What is the difference between Power Pages and Power Apps portals?
By Emil Björk · Microsoft business apps consultant, Gothenburg
They're the same underlying product at different points in its name history. Microsoft rebranded Power Apps portals to Power Pages, repositioning it as a standalone, easier-to-start external-website product built on Dataverse rather than a feature bundled inside Power Apps. Existing portal sites carried forward; new development targets Power Pages branding, tooling, and licensing.
The rebrand came with a genuinely simplified authoring experience aimed at a wider audience than the original portals feature, plus its own dedicated design studio — it isn't purely a name change, even though the underlying Dataverse-backed external-website capability is a direct continuation.
If you're searching documentation or a partner's proposal and see 'portals' rather than 'Power Pages,' treat it as the same capability under the older name rather than a different, discontinued product — current licensing, documentation, and new project scoping should reference Power Pages.
Go deeper
- Power Apps Portals history and rebranding to Power PagesFrom ADXStudio to Dynamics 365 Portals to Power Apps Portals to Power Pages — the product genealogy and what the rebranding means for customers.
- Power Pages for Dynamics 365 customer portalsBuilding customer-facing portals on top of Dataverse — Power Pages templates, authentication, security, and operational realities.
- Power Pages security, in depthHow Power Pages secures external-facing portals — identity providers, web roles, table permissions, page permissions, and the audit and DLP that wraps them.