Comparison
PURIST vs Power Automate
Power Automate looks free until you need a premium connector, AI Builder, or a flow that talks to something outside Microsoft 365. Here's the real comparison.
| Factor | PURIST | Power Automate |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat monthly, from €390/mo | Per-user + per-flow + AI Builder credits, stacks fast |
| Who builds it | PURIST engineers, done for you | Your team, as citizen developers |
| Time to first workflow | < 7 days | Weeks, learning the platform + building |
| AI capabilities | Claude Opus agents, included | AI Builder, metered credits, separate cost |
| Non-Microsoft integrations | Anything with an API, native | Weaker outside Microsoft 365 |
| Error monitoring | 24/7 monitored, 90s alerts | Flows fail silently, manual checking |
| Throttling / API limits | Not applicable, own infrastructure | Hits license-tier request limits |
| Ownership if you leave | 100% code you own | Flows tied to your M365 tenant/licence |
| Support | Dedicated to your account | Microsoft tiered support queue |
| Guarantee | 30-day money-back | None |
When does Power Automate actually make sense?
Power Automate makes sense for a business fully inside the Microsoft ecosystem running simple internal approvals, a SharePoint list triggering a Teams notification, basic form-to-email routing. Its low tier is a reasonable, low-cost option, and your internal IT team likely already knows how to use it. If that describes your actual need, we'll say so honestly rather than sell you something bigger than you need.
Why does Power Automate get expensive fast?
Power Automate gets expensive fast because the basic tier only covers standard connectors, most CRMs, invoicing tools, and non-Microsoft SaaS platforms are premium connectors that push you onto per-user or per-flow paid plans. AI Builder, Microsoft's automation-AI layer, is billed separately in credit packs on top of that. A setup that looked "included with Microsoft 365" on day one can end up costing more per month than a managed alternative, once every flow, connector, and AI feature is licensed properly.
How reliable are Power Automate flows?
Power Automate flows are only as reliable as the person who built them, typically whichever employee had time to figure out the platform, not a dedicated automation team. When a flow fails, and API changes, throttling, and connector updates cause this more often than most teams expect, there's rarely a monitoring system watching for it. PURIST workflows are monitored 24/7 with automated alerts, maintained by people whose job is exactly this, not a side project for someone in finance or ops.
How does a Power Automate migration actually work?
The audit comes first: we map every active flow, what triggers it, what connectors it touches, and which SharePoint lists, Dataverse tables, or Teams channels it reads from and writes to. Flows built years ago by someone who has since left the company are common, and half the work is often just figuring out what is actually still running versus what silently broke months ago and nobody noticed.
From there, each flow gets one of three outcomes: left alone if it is simple, low-stakes, and genuinely cheaper to keep on the free tier; rebuilt in n8n if it touches premium connectors, AI Builder, or non-Microsoft systems where licensing costs are compounding; or redesigned entirely if the underlying logic was a workaround for something Power Automate's visual builder could not express cleanly.
You keep using Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Teams exactly as before, nothing changes for the people using those tools day to day. What changes is the automation layer underneath: no more per-flow licensing, no AI Builder credit packs, and a team actually watching for failures instead of finding out when someone complains that an approval never came through.
Already running Power Automate flows?
We'll audit what you have, tell you honestly what's worth keeping, and show you the real cost of migrating vs staying, free, in 45 minutes.
Get my free automation plan →Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft Power Automate actually free?
A basic tier is bundled with many Microsoft 365 subscriptions, but it only covers simple flows using standard connectors. The moment you need a premium connector (most CRMs, most non-Microsoft SaaS tools) or AI Builder, you're pushed onto the Per User (~€15/user/month) or Per Flow (~€100+/month per flow) plans, and AI Builder credits are sold in separate packs on top of that. The real cost is rarely what the 'free with Microsoft 365' framing suggests.
Can PURIST replace an existing Power Automate setup?
Yes. We regularly audit and migrate existing Power Automate flows into a more reliable, better-monitored setup, especially once a business has outgrown simple approval flows and needs integrations Power Automate handles poorly.
Does PURIST work with Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Teams?
Yes, we integrate with Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Teams, and Dynamics the same way we integrate with any other platform, via API. You keep using the Microsoft tools your team already knows; the automation layer running underneath is what changes.
Why not just have our internal IT team build flows in Power Automate?
For simple, low-stakes internal approvals (a form triggers a Teams notification), that's often fine, and we'd say so. Power Automate becomes expensive and fragile once workflows touch multiple systems, need real error handling, or require logic more complex than the visual builder handles gracefully, at that point, a citizen developer's time is usually better spent on their actual job.
What is the real cost of Power Automate at scale?
Costs compound in ways that are easy to miss upfront: per-user licensing for everyone who needs to trigger a flow, per-flow charges once you exceed the basic tier, premium connector fees, AI Builder credit packs, and the internal time cost of your own staff building and maintaining flows instead of a dedicated team. Businesses running a dozen or more flows across several departments often find the all-in cost rivals or exceeds a managed alternative, without the reliability.
Related reading