Power Platform licensing trips up organisations at both ends: over-spending on licences they do not need, and under-licensing scenarios that should have been budgeted for.
What is included with Microsoft 365
Most M365 plans include limited Power Platform: standard connectors only, no Dataverse, and daily usage limits. For many departmental scenarios this is sufficient. For enterprise-grade automation you will quickly hit the limits.
When you need premium licensing
You need Power Apps Premium when your app uses Dataverse, premium connectors (SQL Server, Salesforce, SAP), custom connectors, or on-premises data with premium connectors.
Per-user: one user, unlimited apps. Per-app: one user, one app. Per-app is cheaper for one app; per-user is better for multiple apps.
The questions to ask before starting a project
- What connectors will this solution use?
- Will this solution use Dataverse?
- How many users will need access?
- Is this attended or unattended automation?
The licensing conversation should happen at project inception. Discovering premium licences are needed for three hundred users after building is a painful conversation.
Microsoft licensing terms change. Always verify current details against official documentation before making commitments.
