Microsoft Power Apps
The most recommended of 4 low-code app builders
Low-code app builder that people recommend for quick, cheap apps on simple use cases. Critics say it is hard to use and falls short for complex or professional work.
Low-code app builder that people recommend for quick, cheap apps on simple use cases. Critics say it is hard to use and falls short for complex or professional work.
19 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 8
- approval share
- 58%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good for new, simple apps
“If your use case is limited enough, it makes lazy developers very productive.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Has the cost of building software dropped 90%?” “If you are building a new application you're better off using Power Apps”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” Cheap, cost-effective process management
“provides an easy, cost-effective, and scalable way to manage this process”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Show HN: A trainable, modular electronic nose for industrial use” “I can have them build on powerapps and have zero new opex”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Has the cost of building software dropped 90%?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Hard to use, unfriendly experience
“the PowerApps experience was so unfriendly that even they were afraid to make changes”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “We Automated Federal Retirements” “PowerApps experience was so unfriendly that even they were afraid to make changes”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “We Automated Federal Retirements” “I just remember it being very annoying”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “Have you ever tried low-code tools for your work?” Weak code generator and developer experience
“The Power Apps code generator isn't particularly great, it's not fun to work in that sort of "started as low code and ejected to real code" codebase”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Why we can’t quit Excel” “The professional development experience is lacking, however enterprise users can create many applications based on Excel files.”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “AI agents are starting to eat SaaS” Falls short beyond simple apps
“they allow building apps fairly quickly and cheaply... as long as you stick to simple apps”
Comment from 13 Aug 2026 in “AI coding startup Lovable raised $400M at $13.3B valuation up from $6.6B in 2025” “Microsoft's sharepoint and power apps still cannot compete in terms of capabilities.”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Lotus Notes and the dangers of starting from scratch”
Other low-code app builders people recommend
The three most recommended other low-code app builders, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Power AppsThis page | 11 | 8 | 58% | 4 | — | — |
| Retool | 8 | 13 | 38% | 7 | — | — |
| FileMaker Pro | 8 | 4 | 67% | 5 | — | — |
| Breadboard | 7 | 2 | 78% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 19 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It can be overly complicated and it's infected with the paradox of choice.”
“If you are building a new application you're better off using Power Apps”
“Microsoft's sharepoint and power apps still cannot compete in terms of capabilities.”
“They certainly could have done it with our existing systems with SmartSheet, Microsoft Fabric and/or Power Apps with SharePoint for document storage.”
“they allow building apps fairly quickly and cheaply... as long as you stick to simple apps”
“provides an easy, cost-effective, and scalable way to manage this process”
“Microsoft introduces those pesky 'Power App' developers etc”
“I just remember it being very annoying”
“Power Apps is just absolutely terrible for forms.”
“It's definitely a step up from PowerApps though.”
“PowerApps experience was so unfriendly that even they were afraid to make changes”
“the PowerApps experience was so unfriendly that even they were afraid to make changes”
“The professional development experience is lacking, however enterprise users can create many applications based on Excel files.”
“I can have them build on powerapps and have zero new opex”
“If your use case is limited enough, it makes lazy developers very productive.”
“Some of those tools aren't yet fully there, but also aren't completely dumb”
“The Power Apps code generator isn't particularly great, it's not fun to work in that sort of "started as low code and ejected to real code" codebase”
“used Excel formulas of all things as the basis for its scripting language”
“Anything built with Microsoft Power Apps.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.