Quick answer
Use Power Automate if your work lives in Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Excel: Microsoft 365 business licenses already include it with standard connectors. Pick n8n Cloud, listed at €20 a month billed annually for 2.5K workflow runs and unlimited users, when you connect non-Microsoft apps. Do not self-host n8n unless someone will maintain the server.
Key takeaways
- Power Automate is already in the Office 365 Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium licenses Microsoft lists, limited to standard connectors and 6,000 actions a day per user.
- As of October 2026, Power Automate Premium is listed at $15.00 per user per month, paid yearly. n8n's Starter plan is listed at €20 a month, billed annually, for 2.5K workflow executions with unlimited users.
- n8n counts one execution per run of the whole workflow. Power Automate counts the trigger and every action in the run.
- Break-even from Microsoft's own prices: a Process license at $150.00 a month costs the same as 10 Premium licenses, so it only pays off when more than 10 people run the same premium flow.
- n8n's free Community edition is self-hosted, and n8n itself recommends self-hosting for expert users.
- Starting November 1, 2026, no new or renewed Power Platform licenses receive seeded AI Builder credits; licenses bought or renewed earlier keep them through the contract term. Price AI steps separately.
Should a small business use n8n or Power Automate?
Use Power Automate if your work lives in Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Excel, and use n8n Cloud if you mostly connect non-Microsoft apps and want one price that does not grow per user. Power Automate licenses people. n8n sells workflow runs and lets any number of people use them.
Think of a phone plan: Power Automate is a line for each person, n8n is one shared bucket of minutes for the whole shop.
Three questions settle it for most small businesses:
- Where does the work live? If the trigger and every step are Microsoft apps, start with the Power Automate your Microsoft 365 license already includes. With standard connectors it costs nothing extra.
- Does the price grow when you add people? If you connect non-Microsoft apps and several people need the automations, n8n Cloud's flat plan with unlimited users is the simpler bill.
- Who will maintain it? If nobody on the team will look after a server, do not self-host n8n. Use n8n Cloud or stay with Power Automate.
New to automation in general? Start with the practical guide to AI automation for small business, then come back to pick the tool.
How do n8n and Power Automate compare side by side?
n8n bills per workflow execution with unlimited users, while Power Automate bills per user or per bot and includes a limited version in Microsoft 365. Every cell below comes from n8n's or Microsoft's own pages, checked on October 5, 2026.
| n8n | Power Automate | |
|---|---|---|
| What you already pay for with Microsoft 365 | Nothing. n8n is a separate subscription. | Cloud flows with standard connectors, on the Office 365 licenses Microsoft lists, including Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium |
| Billing unit | Workflow execution: one run of the whole workflow, whatever the number of steps | Per user (Premium) or per bot (Process), plus a daily action limit where the trigger and every action count |
| Cloud entry price | Starter: €20 a month, billed annually, 2.5K executions | Premium: $15.00 per user per month, paid yearly |
| Next step up | Pro: €50 a month, billed annually, 10K executions | Process: $150.00 per bot per month, paid yearly |
| Users | Unlimited on all plans | One license per user, or a license on the flow |
| Self-hosting option | Yes. A free, self-hosted Community edition | No. Microsoft says "Power Automate is a cloud service" |
| Number of connectors | 2,312 integrations listed | "More than 1,400 prebuilt, certified connectors" |
| AI steps | Starter lists "Agents, MCP and AI nodes" | AI Builder actions are premium and consume credits |
n8n's pricing page showed euros when checked and Microsoft's showed dollars; nothing here is converted, and your checkout currency may differ. Microsoft also states that its listed prices are for marketing purposes and that your actual price shows at checkout.
Connector counts are not a quality score. Check both directories for the apps you actually use before you decide.
What does Power Automate include with Microsoft 365?
Microsoft 365 business licenses include Power Automate cloud flows with standard connectors only, up to 6,000 actions a day per user. Microsoft's licensing FAQ lists Office 365 Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium among the licenses that carry these rights.
That allowance is large for a small shop. Microsoft counts the trigger and every action, so a flow with one trigger and four actions uses five actions per run. At 6,000 actions a day, that is room for 6,000 ÷ 5 = 1,200 runs a day if it is the only flow using the allowance. Microsoft says limits do not pool or combine across users.
The wall you hit first is the connector type, not the volume. This does not apply when your flow needs any of these, which the same FAQ marks as not included with Office 365 licenses:
- Premium connectors (outside Dataverse for Teams environments)
- Custom connectors
- The on-premises data gateway, for systems inside your office
- Desktop flows that click through an old program for you
- AI Builder capacity
Need one of those? That is Power Automate Premium at $15.00 per user per month, paid yearly, with a daily limit of 40,000 actions. One catch for teams: when an instant flow uses a premium connector, Microsoft says "every user who runs the flow needs a Power Automate Premium license".
What does each tool cost as your team grows?
Power Automate's cost follows the number of people who need premium features, and n8n's cost follows the number of workflow runs. Three break-evens fall straight out of the published prices, as of October 2026.
