The Verdict
Our pick: Power Automate. Power Automate wins on Ease of Use and Ecosystem & Scalability, with two other categories tied. Its deep integration with the Microsoft 365 and Azure stacks makes it an unbeatable choice for organizations already invested in that ecosystem, providing seamless automation and robust governance.
However, Make is the clear winner for users who prioritize affordability, visual workflow design, and need to connect a diverse range of non-Microsoft SaaS applications. If your tech stack is varied and you value a flexible, powerful visual builder, Make is the better choice.
Pricing Comparison
Make More Affordable
For the Core plan with 10,000 operations.
Make's pricing is based on the number of operations (actions) your workflows perform, making it highly scalable and often more cost-effective for complex, multi-step scenarios.
Power Automate
For the Premium plan (formerly Per User).
Power Automate's pricing is primarily user-based, which can become costly for large teams. It also offers "Per flow" plans for broader use, but at a much higher starting price.
| Tier | Make | Power Automate |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 1,000 operations/mo, 2 active scenarios. | Included with many Microsoft 365 licenses for standard connectors only; 30-day trial for premium features. |
| Core / Premium | Core: Starts at $9/mo for 10,000 ops/mo, unlimited scenarios, 1-min interval. | Premium: $15/user/mo for unlimited cloud flows, premium connectors, and 5,000 AI Builder credits. |
| Pro / Premium + RPA | Pro: Starts at $16/mo for 10,000 ops/mo, adds priority execution & full-text logs. | Premium (with Attended RPA): $40/user/mo, adds desktop flow automation. |
| Teams / Per Flow | Teams: Starts at $29/mo for 10,000 ops/mo, adds team roles & shared templates. | Per Flow: Starts at $100/mo for 5 flows (unlimited users), though some sources cite a higher $500/mo entry point. |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing with advanced security, SSO, and 24/7 support. | Custom pricing via Unified Support plans, covering all Microsoft products. |
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Make | Power Automate |
|---|---|---|
| Visual Workflow Builder | Highly flexible, non-linear canvas for complex branching and logic. | More linear, structured designer; excellent for business process flows. |
| App Integrations | 3,000+ apps, with a strong focus on a diverse range of SaaS tools. | 1,000+ connectors, with unparalleled depth for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Azure. |
| Desktop Automation (RPA) | No native RPA. Relies on third-party integrations. | Yes, via Power Automate Desktop, a powerful tool for automating legacy systems. |
| AI Capabilities | Integrates with 350+ AI apps like OpenAI and Gemini; offers Make AI Agents. | Deeply integrated AI Builder for tasks like document processing and prediction within flows. |
| Conditional Logic | Advanced routers, filters, and error handlers provide granular control. | Conditions and switch cases are available; business process flows guide multi-stage logic. |
| Data Handling | Powerful tools for data transformation, iteration, and aggregation directly in the visual builder. | Uses expressions and Dataverse for complex data operations, which can have a steeper learning curve. |
| Templates | Large library of community and official templates. | Extensive library of pre-built templates, especially for Microsoft-specific tasks. |
This category is a tie because both platforms are exceptionally powerful but cater to different needs. Make's strength lies in its visual flexibility and its vast library of integrations with non-Microsoft SaaS applications. Its canvas-style editor is beloved by users who need to build and visualize complex, multi-path scenarios with intricate data transformations.
Power Automate, on the other hand, offers unmatched depth within the Microsoft ecosystem. Its standout feature is Power Automate Desktop, a robust Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tool that can automate tasks in legacy applications that lack APIs—a capability Make does not have natively. Furthermore, its integrated AI Builder provides powerful, accessible AI functions like form processing and sentiment analysis directly within workflows. While Make connects to more third-party apps, Power Automate's integration with services like SharePoint, Teams, and Dynamics 365 is far deeper and more seamless.
Ease of Use
Make
- Visual builder is powerful but can be intimidating for new users.
- Requires understanding of concepts like routers and iterators for complex flows.
