Power Automate Pricing: A Complete Guide for 2025

December 15, 2025
Company Updates

Power Automate pricing confuses most people—and for good reason. Microsoft offers multiple license types, bundles some features into Microsoft 365, charges extra for others, and changes the pricing structure periodically. Understanding what you actually need (and what you’re already paying for) can save thousands of dollars annually.

This guide breaks down Power Automate pricing as it stands in 2025, explains the differences between plans, and helps you determine which licensing approach makes sense for your organization.

Power Automate Pricing Overview

Power Automate uses a tiered licensing model. Some capabilities come free with Microsoft 365. Others require standalone licenses. The right choice depends on what you’re automating and who needs access.

Current Power Automate Plans (2025)

Plan	Price	Best For
Power Automate (included with M365)	Included	Basic cloud flows, standard connectors
Power Automate Premium	$15/user/month	Premium connectors, AI features, attended RPA
Power Automate Process	$150/bot/month	Unattended RPA, background automation
Power Automate Hosted Process	$215/bot/month	Microsoft-hosted unattended RPA
Pay-as-you-go	Variable	Occasional use, testing

Prices reflect US list pricing. Volume discounts and nonprofit/education pricing available.

What’s Included with Microsoft 365?

If your organization uses Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, E3, E5, or F3 licenses, you already have Power Automate capabilities at no additional cost.

Microsoft 365 Power Automate Features

Cloud Flows Create automated workflows triggered by events—when an email arrives, when a file is created, when a form is submitted. These run in the cloud without your computer being on.

Standard Connectors Connect to common Microsoft services and popular third-party apps:

Microsoft 365 apps (Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, Excel)
Common services (Twitter, RSS, Office 365 Groups)
Basic data operations (variables, conditions, loops)

Shared Flows Share automations with colleagues. Multiple people can use the same flow.

5,000+ Flow Runs per User/Month The included allocation covers most standard use cases. Heavy automation may require additional licensing.

What’s NOT Included with Microsoft 365

Premium connectors (Salesforce, SAP, Oracle, SQL Server, HTTP webhooks, custom connectors)
AI Builder credits
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) / desktop flows
Process mining capabilities
Attended and unattended bot capabilities
Higher performance and priority processing

If you only need to automate Microsoft 365 workflows—moving emails, updating SharePoint, posting Teams notifications—the included license often suffices.

Power Automate Premium: $15/User/Month

Power Automate Premium unlocks the full platform for users who need advanced capabilities.

What Premium Adds

Premium Connectors Access 400+ additional connectors including:

Salesforce, Dynamics 365, SAP
SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL
HTTP/Webhook (connect to any API)
Custom connectors you build
Azure services

Attended RPA (Desktop Flows) Automate desktop applications that don’t have APIs. Power Automate can click buttons, fill forms, copy data, and interact with legacy software—with a user present to initiate.

AI Builder Credits 5,000 AI Builder credits per month for:

Document processing (extract data from invoices, receipts, forms)
Text recognition and classification
Prediction models
Object detection in images

Process Advisor Analyze business processes to identify automation opportunities. Record how users complete tasks and find bottlenecks.

Unlimited Flow Runs No monthly cap on how many times your flows execute.

When Premium Makes Sense

You need to connect to non-Microsoft systems (Salesforce, SAP, databases)
You want to automate desktop applications
You’re processing documents with AI
Individual users create and manage their own complex automations
Flow volume exceeds Microsoft 365 allocations

Premium Licensing Math

Power Automate Premium is licensed per user. Every person who creates or runs premium flows needs a license.

Example: A 10-person team where everyone uses premium connectors:

10 users × $15/month = $150/month ($1,800/year)

Example: A 500-person company where only 20 people build automations with premium features:

20 users × $15/month = $300/month ($3,600/year)

The key question: How many people actually need premium capabilities vs. standard Microsoft 365 features?

Power Automate Process: $150/Bot/Month

Power Automate Process licenses enable unattended automation—flows that run without any user logged in.

What Process Licenses Enable

Unattended Desktop Flows Bots run on dedicated machines (physical or virtual) without human interaction. Schedule invoice processing overnight. Run data entry while the office is empty. Process files automatically as they arrive.

Background Automation Flows execute in the background on machines that may be locked or have no active user session.

Parallel Execution Run multiple automations simultaneously on the same machine (with appropriate licensing).

When Process Licenses Make Sense

High-volume repetitive tasks (processing hundreds of invoices, orders, or records)
24/7 automation requirements
Legacy system integration where APIs don’t exist
Replacing manual data entry at scale

Process License Math

Process licenses are per bot, not per user. One bot can run multiple flows, but only one flow at a time (unless you add licenses for parallel execution).

