Power Platform Connectors

How They Connect Systems and How Standard, Premium, and Custom Differ

If you work with Microsoft Power Platform or are planning to implement a solution based on Power Apps, Power Automate, or Copilot Studio, sooner or later you will come across the term connector. Connectors allow applications and services to exchange data and perform operations in other systems without having to build every integration from scratch.

In practice, the choice of connectors determines more than just which systems a solution can communicate with. It also affects the architecture, security, environment governance, and licensing costs. That is why it is worth understanding the differences between Standard and Premium connectors, when a custom connector is required, and why the Preview designation matters in production solutions.

Note:
Connector classifications, availability, and licensing rules may change. The information in this article reflects Microsoft documentation as of September 20, 2026.

What Is a Connector?

A connector is an integration layer that enables a Microsoft service to communicate with another system. It can connect an application to a Microsoft 365 service, a database, an ERP or CRM system, a SaaS service, a cloud solution, or an organization’s own API.

In simplified terms, a connector exposes a set of user-friendly operations to Power Platform and maps them to the communication method required by a specific service. This means that a person building an application or automation does not need to implement the entire API handling, authentication, request parameters, and responses from scratch every time.

For custom connectors, Microsoft describes them as a wrapper around a REST or SOAP API. The same idea helps explain how prebuilt connectors work: users interact with named actions and triggers, while the connector handles communication with the target service.

How Does a Connector Work in Practice?

A connector can expose two basic types of operations:

Triggers – define the event that starts a process, such as receiving a new email, creating a record, or adding a file to a document library.

Actions – perform a specific operation, such as saving a file to SharePoint, creating a database record, sending a message in Teams, or retrieving information from an external system.

Not every connector has to provide both types of operations. The available functionality depends on the capabilities of the service API and on which operations have been implemented by the connector publisher.

Security and Access Control

Using a connector does not automatically mean that an integration is secure in every scenario. The authentication method depends on the specific connector and service. In practice, this may include OAuth 2.0, Microsoft Entra ID, API keys, or other mechanisms supported by the given API.

It is also important to consider the permissions under which the connection is created. A connector performs operations within the scope allowed by the credentials, user account, or technical identity used to establish the connection. For this reason, solutions should follow the principle of least privilege and carefully manage the accounts used by flows and applications.

In business environments, an additional layer of control is provided by Power Platform data policies, traditionally referred to as DLP (Data Loss Prevention). Administrators can classify connectors as Business, Non-Business, or Blocked. Connectors from the Business and Non-Business groups cannot be freely combined within the same application or flow, while a connector classified as Blocked cannot be used within the scope of the applicable policy.

As part of its newer governance mechanisms, Microsoft is also developing Advanced Connector Policies based on an allowlist approach, where a connector or action must be explicitly permitted. In practice, this means that connector governance should be considered part of the solution architecture from the outset, rather than treated as a response to issues discovered after deployment.

Where Are Connectors Used?

Connectors are used across the Microsoft Power Platform ecosystem and Microsoft integration services, including Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio, and Azure Logic Apps.

However, this does not mean that every connector works identically across all products. The availability of a connector, as well as specific actions and triggers, may vary between services. Its licensing classification may also differ—for example, a connector classified as Premium in Power Apps or Power Automate may be classified differently in Azure Logic Apps.

Before designing a solution, it is therefore worth checking not only whether a connector exists, but also which products support it, its status, licensing class, regional restrictions, and request limits.

Microsoft publishes the current list of connectors in its documentation: Connector reference overview | Microsoft Learn.

Types of Microsoft Connectors

Connectors can be classified in several ways. From a solution design perspective, the three most important distinctions are: Standard vs Premium, Prebuilt vs Custom, and General Availability vs Preview.

View for selecting an action and connector in Power Automate.
Premium connectors are marked with a diamond icon.

Standard vs Premium Connectors

The distinction between Standard and Premium is primarily a licensing classification. It should not be treated simply as a division between “basic” and “more advanced” connectors. Microsoft determines which class a connector belongs to, and the classification may differ depending on the product.