- Debugging, while visual, can be complex in deeply nested scenarios.
- Best for users who think visually and enjoy mapping out processes.
Power Automate Easier to Use
- Template-heavy library allows beginners to start automating common tasks quickly.
- Familiar Microsoft interface lowers the barrier to entry for Office 365 users.
- Guided, linear workflow creation is more straightforward for simple automations.
- Steeper learning curve for advanced features like expressions and desktop flows.
Power Automate wins for ease of use, particularly for business users already familiar with the Microsoft ecosystem. Its extensive library of templates for common tasks (e.g., 'Save my email attachments to OneDrive') allows non-technical users to create valuable automations in minutes. The interface, while less flexible than Make's, is more structured and guided, which prevents new users from feeling overwhelmed.
Make, conversely, presents a steeper learning curve. Its visual canvas is incredibly powerful for building complex workflows, but it requires users to grasp more abstract concepts from the start. While it's a superior tool for visualizing intricate logic, this flexibility comes at the cost of initial simplicity. For the average business user looking to automate a straightforward, repetitive task, Power Automate offers a faster and more intuitive path to success.
Reliability & Ecosystem
| Category | Make | Power Automate |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability: Uptime/SLA | Offers high-priority execution on Pro plans and above. Enterprise plans include advanced support and overage protection. | Part of the Microsoft ecosystem with robust enterprise SLAs. Work queue SLAs can be configured to prioritize critical tasks. |
| Reliability: Support | Tiered support based on plan, with high-priority and 24/7 options for Teams and Enterprise plans. | Subscription support is included with paid licenses. Advanced support tiers (Professional Direct, Unified) are available for a fee. |
| Ecosystem: Core Integration | Connects to a vast ecosystem of 3,000+ third-party SaaS apps. | Deeply embedded in the Microsoft Power Platform (Power Apps, Power BI) and Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Azure. |
| Ecosystem: Scalability | Scales by adding more operations to any plan. Enterprise plan is built for large-scale needs. | Built for enterprise scale with features like Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies, and robust admin controls. |
Reliability is a tie. Both platforms are mature, enterprise-ready solutions with strong uptime records and tiered support plans. Make offers priority execution and dedicated support on its higher-tier plans, ensuring business-critical workflows run smoothly. Power Automate, backed by Microsoft's global infrastructure, provides comprehensive support plans and advanced features like configurable SLAs for work queues to manage process priority.
Power Automate wins decisively on Ecosystem & Scalability. While Make boasts a larger number of individual app integrations, Power Automate's ecosystem is about depth, not just breadth. It is a core component of the Microsoft Power Platform, designed to work seamlessly with Power Apps, Power BI, and Dataverse. For any organization that runs on Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, or Azure, Power Automate is the native, default choice. This tight integration provides significant advantages in security, governance, user management, and scalability that Make, as a third-party tool, cannot match in a Microsoft-centric environment.
Who Should Pick What
Choose Make if...
- You use a diverse set of non-Microsoft SaaS applications (e.g., Google Workspace, Slack, Airtable).
- You are a visual thinker who prefers to map out complex workflows on a canvas.
- Pricing is a primary concern, and you need a cost-effective plan based on usage, not user seats.
- You need to perform complex data manipulation and transformations within your workflows.
Choose Power Automate if...
- Your organization is heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem (Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, Azure).
- You need to automate tasks on desktop applications or legacy systems using RPA.
- Enterprise-grade security, governance, and data loss prevention policies are critical requirements.
- You want to empower business users with a large library of easy-to-use templates for common tasks.
Also consider: Zapier is a strong alternative, particularly for users who prioritize ease of use and the absolute largest number of app integrations over the visual complexity of Make or the ecosystem depth of Power Automate.
Our recommendation: start with Power Automate
For businesses operating within the Microsoft ecosystem, Power Automate's seamless integration, enterprise-grade security, and powerful RPA capabilities make it the superior choice.
Both platforms offer free tiers or trials to test their core functionality.