⚡ TL;DR: 10 Features You'd Have to Build Yourself
Custom Development (3 Years)
217.000-348.000€
Power Pages (3 years, 250 users)
82.200€*
Savings: 134.800-265.800€ (62-76%)
For 250 active users over 3 years. Plus: Managed Platform, SLA, automatic updates.
What you'd have to build yourself with custom development:
*Important: The stated license costs (€200/month) refer to capacity-based licensing for external users (Tier 1: 100 Authenticated Users). Power Apps Premium provides no discount on these costs.
D365 Enterprise Use Rights: If you have D365 Sales/Service Enterprise, internal users with D365 licenses can use Power Pages in the same environment – but for external customers/partners you still need capacity-based licensing.
"We prefer to develop a portal ourselves with the Dataverse API."
This statement comes up in almost every other conversation. The consideration is understandable: Why pay for licenses when you already have Dataverse?
But: Those who only see the license costs overlook what is already included out-of-the-box in Power Pages – and how expensive it becomes to build everything yourself.
Plus: Many companies already have Power Pages in their license and don't know it.
📦 What's Included Out-of-the-Box?
1. Native Dataverse Integration with Dedicated Security Concept
Table Permissions (Row-Level Security)
Define granular access to records – based on relationships (e.g., "user only sees their own orders") and Web Roles.[2]
Custom Development: Securing Dataverse Web API yourself, building permissions layer = €10,000-15,000
Column Permissions (Field-Level Security)
Hide sensitive fields (e.g., salary, internal notes) for specific user groups – or partially mask data.[2]
Custom Development: Implementing Field-Level Security manually = included in the €10,000-15,000
Web Roles & Authentication
Enterprise Authentication out-of-the-box: Microsoft Entra ID (internal), Entra External ID (external), MFA, SSO, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0 – all configurable without code.
Custom Development: Auth-System + MFA = already factored into portal development
💰 Value: Building security concept yourself = €10,000-15,000. With Power Pages: Included.
2. Dataverse Enterprise Features (Audit, Monitoring, Admin)
Power Pages runs on Dataverse – and with it you automatically get Enterprise-Grade database features that you would need to build yourself with custom development.
Audit Logs (Traceability)
Automatic logging: Who created/modified/deleted which record when? Dataverse logs all changes – GDPR-compliant, immutable.[8]
- • User Tracking: Which portal user changed data?
- • Field-Level Auditing: Old vs. new values (e.g., price from €100 → €120)
- • Compliance-ready: For ISO 27001, GDPR Art. 32 (proof obligation)
- • Retention: Audit data can be stored for up to 7 years
Custom Development: Building audit system yourself (database triggers, audit tables, UI) = €8,000-12,000
System Jobs (Background Jobs & Workflows)
Monitoring asynchronous processes: Power Automate Flows, Plugins, Bulk-Operations – everything runs as a system job and is centrally monitorable.[9]
- • Job-Monitoring: Which workflows are running? Which have failed?
- • Error-Tracking: Error messages, Stack Traces, retry mechanisms
- • Performance-Analysis: How long do jobs take? Where are bottlenecks?
- • Automatic Retry: Failed jobs are automatically retried
Custom Development: Job-Queue-System + Monitoring + Error-Handling = €12,000-18,000
Power Platform Admin Center (Central Monitoring)
All environments in one place: Dev, Test, Prod – centrally manage, monitor, secure.[10]
- • Capacity-Monitoring: How much database/file storage is consumed?
- • User Analytics: How many authenticated/anonymous users are accessing?
- • Security-Monitoring: Suspicious login attempts, IP-Tracking
- • Backup & Restore: Point-in-Time recovery (up to 28 days)
- • Environment-Lifecycle: Copy, Reset, Backup with one click
- • Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Policies for data exports
Custom Development: Admin-Dashboard + Monitoring + Backup-Automation = €15,000-25,000
Application Insights Integration
Telemetry & Performance-Monitoring: Power Pages can be connected to Azure Application Insights – for deep performance analysis, custom events, exception tracking.
Custom Development: Integrating Application Insights yourself = €3,000-5,000
💰 Value: Building Audit + System Jobs + Admin Center yourself = €38,000-60,000. With Power Pages: Included (Dataverse feature).
Data is secure, audit is running – but how do you protect your portal from external attacks? With custom development, you'd need to set up a WAF yourself. Power Pages includes it.
3. Web Application Firewall (WAF)
Azure Front Door powered WAF
Power Pages includes an Enterprise-Grade WAF – powered by Azure Front Door.[3] Protects against SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), DDoS attacks.
