We all know that Microsoft’s licensing model can be more complicated than the mazes in those old Tomb Raider games. However, with a bit of guidance by yours truly, you’ll find it’s actually structured and flexible, designed to allow businesses of all sizes and scales to utilize Power Pages without breaking the bank.
In this blog post, I will explain to you the pricing structure of Power Pages, providing insights into how it works and what it means for your budget. Plus, I will show you examples with calculations to help you estimate costs for different scenarios.
Power Pages Pricing Overview
Unlike Power Apps where the maker of the apps needs to have a license, but different rules apply to externals, visitors and guests, Power Pages has a 2 standard pricing models, one for Authenticated (logged in) users, and 1 for anonymous users:
The key here is of course authenticated vs anonymous. If you are planning on building a website that is meant for anyone to be able to visit, like a company homepage, then you will want to go with the anonymous plan.
If you are on the other hand planning on creating an internal portal where you decide who can access it, then the authenticated users plan is the way to go.
NOTE: users and sessions are not the same thing. Each user (authenticated or anonymous) can visit the website as many times as they want.
When it comes to counting users, for the authenticated option its fairly simple. You invite 100 users to the site, they count as 100 users. For the anonymous users, its first come first serve. if 500 random users visit the site, those count as the 500 users you have bought the capacity for.
Note: Websites that are built for anonymous users can be indexed by search engines like Google. This means that these websites can quickly consume their user-credit for the month, so you have to be careful if you go that route.
Its also good to know that if your website surpasses its capacity, you will be getting alerts from Microsoft, but Microsoft will not directly shutdown your website until you have paid for the new capacity.
This of course does not mean that you should play fast & loose with the licensing, but should do your research and consider carefully which licensing model you should choose.
What is included and not included in the price
Much like most of Microsofts other Power Platform licenses, the licenses include the base functionality you need to get going, but can be extended further if needed. Bellow is a quick summary of whats included and can be purchased:
- Base License fee: This is the starting point for Power Pages pricing. They cover the core features and functionalities that every user needs to build and deploy a website. This fee is charged on a per-user and per-site basis (as you can see in the previous picture).
- Additional Capacity Costs: As your website grows, you may need more capacity in terms of data storage, data processing, or custom API calls. Power Pages pricing includes fees for additional capacity beyond what’s included in the base license. These are typically measured in units like GB for storage or per 1,000 API calls.
- Add-On Features and Services: Depending on your specific needs, you might opt for additional features or services that are not included in the base package. These could include advanced analytics, premium connectors to other software, or enhanced customer support options.
What about Dataverse in Power Pages
According to Microsofts official documentation, each Power Pages user receives capacity included with the subscription, but the capacity varies depending on authentication.
For the Authenticated users plan: 2 GB database capacity and 16GB file capacity per user accrued to the tenant. This means that a license for 100 users provides 200 GB database storage and 1.6TB file capacity that can be shared among the users.
For the Anonymous user plan: 0.5 GB database capacity and 4 GB file capacity per user accrued to the tenant. This means that a license for 500 users provides 250 GB database storage and 2 TB file capacity that can be shared among the users.
If you wish to extend the capacity, you can do so by purchasing an additional pack of licenses. The packs (as you can see in the picture above) come at 100 licenses for authenticated users and 500 for anonymous users. There is currently no smaller packs or other ways to purchase additional database storage.
Which license plan should you choose?
As you can see, the licensing plans completely depend on the kind of website you want to build. If you want to make an internal portal, you should choose the authenticated users licensing plan. If you want to make an external portal then you should choose the anonymous plan.
Personally I think there are other solutions that can be more budget friendly if you wish to build an external website, but if you want an easily built website that can connect to Dataverse, Dynamics, Power Automate and other great Microsoft services, then definitely go with Power Pages.
If you want some inspiration on the kind of websites you can build with Power Pages, check out this article that I wrote on the top 5 use-cases for Power Pages.
Conclusion: Making Power Pages Work for Your Budget
Understanding the pricing model of Microsoft Power Pages is super important for making informed decisions and a proper budget for your website project. By starting with a clear view of the base costs and being mindful of how additional capacities and features can impact your budget, you can create a scalable and cost-effective web solution.
Remember, as Power Pages continues to evolve, staying informed about the latest pricing updates and features will ensure that you’re always getting the best value from Power Pages!
