What Is Microsoft Dataverse? Tables, Security, Licensing and Limits Explained

Microsoft Dataverse is the cloud database built into Power Platform. It stores your app data in tables with typed columns, relationships, security roles and business rules, so Power Apps, Power Automate and Power BI all read the same data.

Here’s a real formula from my canvas app. It reads a Dataverse table called Assets:

Filter(Assets, 'In Service' = tglInService.Value)

With the toggle on, it returned 10 in-service assets; off, it returned 1 (Surface Dock 2). Dataverse runs that filter on the server, so there’s no delegation warning.

In this tutorial, we’ll explain what microsoft dataverse is, how tables and security work, how it differs from Dataverse for Teams, what it costs in capacity and licenses, its limits, and how to build your first table.

What Is Dataverse in Power Apps?

Dataverse is Microsoft’s managed data platform. You don’t install or tune a server; Microsoft stores the data and the metadata in the cloud. It was called Common Data Service (CDS) before the rename.

Dynamics 365 apps keep their data in Dataverse too, so your canvas or model-driven apps can sit on the same rows. Still deciding? Read our Dataverse vs SharePoint list comparison.

Tables, Columns and Rows

A table holds rows (once called records) made of columns (once called fields). Each column has a data type: text, number, date, choice, lookup, currency, autonumber, file, image and more:

Older docs call choices option sets. Lookup columns create relationships between tables, for example an Asset Loan that points to an Asset.

Standard vs Custom Tables

Every environment ships with standard tables such as Account, Address and Appointment. You add custom tables for your own data. Here’s the Tables page in my developer environment:

The standard ones show Managed = Yes. My Asset and Asset Loan tables show Managed = No and the cr85a_ prefix, which comes from the environment’s default publisher.

Environments and Security Roles

Each Dataverse database lives in one environment, such as dev, test or production. You move tables, apps and flows between them in solutions. Our Dataverse solutions tutorial shows that build step by step.

Access is controlled with business units, security roles, row ownership and column-level security. A user sees a row only if a role grants it, no matter which app they open.

Business Logic Without Code

• Business rules validate columns and show errors in every app.
• Formula, calculated and rollup columns compute values on the server.
• Business process flows guide users through stages (model-driven apps only).
• Plug-ins run custom code when developers need it.

Dataverse vs Dataverse for Teams

Dataverse for Teams was the free, lighter version inside Microsoft Teams: one environment per team, about 1 million rows or 2 GB, and roles limited to owners, members and guests.

Feature	Dataverse for Teams	Dataverse
Environments	1 per team	Unlimited
Maximum size	1 million rows or 2 GB	No technical limit (license entitlement)
API access, plug-ins, PCF	No	Yes
Model-driven apps	No	Yes
Auditing, field-level security	No	Yes

Big change: Microsoft has deprecated it. You can’t create new Dataverse for Teams environments after 11/15/2026. Environments that aren’t upgraded are suspended on 09/15/2027 and decommissioned on 10/30/2027.

Licensing and Capacity

Custom apps on Dataverse need a premium license such as Power Apps Premium. Microsoft 365 licenses include only limited Dataverse rights, not standalone custom apps. The free Power Apps Developer Plan gives you a test environment.

Storage comes as three capacity types: database, file and log. Your tenant gets a default amount, more per license, and paid add-ons. Developer and trial environments don’t count against it.

What Are the Limitations of Dataverse?

• Daily request limits: 40,000 Power Platform requests per 24 hours for Premium users, 6,000 for per app and Microsoft 365 licenses.
• Cost: premium licenses and extra capacity add up.
• Delegation: some Power Fx functions, like Len in a filter, can’t run on the server.
• Learning curve: solutions, publishers and security roles take time to set up properly.

I hit that delegation case myself: a Len filter on Service Requests showed two warnings. Our Power Apps delegation guide explains the fix.

How to Create Your First Dataverse Table

Go to make.powerapps.com, select Tables, then New table > Table (advanced properties):

Type the Display name. Power Apps fills in the Plural name for you:

Save, add columns, then type or import rows. I gave Asset an autonumber Asset Tag, and Dataverse filled ASSET-1000 onward. Full steps are in how to create a table in Dataverse.

How to Bring Data In

On any table, the Import menu offers Excel/CSV and Dataflows:

My dataflow copied 623 SharePoint list rows in 1 minute 31 seconds. Here’s how to move a SharePoint list to Dataverse, or see the dataflow in Dataverse walkthrough.

Connect Dataverse to Power Apps and Power Automate

In Power Apps Studio, select Add data and search for your table. Tables in the current environment appear under Microsoft Dataverse:

From there, get data from Dataverse in Power Apps with Filter and LookUp. In flows, the Power Automate Add a new row action writes rows.

Building on Dataverse next? These posts pick up where this one stops:

• Power Apps Add Data to Dataverse Table
• Power Apps Dataverse Choices [Complete Guide]
• How to Set Autonumber for Primary Name Column in Dataverse?
• Dataverse Version History

Frequently Asked Questions