Microsoft Power Automate
Microsoft's workflow automation and RPA platform for Microsoft 365
Microsoft Power Automate is a workflow automation tool for Small businesses and Enterprise, offered as paid ($15/mo). Founded in United States in 2016.
About Microsoft Power Automate
Microsoft Power Automate is the workflow automation and robotic process automation (RPA) service in Microsoft's Power Platform. It launched in 2016 as Microsoft Flow and was renamed Power Automate in late 2019, and Microsoft's 2020 purchase of Softomotive brought in the desktop RPA engine. Its core job is automating repetitive work across Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and other apps, from approvals to legacy desktop software.
Cloud flows run on triggers or schedules and use more than 1,000 connectors. Desktop flows record and replay actions in Windows apps and websites, attended on a user's PC or unattended on bots. Copilot builds flows from plain-language descriptions, and process and task mining show where work stalls. Many Microsoft 365 licences already include flows with standard connectors; the Premium plan adds premium connectors, attended RPA and Dataverse, while Process and Hosted Process license unattended bots.
Power Automate fits organizations that already run on Microsoft 365, Teams and SharePoint, especially when legacy desktop apps need RPA. It is clumsier for non-Microsoft SaaS stacks, and licensing is confusing. Zapier is faster for simple SaaS-to-SaaS automations, Make offers a more visual builder at lower cost, and n8n can be self-hosted with full code control.
In May 2026 Microsoft put self-healing desktop flows, which recover when buttons move or other UI elements change, into public preview, and its 2026 release wave 1 deepens Copilot Studio links between agents and cloud flows. Check what your Microsoft 365 licences already cover before buying.
Key features of Microsoft Power Automate
- Cloud flows triggered by events, schedules or buttons across 1,000+ connectors
- Desktop flows that automate Windows apps and websites through RPA
- Attended bots on user PCs and unattended bots on VMs
- Copilot that drafts flows from a plain-language description
- Approvals built into Teams, Outlook and the mobile app
- Process and task mining to find bottlenecks before automating
- AI Builder for document processing and text classification
- Admin governance through Power Platform environments and data policies
Pros and cons
Pros
- Deep native integration with Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint and Dynamics
- Many Microsoft 365 licences already include standard connector flows
- Combines API automation and desktop RPA in one platform
- Enterprise governance, data loss prevention policies and Entra ID security
- Per-user Premium price is low for unlimited flows
Cons
- Licensing is confusing, with premium connectors and per-bot charges
- Designer is slower and less intuitive than Zapier or Make
- Error messages and debugging can be hard for non-developers
- Unattended RPA gets expensive at $150 or more per bot a month
- Weaker fit for teams that live mostly outside Microsoft tools
Microsoft Power Automate pricing
Microsoft Power Automate uses a paid model. A 30-day free trial is available.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | $15 / user/mo | Billed yearly; cloud flows, attended desktop RPA, process mining |
| Process | $150 / bot/mo | Billed yearly; unattended desktop flows for one bot |
| Hosted Process | $215 / bot/mo | Billed yearly; adds a Microsoft-hosted virtual machine |
| Process Mining add-on | $5,000 / tenant/mo | Billed yearly; requires Premium, 100 GB data storage |
Source: www.microsoft.com · checked on Oct 20, 2026
How Microsoft Power Automate compares in Workflow automation
- Rank by votes
- #1 / 22
- Starting price
- $15
- Free alternatives
- 3
0 votes from members
40% below the category median ($25/mo)
Free or open-source tools in Workflow automation
Microsoft Power Automate ranks #1 of 22 workflow automation tools by community votes and is priced below most tools in the category.
Common use cases
- 1Approval flows for purchase requests, leave and documents in Teams
- 2Saving email attachments to SharePoint and logging them in Excel
- 3Automating data entry in legacy desktop or ERP software with RPA
- 4Syncing Dynamics 365 or Salesforce records with internal systems
- 5Invoice processing with AI Builder document extraction
- 6Finding slow process steps with process mining before automating
Best for
Organizations standardized on Microsoft 365 that need governed workflow automation and desktop RPA for legacy apps.
Not ideal for
Small teams on mostly non-Microsoft SaaS apps who want quick, simple automations (Zapier, Make, n8n).
Integrations
- Microsoft Teams
- SharePoint
- Outlook
- Excel
- Dynamics 365
- Dataverse
- Salesforce
- SAP
Our take
Power Automate is the default choice for Microsoft 365 organizations, and its desktop RPA makes it hard to beat for automating legacy Windows apps. Use the flows your existing licences include first, then add Premium for the users who need premium connectors or RPA.
FAQ
- What is Microsoft Power Automate?
- Microsoft Power Automate is a Workflow automation tool: Microsoft's workflow automation and RPA platform for Microsoft 365.
- How much does Microsoft Power Automate cost?
- Microsoft Power Automate uses a Paid model; paid plans start at $15 per month.
- Does Microsoft Power Automate have a free trial?
- Yes, Microsoft Power Automate offers a 30-day free trial.
- What does Microsoft Power Automate integrate with?
- Microsoft Power Automate integrates with Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, Excel, Dynamics 365, Dataverse and more.
- Which platforms does Microsoft Power Automate support?
- Microsoft Power Automate is available on web, windows, ios, android.
- Who is Microsoft Power Automate for?
- Organizations standardized on Microsoft 365 that need governed workflow automation and desktop RPA for legacy apps.
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