SharePoint intranet vs Power Pages: which should you use?

For staff, use SharePoint. For people outside your organisation, use Power Pages. A SharePoint intranet is included in Microsoft 365, uses the accounts your staff already have, and is built for news, policies, documents and internal tools. Power Pages is a separate, licensed product for websites and portals that customers, members, suppliers or the public sign in to. Some organisations use both: SharePoint inside, Power Pages for everyone else.

At a glance

	SharePoint intranet	Power Pages
Best for	Staff: news, policies, documents, forms	External people: customers, members, suppliers
Who signs in	Your Microsoft 365 users	External users (email, social or business accounts), or anonymous visitors
Licensing	Included in Microsoft 365 business plans	Licensed separately, by authenticated and anonymous users per site
Data	SharePoint lists and libraries	Dataverse (a secure business database)
Documents	Version history, approvals, co-authoring built in	Not designed for document management
Design	Modern SharePoint pages and web parts	Fully custom web design
Typical build time	6 to 12 weeks for a practical intranet	Depends on the forms, data and integrations involved

When to choose SharePoint

• The audience is your own staff
• The content is news, policies, procedures, documents and links to tools
• You want it inside Microsoft 365 and Teams, with no extra licences

When to choose Power Pages

• People outside your organisation need to sign in, submit forms or see their own records
• You need a portal for applications, bookings, registrations or supplier details
• The data needs to sit in a structured database (Dataverse) with fine-grained access

Can Power Pages be used as an employee portal?

It can, but it’s rarely the best fit. Your staff already have SharePoint, and Power Pages would add licence costs and a separate sign-in experience. If staff need a portal over business data, a SharePoint intranet with a Power App inside it usually does the job.

What a SharePoint intranet gives you

SharePoint is part of Microsoft 365 and works with Teams, OneDrive and Outlook. A good intranet brings together:

• Documents: policies, procedures, forms and handbooks in one place, with version history and permissions
• News: company updates that also appear in Teams and the SharePoint app
• Team and department sites: a home for each team’s files and information
• Tools and automation: approvals, requests and forms built with Power Apps and Power Automate

What Power Pages gives you

Power Pages is Microsoft’s platform for secure, external-facing websites and portals:

• Custom design: full control over branding, layout and pages
• Sign-in for external people: customers, members and suppliers use their own accounts
• Forms and records: people can submit applications or requests and see their own data
• Responsive: works on desktop, tablet and phone

Not sure which fits?

Applecart designs and builds SharePoint intranets and portals for external people, from Brisbane. Talk to us about your intranet or portal.