The short version: No. Power Apps licences cover your own staff, not outside clients on a portal. Clients who log in to a Power Pages site need Power Pages authenticated capacity: NZ$323.60 a month per site for up to 100 logged-in users, paid yearly, before GST. Under about ten client logins, sharing a Power App with them as guests is usually cheaper.
Who is covered by what
| Who is logging in | What covers them |
|---|---|
| Your staff, on a Power Pages site | A Power Apps per user licence covers unlimited Power Pages sites. A per app licence covers one site. Dynamics 365 enterprise licences cover sites tied to that application. |
| Clients, suppliers or anyone outside the firm, logging in | Power Pages authenticated user capacity, sold in packs of 100 users per site, or the pay-as-you-go meter through Azure |
| Visitors who browse without logging in | Power Pages anonymous user capacity, sold in packs of 500 users per site |
| Clients using an internal Power App as guests, no portal | Each guest needs their own Power Apps licence, as set out on the Power Pages pricing page |
Microsoft's licensing FAQ states the split plainly: internal authenticated users can use a Power Apps or Dynamics 365 licence, and external authenticated users need the Power Pages authenticated per user per website subscription. A Power Apps Premium licence held by you, the builder, does not carry over to your clients. Source: Microsoft Learn, Power Platform licensing FAQs (Power Pages), read on 30 September 2026.
What clients cost, by number of logins
| Clients logging in each month | Packs | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 (100 users) | NZ$323.60 | NZ$3,883.20 |
| 100 | 1 | NZ$323.60 | NZ$3,883.20 |
| 101 | 2 | NZ$647.20 | NZ$7,766.40 |
| 250 | 3 | NZ$970.80 | NZ$11,649.60 |
| 500 | 5 | NZ$1,618.00 | NZ$19,416.00 |
One authenticated pack is Microsoft's NZ list price of NZ$323.60 a month, before GST, paid yearly; the rows above are that price multiplied out, so they carry no estimates. The full SKU table and the anonymous pack are on Power Pages pricing in NZ.
Three rules that change the bill
- You pay for active users, not registered ones. Microsoft counts unique authenticated users who log in during a calendar month, and each person counts once however often they log in. Its own example is a site that could serve 100,000 users but is used by 5,000 in a month: buy for 5,000. So 300 clients on the books, of whom 60 log in monthly, is one pack.
- There is a minimum per environment. When you assign authenticated capacity to an environment, the minimum is 25 users. That only matters if you split one purchased pack across several sites.
- Staff who already hold a Power Apps per user licence are not counted. If a user of the site has a Power Apps per user or Dynamics 365 enterprise licence, they do not use up authenticated capacity.
Portal or guests: where the line is
Sharing an internal Power App with clients as guests costs a Power Apps Premium licence each at NZ$32.40 a month. Ten guests is NZ$324.00, which is level with one Power Pages authenticated pack at NZ$323.60. Below ten client logins the guest route is cheaper; above it, a portal is. The portal also gives clients a branded sign-in and only the pages you choose, where a guest sees an app built for staff. Which one fits is a design question as much as a price one, and the build cost sits on top either way, covered in what Power Pages costs a small NZ business.
If clients only need to read documents, neither is needed: a SharePoint library shared externally costs nothing on top of Microsoft 365. If the exchange ends in an email, Microsoft Forms and a flow are enough.
Trying it before you pay
Every Power Pages site starts as a trial. Microsoft's lifecycle page says a trial site expires after 30 days in a trial environment or 90 days in a production or sandbox environment, is suspended after that, and can still be converted to production for seven days after suspension. Converting needs the licensing for your external users in place. That is long enough to build a portal and show it to two clients before you buy anything.
When a Power Pages licence is the wrong answer
- Fewer than ten clients. Guests are cheaper, as above.
- A brochure site with a contact form. Anonymous capacity is NZ$121.30 a month; a normal web host costs far less. My pricing page covers it.
- Only a few people need the premium part. Staff-only work on your own data may need Power Apps Premium rather than a portal; see the Power Apps premium licence trap.
Common questions
Do I need Power Pages licences for clients logging in, or does Power Apps cover it?
You need Power Pages. Power Apps licences cover your own staff. External clients who log in to a Power Pages site need authenticated user capacity at NZ$323.60 a month per site for up to 100 users, paid yearly, before GST, or the pay-as-you-go meter through Azure.
How much does it cost for 100 or 500 client logins?
100 logged-in users is one pack, NZ$323.60 a month or NZ$3,883.20 a year. 500 is five packs, NZ$1,618.00 a month or NZ$19,416.00 a year. Both are Microsoft's NZ list price multiplied out, before GST.
Do I pay for every client on my books or only the ones who log in?
Only the unique users who log in during a calendar month, counted once each. Microsoft's own example says to buy for the 5,000 active users, not the 100,000 the site could serve. So 300 clients of whom 60 log in monthly is one pack.
Is it cheaper to share my Power App with clients as guests?
Below about ten client logins, yes. Each guest needs a Power Apps Premium licence at NZ$32.40 a month, so ten guests is NZ$324.00, level with one Power Pages pack at NZ$323.60. Above ten, the portal is cheaper per client.
Clients asking for a login?
Tell me how many would sign in and what they need to do. One free 30-minute call and you get guests, a form and a flow, or a Power Pages site, with the monthly number.