The best Power Apps alternative depends on why you're leaving: Google AppSheet if your company runs on Google Workspace, Retool or Appsmith if developers build the apps, Budibase or ToolJet if you want open source you can self-host, Softr or Glide if non-technical staff build them, and Zoho Creator if you want a full low-code platform outside Microsoft's licensing. If the real problem is that you need a custom app rather than a better builder, an AI app builder like Greta.sh generates the full app (frontend, backend, database, login) from a description. Prices below are as of October 2026.
Power Apps is a good product with a licensing model that punishes small teams. Building is free. Running an app for real users is not, and the bill scales with every person who opens it.
Why teams look for a Power Apps alternative
Three reasons come up again and again, and each one points to a different replacement.
The per-user bill. Microsoft's Power Apps pricing page lists the free Developer Plan for building and testing, then Power Apps Premium at $20.00 per user per month, paid yearly ($12.00 with a 2,000-seat minimum). Microsoft's own FAQ puts it plainly: "Building apps is not charged, but using them requires paid licenses." A 40-person field team using one inspection app is 40 Premium licenses.
Data storage. Premium includes a Dataverse entitlement of 250 MB of database and 2 GB of file storage per licence, and extra Dataverse database capacity is an add-on at $40.00 per GB per month, paid yearly. Apps that log photos, records or history grow into that line item.
The Microsoft gravity well. Power Apps is strongest when your identity, files and data already live in Microsoft 365 and Dataverse. If they don't, you're paying for integration you won't use.
Know which of the three is yours before you pick. Swapping to a tool with the same per-user model fixes nothing.
How we compared
We looked at who builds the apps (developers or business staff), how the tool charges (per builder, per end user, or flat), whether there's a real free or open-source option, and how much lock-in you take on. Prices and limits were checked on each vendor's own pricing page on October 4, 2026, and are stated as of October 2026 with the billing basis each vendor gives. They change, so confirm before you budget.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | Free option | Paid entry price (as of October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google AppSheet | Google Workspace companies | Build and test with up to 10 users at no cost | Starter $5/user/month |
| Zoho Creator | A full low-code platform outside Microsoft | Free edition with one custom app | Per-user plans; see Zoho's pricing page |
| Retool | Developers building internal tools | Free for up to 5 users | Team $10/builder + $5/internal user per month, billed annually |
| Appsmith | Open source, developer-led teams | Free cloud up to 5 users; open-source Community edition | Business $15/user/month |
| Budibase | Open source with cheap end users | Self-hosted open source | Cloud Pro from $19/month |
| ToolJet | Open source with AI app generation | Cloud free: 2 builders, 50 end users | Basic $23/builder/month, billed annually |
| Softr | Non-technical teams building portals | Free plan, 5 app users | Basic $19/month billed yearly ($25 monthly) |
| Glide | Simple apps from spreadsheet-style data | Free plan, 2 team members | Basic $25/month |
| Greta.sh | A custom full-stack app you own | 5 credits a day | Starter $5/month welcome offer (normally $20/month) |
Got an idea? Build it now!
Just start with a simple prompt. No coding required: Greta.sh turns your idea into a working app in minutes.
The 9 best Power Apps alternatives
1. Google AppSheet – the closest like-for-like swap for Google shops
AppSheet is Google's no-code app builder, and it's the most direct replacement if your company runs on Google Workspace instead of Microsoft 365. You can build and test apps with up to 10 users at no cost. Its paid tiers are Starter at $5 per user per month, Core at $10 per user per month (which Google says is included in most paid Google Workspace plans), and Enterprise Plus at $20 per user per month, which adds connections to cloud databases, APIs and enterprise data services.
Strengths: if Core is already in your Workspace plan, the marginal cost can be zero, and apps sit on top of Sheets and Drive data your team already uses. Limits: it's still per-user pricing, and Enterprise Plus requires a Google Workspace administrator to sign up.
2. Zoho Creator – a full low-code platform with its own ecosystem
Zoho Creator is a low-code platform whose apps are built from forms, reports, pages and workflows, with approval workflows and customer or partner portals listed on its pricing page. There's a Free edition for one custom app and a 15-day free trial of the paid Standard, Professional and Enterprise plans, with yearly billing saving more than 30% according to the pricing page. The page renders prices by region, so check it for your currency rather than trusting a figure from a review site.
Strengths: comparable breadth to Power Apps (data, logic, portals) without Microsoft licensing. Limits: you're trading one vendor's ecosystem for another's.
3. Retool – for developers building internal tools
Retool is the developer's internal-tool builder: drag components onto a canvas, then write SQL and JavaScript against your databases and APIs. The Free plan covers up to 5 users. Team is $10 per builder and $5 per internal user per month, billed annually; Business is $50 per builder and $15 per internal user per month, billed annually, and adds portals and embedded apps for external users, billed in volume tiers.
Strengths: splitting builders from end users makes a big read-only audience cheaper than Power Apps Premium. Limits: someone on the team needs to be comfortable with SQL and JavaScript. Our Retool alternatives guide covers what people move to when Retool itself stops fitting.
4. Appsmith – open source, developer-led
Appsmith is an open-source low-code platform (its GitHub repository is Apache-2.0 licensed). The Community edition is free to self-host. On Appsmith's cloud, Free covers up to 5 users, Business is $15 per user per month for up to 99 users, and Enterprise is listed at $2,500 a month for 100 users.
Strengths: you can run it on your own infrastructure, which answers both the licensing and the data-residency question. Limits: self-hosting means you own upgrades, backups and uptime.
5. Budibase – open source with low end-user pricing
Budibase offers a free open-source self-hosted edition and a cloud service. Budibase Cloud Pro is listed from $19 a month with one creator, and end users are an add-on at $5 per user per month; Premium is $49 a month and Business $299 a month, with additional creators at $50 per creator per month.
