Model-Driven vs Canvas Apps 📱

Both are Power Apps, but they start from opposite ends. A canvas app gives you a blank screen and total design control; a model-driven app builds the UI for you from your Dataverse data model. Pick based on data, control and speed.

TL;DR: Canvas apps mean pixel-perfect design, any data source via connectors, and you control everything with Power Fx. Model-driven apps mean Dataverse only, a component-driven no-code UI that’s automatically responsive and accessible, consistent and fast to build once your data model exists. Design-heavy, multi-source scenarios point to canvas. Data-model-heavy, process-driven scenarios point to model-driven.

Side by side

Category	Model-driven	Canvas
Data platform	Dataverse only	Dataverse + many others
Design experience	No-code, component-based	Power Fx expressions
UI control	Limited	Full control
Consistency	High	Designer decides
Migration	Simple	Can be complex
Speed of creation	Rapid	Depends on design
Responsive	Automatic	Only if designed in
Relationship navigation	Automatic	Only via Power Fx
Accessibility	Built in	Must be designed in

When to build a model-driven app

🔸 Your data lives in Dataverse and has real relationships (1:N, N:N) you want to navigate automatically.

🔸 You want rapid, consistent apps where the layout is largely determined by components, forms and views, not custom pixels.

🔸 You value built-in responsiveness and accessibility and a uniform UX across many apps, since users who learn one app already know the others.

🔸 You’re building process-centric business apps (case management, records, dashboards) and moving them cleanly between dev/test/prod with solutions.

When to build a canvas app

🔸 You need total control over layout and a tailored, branded experience.

🔸 Your data isn’t only Dataverse: SharePoint, SQL, Excel, or many services through connectors.

🔸 You want task- or role-specific screens, custom interactions, and Power Fx-driven behavior.

🔸 The trade-off: you own responsiveness and accessibility yourself, and cross-environment migration can be more complex when data sources differ.

Don’t forget: code apps

🔸 There’s a third, developer-focused type, code apps (pro-code, currently preview), for teams who want full code control with the Power Platform behind them. See the app-types overview for how all three compare and their licensing.

Licensing

🔸 Model-driven apps require Dataverse, so they need a premium Power Apps license (per user or per app).

🔸 Canvas apps can run on standard connectors under seeded Microsoft 365 licensing until you use a premium/custom connector or Dataverse, which then requires a premium Power Apps license.

🔸 See the app-types page for exact figures on Power Apps Premium and per-app plans.

🛠️ FAQ

Can a model-driven app use SharePoint as its data source? No, model-driven apps are Dataverse only. Use a canvas app (or connect SharePoint into Dataverse) if your data lives in SharePoint.

Which is more responsive out of the box? Model-driven apps are automatically responsive and accessible; canvas apps are only responsive if you design them that way.

Which is faster to build? Once your Dataverse data model exists, model-driven is rapid. Canvas speed depends on how complex your custom design is.

Can I mix them? Yes, you can embed a canvas app inside a model-driven form to get custom UI where you need it while keeping the model-driven structure.

🔗 Related

🔸 Power Apps app types, canvas, model-driven and code apps plus licensing.

🔸 Dataverse vs SharePoint, the data question behind the choice.

🔸 Power Fx Variables Deep Dive, for canvas app logic.

🔸 All Power Apps tips · Knowledge base overview

Details reflect Microsoft Learn at time of writing. Always confirm current behavior and licensing in the Microsoft Power Apps documentation.