Custom Rules
- • IP-Restrictions: Allow/block specific IP addresses
- • Geo-Filtering: Restrict access by countries (e.g., EU only)
- • Rate Limiting: Protection against brute-force attacks
Managed Rule Sets
Microsoft automatically updates the WAF rules for new threats. You don't need to worry about security patches yourself.
💰 Value: Configuring Azure Front Door + WAF yourself = €8,000-12,000. With Power Pages: Included.
Security is in place – but how do marketing and business departments actually create content? With custom development, you'd need to build a CMS. Power Pages includes a complete content editor – with accessibility and 50 languages.
4. CMS Features
WYSIWYG Page Editor
Drag & Drop Editor for web pages – without code. Marketing can customize pages themselves.[4]
5 Workspaces
- • Pages: Create & design web pages
- • Styling: Customize themes & branding
- • Data: Manage Dataverse tables
- • Setup: Integrations & configuration
- • Security: Web Roles & Permissions
No-Code Standard Components (50+)
Pre-built UI components – WCAG 2.2-compliant (accessibility guaranteed).[17]
- • Basics: Text, Spacer, Divider, Button, Image, Video, IFrame
- • Forms: Forms (with Dataverse integration), Multistep Forms, File Upload
- • Data: Lists (Dataverse Tables), Charts, Power BI Reports, Copilot Search
- • Layout: Section, 1-Column/2-Column/3-Column Layouts
- • Accessibility: All components WCAG 2.2 Level AA-compliant (US Section 508, EN 301 549)
- • Screen Reader Support: Alt-texts, ARIA-Labels, Tooltip support
Custom Development: Developing accessible UI components + WCAG-Testing = additional €8,000-12,000
Multi-language Support (50+ Languages)
Native Multi-Language Support – one content structure, 50+ languages.[18]
- • Supported Languages: 50+ pre-configured languages (German, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, etc.)
- • Custom Languages: Additional languages can be added (via Dataverse configuration)
- • Content Localization: Web pages, Content Snippets, Form Labels, Navigation – automatic per language
- • Language Switcher: Dropdown menu for language switching (automatically generated)
- • User Preferences: Users can save preferred language in their profile
- • Single Content Hierarchy: One Parent-Page + Child-Pages per language (no duplicate content)
Custom Development: Building multi-language system yourself (i18n-Framework, Content-Management) = additional €10,000-18,000
💰 Value: CMS + Accessibility + Multi-language = €33,000-55,000. With Power Pages: Included.
Content management is running – but how do you integrate e-signatures, payments, or other services? With custom development, you'd need to develop each integration individually. Power Pages includes low-code connectors.
5. Native Integrations (Low-Code)
DocuSign (E-Signatures)
Integrate digital signatures directly into Multi-Step Forms – via Low-Code Studio, without custom development.[5]
Custom Development: Connecting DocuSign API yourself = €5,000-8,000
Stripe (Payments)
Accept online payments – directly in the portal, with Enhanced Data Model.[5] Configuration via External Apps in Setup Workspace.
Custom Development: Stripe API + Payment-Flow = €8,000-12,000
Power Automate (1000+ Connectors)
Connect Power Pages with 1000+ services: SharePoint, Azure SQL, SAP, Salesforce, Microsoft 365, etc. – via Cloud Flow.
Custom Development: Each integration individually = €3,000-8,000 per service
💰 Value: Building 3 integrations yourself = €16,000-28,000. With Power Pages: Low-Code configuration.
Integrations are working – but do you really have to start from scratch with portal design? With custom development, you start from the ground up. Power Pages includes 6 pre-built templates for common scenarios.
6. Dynamics 365 Templates (Portal Accelerators)
If you use Dynamics 365, you get pre-built templates for common portal scenarios – ready to deploy immediately.[6]
Customer Self-Service Portal
Customers access Knowledge Base, Cases, Feedback
Partner Portal
Resellers/Distributors have real-time access to Deals, Leads
Employee Self-Service Portal
HR requests, vacation, knowledge base for employees
Field Service Customer Portal
Customers book appointments, track technicians, provide feedback
Community Portal
Peer-to-peer support between customers and experts
Event Portal
Event details, sessions, speakers, registration (Customer Insights)
💰 Value: Designing UI/UX from the ground up = €20,000-40,000. With Power Pages: Templates included.
Portal design is set – but how do you deploy from Dev to Test to Prod? With custom development, you need Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions. Power Pages has built-in deployment automation.
