Best Process Automation

Ranked #2 of 14 for best process automation

Microsoft Power Automate review

Microsoft's automation service for cloud flows and Windows desktop bots, with more than 1,400 prebuilt connectors1.

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Verdict

8.1/10

Power Automate is the best process automation pick for organizations already on Microsoft 365, because cloud flows and attended Windows desktop RPA come under one license from $15 per user per month.

Best for Microsoft 365 organizations

Skip it if your team works outside Microsoft 365, automates on Macs, or must self-host the platform.

Visit Microsoft Power Automate (opens the Microsoft Power Automate website)

Microsoft Power Automate at a glance
General availabilityOctober 31, 2016, as Microsoft Flow, after a public preview from April 20162
RenamedPower Automate, announced November 4, 20193
Prebuilt connectorsMore than 1,400, per Microsoft1
HostingCloud service only, with an on-premises data gateway for local systems1
Desktop flows run onWindows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server 2016 to 2025; ARM devices unsupported; Home editions can't run desktop flows triggered from the cloud4
Daily request limitOfficial: 40,000 Power Platform requests per Premium user and 250,000 per Process license per 24 hours. Until enforcement starts, Microsoft applies transition limits of 200,000 per cloud flow and 500,000 per Process license5
Security reportsSOC 2 Type 2; ISO/IEC 2700167
Mobile appDeprecated August 31, 2026, and removed from the App Store and Google Play8

How Microsoft Power Automate scores

Score breakdown for Microsoft Power Automate
Ease of use 20%7.0Copilot creates cloud flows from a natural language description9, and a flow can start from scratch, a template or the agent1. Layered licenses and a Dataverse database requirement for desktop flows on work accounts4 slow the first build for a team without IT help. Score: an AI builder and templates, slowed by layered licenses and setup that needs IT, give 7.0.
Power 25%8.5Cloud flows branch with conditions10, loop with Apply to each11 and route failures with Run after settings12. Code runs in desktop flows, which take PowerShell, Python, JavaScript and C#13, and AI agents are built in Copilot Studio and called from cloud flows14. Score: every rubric item is present, with code and agents outside the cloud flow builder, which gives 8.5.
Integrations 15%9.0Microsoft counts more than 1,400 prebuilt connectors, including SAP and Salesforce1, and a custom connector wraps a REST API15. Desktop flows reach systems with no API, including mainframes, AS/400, Java apps and Citrix4. Score: more than 1,400 connectors set a base of 7.5; desktop flows for apps with no API add 1.0, and the on-premises data gateway adds 0.51.
Price and value 20%7.5Work or school accounts get cloud flows with standard connectors free16, and Premium at $15 per user per month adds premium connectors16, attended RPA and process mining17. Costs climb with unattended bots at $150 each per month and process mining at $5,000 per tenant per month17. Score: free cloud flows for work accounts and a published per-user price, with costs that grow per user and per bot, give 7.5.
Security and governance 10%8.5Power Automate is in scope for Microsoft's SOC 2 Type 27 and ISO/IEC 270016 audits, and cloud flows run under work or school accounts in a Microsoft Entra tenant168. Admins get connector data policies18, Microsoft Purview activity logs19 and regional environments, including EU Data Boundary regions20. There is no self-hosted edition1. Score: four of the five rubric items with both SOC 2 and ISO 27001 give 8.5; there is no self-hosted edition.
Support and ecosystem 10%9.0Paid licenses include support with a one-hour response on critical cases, and Professional Direct costs $9 per user per month, paid yearly, with a 20-user minimum21. Microsoft lists partners with an Intelligent Automation specialization22 and points users to the Power Platform Community for peer help1. Score: a published one-hour response on critical cases, a partner network and a community give 9.0.

