n8n vs Power Automate
Plans, free access, limits and intended use side by side, taken from each vendor’s own pages. No score and no winner: the facts show where the two differ.
Change tools
Build workflows in managed Cloud or on your own infrastructure.
Microsoft's cloud and desktop flow automation, licensed per user or per process and metered in daily platform requests
- Free access
- n8n: Free access
- Power Automate: Free access
- Paid from
- n8n: EUR 20 per month
- Power Automate: USD 15/user per month
- Plans listed
- n8n: 6
- Power Automate: 7
- Public API
- n8n: Yes
- Power Automate: Not confirmed
Where n8n and Power Automate differ
- Pricing checkPricing review due for n8n; some prices or terms not confirmed for Power Automate.
- Plansn8n lists 6 plans and Power Automate lists 7.
Head to head
Each value from the tool’s profile and the vendor’s own pages
| n8n | Fact | Power Automate |
|---|---|---|
| Access and price | ||
| Free access availableCommunity · Free software | Free accessSame | Free access availablePower Automate Free · USD 0 |
| EUR 20 per monthStarter Cloud · billed annually | Lowest listed paid plan | USD 15/user per monthPower Automate Premium · paid yearly |
| Free self-hosted Community; paid Cloud | Pricing model | Free with standard connectors (work or school accounts); Premium $15/user/month, Process $150/bot/month, Hosted Process $215/bot/month, paid yearly |
| 6 | Plans listedDiffers | 7 |
| Yes | Public API | Not confirmed |
| Not required | Card to start | Not confirmed |
| No | Open source | Not confirmed |
| What it is for | ||
| Self-hostable workflow and AI-agent automation | Built for | Organisations on Microsoft 365 that want to automate Teams, SharePoint, Outlook and Excel work, with RPA for desktop apps |
| Automation | CategorySame | Automation |
| Platforms |
|
| Not listed | Works with |
|
| How current | ||
| Profile sources checked | ||
| Pricing review due · Sep 24, 2026 | Pricing checkDiffers | Some prices or terms not confirmed · Oct 24, 2026 |
Official source check for both tools. No hands-on testing and no score: “Differs” marks a documented difference, not a better tool.
Plans and prices
n8n
Pricing review due · Sep 24, 2026- CommunityFree software
- Cloud trial14-day trial
- Starter CloudEUR 20 per monthbilled annually
- Pro CloudEUR 50 per monthbilled annually
- Business self-hostedEUR 667 per monthbilled annually
Show 1 more plan
- EnterpriseContact provider
Power Automate
Some prices or terms not confirmed · Oct 24, 2026- Power Automate FreeUSD 0
- Microsoft 365 / Office 365 (included)Included in eligible plans
- Free trialFree trial
- Power Automate PremiumUSD 15/user per monthpaid yearly
- Power Automate ProcessUSD 150/bot per monthpaid yearly
Show 2 more plans
- Power Automate Hosted ProcessUSD 215/bot per monthpaid yearly
- Process Mining add-onUSD 5,000/tenant per monthpaid yearly
Strengths and limits
n8n
Strengths
- Same product on Cloud or your servers: Managed n8n Cloud and a deployment on your own infrastructure run the same underlying product.
- Ongoing Community option: Self-hosted Community can be used without a software subscription; the cost is the hosting and the time to run it.
- No seat pricing: Every plan, Starter included, allows unlimited users, workflows and integrations, so adding colleagues does not change the price.
Limits to plan around
- Self-hosting is your job: You provide the servers, updates and restores yourself; if nobody on the team can restore the installation or trace failed runs, Cloud is the safer start.
- Cloud trial is temporary: If you don't upgrade, the 1,000-execution trial expires after 14 days and its workspace is removed; workflows can still be downloaded for 90 days after the trial ends.
- Governance costs extra: SSO, environments, shared projects and Git version control need a paid plan or edition, even on your own server.
Power Automate
Strengths
- Included with Microsoft 365: Office 365 business and enterprise plans already include cloud flows with standard connectors, so many teams can start without a new purchase.
- Desktop and cloud in one product: The same licence family covers app-to-app flows and RPA on Windows desktops, including Microsoft-hosted machines.
- Volume is rarely the limit: A Premium user gets 40,000 requests a day and a Process licence 250,000, which ordinary office flows stay far below.
Limits to plan around
- Premium connectors cost extra: Salesforce and HubSpot are not on the standard connector list, so flows that touch them need Premium or a Process licence.
- AI credits are changing: Premium's 5,000 seeded AI Builder credits end on 1 November 2026, and new customers must buy Copilot Credits for AI steps.
- Licensing is layered: Which limit applies depends on flow type, owner, app context and any Process licence, and limits from different licences do not add up.
See both products
Start from your task, not from a winner.
Run both tools on the same real task, then compare the result, how much editing it needs and how fast it uses your plan’s allowance.
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Comparing tools from different categories is fine, and often useful — a writing assistant and a research tool solve different halves of the same job. The table will show you exactly where they diverge.
Questions about comparing tools
How does the comparison work?
Add two tools to the comparison tray from any tool card, then open this page. The table pulls each tool's verified plan details, platforms, strengths and limits from its profile, so both columns carry the same kind of evidence, with a separate source-check date for each tool.
Do you declare a winner?
No. The table sets two tools against each other on documented facts, not on a score. Which one wins depends on your task, your budget and your usage volume — three things we cannot see from here.
Why are some cells empty or marked unverified?
Because we could not confirm that detail on the vendor's own pages. Rather than filling the gap with a figure from elsewhere, we mark it and say why on the tool's profile.
Can I compare more than two tools?
Not at once. Two columns keep the differences readable and force a real decision. Remove either selected tool to replace it, or clear both to start a new pair.
Every figure in the table above comes from the linked profile, where the source and the verification date are listed. Browse all tools or read the editorial policy.