Dataverse for Teams vs Dataverse: understanding the difference

Dataverse for Teams and Dataverse are frequently confused. The name similarity suggests they are the same product at different scales. They are not — they are meaningfully different products with different capabilities, different licensing, and a one-way upgrade path between them.

Dataverse for Teams

Dataverse for Teams is a lightweight data store embedded in Microsoft Teams. It is included with most Microsoft 365 licences at no additional cost. It supports Power Apps and Power Automate apps that run inside Teams.

Key constraints:

• Apps built on Dataverse for Teams run only inside Teams — they cannot be run in a browser or on mobile outside of Teams
• Storage is limited per team (currently 2GB per team plus tenant capacity allocation)
• Does not support the full Dataverse feature set: no model-driven apps, no advanced security roles, no full audit logging, limited connector support
• Access is team-based — the data is scoped to the Teams team, not the broader organisation

Dataverse (full)

Full Dataverse is the enterprise-grade data platform. It requires Power Apps Premium or equivalent licensing. It supports the full Power Platform feature set: model-driven apps, canvas apps, Power Automate flows, full security roles, Dataverse audit logging, and all connector types.

When to use which

Use Dataverse for Teams when:

• The solution genuinely only needs to run inside Teams
• The team size and data volume fit within the storage constraints
• You want to avoid additional licence cost for a simple team-level solution
• The solution does not need model-driven apps or advanced security features

Use full Dataverse when:

• The solution needs to run outside of Teams
• You need model-driven apps, advanced security roles, or full audit logging
• The data model is complex with multiple related tables
• The solution will scale beyond a single team

Dataverse for Teams is an excellent choice for genuine Teams-native solutions at team scope. It is a poor choice for solutions that will outgrow it — and the upgrade path to full Dataverse requires rebuilding the app.