Microsoft Power Automate vs. Power Apps

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Power Automate
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Power Automate is an advanced automation platform offering a range of features, including AI-powered automation, robotic process automation (RPA), business process automation (BPA), digital process automation (DPA), and process/task mining. The platform aims to empower organizations to securely automate their operations at scale by leveraging low-code and AI technologies.
$15
per month per user
Power Apps
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
PowerApps is a low code / rapid application development product from Microsoft that allows users to quickly build apps.
$20
per month per user
Pricing
Microsoft Power AutomatePower Apps
Editions & Modules
Power Automate Premium
$15
per month per user
Power Automate Process
$150
per month per bot
Hosted RPA add-on
$215
per month per bot
Process Mining add-on
$5,000
per month per tenant
Power Apps Premium
$20
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Power AutomatePower Apps
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Power AutomatePower Apps
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Power Automate
Chose Microsoft Power Automate
Microsoft Power Automate is worlds ahead of Zapier in so many ways. The looping, DOM access, and flow controls are much better. I feel that accessing different data within previous connectors used in a flow is much easier in Microsoft Power Automate as well.

The custom …
Chose Microsoft Power Automate
We are a full Microsoft Stack user. We use Power Apps for custom applications, Power BI for data analytics, Teams for communication and this software to tie all our solutions together. Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) has connectors into most, if not all, of …
Chose Microsoft Power Automate
The only other similar product I have used is Excel with advanced formular and macros, PA is by far more superior and easier for the laymen
Chose Microsoft Power Automate
Nintex is a more powerful workflow tool, but Microsoft is closing the gap with Power Automate. Microsoft Power Automate can do simple tasks very well, and they both can connect to multiple other systems very easily.
Chose Microsoft Power Automate
  1. Power Automate is more user friendly.
  2. It connects to Microsoft products seamlessly like Power Automate and SharePoint Lists.
  3. Pricing is cheaper. standard MS 365 subscription includes PA.
Power Apps
Chose Power Apps
1. PowerApps functionality comes with E1 over E3 License without adding extra costs
2. For Nintex you pay (at the beginning) for each workflow, so my intention would be, to do no workflows to prevent additional costs, but I want a platform with a fair price that allows me to …
Chose Power Apps
PowerApps and Power Automate go together in the Power platform. They are made to work together to create a vast collection of connectors and out of the box pieces that come together to make a whole application. If you are unable to complete a task from within PowerApps, Power …
Chose Power Apps
PowerApps is the first we have used in Office 365 and Azure Integration. It really helped us to integrate application in Azure and building short apps with low cost.
Chose Power Apps
I'm not sure if you can say D365 CRM is an alternative to PowerApps, because basically all the customization of using D365 CRM, or what used to be called XRM, is now called a model-driven PowerApp. Likewise, SharePoint has become intimately connected to canvas PowerApps. Both …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Microsoft Power AutomatePower Apps
Low-Code Development
Comparison of Low-Code Development features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power Automate
-
Ratings
Power Apps
7.9
19 Ratings
8% below category average
Visual Modeling00 Ratings7.617 Ratings
Drag-and-drop Interfaces00 Ratings9.018 Ratings
Platform Security00 Ratings9.318 Ratings
Platform User Management00 Ratings8.218 Ratings
Reusability00 Ratings4.818 Ratings
Platform Scalability00 Ratings8.217 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft Power AutomatePower Apps
Small Businesses
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
Quixy
Quixy
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft Power AutomatePower Apps
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(71 ratings)
8.3
(21 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(6 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
7.3
(11 ratings)
9.7
(6 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.8
(26 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Power AutomatePower Apps
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Microsoft Power Automate is the best tool to extend Microsoft services you already use. Hands down. Prototyping workflows is very easy in Microsoft Power Automate. It's also the best choice for sending custom cards through Teams and email. It's the easiest way to get data from Microsoft Graph.
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Microsoft
PowerApps is well suited for "quick-wins" and fast prototypes of business solutions. It also is beneficial for situations where business partners and developers work together - it allows the business folks to provide a "quick-and-dirty" prototype which is then fleshed-out by developers that are trained experts on the platform. The interactive and easy to understand representation of the solution allows business partners to "see" the solution and add, remove, or correct aspects of it themselves. It provides a common view and understanding of the actual solution across business units and tech teams. PowerApps, being a low-code\no-code platform is not well suited for business processes that require many complex computations or large amounts of custom code - such as solutions that are better architected as Web Site or "full-blown" desktop solutions. There are solutions that are just not easy or quick to accomplish in a low-code\no-code platform. Enterprise Architects should know the difference, however business partners often try to create a solution and only when stuck because it becomes too complex do they engage a tech team for assistance - at which point there are sunk-costs involved and hinderences to re-platforming the solution
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Pros
Microsoft
  • Sending confirmation email to clients and user once the flow is triggered.
  • Fetching or Dumping files from one location to another if the flow is triggered.
  • Schedule flow helps to send alerts and triggers the flow at a specific interval of time to carry out the required task.
  • Power Automate also be used to convert any file format to a specific file format and save it to the required location
Read full review
Microsoft
  • Power Apps has formats that are pre-built that don't require any coding which makes it easier to achieve your vision. This does become a challenge if your App needs don't fit into that format.
