#PowerPlatformTip 87: 'Licensing, Sharing Canvas Apps with Guests'

TL;DR: A guest needs a license with Power Apps use rights that matches the app. For a canvas app with standard connectors, Power Apps included with Office is enough, and it is recognized across tenants, so the guest’s own Microsoft 365 license works. Premium connectors need a per app or per user plan. Per app plans and any app on Dataverse need the license from the resource tenant, the tenant where the app lives.

Sharing a canvas app with a guest takes a minute (#PowerPlatformTip 76). Whether the guest can actually open it depends on the license, and on which tenant that license comes from.

💡 Challenge

The guest gets the share email, opens the app and sees a license or trial prompt. The question is always the same: which license does the guest need, and does it have to come from your tenant or can it come from theirs?

✅ Solution

Match the guest’s license to the app type:

Guest’s license	Lists/SharePoint form, standard connectors	Lists/SharePoint form, premium connectors	Canvas app, standard connectors	Canvas app, premium connectors	Model-driven app
No license	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
SharePoint user (no Power Apps license)	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
Power Apps included with Office	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗
Power Apps per app plan	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Power Apps per user plan	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Which tenant the license comes from:

• Power Apps included with Office and per user plans are recognized across tenants in the Azure public cloud. The guest’s home-tenant license counts.
• Per app plans are scoped to apps in a specific environment and are not recognized across tenants. Assign them in the resource tenant.
• Dataverse as a data source: the guest must be licensed in the same tenant where the Dataverse data is located.

🔧 How It’s Done

1. Check B2B collaboration.

🔸 In Microsoft Entra ID, external collaboration for B2B must be enabled. It is on by default, but a tenant admin can change it.

2. Invite the guest in the resource tenant.

🔸 In Microsoft Entra ID, select New guest user, or let a user with the Guest Inviter role do it.

3. Assign a license if needed.

🔸 Look up the app in the table above. If the guest has no matching license in their home tenant, or the app uses Dataverse or a per app plan, assign the license in your tenant: in the Microsoft 365 admin center via Add users and assign licenses, or in the Azure portal via Assign or remove licenses.

4. Share the app and the data.

🔸 In Power Apps, open the app, select Share and add the guest.

🔸 Share the data sources too: SharePoint lists, Dataverse security roles, everything the app reads. Sharing the app alone doesn’t give access to the data.

5. Tell the guest how to open it.

🔸 Guests should open the app in a separate browser session (other browser or InPrivate window), so Power Apps picks up their guest identity in your tenant.

🎉 Result

The guest opens the app without a license prompt, and you know exactly which license had to come from which tenant.

🌟 Key Advantages

🔸 Clear rule per app type: standard, premium, Dataverse, model-driven.

🔸 No unnecessary licenses: standard-connector apps work with the guest’s own Microsoft 365 license.

🔸 Fewer support calls: separate browser session and data sharing are covered upfront.

🎥 Video Tutorial

🛠️ FAQ

1. What license do external guests need to access a canvas app?

A license with Power Apps use rights that matches the app: Power Apps included with Office for standard connectors, a per app or per user plan for premium connectors and model-driven apps.

2. Can guests use their own organization’s license?

Yes, for Power Apps included with Office and per user plans in the Azure public cloud. Not for per app plans, and not when the app uses Dataverse: then the license must come from the tenant where the app and data live.

3. Why is a guest prompted for a trial on a customized SharePoint form?

If the form uses a premium connector, the guest needs a Power Apps license. With standard connectors only, your tenant must allow Power Platform internal consent plans to be assigned to users.

🔗 Related Tips

🔸 #PowerPlatformTip 76: ‘PowerApps Sharing with Guests’ - the sharing steps, same video; this tip adds the licensing side.

🔸 #PowerPlatformTip 48: ‘Sharing of Flows and Power Apps’ - the broader set of sharing options beyond the guest scenario.