Microsoft Power Automate pricing

Microsoft Power Automate pricing, checked 8 November 2026
PlanPriceNotes
Free$016Work or school accounts: cloud flows with standard connectors and no sharing, plus attended desktop flows run locally
Free trial$0 for 30 days17The pricing page lists a 30-day trial with standard connectors; Microsoft Learn describes a 90-day self-assisted trial with Premium capabilities16
Premium$15 per user/month, paid yearly17Cloud flows, premium and custom connectors16, attended desktop flows, process mining with 50 MB of data
Process$150 per bot/month, paid yearly17One unattended desktop flow run at a time per bot, or higher request limits and premium connectors for a cloud flow16
Hosted Process$215 per bot/month, paid yearly17Unattended bot on a virtual machine managed by Microsoft on Azure
Process Mining add-on$5,000 per tenant/month, paid yearly17Add-on for Premium only; 100 GB of data stored
Pay-as-you-go (preview)$0.60 per flow run23Premium cloud flows and attended desktop flows; unattended desktop runs cost $3.00 each; billed to an Azure subscription

Strengths and weak spots

Strengths

  • Cloud flows with standard connectors are free for work or school accounts16.
  • Cloud flows and desktop RPA in one product; desktop flows automate SAP, mainframes, AS/400, Java apps and Citrix4.
  • Premium covers premium and custom connectors16, attended RPA and process mining for $15 per user per month17.
  • In scope for Microsoft's SOC 2 Type 27 and ISO/IEC 270016 audits.
  • Paid licenses include support with a one-hour response on critical cases21.

Weak spots

  • Licensing has many layers: Free, trial, Premium, Process, Hosted Process, pay-as-you-go, and limited rights inside Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 36516.
  • Unattended RPA costs $150 per bot per month, and each bot runs one desktop flow at a time17.
  • No self-hosted edition: Microsoft runs Power Automate as a cloud service only1.
  • Desktop flows run on Windows only, and ARM devices are unsupported4.
  • The standalone mobile app was deprecated on August 31, 2026; approvals continue in Teams, Outlook and the web portal8.

Alternatives to Microsoft Power Automate

Head to head

Microsoft Power Automate: common questions

Is Power Automate free?

Basic use is free for work or school accounts. The Power Automate Free license covers cloud flows with standard connectors, without sharing, and attended desktop flows run locally16. Premium connectors need a paid license such as Power Automate Premium at $15 per user per month, and unattended bots need a Process license at $150 per bot per month, both paid yearly17. Microsoft set July 26, 2025 as the end of personal Microsoft account support in Power Automate; Power Automate for desktop still works with personal accounts8.

Is Power Automate included with Microsoft 365?

Partly. Select Office 365 licenses, including E1, E3, E5 and Business Basic, Standard and Premium, include limited Power Automate rights24: cloud flows with standard connectors24 and an official limit of 6,000 Power Platform requests per user per 24 hours5. Premium connectors need Power Automate Premium or another license that includes them, except in Dataverse for Teams environments24.

Can Power Automate run on-premises or be self-hosted?

No. Microsoft runs Power Automate as a cloud service and connects it to on-premises systems through an on-premises data gateway1. Desktop flows run on your own Windows machines4, or on Microsoft-hosted machines under the Hosted Process license at $215 per bot per month17.

Sources

  1. Microsoft. Power Automate: Business Process Workflow Automation. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  2. Microsoft Power Platform Blog. Announcing Microsoft Flow General Availability. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  3. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog. Announcing RPA, enhanced security, no-code virtual agents, and more for Microsoft Power Platform. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  4. Microsoft Learn. Prerequisites and limitations. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  5. Microsoft Learn. Requests limits and allocations. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  6. Microsoft Learn. ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Information Security Management Standards. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  7. Microsoft Learn. System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type 2. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  8. Microsoft Learn. Important changes (deprecations) coming in Power Platform. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  9. Microsoft Learn. Copilot in Power Automate. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  10. Microsoft Learn. Add a condition to a cloud flow in Power Automate. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  11. Microsoft Learn. Use the Apply to each action to process a list of items periodically. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  12. Microsoft Learn. Employ robust error handling. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  13. Microsoft Learn. Scripting actions reference. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  14. Microsoft Learn. Call Microsoft Copilot Studio agents from Power Automate. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  15. Microsoft Learn. Custom connectors overview. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  16. Microsoft Learn. Types of Power Automate licenses. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  17. Microsoft. Power Automate Pricing. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  18. Microsoft Learn. Data policies. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  19. Microsoft Learn. View Power Automate activity logs in Microsoft Purview. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  20. Microsoft Learn. Choose the region when setting up an environment. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  21. Microsoft. Power Automate support. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  22. Microsoft. Power Automate Partners. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  23. Microsoft Learn. Pay-as-you-go meters. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  24. Microsoft Learn. Power Automate licensing FAQ. Checked 9 Nov 2026.