  • We deal with a ton of data so the fact that you can connect to any data source in addition to their pre-stablished data connections makes the process a breeze.
  • The online learning resources and tutorials are helpful as well for those who are tech savvy.
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • Many times it doesn't feel very "low-code" or intuitive. AI builder is helping more and more.
  • Workflows should have a longer lifespan in days, we have approval processes that take months and it's very annoying to fix if the instance is stopped.
  • Better debugging and quick fix help
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Microsoft
  • More complicated to understand in comparison with Nintex Forms.
  • Complicated to find errors.
  • Using PowerApps for SharePoint Forms is a bit complicated by setting up the start and load scenario with a lot of JavaScript.
  • Load values, change them by code, and save them back could be easier. Actually quite complicated to handle a lot of variables.
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
my employer is absolutely fearful of ever changing anything, ever.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Usability
Microsoft
Power Automate has an intuitive interface that is easy for novices to use. It doesn't require programming knowledge, however having that experience will help troubleshoot potential issues if they do arise. There are advanced features that allow the use of "code-like" steps that will help power users get more advanced automations set up quickly.
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Microsoft
PowerApps is a great solution and I have spent the last year familiarizing myself with the platform and building custom applications to complete a whole range of tasks such as asset management, custom invoice generation, and item restriction tracking. We as a company have barely begun to scratch the surface of what can be achieved with PowerApps.
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Support Rating
Microsoft
I really have had a need to contact Win Automation support, but when I do google how to do a task, Win Automation has an extensive message board with a broad number of topics and questions answered where I could see how other people were able to solve similar problems to the ones I have.
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Microsoft
The community forums are extremely responsive to questions asked, there is a good body of online documentation and many community posts to draw from. Although the platform has changed, which means some of the posts are out of date and the solutions provided aren't relevant. Of relevance, I read over 400 articles plus documentation to get this first app built in SharePoint, move it to SQL and make it work exactly the way it should.
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In-Person Training
Microsoft
after reviewing the main features of Power Automate, the Microsoft trainer focused on some of our real life use cases implementation, from simple to more advanced.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Microsoft
although it was productive, it is more difficult to stay focused and in a 7 hours a day online training (including screen share issues and the fact that the trainer just can't precisely show the exact location of your mistake)
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
I had to migrate from Robocorp to Power Automate. The automation was using API and sharepoint. So it was better to use Power Automate instead of Robocorp so we did the migration. in some areas the migration was easy but creating flows and making it smaller codes was difficult. Debugging the code was tough so we took lots of time.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Power Automate is a no-code/low-code solution tailored for workflow automation, data integration, and AI integration, making it an excellent choice for Microsoft-centric organizations. OutSystems, on the other hand, is a comprehensive application development platform, offering rapid app development with both low-code and traditional development options. This platform is well-suited for organizations seeking custom application development. Nintex specializes in workflow and process automation with a strong focus on SharePoint and Office 365 integration. It also includes advanced features like document generation and robotic process automation (RPA).The choice among these platforms should align with your organization's specific needs, considering factors like integration requirements and the desired level of technical expertise. In the bottomline, it's up to cost and licensing.
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Microsoft
Much cheaper, much more customizable, and easier to use. There is not much of a learning curve and the licensing cost is much cheaper. PowerApps does one thing very well, whereas other platforms are mediocre. There is much more customization possible for your in-house workflows that you can build yourself vs using NetSuite engineers to build it for you.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • It has encouraged everyday users to get a feel for low code no code without the detailed technical programmings skills
  • This has encouraged the use of Power Automate to replace what was once an excel filled with complex macros and VBA!
  • It has significantly saved time for someone like myself from chasing people for information and now I can create an auto alert using PA
Read full review
Microsoft
  • It has given us a focal point for development. We now have the possibility of connecting to mobile and the default SharePoint online interface isn't always easy to manipulate. PowerApps has given us an opportunity to improve our user experience.
  • An improved user experience has given us a better shot at compliance. When users don't fight the environment, they don't gravitate towards workarounds or non-compliance.
  • As lists and libraries change, the platform scales pretty well.
  • Having users with the capability to create their own forms and tools has dialed back the app dev need (there is a balance though) and distributed power to the process architects and people who actually need the solutions in the first place—much more efficient model of service delivery: self-service.
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ScreenShots

Microsoft Power Automate Screenshots

Screenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Work Queues, Initial pageScreenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Signed-in web portal home pageScreenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Signed-in web portal create pageScreenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Desktop designerScreenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Hosted RPAScreenshot of Microsoft Power Automate (Interface Screenshot) - Display of DLP violations (on Run)