Feature Comparison
Power Portals Pro vs Power Pages
Both build portals on Dataverse — but they take fundamentally different approaches. See which one fits your team and your requirements.
| Feature | Power Portals Pro | Power Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | React (Vite SPA) or Blazor (Server, WebAssembly, or Auto) — C# + TypeScript | Low-code / Liquid templates |
| Rendering Options | ✓ React single-page app or Blazor Server / WebAssembly / Auto — chosen at dotnet new time |
Server-rendered HTML with Liquid |
| UI Framework | Microsoft Fluent UI (React & Blazor) | Bootstrap (customizable) |
| Hosting | Self-hosted (Azure, any cloud) | Microsoft-hosted |
| Source Control | Full codebase in Git | Configuration-based |
| Form Components | Metadata-driven typed editors | Visual form designer |
| Data Grids | MainGrid & SubGrid with inline editing, views, paging, and accent-insensitive search across text, lookup, and Choice columns | Lists with basic configuration |
| Charts | ✓ Theme-aware bar, line, pie, doughnut, radar, polar, and funnel charts (plus multi-series and year-over-year variants) with Dataverse aggregate data sources, click events, and grid cross-filtering | Basic Power BI embedding |
| File Management | ✓ FileGrid with drag-and-drop upload, and per-row preview + download icons on any grid — with built-in rendering for images, PDFs, Markdown, syntax-highlighted source, and browsable zip archives | File attachments via notes/annotations |
| Bulk File Download | ✓ Download All / Download Selected — zips matching rows into a single file | ✗ |
| Transactional Saves | ✓ Multi-record atomic transactions across form fields, sub-grids, and file uploads | ✗ |
| Record-Level Security | ✓ Code-driven permission handlers | Table permissions (config-based) |
| Server-Side Interceptors | ✓ Before/after hooks on all operations | ✗ (requires plugins) |
| Dirty State Tracking | ✓ Automatic with navigation guarding | ✗ |
| Localization | ✓ JSON-based with full control over tables, columns, views, choices, and custom strings | Limited to Dynamics language packs; views and choices are difficult to localize |
| Theming | ✓ Light/dark modes, accent colors, RTL | ✓ Theme customization |
| Authentication | ASP.NET Core Identity + Entra ID | Entra ID, B2C, local auth |
| Internal Staff Sign-In | ✓ Sign Dataverse systemusers in directly via Entra ID — no parallel Contact required, Dataverse roles enforce access via CallerId impersonation |
Staff sign in as Contacts (parallel identity) |
| Two-Factor Auth | ✓ Email-based 2FA | ✓ Via identity provider |
| Local Development | ✓ Full local dev experience | ✗ Requires cloud connection |
| CI/CD Pipelines | ✓ Standard .NET build & deploy | Power Platform pipelines |
| Custom Business Logic | C# — unlimited flexibility | Power Automate / Plugins |
| N:N Relationship Editor | ✓ ManyToManyLookupEdit component | ✗ (requires custom development) |
| Project Templates | ✓ dotnet new scaffold with a working Dashboard starter page (aggregate charts cross-filtering a grid) | Starter templates in designer |
| Pricing Model | Flat monthly license fee | Per-user / per-site with capacity packs |
Weighing a move away from Power Pages? See why teams choose Power Portals Pro as their Power Pages alternative
When to Choose Power Portals Pro
Full Code Control
You want to write C# and Razor — not configure through a visual designer. Every component, layout, and behavior is in your codebase and under source control.
Enterprise Requirements
You need transactional saves across multiple records, server-side interceptors, record-level security, or complex business logic that goes beyond what low-code can deliver.
Cost Predictability
Host on your own Azure subscription with a flat monthly license fee. No per-user pricing, no capacity packs, no surprise costs as your portal scales.
When to Choose Power Pages
Low-Code / No-Code
Your team prefers visual designers and configuration over writing code. Power Pages provides a WYSIWYG editor and point-and-click form builder.
Microsoft-Hosted
You want Microsoft to manage the hosting infrastructure. Power Pages runs on Microsoft's cloud without requiring your own Azure resources.
Simple Portals
Your portal requirements are straightforward — basic forms, lists, and content pages that don't require custom server-side logic or complex data operations.
Ready to Get Started?
Try Power Portals Pro with a free trial license.
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