7. Enterprise Deployment & ALM (Power Platform Pipelines)
Power Platform Pipelines
Automated deployments between environments (Dev → Test → Prod) – without Azure DevOps.[7]
Pipelines validate deployments in advance (missing dependencies are detected), manage connections and environment variables automatically.
Solution-based Architecture
Export/Import as Managed Solutions – familiar ALM model from Dynamics 365. Version control, rollback capability.
Optional: Azure DevOps & GitHub Integration
For pro developers: Power Platform Build Tools (Azure DevOps) or GitHub Actions – if you need more than Pipelines.
💰 Value: Building CI/CD-Pipeline yourself (Azure DevOps Setup) = €10,000-15,000. With Power Pages: Included.
Deployment is automated – but what about pro developers who want more than low-code? With custom development, you have full flexibility. Power Pages too – with Liquid, VS Code Integration, and Copilot AI.
8. Pro-Code Extensibility: Liquid, VS Code & Copilot
Power Pages is not just a low-code tool – Pro developers get Enterprise-Grade Extensibility:
Liquid Template Language (Server-Side)
Server-side scripting language for dynamic content – Open Source, known from Shopify.[11]
- • Use Cases: Conditional logic (if/else), Loops (for each), Dataverse Query (FetchXML), Custom Templates
- • Syntax:
{% raw %}{% if user.role == "admin" %}{% endraw %}– like Jinja2/Django - • Advantage: No custom plugins needed for many scenarios
Custom Development: Building templating system yourself = €5,000-8,000
Visual Studio Code Integration
Native VS Code Extension – edit Power Pages directly in your code editor.[12]
- • IntelliSense for Liquid: Autocomplete, Syntax Highlighting
- • Site Management: Upload/Download of Templates, Snippets, Webpages
- • Preview: Embedded Browser for Live-Preview
- • Version Control: Git-Integration out-of-the-box
Advantage: Pro developers work in their familiar IDE – no separate toolchain
Copilot & AI-Powered Development
Generative AI in Design Studio – Copilot creates pages, forms, Dataverse tables via natural language.[13]
- • Copilot in Pages: "Create a contact form with name, email, company" → Done
- • Copilot Studio Agents: Embed chatbots with custom business logic
- • AI List Search: Natural Language Queries on Dataverse data
- • Site Copilot: Searchable authenticated user content + public content
Custom Development: Integrating AI features yourself (OpenAI API) = €8,000-15,000
💰 Value: Liquid Templating + VS Code Setup + AI-Integration = €13,000-23,000. With Power Pages: Included.
Developer tools are available – but who takes care of hosting, backups, updates, CDN? With custom development, you're responsible yourself. Power Pages is a Managed Platform – Microsoft handles the infrastructure.
9. Managed Platform (No Infrastructure Maintenance)
✓ Hosting (Azure, EU choice)
✓ CDN (global performance)
✓ Automatic Backups
✓ Disaster Recovery
✓ Platform Updates (2x/year)
✓ Security Patches (automatic)
✓ 99.9% Uptime SLA
✓ ISO 27001, SOC 2
💰 Value: DevOps + Hosting + Monitoring (3 years) = €21,000-30,000. With Power Pages: Included.
Platform is running – but how do you monitor ongoing security risks? How do you find vulnerabilities? With custom development, you'd need to buy pen-tests and build monitoring yourself. Power Pages has integrated security tools.
10. Dedicated Security Features (Security Scan, CSP, Admin Center)
Power Pages offers Enterprise-Grade Security-Tools that would need to be manually implemented with custom development:
Security Scan (Deep Scan & Quick Scan)
Automatic vulnerability detection – static and dynamic security scans at the push of a button.[14]
- • Deep Scan: Complete security check (anonymous + authenticated pages)
- • XSS Detection: Detect Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities
- • Insecure Libraries: Identify outdated JavaScript libraries
- • PDF Report: Detailed report with fix recommendations
- • Security Workspace: Central overview of all security alerts
Custom Development: Integrating vulnerability scanner (OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite) = €5,000-8,000
Content Security Policy (CSP)
XSS protection at HTTP header level – blocks unknown script sources.[15]
- • CSP Directives: Configurable policies (script-src, style-src, font-src)
- • Nonce-based: Cryptographic code for inline scripts (prevents injection)
- • Site Settings: HTTP/Content-Security-Policy via Portal Management App
- • Example:
script-src 'self' 'nonce'– only own scripts allowed
Custom Development: CSP implementation + testing = €3,000-5,000
Power Platform Admin Center: Security Dashboard
Central security management for all Power Pages sites in the tenant.[16]
- • WAF Status: Overview of WAF-enabled/disabled sites
- • Anonymous Access Monitoring: Which sites allow anonymous Dataverse access?
