty fast. It also has pretty good integration."
"Power Apps facilitates form creation, application planning, and automation. We have encountered scenarios where automation was crucial, such as managing emails according to SOPs and handling basic ERP tasks like user password changes and role assignments"
"I have found the technical support to be helpful."
"The UI functionality is the most valuable aspect of this solution."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the Model-driven or Canvas application-making platforms. The power of the two gives us exactly what we are looking for."
"It is easy to use."
"I like the containerization of Azure."
"As a business person, I design a lot of screens. The solution really resonates with me. Their design is amazing."
"Retool can be used with many applications as it is language independent; anyone can use it easily and create various visualizations regardless of their programming knowledge—this is the main reason I recommend it."
"Retool's most valuable features are its drag-and-drop components and the ability to customize them extensively."
"Retool provides us with the opportunity to save time and be more efficient."
"We can create the dashboards quickly."
"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."
"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 the solution is connectivity with APIs and other databases."
"The stability is okay."
 

Cons

"However, for larger enterprises, the licensing costs for premium connectors can be tricky."
"In an upcoming release, I would like to see custom APIs, better integration with other solutions, and more connectors available."
"I recommend improving Microsoft Power Apps' licensing model. I've encountered challenges related to licensing complexity, which has led some customers to opt for traditional solution development and deployment methods instead."
"Microsoft PowerApps is not intended for customizing what's generated in a major way."
"Microsoft is not cheap. The pricing could be lowered for their customers."
"The price could be lower."
"We'd like to see more integration capabilities in the future."
"I would like to have more options for changing the layout because customizing something as simple as colors is very hard."
"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."
"One area for improvement in Retool is expanding its library support to include a broader range of third-party JavaScript libraries."
"There are restrictions on the front-end side."
"The components are changed frequently, which is very irritating."
"AI tools, features, and machine learning capabilities should be added as they would be helpful in the future."
"The part where we can add some custom logic or custom plugins could be better."
"The solution lacks inbuilt customization to customize bar charts."
"AI tools, features, and machine learning capabilities should be added as they would be helpful in the future."
 

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."
"Power Apps is relatively cheap compared to other low-code and no-code systems like OutSystems and Mendix."
"I pay nine dollars monthly for the subscription to this solution and the price of the is reasonable."
"The price of Microsoft PowerApps is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"The tool is neither cheap nor expensive. The tool's cost is manageable."
"My company has non-profit licensing, and hence, it is affordable. Pricing depends on usage."
"Microsoft PowerApps is expensive, but there are many features included."
"The company has a subscription where you can use certain features for free, but there are features that require a premium subscription to use."
"For me, I'm in India right now, and we have Retool's subscription for one team member for $10 per month."
"The pricing is very expensive. It costs for each user, for automated users, open-end users, et cetera."
"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."
"I don't know Retool's current pricing, but it cost around $12 per month earlier."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Outsourcing Company
10%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise50
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
 

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?
The platform already provides many features, and additional features aren't necessary for medium-level usage. Only very high-level requirements might necessitate more features. AI tools, features, ...
What is your primary use case for Retool?
In Retool, I have designed graphs and data tools to implement rules-based functionality. Instead of implementing these features in our platform, we created them through Retool because we only provi...
 

Also Known As

PowerApps, MS PowerApps
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

TransAlta, Rackspace, Telstra
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Power Apps vs. Retool and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.