Strengths: the creator and end-user split suits a small ops team building for a larger staff. Limits: action quotas apply on the cloud plans, so check them against how busy your automations will be.
6. ToolJet – open source with AI app generation
ToolJet is open source (AGPL-3.0 on GitHub) and can be self-hosted. ToolJet Cloud's Free plan includes 2 builders, up to 50 end users and up to 10 apps. Basic is $23 per builder per month and Pro $79 per builder per month, both shown with the 20% annual saving applied; Team ($199 per builder per month) adds SSO, unlimited apps and up to 100 end users.
Strengths: a genuinely usable free tier for a small team, and AI credits for generating apps. Limits: end-user caps on the cloud plans are low, so a company-wide app pushes you to Team or Enterprise.
7. Softr – portals and internal apps for non-technical teams
Softr builds client portals, intranets and internal tools on its own database or on Airtable, Google Sheets and others. The Free plan includes 5 app users and 5,000 database records. Basic is $19 a month billed yearly ($25 month to month), Pro $99 a month billed yearly ($119 monthly), and Business $329 a month billed yearly ($395 monthly).
Strengths: flat plan pricing instead of per-user licences for every viewer, and fast to learn. Limits: app-user counts are capped per plan, and complex logic is harder than in a developer tool.
8. Glide – simple apps from spreadsheet-style data
Glide turns data into mobile-friendly apps quickly. Free covers 2 team members with limited credits. Basic is $25 a month (2 published apps), Plus $50 a month (5 published apps and public apps), and Pro $125 a month, starting at 5 team members with unlimited published apps.
Strengths: the fastest route from a spreadsheet to an app staff will actually open on their phones. Limits: credits meter usage, and it's built for simple data apps, not heavy business logic.
9. Greta.sh – when you need a custom app, not a builder
Greta.sh is an AI app builder: you describe the app in plain English and it generates a full-stack application with frontend, backend, database and authentication, and the code is exportable as Next.js. It's a different trade from Power Apps. You don't buy a licence per end user; you build an app and run it. Pricing: Free is 5 credits a day with a code viewer; Starter is $5 a month on the welcome offer (normally $20 a month) and adds the code editor, deployment and custom domains; Pro is $20 a month on the welcome offer (normally $50 a month) and adds the Database feature, GitHub version control and team management; Business is $200 a month.
Strengths: no per-viewer licensing, and you own the code. Limits: you're responsible for the app you ship, and there are no prebuilt Microsoft 365 or Dataverse connectors to lean on.
Answers to the common searches
Free Power Apps alternatives. Appsmith Community, Budibase and ToolJet are open source and free to self-host (you pay for the server and your time). Hosted free tiers exist from Retool (5 users), Appsmith (5 users), ToolJet (2 builders, 50 end users), Softr, Glide and Zoho Creator (one app). AppSheet is free while you build and test with up to 10 users.
The Google alternative. That's AppSheet. Check whether Core is already part of your Workspace plan before you buy anything.
The AWS alternative. AWS's own low-code builder, Amazon Honeycode, is gone: AWS ended the Honeycode beta service effective February 29, 2024. Teams on AWS today usually self-host one of the open-source tools above against their AWS databases.
Open source. Appsmith (Apache-2.0), ToolJet (AGPL-3.0) and Budibase. Read the licence before you embed one in a product you sell.
How to choose
Start with who builds. If it's developers, Retool, Appsmith or ToolJet. If it's operations or business staff, Softr, Glide or AppSheet. Then look at the audience: a small group of builders serving a big group of read-mostly users is exactly where per-builder pricing (Retool, Budibase, ToolJet) beats per-user licensing.
Finally, ask whether you need a builder at all. If you're replacing one or two specific apps, a custom app can be cheaper than any platform licence. Our internal tool builders roundup compares the platforms side by side, and the vendor lock-in checklist is worth running before you commit to any of them. If you're weighing Power Apps against the wider market, see our guide to the best low-code platforms, and if your apps are mostly data-collection forms, the best online form builders may be all you need.
Got an idea? Build it now!
Just start with a simple prompt. No coding required: Greta.sh turns your idea into a working app in minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Power Apps?
For Google Workspace companies, AppSheet. For developer teams, Retool or Appsmith. For open source you can self-host, Appsmith, Budibase or ToolJet. For non-technical builders, Softr or Glide. If you need one custom app rather than a platform, an AI app builder like Greta.sh generates it.
Is there a free alternative to Power Apps?
Yes. Appsmith Community, Budibase and ToolJet are open source and free to self-host, and Retool, Appsmith, ToolJet, Softr, Glide and Zoho Creator all have free hosted tiers with limits. Power Apps' own Developer Plan is free for building and testing, but running apps for users needs paid licences.
What is Google's alternative to Power Apps?
Google AppSheet. You can build and test with up to 10 users at no cost, paid plans start at $5 per user per month, and Google says the Core plan is included in most paid Google Workspace plans.
Does AWS have a Power Apps alternative?
Not any more. AWS ended its Amazon Honeycode beta service effective February 29, 2024. Teams on AWS typically self-host an open-source builder such as Appsmith, Budibase or ToolJet.
How much does Power Apps cost?
As of October 2026, Microsoft lists Power Apps Premium at $20.00 per user per month, paid yearly, or $12.00 with a 2,000-seat minimum. The Developer Plan is free for building and testing, and extra Dataverse database capacity is $40.00 per GB per month, paid yearly.
Pick by the exit reason
If licensing drove you out, choose a tool that prices builders and viewers differently. If Microsoft lock-in did, choose open source or your own code. Moving to another per-user platform with a different logo only resets the clock.