- • Authentication Key Expiry: Automatic warning for expiring keys (90 days)
- • SSL Certificate Monitoring: Expiration date tracking
- • Security Meter: Site Health Assessment (Standard/Enhanced/Advanced)
- • Daily Automated Scans: Daily automatic security checks
Custom Development: Building security dashboard yourself = €10,000-15,000
💰 Value: Security Scan + CSP + Admin Dashboard = €18,000-28,000. With Power Pages: Included.
"That sounds like a lot of technology – but do I really need it? We just want a simple customer portal. Custom development is more flexible."
Many think of Power Pages only for external B2B/B2C portals. This overlooks a massive use case: Internal Portals for employees. Why pay $20/user/month for Power Apps Premium when Power Pages starts at $2/user/month? The use cases are broader than you think – and often already included in your license.
🎯 Use Cases: External AND Internal
External Portals
- ✓ B2B Customer Portals: Self-Service, Orders, Support
- ✓ Partner Portals: Distributor Access to Deals, Leads
- ✓ Service Portals: Field Service Appointments, Technician Tracking
- ✓ Community Portals: Peer-to-peer Support
Internal Portals (often overlooked!)
- ✓ Help Desk: IT Service Portal for Employees
- ✓ HR Self-Service: Leave, Expenses, Onboarding
- ✓ Knowledge Base: Internal, simpler than SharePoint
- ✓ Alternative to Model-Driven Apps: For occasional users
💡 Internal Use Case: When Power Pages instead of Model-Driven App?
Problem: Model-Driven Apps are powerful, but complex. For occasional users (e.g., HR employees who submit leave 2x/month), too much overhead.
Solution: Power Pages as internal app alternative – simpler UX, faster to develop than Canvas App, cheaper than Model-Driven App for occasional users.
Cost: $2/user/month (Power Pages) vs. $20/user/month (Power Apps Premium) – with 100 occasional users you save $1,800/month.
"OK, the features are impressive. But custom is still cheaper – I only pay for development, no monthly license costs."
This is the most common fallacy. Because custom development doesn't just mean "building a frontend". You must rebuild all 10 features that Power Pages brings out-of-the-box: Security concept, audit logs, WAF, CMS, integrations, deployments, pro-code tools (Liquid/VS Code/Copilot), managed platform, security features (Security Scan/CSP). Let's do the honest 3-year calculation – with all hidden costs.
💰 TCO Comparison: Power Pages vs. Custom with Dataverse API
| Cost Item | Custom Development (Dataverse API) |
Power Pages (3 years) |
Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portal UI/UX | €30,000-50,000 | Templates incl. | €30,000-50,000 |
| Security Concept (Row/Column) | €10,000-15,000 | Table Permissions incl. | €10,000-15,000 |
| Dataverse Enterprise Features (Audit, System Jobs, Admin Center) | €38,000-60,000 | Dataverse incl. | €38,000-60,000 |
| WAF & Security | €8,000-12,000 | Azure Front Door WAF incl. | €8,000-12,000 |
| CMS Features (incl. Accessibility + Multilingual) | €33,000-55,000 | WYSIWYG Editor + 50+ Languages incl. | €33,000-55,000 |
| Integrations (3x: DocuSign, Stripe, Power Automate) | €16,000-28,000 | Low-Code Connectors incl. | €16,000-28,000 |
| CI/CD Pipeline | €10,000-15,000 | Power Platform Pipelines incl. | €10,000-15,000 |
| Pro-Code Extensibility (Liquid, VS Code, Copilot AI) | €13,000-23,000 | Liquid + VS Code + Copilot incl. | €13,000-23,000 |
| Security Features (Security Scan, CSP, Admin Dashboard) | €18,000-28,000 | Security Workspace incl. | €18,000-28,000 |
| Development Time (8-12 Weeks) | €20,000-32,000 | €75,000 (8-12 Weeks) | -€55,000 to -€43,000 |
| Initial Development TOTAL | €196,000-318,000 | €75,000 | €121,000-243,000 |
| Hosting + DevOps (3 years) | €21,000-30,000 | Managed Platform incl. | €21,000-30,000 |
| Licenses (3 years) | — |
250 users (Tier 1): €7,200* 2,000 users (Tier 1): €144,000 10,000 users (Tier 2): €270,000 |
Variable Costs |
| Total Cost of Ownership (3 years) | €217,000-348,000 |
250 users: €82,200* 2,000 users: €219,000 10,000 users: €345,000 |
€134,800-265,800 -€2,000 to +€129,000 -€128,000 to +€3,000 |
📊 Result: Power Pages is 62-76% cheaper at 250 users than custom development over 3 years – and you get support, SLA, automatic updates, no maintenance overhead.
