Power Automate is the only platform here whose rights come with Microsoft 365 licenses. The others follow in overall score order, for the gaps it leaves.
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The best process automation for Microsoft 365 companies in 2026 is Power Automate: select Office 365 licenses already include cloud flows with standard connectors11, and Premium at $15 per user a month, paid yearly, adds premium connectors and an attended robot on a registered PC12. When many people need premium connectors at low volume, Make can cost less: unlimited users from $12 a month billed annually3, against $15 for each Premium user.
Office 365 rights cover cloud flows with standard connectors and an official limit of 6,000 requests per user per 24 hours1112. Every other platform here is a separate purchase.
Pick Best for Microsoft 365
Cloud flows with standard connectors are free with work accounts; Premium at $15 per user a month adds premium connectors, an attended robot on a registered PC and process mining12. Pick it if your processes run through Microsoft apps.
Price From $15 per user per month, paid yearly2
Full review of Microsoft Power AutomateVisit Microsoft Power Automate (opens the Microsoft Power Automate website)
Pick Best for Microsoft and other apps
Unlimited users on every plan and 3,500+ apps; free plan with 1,000 credits, Core from $12 a month billed annually3. Pick it if many people build flows that reach outside Microsoft.
Price Free plan with 1,000 credits a month; paid plans from $12/mo billed annually for 10,000 credits (US price list)3
Pick Best to self-host
Self-host on Azure, AWS or Google Cloud, with the Community edition free45. Pick it if developers own the automations.
Price From €24 a month on n8n Cloud, or €20 billed annually6; the self-hosted Community edition is free5.
Pick Easiest for non-developers
9,000+ apps and Copilot on every plan; free plan with 100 tasks a month, Professional from $19.99 billed annually7. Pick it if people outside IT build the flows.
Price Free plan with 100 tasks a month; paid plans from $19.99/mo billed annually for 750 tasks7
Full review of ZapierVisit Zapier (opens the Zapier website)
Pick Best for IT-run integration
1,200+ connectors, on-prem agents and ISO 27001; free plan with 50,000 one-time credits, Pro from $75 a month8910. Pick it if IT runs integrations across many systems.
Price Free plan with 50,000 one-time credits; Pro from $75 per month10
Full review of WorkatoVisit Workato (opens the Workato website)
| Platform | Paid plans from | Free plan | Self-hosting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Power Automate | $15 per user/month, paid yearly2 | Yes. Free license for work or school accounts, standard connectors only, no sharing1 | No. Cloud service only; desktop flows run on your own Windows machines1314 |
| Make | $12/mo billed annually, $16 monthly (Core, 10,000 credits, US price list)3 | Yes: 1,000 credits a month, 2 active scenarios3 | No. Every plan runs on Make's AWS hosting (EU or North America); Enterprise adds an on-prem agent for local systems153 |
| n8n | €24 per month (€20 billed annually)6 | Yes: free self-hosted Community edition; Cloud has a free trial16 | Yes: free Community edition, paid Business and Enterprise licenses4 |
| Zapier | $19.99/mo billed annually, $29.99 monthly (Professional, 750 tasks)7 | Yes: 100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps, one user177 | No. Zapier stores data on AWS in the United States; Enterprise adds VPC Peering to reach internal data sources718 |
| Workato | $75/mo (Workato Pro, 2,500 credits)10 | Yes, 50,000 one-time credits10 | Cloud only on AWS: regional data centers, Virtual Private Workato or AWS GovCloud9 |
Partly. Select Office 365 licenses, including E1, E3, E5 and Business Basic, Standard and Premium, include cloud flows with standard connectors11. Premium connectors need Power Automate Premium at $15 per user a month, paid yearly2.
Yes, on Windows. Desktop flows run on Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server 2016 to 2025, and reach SAP, mainframes and Citrix13. Unattended runs need a Process license at $150 per bot a month, paid yearly2.
Power Automate, when the work stays in Microsoft apps or needs desktop RPA. Zapier, when non-developers connect many outside apps: it counts 9,000+ apps against Power Automate's 1,400+714. See Power Automate vs Zapier.
See the full ranking: Best process automation software in 2026