- Standard connectors only. Power Automate adds nothing to your Microsoft 365 bill. n8n Cloud cannot beat that on price.
- Premium features for a few people. Each person is $15.00 a month, so two people cost 2 × $15.00 and five cost 5 × $15.00. n8n's Starter stays at €20 for the whole team. The two prices are in different currencies; for two Premium licenses to be the cheaper option, €20 would have to be worth more than 2 × $15.00 on the day you pay.
- One premium flow, many users. Microsoft lets you license the flow itself with a Process license at $150.00 per month instead of licensing every user. $150.00 ÷ $15.00 = 10, so Process only pays off when more than 10 people run that flow.
Now check volume, because that is where n8n's price moves. Starter's 2.5K executions spread over a 30-day month is 2,500 ÷ 30, about 83 runs a day. Pro's 10K is about 333 runs a day at €50 a month, billed annually. An execution is a single run of the entire workflow, so a 3-step and a 30-step workflow each cost one.
Starter has two more limits worth knowing: 5 concurrent executions, and a maximum execution duration of 5 min. A workflow that waits on a slow report or processes a long file can hit that ceiling. If you are weighing other options, the Zapier vs Make comparison covers two other tools and how each one bills.
When should you not self-host n8n?
Do not self-host n8n if nobody on your team will maintain a server, because the software is free and the upkeep is not. n8n's own install guide is blunt about it: "n8n recommends self-hosting for expert users. Mistakes can lead to data loss, security issues, and downtime." The same page says that if you are not experienced at managing servers, n8n recommends n8n Cloud.
n8n's docs list what self-hosting requires: setting up and configuring servers and containers, managing resources and scaling, and securing servers and applications.
Self-hosting does make sense in one case: you already pay someone who runs servers, and you want control over where the data sits. That matters because n8n says data on its hosted plans is stored in the EU, on servers in Frankfurt, Germany. If a contract or regulator requires your customer data to stay in the US, ask before you sign up for n8n Cloud.
How do AI steps work in each tool?
n8n includes AI nodes in every cloud plan, while Power Automate treats AI Builder actions as premium and meters them with credits. n8n's Starter plan lists "Agents, MCP and AI nodes" and "AI models without API keys". Confirm what model usage costs beyond the plan before you build a workflow that calls a model hundreds of times a day.
On the Microsoft side, a flow that uses any AI Builder action is a premium flow and needs premium licensing. The credit rules are changing: Microsoft's AI Builder licensing page says that starting November 1, 2026, no new or renewed Power Platform or Dynamics 365 licenses will receive seeded AI Builder credits. Eligible licenses bought or renewed before that date keep their seeded credits through the end of the contract term. The same page says new customers must purchase Copilot Credits to run AI Builder features.
If you buy or renew Power Automate Premium on or after that date, do not assume the license covers AI steps. Price them as a separate line.
FAQ
Is Power Automate free with Microsoft 365?
A limited version is included. Microsoft's licensing FAQ lists Office 365 Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium among the licenses that include Power Automate capabilities: automated, scheduled and button cloud flows with standard connectors, up to 6,000 actions a day. Premium connectors (outside Dataverse for Teams environments), custom connectors, the on-premises data gateway, desktop flows and AI Builder capacity are not included, as of October 2026.
Is n8n free?
Only if you host it yourself. n8n's pricing page says a standard, self-hosted Community edition is available on GitHub, and its docs describe that edition as free with almost the complete feature set. You still pay for the server and do the upkeep. n8n Cloud has a free trial of 14 days limited to 1,000 executions, then paid plans from €20 a month billed annually, as of October 2026.
Can n8n connect to Outlook and Excel?
Yes. n8n's integrations directory lists Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Excel 365 among its 2,312 integrations as of October 5, 2026. If every app in the workflow is a Microsoft app, the Power Automate you already have is the shorter path.
Which is easier for a non-technical owner, n8n or Power Automate?
Neither vendor promises zero learning. n8n's pricing page carries the line 'AI agents and workflows for technical teams', and its docs point people without technical expertise to n8n Cloud instead of self-hosting. Microsoft describes Power Automate as low-code and offers Copilot to create flows from natural language. Build one real workflow in each trial before you pay for either.
When do I need Power Automate Premium?
You need it when a flow uses a premium or custom connector, the on-premises data gateway, AI Builder actions or desktop flows. Microsoft lists Power Automate Premium at $15.00 per user per month, paid yearly, as of October 2026. If an instant flow uses a premium connector, Microsoft says every user who runs the flow needs a Premium license, unless the flow itself has a Process license.
What to do this week
Pick one workflow that annoys you, such as saving email attachments to a folder and posting a note to the team. Write down each app it touches.
If every app is a Microsoft app, open Power Automate from your Microsoft 365 account and build it there first. If an app is outside Microsoft and its Power Automate connector is premium, start n8n Cloud's trial and build the same workflow before you pay. Then follow the one-weekend automation stack plan to add the next one.