Basics
Power Apps Canvas Apps are highly customizable apps where you design the UI freely—similar interface and connect the app to data sources such as Dataverse, SharePoint, SQL, Excel, or APIs.
How Model-Driven differ from Canvas apps
| Area | Canvas App | Model-Driven App |
|---|---|---|
| Design approach | UI-first (you design every screen) | Data-first (UI generated from Dataverse) |
| Layout control | Full control (drag, size, place anything) | Limited, standardized layouts |
| Data source | Any (Dataverse + non-Dataverse) | Dataverse only |
| Logic | Power Fx formulas (event-based) | Business rules, processes, plugins |
| Best for | Task-focused, user-friendly apps | Structured, process-heavy systems |
| User experience | Custom, tailored, lightweight | Consistent, enterprise-standard |