Possible to license users for PowerApps Per-App-License WITHOUT O365?

[seadude]

I'm curious, is it possible to license a user for only PowerApps per-app-license but that user not have an Office365 license?

Example:

- PowerApp using Azure SQL as backend

- New user to my org will not need any O365 tools outside this PowerApp (no Outlook, no Word, Powerpoint, Excel, etc.)

I have a feeling the answer is "no" because of, at a minimum, Active Directory integration and how its getting closer with Microsoft365 Groups. 

[Pstork1]

You can't run Power Apps without an O365 tenant.  But if you have a tenant you can share apps with users who do not have a tenant.  Those are external users and they do need a license, but don't need to be a user in their own O365 tenant.  Here's a blog that specifies how to share an app with an external user.  Share canvas apps with guests in your organization | Microsoft Power Apps

Step 1 is add the external user to your azure active directory

Step 2 and 3 are assigning a license to the user and sharing the app.  If you have allocated per app licenses to the app then the external user should be able to use one of those when you share the app with them.

[seadude]

Hi @Pstork1 

These users would be part of my tenant so not external.

The crux of the question is:

- If I license them for PowerApps per-app plan, do I also need to license them for O365? OR

- Can a PowerApps per-app plan user just use PowerApps without any additional O365 lic?

- Can I even provision a PowerApps per-app plan for a member of my AD tenant if they do not have an O365 license?

I just created a new AD user, but I don't want to pay $120 to test :). Hoping someone knows the answer.

[Pstork1 · Accepted solution]

Yes, the per app plan would be all the license that is needed.  The user would need an account in your tenant's Azure AD so that the app can be shared with them.  But just having an account in AAD doesn't require a license.  But without additional licensing they will be limited in terms of what Power Apps can do.  For example, the app won't be able to send email unless they have an O365 exchange mailbox and they won't be able to use SharePoint as a data source.  If they are a member of your organization they are by definition an internal user, so any Office 365 services they want to use in the Power App would need to be licensed.  This isn't necessarily the same restriction for an external user.

[seadude]

Thanks for the response @Pstork1 . I understand about the "limited" functionality. In this case, a CRUD app with Azure SQL backend, no O365 services are utilized. 

Are you aware of anyone actually using this approach in the wild? 

[Pstork1]

I can't say that I am aware of anyone else doing exactly that.  But no reason it shouldn't work.

[Gabriel2023]

Thx for your response, very useful !