In Power Apps and Power Automate, Standard connectors include many popular services, such as Microsoft 365 Outlook, SharePoint, Excel Online (Business), Microsoft Teams, OneDrive for Business, Microsoft Forms, Gmail, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Entra ID.

Premium connectors include services such as Microsoft Dataverse, SQL Server, Salesforce, SAP ERP, Azure Automation, and HTTP with Microsoft Entra ID. Using them in Power Apps or Power Automate may require appropriate premium entitlements, but the exact licensing model depends on the type of solution, how the flow is triggered, and the licenses already assigned.

Important:
Using a Premium connector does not always mean that every user must have the same license. For example, in Power Automate, a flow may run under a user license or have a Process license assigned to it. In Power Apps, it also matters whether the flow runs in the context of the application. For this reason, licensing costs should be assessed for the complete scenario rather than based only on the icon displayed next to a connector.

Prebuilt vs Custom Connectors

Prebuilt Connectors

These are ready-made connectors available in the Microsoft connector catalog. They may be published by Microsoft or by third-party providers and go through the process required to make them available as certified connectors.

A prebuilt connector is usually the best choice when it supports the system you want to integrate with and provides all the required actions and triggers. This reduces the amount of custom code and simplifies ongoing maintenance of the integration.

Custom Connectors

A custom connector allows Power Platform to connect to an API for which no prebuilt connector exists, or where the existing connector does not expose all the operations required. This may be an internal company system or an external service with a suitable API.

If a connector is created solely for use within your own organization, it does not need to go through Microsoft’s public certification process. If it is intended to be published as a certified connector available to other customers, a review and certification process is required.

In Power Apps and Power Automate, custom connectors are Premium functionality. Azure Logic Apps uses a different classification and billing model, so Power Apps and Power Automate licensing rules should not be applied directly to Logic Apps.

When Is It Worth Creating a Custom Connector?

A prebuilt connector is the best choice when the available integration covers the entire required scenario. A custom connector makes sense primarily when:

no prebuilt connector exists for the system,

the prebuilt connector does not expose the required action or API resource,

the organization has its own API that needs to be used by Power Apps, Power Automate, or Copilot Studio,

a controlled, reusable integration layer is needed instead of manually building HTTP calls across multiple solutions.

General Availability vs Preview – Stability Matters

The Preview designation may apply to an entire connector, but also to an individual trigger or action. Microsoft makes such features available earlier so that users can test them and provide feedback.

Preview connectors and features are provided without an SLA guarantee, may not be covered by full support, may change, and can even be withdrawn. Microsoft does not recommend using Preview features in production applications and processes.

General Availability (GA), on the other hand, means that a connector is intended for production use and is supported. This does not eliminate the need for testing, monitoring, and checking the limitations of a specific connector, such as throttling, regional availability, or API limits imposed by the external service.

Key Connector Types

Comparison.

Type	Licensing	Examples	Key consideration
Prebuilt – Standard	Standard	Microsoft 365 Outlook, SharePoint, Excel Online (Business), Microsoft Teams, OneDrive for Business, Gmail, Google Calendar, Microsoft Entra ID	No Premium license is required solely because of the connector classification. However, an external service may require its own subscription.
Prebuilt – Premium	Premium in Power Apps / Power Automate	Microsoft Dataverse, SQL Server, Salesforce, SAP ERP, Azure Automation, HTTP with Microsoft Entra ID	Requires appropriate Premium entitlements. The exact licensing model depends on the product, solution context, and how the flow or application is used.
Custom connector	Premium in Power Apps / Power Automate	Internal company APIs, custom ERP or CRM systems, industry-specific APIs	Provides a reusable integration layer over an API. Connectors used only within an organization do not require public Microsoft certification.
Preview	Depends on the connector classification	Any connector, action, or trigger marked as Preview	Preview is a maturity status, not a separate licensing tier. Preview features may change and are not recommended for production solutions.

