# Microsoft Power Automate > Cloud workflows and desktop RPA in the Microsoft Power Platform Power Automate is Microsoft's automation service. Cloud flows link apps and services through prebuilt connectors, and desktop flows use robotic process automation (RPA) to operate Windows and web applications through their interfaces. It also covers process and task mining, and Copilot can draft a flow from a plain-language description. A free license handles standard connectors; premium connectors, flow sharing and unattended bots need paid licenses. - **Category:** Automation - **Made by:** Microsoft - **Website:** https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate - **Runs on:** Web, Windows - **Facts last checked:** Oct 5, 2026 ## Pricing Microsoft Power Automate has a free plan. Paid plans start at $15 per user / month, paid yearly. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Power Automate Free license: create and run cloud flows with standard connectors only, without sharing them, plus desktop flows authored and run locally in attended mode. - **Free trial:** 30-day free trial per the pricing page; Microsoft's licensing docs describe a 90-day self-service trial license. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Power Automate Free | $0 | Free license described in Microsoft's licensing docs: cloud flows with standard connectors only, no sharing, and desktop flows run locally in attended mode. | | Power Automate Premium | $15 per user / month, paid yearly | Cloud flows with standard, premium and custom connectors, attended desktop flows, process and task mining with 50 MB of data, and 250 MB of Dataverse database capacity. | | Power Automate Process | $150 per bot / month, paid yearly | One bot for unattended desktop flows, or a license for a cloud flow that any number of users can run, with up to 250,000 actions a day. | | Power Automate Hosted Process | $215 per bot / month, paid yearly | Unattended desktop flows on a virtual machine that Microsoft manages and hosts on Azure, so there is no machine of your own to maintain. | | Process Mining add-on | $5,000 per tenant / month, paid yearly | Add-on for the Premium plan only: 100 GB of process mining data, with 2 GB of Dataverse database and 1 TB of file capacity. | Read from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate/pricing on Oct 5, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Microsoft Power Automate before buying. ## Key features - **Cloud flows:** Automated, scheduled and instant flows connect cloud apps, and on-premises services through a data gateway. Microsoft cites more than 1,400 prebuilt, certified connectors, and custom connectors can be built. - **Desktop flows (RPA):** Power Automate for desktop builds or records flows that operate Windows and web applications through their interfaces. Attended runs happen with a person present; unattended runs need a Process license. - **Copilot authoring:** Copilot in Power Automate creates, edits and extends flows from a natural-language description, in both the cloud designer and the desktop app. - **Process and task mining:** Analyzes how a process actually runs to find steps worth automating. Premium includes 50 MB of mining data per user, and a tenant-wide add-on provides 100 GB. - **Microsoft 365 integration:** Flows can be built and run from inside Teams, Excel, SharePoint and OneDrive. Microsoft 365 licenses include the right to create and run cloud flows with standard connectors. - **Governance and hosted machines:** Managed Environments and data loss prevention policies give admins control over flows. Hosted Process runs unattended bots on virtual machines that Microsoft manages. ## Good for - Organizations already licensed for Microsoft 365 or Dynamics 365 - Automating older Windows applications that have no API - Approval processes that run through Teams and SharePoint ## Worth knowing - The free license and Microsoft 365 licenses cover standard connectors only; premium and custom connectors need Premium at $15 per user / month. - Unattended desktop flows need a Process license at $150 per bot / month, and the machine must be registered by a Premium user. - The desktop app runs only on Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server, and devices with ARM processors are not supported. - The standalone iOS and Android app reached end of support on August 31, 2026; Microsoft points mobile users to the browser portal and Teams. ## Works with Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Excel, OneDrive, Power BI, Dynamics 365, SAP, Salesforce **Tags:** Workflow automation, AI features, Templates, Public API ## Alternatives - [UiPath](https://toolgpa.com/tools/uipath): Enterprise platform for RPA, AI agents and process orchestration. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/microsoft-power-automate-vs-uipath) - [Zapier](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zapier): Workflow automation across 9,000+ apps, with AI agents. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/microsoft-power-automate-vs-zapier) - [Make](https://toolgpa.com/tools/make): Visual automation builder for multi-step scenarios and AI agents. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/make-vs-microsoft-power-automate) - [n8n](https://toolgpa.com/tools/n8n): Workflow automation and AI agents you can self-host. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/microsoft-power-automate-vs-n8n) - [Zoho Flow](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zoho-flow): Integration platform for cloud and on-premises apps, with AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/microsoft-power-automate-vs-zoho-flow) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 5, 2026: - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate/pricing - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/power-automate-licensing/types - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/power-automate-licensing/deep-dive-on-specific-license - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/power-automate-licensing/faqs - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/desktop-flows/requirements - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/mobile/overview-mobile Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/microsoft-power-automate Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).