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NMicrosoft Power Automate vs Zapier
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
M
Choose Microsoft Power Automate if…
- you want the lower entry price ($15/mo vs $19.99/mo)
- you work on Windows
- you're in its core audience: enterprise it and automation teams, microsoft 365 organizations
Z
Choose Zapier if…
- you want a free plan to start with
- you need an API to build on
- you're in its core audience: small and medium businesses, operations and revops teams
Side by side
Feature Microsoft Power Automate Zapier
Pricing modelFree trialFreemium
Starting price$15/mo$19.99/mo
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
Trains AI on your content—No
Data retention—Custom data retention available (Enterprise); default period not stated
Security and complianceGDPRSOC 2 Type II, SOC 3, GDPR, CCPA
GitHub stars—634
MCP server—
AI agent builder
Prompt-to-workflow
Desktop RPA—
Custom connectors
Embedded integrations—
PlatformsWeb, WindowsWeb, API
CategoryWorkflow AutomationWorkflow Automation
CompanyMicrosoft CorporationZapier, Inc.
Based inUnited StatesUnited States
Founded——
Part of——
Key features
M Microsoft Power Automate
- Cloud flows for digital process automation
- Attended and unattended desktop RPA
- Natural-language flow authoring with Copilot
- More than 1,400 prebuilt connectors plus custom connectors
- Process and task mining with AI recommendations
- AI document and image processing
- Hosted RPA on Microsoft-managed virtual machines
- Managed Environments and data loss prevention controls
Z
- Trigger-based Zap workflows across 9,000+ apps
- Zapier MCP connecting AI tools to 66,000+ actions
- Zapier SDK for AI coding agents
- Tables for storing workflow data
- Forms that trigger workflows
- AI agents and customer chatbots
- Self-healing Zaps with AI manager agent (early access)
- Audit logs, SSO, SCIM and action restrictions
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
Microsoft Power Automate
Free trialFree
Power Automate Premium$15.00 user/month, paid yearly
Power Automate Process$150.00 bot/month, paid yearly
Power Automate Hosted Process$215.00 bot/month, paid yearly
Process Mining add-on$5,000.00 tenant/month, paid yearly
Zapier
Free$0/month
ProfessionalStarting from $19.99/month
TeamStarting from $69/month
EnterpriseContact for pricing
Strengths and limitations
Microsoft Power Automate
- 30-day free trial includes premium features
- More than 1,400 prebuilt connectors
- Works inside Teams, Excel, SharePoint and OneDrive
- Covers cloud, desktop RPA and process mining in one product
- Listed prices are billed yearly
- Not available on-premises; cloud service only
- Desktop app is Windows 10 and 11 only
- Process Mining add-on costs $5,000 per tenant per month
Zapier
- Free plan with 100 tasks per month and unlimited Zaps
- Connects to 9,000+ apps
- SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3, GDPR and CCPA compliance
- Yearly billing saves 33%
- Free plan limited to two-step Zaps and 15-minute polling
- Live chat support starts at the Professional 2,000-task tier
- Prices scale with task volume
- Next Gen Zaps are still in early access
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