Power Apps Vs Web Apps: Which One is Right for Your Business?

These days, everything has an app, from business-critical systems to simple requests via a form. The days of exclusively using spreadsheets are long behind us, as organisations realise the huge value of being able to capture data in an app, as well as the improvements in efficiency, governance, security, and overall user experience to name a few. But what’s the best way to build these apps? 

We often find organisations making a choice between PowerApps and ‘full fat’ web apps and it’s not always obvious which one to go with. Many are exploring a ‘citizen developer’ approach in Power Apps, but is that the best way in every scenario? This blog covers the comparison of Power Apps Vs Web Apps and what might work for your organisation. 

What Are Power Apps? 

Microsoft Power Apps is a low-code platform for quickly creating custom business applications without extensive coding. It’s part of the Microsoft Power Platform, it integrates with Microsoft 365 (e.g., SharePoint, Teams), and uses Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) for secure authentication. You can drag-and-drop app components, connect to various data sources, and deploy to desktop or mobile devices. Power Apps also works with Power Automate for workflows and Power BI for reporting, making it perfect for “citizen developers” who need to build solutions fast. 

While great for lots of use cases, sometimes a Power App doesn’t quite meet the requirements of the business. This is where web apps come in. 

What Are Web Apps? 

Bespoke web applications are fully custom software solutions built with tools like .NET and hosted on platforms like Microsoft Azure. They offer complete control over everything – interface design, data structures, backend integrations, and security. Development teams can collaborate using GitHub or Azure DevOps, reuse code across projects, and seamlessly integrate Azure services like App Service, Azure SQL, and Azure AI. If you need deep customisation, specialised functionality, or the flexibility to evolve with complex business needs, web apps provide a powerful, bespoke approach that suits production systems well. 

Not sure which type of app best suits your needs? Let’s walk you through each option’s pros and cons. 

Figure 1 – This diagram shows the structure of a power app solution compared to a bespoke web app solution at a high level 
Note: The web app solution can be far more complex depending on the requirements e.g. including complex networking. 

Pros of Power Apps 

Power Apps excels in scenarios where speed and integration with Microsoft products are the primary focus.  

• Quick Development & Deployment: Their rapid development and deployment capabilities are a significant upside, allowing teams to quickly prototype solutions or launch simple applications without a full development cycle.  

• Microsoft Integration: PowerApps seamlessly integrate with Microsoft 365, connecting directly to tools like SharePoint, Teams, and Dataverse.  

• Simple Security: They avoid the hassle of additional authentication setups as it’s fully integrated with Azure Active Directory.  

These attributes make Power Apps an excellent fit for internal business apps, process automation, and workflow management within organisations that rely heavily on Microsoft tools. Plus, with a low-code environment and the familiar Microsoft UI, users with limited coding knowledge can create apps, and it (almost) removes the dependency on a full team of developers. 

Power Apps offers a range of advanced features that can elevate the functionality of your apps. Its extensive collection of connectors allows you to seamlessly integrate with a variety of data sources, both within the Microsoft ecosystem and external services. Users can even create their own custom connectors! While these advanced features unlock a wealth of possibilities, the limits of Power Apps can be quickly reached as you add complexity. The need for source control, separate development environments, testing, and much more, becomes apparent. This is where a Web app steps in.

Pros of Web Apps 

Web apps offer several advantages that make them ideal for a wide range of applications, such as real-time data processing, handling large datasets, extreme numbers of users, or even AI integration.  

• Performance: With the power of cloud computing and modern web technologies, web apps can offer fast performance and seamless data handling, ensuring smooth user experiences even for complex tasks.  

• Customisation & Flexibility: Web apps allow for more extensive UI/UX customisation, enabling teams to design unique, interactive, and user-centric interfaces to meet specific business or user requirements.  

• Infrastructure: Web Apps allow precise control over the infrastructure surrounding it which is especially useful for strict security and cost requirements. 

With these available features, a dedicated team working on the app is a must, and Web Apps provide the tools necessary for collaboration. With web-based platforms, multiple developers can work on an app simultaneously, enabling efficient teamwork on GitHub or DevOps Repositories and streamlined version control through Git. The ability to create separate development, staging, and production environments allows for thorough testing and feature reviews before implementation. This ensures higher-quality applications and reduces the risk of errors.

Furthermore, the web development community is vast and diverse, offering a wealth of resources in various programming languages like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. This makes it easier to diagnose issues, find solutions, and stay updated with best practices. Web apps benefit from a broad support network, enhancing the development process and reducing roadblocks in project progress. 

Power Apps Vs Web Apps, which one is best for your organisation? 

To answer this, let’s look at a few scenarios. 

Suppose we have a housing association with the following requirements: 

1. Technicians visit homes to review and service boilers as part of their maintenance procedures. As part of the service, the technician must complete a form to capture details about the boiler. These technicians mainly use mobile devices. 

• Here we’d be more inclined to use a Power App, given the need for mobile use. 

2. Administrators in head office need to be able to manage the scheduling of the boiler reviews and ensure that technicians are assigned to the relevant jobs. This needs to use AI to predict when faults are likely to occur, plotting the results on a map. The system must also include workflows involving approvals. 

• If the workflows or integrations with AI are complex, then a bespoke web app may be more suitable, otherwise we could use a Power App for this as well. 

3. Tenants of the housing association must be able to login to an online portal where they can view information about their tenancy and make payments. They must be able to login with their own accounts, including Microsoft accounts, Google accounts, as well as usernames and passwords. 

• Given the complex nature of the authentication and payment processes, a bespoke web app would likely be more suitable. 

As you can see, even within the same organisation, the requirements can dictate using one approach over the other. 

Conclusion

Both Power Apps and bespoke web apps are great tools for building business applications. As with many things, there’s no one right answer as to which is the best to use. Power Apps are great when you need something that’s quick and simple to get up and running, and where your teams don’t have the skills to build bespoke apps. 

Web apps help to overcome some of the limitations of Power Apps and, as your apps become more complex, building a custom web app is often easier than a Power App due to the extra control it gives you. Hopefully this blog has given you some thoughts about which might be best suited for your solutions. 

How Simpson Associates can help

At Simpson Associates we have experience in both Power apps and web apps and can help you on your journey to build your own business applications. Whether you’re unsure of which approach to take or are just looking for a partner to help build your apps, we’ve got you covered.

Read more about Simpson Associates Power Platform Accelerator and how we work with custom web apps. Get in touch today and find out how we can help your organisation. 

Blog Authors:

Joe Sumpner, Lead consultant at Simpson Associates.

Cody Lamber-Hope, Senior Consultant at Simpson Associates.

Alex Brown, Senior Consultant at Simpson Associates.

Harry Asteriades, Consultant at Simpson Associates.