Break-Even Analysis by User Count:
- ✅ 250 users: €134,800-265,800 savings (62-76% cheaper)
- ⚠️ 2,000 users: ~Break-Even (Custom and Power Pages cost similar)
- ❌ 10,000 users: Custom becomes cheaper (but: you lose Managed Platform, Enterprise ALM, Security Updates)
*Note: The €7,200 license costs refer to external users (customers/partners). If you have D365 Enterprise, internal employees can use Power Pages without additional costs – but for external users you still need capacity-based licensing.
"At 250 users I save 62-76%. But what about >2,000 users? When does custom make sense anyway?"
Valid question. Power Pages is not the best choice for every scenario. At ~2,000 users you reach the break-even point, at 10,000+ custom becomes cheaper. But many overestimate their "special requirements" and underestimate how much Power Pages covers. Here's the honest decision matrix.
🤔 When Does Custom Development Make Sense?
✅ Choose Power Pages when...
- ✓ You already have D365 or Power Apps Premium (Portal often already included!)
- ✓ Standard B2B/B2C portal scenarios (Customer Self-Service, Partner Portals, Employee Onboarding)
- ✓ Fast time-to-market (8-12 weeks instead of 6 months)
- ✓ Managed platform desired (no DevOps team needed)
- ✓ Enterprise ALM (Dev/Test/Prod Pipelines) + automatic security updates
- ✓ < 2,000 active users/month (clear cost savings)
- ✓ 2,000-10,000 users: Break-even, but managed platform as added value
⚠️ Custom makes sense when...
- • >10,000 active users/month (Custom becomes cheaper, Tier 2/3 pricing increases sharply)
- • Extremely specific UI requirements (not solvable with Liquid + Templates)
- • No Dynamics 365 / Power Apps licenses available (and not planned)
- • Complex offline-first scenarios (Progressive Web App, Service Workers)
- • No Dataverse desired (other database preferred: PostgreSQL, MongoDB)
- • You have an experienced DevOps team + accept maintenance overhead
"The TCO calculation shows 42-64% savings. But what about time-to-market? What about risk? Custom gives me more control."
This is the biggest misconception of many decision makers: you only calculate direct costs. But there are massive hidden values that don't appear in any TCO table – but have real business impact: Earlier market launch, guaranteed SLAs, compliance security, zero vendor lock-in. These "soft factors" can be worth more than the €120,000-251,000 cost savings.
💎 Hidden Values Often Overlooked
1 Time-to-Market: 8-12 Weeks instead of 6 Months
Custom: 6 months development. Power Pages: 8-12 weeks with templates. 3-4 months earlier ROI = ~€20,000-26,000 realized sooner.
2 Support & SLA: 99.9% Uptime Guaranteed
Custom: You are responsible for outages. Power Pages: Microsoft guarantees 99.9% SLA – including 24/7 support.
3 Automatic Updates: 2x/year New Features
Custom: Every new feature = development costs. Power Pages: 2x/year (Wave 1 & 2) automatic updates – new features without migration.
4 Included Dataverse Capacity: 2 GB Database + 16 GB Files
Power Pages Authenticated license includes:
- • 2 GB Dataverse Database Capacity (Tables, Relations)
- • 16 GB Dataverse File Capacity (Attachments, Documents)
- • 1 GB Dataverse Log Capacity (Audit Logs, Change Tracking)
Custom: Database hosting extra = ~€1,200-2,400/year (Azure SQL/PostgreSQL + Blob Storage). With Power Pages: Included. Additional capacity purchasable in 1 GB increments.
5 Low-Code Customizations: Citizen Developer
Custom: Every change needs a developer. Power Pages: Citizen developers (Marketing, Business Units) can make 80% of customizations themselves = ~€15,000/year saved on external developer costs.
6 Enterprise ALM: Deployment Automation without DevOps Overhead
Custom: Build + maintain Azure DevOps pipeline yourself. Power Pages: Power Platform Pipelines = deployment automation out-of-the-box, no DevOps skills needed.
Check Your Licenses
Do you have Dynamics 365 or Power Apps Premium? Then you probably already have Power Pages rights. In a free 30-minute consultation, we'll analyze your licenses and show concrete use cases.
Book Initial Consultation Now