Zapier is the easiest Power Automate alternative for non-technical teams with a mixed SaaS stack, n8n is the strongest option when self-hosting and code matter, and Make suits visual scenario builders. If Power Automate already routes the work but approvals wait on missing documents or people outside Microsoft 365, Floowed adds the case layer that chases inputs and applies your rules.
Updated 6 November 2026. Annual billing is named where the vendor states it. Amounts are USD unless a currency is named.
Best fit
| If you need | Pick | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| The widest app catalogue, owned by non-engineers | Zapier | Free 100 tasks a month. Professional from $19.99 a month billed yearly. Team from $69 a month billed yearly, 25 users. |
| A visual scenario builder | Make | Free plan and Core from $9 a month, advertised on Make's comparison page. Credit allowance for that $9 row is 10,000 credits a month on the same page. |
| Self-hosting and code | n8n | Starter EUR 20 a month billed annually. Pro EUR 50 a month billed annually. Self-hosted Community Edition listed on the pricing page. |
| Governed enterprise integration | Workato | Four editions and 1,200+ connectors. No dollar price on the pricing page. |
| Screen automation on legacy apps | UiPath | Enterprise RPA. The wider list is UiPath alternatives. |
| SharePoint-centred forms and workflow | Nintex | Process automation around SharePoint forms |
| Work that already lives in Google Workspace | Google's own automation | The Workspace tools Google ships for that estate |
| Approvals that wait on missing documents or people outside the tenant | Floowed, beside Power Automate | 8,000 free credits worth $80. Team from $100 a month for 10,000 credits. |
The direct Make and Zapier comparison, including how credits and tasks differ, is Make vs Zapier.
Why teams look for an alternative
Power Automate is a serious product inside Microsoft 365. Teams look elsewhere for four reasons.
- The licence is several products. Premium, Process and Hosted Process are separate. Standard-connector access varies by licence. The current cards are on Microsoft's Power Automate pricing page.
- The estate is wider than Microsoft. A mixed SaaS stack is where Zapier's catalogue is the practical difference.
- Who owns the flow next year. A flow built on one person's connections is fragile when that person leaves.
- The approval fires and the case is still not ready. The missing document, or the person outside the tenant, is not fixed by another connector.
Microsoft licensing versus the whole process
From Microsoft's Power Automate pricing page.
| Plan | Published price | What the card says it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | $15 per user a month, paid yearly | Cloud flows and attended desktop flows for an individual user |
| Process | $150 per bot a month, paid yearly | Unattended desktop flows |
| Hosted Process | $215 per bot a month, paid yearly | Unattended desktop flows on a virtual machine Microsoft hosts |
| Free trial | Listed, no duration on the pricing table | The comparison table shows standard connectors on the trial |
Microsoft says the prices are for marketing and that the checkout price can differ by currency, country and agreement. Standard, premium and custom connectors are a separate row from the licence type: the trial card shows standard connectors, and the paid cards show standard, premium and custom connectors. Standard-connector access varies by licence. Check the licence you hold.
Those prices cover the flow. They do not cover the time a case spends waiting on a supplier who is not in the tenant, or on a document that has not arrived. That wait is the case layer.
The eight alternatives
1. Floowed
Best for: approvals that already route in Power Automate but still wait on missing documents or people outside Microsoft 365.
Floowed is for operations teams running recurring processes that span systems, documents and people, such as supplier onboarding and invoice approval. It gathers what each case needs, reads documents, chases missing information, applies your versioned rules and writes the outcome back. It works alongside Power Automate. It is not a replacement for cloud flows or desktop flows.
Floowed includes 8,000 free credits worth $80, with no card and no expiry, and Team starts at $100 a month for 10,000 credits. Every feature and integration, API and MCP access are included. See pricing.
2. Zapier
Best for: non-technical teams on a mixed SaaS stack.
Zapier lists 9,000+ apps. Free includes 100 tasks a month. Professional starts at $19.99 a month billed yearly. Team starts at $69 a month billed yearly and includes 25 users. Zap steps, AI by Zapier, code, MCP and the SDK share one task pool. How a credit on Make compares with a task is on Make vs Zapier.
3. Make
Best for: visual scenario builders who want branching and data shaping in one canvas.
Make's own comparison advertises a free plan with 1,000 credits a month and Core from $9 a month for 10,000 credits. That is an advertised entry price. Compare the scenario you will actually run.
4. n8n
Best for: teams that want to self-host and drop into code.
Starter is EUR 20 a month billed annually. Pro is EUR 50 a month billed annually. Business is listed at EUR 667 a month billed annually. The pricing page lists a self-hosted Community Edition on GitHub.
5. Workato
Best for: IT-governed integration across a large estate.
