TL;DR
- Choose Make if you're outside the Microsoft ecosystem, want predictable per-workspace pricing, and need first-class AI integrations.
- Choose Power Automate if you're a Microsoft 365 / Dynamics 365 / SharePoint shop, need RPA (desktop flows), or have enterprise AD/SSO requirements.
What will you actually pay?
Drag the slider to your monthly automation volume. We'll calculate the real cost on each platform.
Power Automate's pricing model is per-user, while Make charges per workspace. The real cost difference depends heavily on team size — Make's advantage grows with each additional team member.
The fundamental difference
Make and Power Automate solve the same problem — connecting apps without code — but they come from completely different worlds. Make.com is a pure-play automation platform built by an independent team focused on no-code. Power Automate is part of Microsoft's Power Platform, designed first to extend Microsoft 365.
This origin story shapes everything else: pricing, UX, integrations, AI strategy, even how you onboard a new user.
Pricing — the per-user trap
Power Automate's pricing is the single biggest gotcha for SMBs. The "Per user" plan at $15/month sounds reasonable until you realize each automation creator needs their own license. A team of 5 builders = $75/month minimum, before any premium connectors.
Make's pricing is per-workspace. One Core plan at $10.59/month covers your entire team — anyone can build, run, and edit scenarios. The 10,000 operations are pooled across the whole workspace.
For solo users on Microsoft-heavy stacks, Power Automate is fine. For any team building automations collaboratively, Make wins on cost by 3-10x.
Connector ecosystem
Power Automate has 1,400+ connectors. Make has 1,800+. Both cover the major SaaS apps. The real difference is in connector quality:
- Microsoft apps (Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Dynamics 365, Excel Online) — Power Automate is dramatically better. Triggers fire faster, properties are more granular, error handling is tighter.
- Non-Microsoft SaaS (Notion, Airtable, Slack, Stripe, OpenAI) — Make's connectors are more polished and updated more frequently.
If 70%+ of your stack is Microsoft, Power Automate's connector quality will save you hours. If it's mixed or mostly non-Microsoft, Make's broader and better-maintained connectors win.
Visual builder UX
Make's canvas is genuinely best-in-class. You see your entire scenario at once, with branching, loops and aggregators visualized clearly. Power Automate's flow editor is more linear and gets cluttered fast on complex flows.
Both support visual debugging, but Make's "execution history" with bundle-level inspection is significantly easier to use than Power Automate's run history.
AI capabilities — the 2026 reality
This is where the platforms diverge dramatically.
Make has native modules for OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Mistral, Cohere, Replicate and more. Switching between providers is a one-click change. Make also released "AI Agents" in late 2024 — autonomous workflows that combine LLM reasoning with tool calls.
Power Automate's AI story is tied to "AI Builder," which mostly leverages Azure OpenAI under the hood. It works, but you're locked into Microsoft's AI partnerships, and adding non-Azure AI providers requires HTTP modules and manual setup. For Microsoft-only shops, Azure OpenAI integration is seamless. For everyone else, Make is dramatically more flexible.
RPA (Desktop automation) — Power Automate's hidden weapon
The one thing Power Automate does that Make doesn't: Desktop flows. These are RPA-style automations that control your Windows desktop — clicking buttons, copying data from legacy apps, scraping screens.
If you need to automate a 30-year-old Windows ERP that has no API, Power Automate Desktop is genuinely useful. Make has zero RPA capability — it's API/webhook only.
Enterprise features (SSO, governance, compliance)
Power Automate inherits Microsoft's enterprise stack. SSO via Azure AD, granular DLP policies, ISO/SOC2/HIPAA all baked in, deep integration with Purview for data governance.
Make has SSO/SAML on Enterprise plans, SOC 2 Type II certification, and GDPR compliance — but the governance feature set is lighter than Power Automate's.
For 1,000+ employee enterprises with heavy compliance requirements, Power Automate is the safer bet. For SMBs and mid-market, Make's compliance is more than sufficient.
When Power Automate wins
- You're a Microsoft 365 / Dynamics 365 / SharePoint shop
- You need RPA (Desktop flows) for legacy apps
- You have strict Azure AD / Purview governance requirements
- Your IT budget is already tied up in Microsoft licensing (so adding Power Automate is "free")
- You're building flows that mostly trigger on Outlook, Teams, or SharePoint events
When Make wins
- You're outside the Microsoft ecosystem (or only partially in it)
- Your team is 2+ people who all build automations
- You want freedom to use any AI provider
- You build complex multi-branch workflows with iterators and aggregators
- You value a clean, visual UX over enterprise governance bells and whistles
- You need predictable, transparent pricing
Migration considerations
There's no automated migration tool either way. Moving from Power Automate to Make typically takes 30-60 minutes per flow, depending on complexity. The trigger and action concepts map closely.
Things that don't migrate cleanly:
- Power Automate Desktop flows (no Make equivalent)
- Approvals (Make has approval modules but with different UX)
- SharePoint-heavy logic (you'll need Make's HTTP module + SharePoint REST API)
Our recommendation
If you're reading this and not already locked into the Microsoft ecosystem, start with Make. The pricing, AI flexibility and visual UX will save you time and money. You can always add Power Automate later for specific Microsoft-heavy or RPA use cases.
If you're already in Microsoft 365 with 50+ seats and a heavy Dynamics/SharePoint workflow base, Power Automate is the pragmatic choice — but be aware of the per-user pricing if your team grows.
Frequently asked questions
Is Make.com cheaper than Power Automate?
For most SMBs, yes. Make starts at $10.59/month for 10,000 operations on a per-workspace basis, while Power Automate's per-user plan starts at $15/month per seat. The gap widens as your team grows.
Does Power Automate work outside Microsoft 365?
Yes, but with friction. Power Automate has 1,400+ connectors including non-Microsoft apps, but the experience is clearly optimized for Microsoft 365 environments. Make is platform-agnostic by design.
Which is better for AI workflows in 2026?
Make has the edge. Native modules for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI and Mistral are first-class. Power Automate AI Builder is tied to Azure OpenAI, which adds licensing complexity and is harder to combine with other AI providers.
Can I use Power Automate without an Office 365 subscription?
Yes. Power Automate has standalone plans starting at $15/user/month. However, many premium connectors require additional licensing, and some features only work fully when paired with a Microsoft 365 plan.
Which platform is easier to learn?
Make is more visual and forgiving. Power Automate has a steeper learning curve due to its dual interface (Cloud flows vs Desktop flows) and licensing rules. If you're not already in the Microsoft ecosystem, start with Make.