The classification applies primarily to Power Apps and Power Automate. In Azure Logic Apps, connector classes and the billing model may differ.

How Many Connectors Are Available?

Microsoft currently provides more than 1,000 prebuilt connectors for Microsoft services and verified third-party services. The catalog is constantly evolving: new connectors are added, additional actions and triggers are introduced, and some features move from Preview to GA.

For this reason, when designing a solution, it is best not to rely solely on a remembered list of connectors. The current classification, availability, and limitations should always be checked in the documentation for the specific connector.

Example Business Scenarios

Connectors in practice.

Scenario 1: Attachment Archiving – Standard Connectors

Trigger [Microsoft 365 Outlook]: a new email with an attachment arrives

Action 1 [SharePoint]: the attachment is automatically saved in the appropriate document library.

Action 2 [Microsoft Teams]: the team receives a notification about the new document.

In this scenario, only Standard connectors can be used. However, this does not mean that the entire process is “free of charge” – the organization still needs the appropriate licenses for the Microsoft 365 services being used.

Scenario 2: Leave Request Process – Premium and Standard Connectors

Trigger [Microsoft Dataverse]: a user submits a leave request from a Power Apps application.

Action 1 [Approvals / Microsoft Teams]: the manager receives a request to approve or reject the leave request.

Action 2 [Warunek]: the decision is saved in Dataverse, and the employee receives information about the outcome of the process.

In this case, the use of Dataverse means that the solution uses Premium capabilities. However, the licensing model should be selected based on who runs the application and flow, whether the flow runs in the context of Power Apps, and whether the user, application, or process is being licensed.

Pitfalls of Standard Connectors

Standard does not always mean no additional costs.

The Standard or Premium classification describes the rights to use a connector within Power Platform. It does not determine the price of the service that the connector connects to. An external system may require a separate account, subscription, or specific plan even if its connector in Power Automate is classified as Standard.

A good example is Encodian. Its connectors are currently classified as Standard in Power Automate, but creating a connection requires an Encodian account and subscription. Access to specific features, limits, and capabilities depends on the provider’s plan.

The same principle applies to many other SaaS services: the total cost of an integration may include not only Power Platform licensing, but also licenses for the source system, API limits, infrastructure, data gateways, and the way the process is executed.

A Connector Is an Architectural Decision, Not Just a Technical One

The choice of connector should be part of solution design from the analysis stage. This makes it possible to address questions about licensing, service availability, security, API limits, authentication methods, integration maintenance, and the risk of relying on Preview functionality early in the process.

In some cases, changing the process architecture makes it possible to achieve the same goal using Standard connectors and reduce licensing costs. In other cases, using a Premium connector or a custom connector is justified because it simplifies the solution, expands integration capabilities, or enables Power Platform to connect securely with a key business system.

The most important point is not to avoid Premium connectors at all costs, but to choose the integration model consciously based on the process requirements and the total cost of maintaining the solution.

Summary

Connectors are one of the foundations of Power Platform. They enable Power Apps, Power Automate, and Copilot Studio to use data and functionality from other services without having to build every integration from scratch.

When designing a solution, it is important to check more than just whether the required connector exists. Its Standard or Premium classification, GA or Preview status, availability in the selected product, authentication method, data policies, and the licensing requirements of the external system are equally important.

A well-planned integration architecture helps avoid unexpected costs, reduce implementation risk, and select tools that match real business requirements-instead of discovering limitations only after the solution reaches production.

Do You Want to Connect Your Systems into One Seamless Process?

Do you use multiple applications, business systems, or cloud services and want to automate the flow of data between them?

At Antdata, we help design integrations based on Power Platform, select the right Standard, Premium, or Custom connectors, and build an architecture that takes security, licensing, and future scalability into account.

We integrate, among others, ERP and CRM systems, Microsoft 365, databases, SaaS applications, and custom APIs using Power Automate, Power Apps, and other services within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Choose a date for a phone consultation.