Power Platform is sold on being easy to start with. That is true. The problem is that easy to start with and cheap to own are not the same thing, and the gap between them is where most budgets go wrong.
So let us be concrete about what actually costs money.
First: separate licence from work
Two entirely different costs get conflated as a matter of routine. The licence is a recurring per-user monthly cost to Microsoft. The work is a one-off cost to build what you will use. When somebody says "Power Apps costs this much per user", they have said nothing about the project budget.
Much of what you need is also already covered by the Microsoft 365 licences you hold. It is the premium connectors and Dataverse that need their own. Working through that mix before you buy is often the easiest place to save money in the whole project.
The four cost drivers
1. How many systems the app must talk to
One app reading and writing in one place is inexpensive. The same app wired to an ERP, a line-of-business system and an external service is a different project. Integrations are the largest single item in almost every delivery, exactly as in Dynamics 365 projects.
2. Whether you need Dataverse
If the data already sits in SharePoint or a system with a usable API, the app can read it where it is. Dataverse earns its place when several apps share the same data, or when you need row-level permissions. It does not earn its place merely by appearing in an architecture template.
3. How many people will build
If people in the business are going to build, that is often the entire point, but the environments and governance have to exist first. Without them, apps end up in personal accounts that disappear with a resignation.
4. What happens afterwards
An app in production has to be maintained. Microsoft updates the platform continuously, connectors change, and people leave. Operation is a line in the budget, not a remainder.
The item people forget
Governance. Ten apps built without environments, naming and ownership cost more a year than they saved between them, in time spent working out what exists, who owns it, and why something stopped working. That work is cheap to do first and expensive to do later.
When Power Platform is the wrong tool
This is the part suppliers tend to skip. Choose something else when the need is really a full CRM or ERP, Dynamics 365 is cheaper then, because you buy finished logic instead of building it. Choose something else when the solution goes out to customers at volume. And choose something else when nobody internally will own the app afterwards.
If the answer to a need is that it will take six months to build in Power Platform, we have usually picked the wrong tool.
What to ask for in a quote
- Are premium connectors or Dataverse required, and what do they cost in your case?
- Which environments are set up, and who is allowed to publish to production?
- What is delivered as a solution package, and what exists only in the production environment?
- What does running this cost in a year, when we have five apps instead of one?
What it costs with us
We do not price what we have not understood, so we give numbers after a short scoping call, half an hour is usually enough to say whether this is weeks or months of work. One bounded app is generally weeks. A model-driven app on Dataverse is months. A governed portfolio is a programme, not a project.
Tell us briefly what you need and you will get an estimate you can plan against: ask for an estimate. To compare with the standard platform, we have written up what a Dynamics 365 implementation costs.
Common questions
What does Power Platform cost per user?
Microsoft sets the licence price and revises it annually, so look it up with them rather than trusting a number in an article. The point here is that the licence is rarely what decides the total, that is the integrations, whether you need Dataverse, and what it costs to run the portfolio afterwards.
Is Power Platform cheaper than Dynamics 365?
To begin with, yes. Over time it depends on what you build. If you need standard CRM or ERP functionality, Dynamics 365 is cheaper because the logic already exists. If you need something bespoke and bounded, Power Platform is cheaper.
Do we need Dataverse?
Not always. If the data already sits in SharePoint or a system with a usable API, the app can read it there. Dataverse earns its place when several apps share the same data, or when you need row-level permissions.
How long does a Power Platform app take?
One bounded app or flow takes weeks, not months. With a couple of integrations, 4-8 weeks. A model-driven app on Dataverse, 2-3 months. Longer than that usually means it is the wrong tool for the need.