Workato publishes four editions, Standard, Business MCP, Enterprise MCP and Workato ONE, and 1,200+ connectors. It does not publish a dollar price. The shortlist for that buyer is Workato alternatives.
6. UiPath
Best for: unattended work on screens that never grew an API.
UiPath is the enterprise RPA platform teams compare when the job is a desktop, not a SaaS API. The wider RPA shortlist is UiPath alternatives.
7. Nintex
Best for: SharePoint-centred forms and workflow.
Nintex is the process-automation suite teams shortlist when the forms and the workflow already live around SharePoint.
8. Google Workspace automation
Best for: teams moving the work onto Google Workspace rather than Microsoft 365.
Google's own automation and app tools are the like-for-like look when the estate is Workspace.
Approval workflows with more than one approver
Approvals are where many Microsoft 365 teams meet Power Automate, and where the shape of the tool shows.
The "Start and wait for an approval" action has several types. Everyone must approve continues when all approvers respond, or stops when one rejects. First to respond completes on any single answer. Custom responses let you define the options. Sequential approval asks people in order. Parallel sign-offs are separate branches, each with its own approval. Approvers can respond from Outlook, a Teams card or the action centre.
The sign-off is rarely the hard part. The hard part is everything that has to be true before someone can say yes.
- The approval waits on the approver, not on the case. If the certificate is missing, the approver gets a request they cannot act on, and the chasing moves to email.
- People outside the tenant are often who the case is waiting on. Suppliers and customers do not live in the same directory as the flow.
- The rules live in condition cards. "Over $5,000 goes to the manager" runs, and it is hard to read back as one policy.
- The approval record shows who responded. An auditor also asks which rules ran, what evidence was checked, and why a person was needed.
Floowed holds that case open, chases the missing piece from the person who owes it, and applies your versioned rules. A Power Automate flow can still deliver the cases that need a person into the Teams or Outlook approval you already use. The supported Microsoft setup is on Microsoft 365, Teams and SharePoint.
Migration checklist
Inventory these before you move a flow. No duration is implied.
- Connectors in use, split into standard, custom and premium.
- The owner and the service account each flow runs as.
- Trigger schedules, including polling.
- Unattended desktop flows, and whether they need a Process or Hosted Process licence.
- Environments, and which flows are in development, test or production.
- Approval state: open requests, delegates, and what should happen to an approval that is mid-flight.
- How long run history and audit records are kept, and where.
- Downstream writes: the system of record each flow updates, and what a partial move would double-write.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Power Automate?
Zapier for a mixed SaaS stack owned by non-engineers. Make for a visual scenario builder. n8n for self-hosting and code. Workato for governed enterprise integration. UiPath for screen automation. Nintex for SharePoint-centred workflow. If the flow already routes the work and the approval still waits on a missing document or someone outside Microsoft 365, Floowed is the case layer beside Power Automate, not a replacement for it.
Is Power Automate included with Microsoft 365?
Standard-connector access varies by licence. Microsoft's pricing page lists Premium at $15 per user a month paid yearly, Process at $150 per bot a month paid yearly, and Hosted Process at $215 per bot a month paid yearly. It also lists a free trial. Confirm what your own Microsoft 365 licence includes before you assume a flow is already paid for.
Power Automate vs Zapier: which is better?
Power Automate fits when the systems are Microsoft's and the approval should land in Outlook or Teams. Zapier fits a mixed SaaS stack, with 9,000+ apps and a free plan of 100 tasks a month. The billing comparison with Make is on Make vs Zapier.
Is n8n better than Power Automate?
For a different team. n8n suits people who want to self-host, write code in a flow and pay for executions. Power Automate suits a Microsoft 365 organisation that wants automation inside the identity and approval surfaces it already runs. If the process stalls waiting on a person, neither product changes that on its own.
How do I build a Power Automate approval with multiple approvers?
Use "Start and wait for an approval" and pick the type. Everyone must approve waits for all responses or stops at the first rejection. First to respond completes on any single answer. Sequential approval asks people in order. For parallel sign-offs, add a branch per approver. That routes the sign-off. It does not chase the document the approver still needs.
Can Power Automate call Floowed?
A flow can call Floowed's API when a case needs to be worked, and pick up the decision when it lands. Calling an outside API is a premium connector on Microsoft's connector list, so check the licence. Floowed can also read mail and SharePoint where those integrations are connected, and chase in Teams. The case stays open while a person or a document is outstanding. The flow does not have to stay open with it.
Can I try Floowed without talking to sales?
Yes. You get 8,000 credits worth $80, no card and no expiry. Team starts at $100 a month for 10,000 credits. Describe the operation in Slack, Microsoft Teams or the Floowed Dashboard. Pricing has the current plans.
Next step
Take the approval that keeps arriving before the case is ready. Start free, or talk to us and name the Microsoft flow you want to keep.