Example: One bot processing invoices overnight:

1 bot × $150/month = $150/month ($1,800/year)

Example: Three bots handling different departments’ automation needs:

3 bots × $150/month = $450/month ($5,400/year)

Compare this to the cost of manual labor. If a bot saves 20 hours of work per week at $25/hour, that’s $2,000/month in labor savings against $150 in licensing.

Power Automate Hosted Process: $215/Bot/Month

Hosted Process adds Microsoft-managed infrastructure. Instead of providing your own machines, Microsoft hosts the virtual machines where bots run.

What’s Included

Microsoft-managed VM infrastructure
Automatic updates and maintenance
Scalable compute resources
No on-premises hardware requirements

When Hosted Makes Sense

You don’t want to manage VM infrastructure
IT resources are limited
You need rapid scaling
Security/compliance requirements favor Microsoft-managed environments

The $65/month premium over standard Process licensing covers infrastructure you’d otherwise provision yourself.

Pay-As-You-Go Pricing

For organizations that need premium capabilities occasionally, Microsoft offers consumption-based pricing through Azure.

How It Works

No upfront license commitment
Pay per flow run
Pricing varies by connector type and flow complexity
Billed through Azure subscription

Current Pay-As-You-Go Rates

Flow Type	Approximate Cost
Cloud flow run (standard)	$0.00025 per run
Cloud flow run (premium)	$0.0015 per run
Desktop flow run (attended)	$0.12 per run
Desktop flow run (unattended)	$0.60 per run

Rates subject to change. Check Microsoft’s current pricing.

When Pay-As-You-Go Makes Sense

Testing and development
Low-volume premium connector usage
Unpredictable or seasonal automation needs
Avoiding shelfware from unused licenses

Pay-As-You-Go Math

Example: 500 premium cloud flow runs per month:

500 × $0.0015 = $0.75/month

At this volume, pay-as-you-go costs far less than a $15/month Premium license.

Example: 15,000 premium cloud flow runs per month:

15,000 × $0.0015 = $22.50/month

At this volume, a Premium license ($15/month with unlimited runs) becomes more economical.

The break-even point varies by flow type, but generally: if a single user runs more than 10,000 premium cloud flows monthly, licensing is cheaper than pay-as-you-go.

How to Determine What You Need

Step 1: Inventory Your Connectors

List the systems your automations need to connect to. If everything is Microsoft 365 (SharePoint, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive), the included license likely works.

If you need Salesforce, SAP, SQL Server, custom APIs, or hundreds of other premium connectors, you’ll need Premium or Process licenses.

Step 2: Count Your Users

How many people will create or directly run premium flows? Not everyone who benefits from automation needs a license—only those who trigger or manage premium flows.

A flow that automatically processes SharePoint files can benefit 100 people while only requiring one premium license for the person who built and owns it.

Step 3: Assess RPA Needs

Do you need to automate desktop applications? If yes, determine:

Attended RPA (user present, Premium license): User initiates automation, watches it run
Unattended RPA (no user needed, Process license): Bot runs independently on schedule or trigger

Step 4: Calculate Volume

Estimate monthly flow runs. The Microsoft 365 included allocation (approximately 5,000 runs/user/month pooled at the tenant level) handles most scenarios. Only extreme automation volumes require attention here.

Step 5: Model Total Cost

Build a simple spreadsheet:

Number of Premium users × $15/month
Number of Process bots × $150/month
Number of Hosted Process bots × $215/month
Compare against pay-as-you-go for lower-volume scenarios

Common Pricing Mistakes

Mistake 1: Over-Licensing

Buying Premium licenses for everyone when only a few people need premium connectors. Start with actual requirements, not theoretical future use.

Mistake 2: Under-Licensing

Using workarounds to avoid proper licensing. Microsoft audits happen. Non-compliance creates risk and often costs more in the long run than correct licensing.

Mistake 3: Ignoring What’s Included

Many organizations buy Power Automate licenses without realizing their Microsoft 365 subscription already covers their needs. Check existing entitlements first.

Mistake 4: Wrong License Type

Buying per-user Premium licenses when a Process bot license would be more economical (or vice versa). Match licensing to actual usage patterns.

Mistake 5: Forgetting About Environment Strategy

Power Platform environments affect licensing. Development, test, and production environments may each need appropriate licensing. Plan for this early.

Reducing Power Automate Costs

Consolidate Flows

One well-designed flow with parameters can replace dozens of nearly-identical flows. Fewer flows mean fewer runs and simpler management.

Use Standard Connectors Where Possible

Before reaching for a premium connector, check if a standard connector can accomplish the same goal. HTTP requests to public APIs, for example, sometimes work through standard connectors.

Design Efficient Flows

Flows that check conditions early and exit quickly consume fewer runs. Avoid flows that do unnecessary work before determining if action is needed.

Right-Size Bot Infrastructure

For unattended RPA, don’t provision more bots than necessary. One bot can run multiple flows sequentially. Only add bots when wait times become problematic.

Review Annually

Automation needs change. Review licensing annually against actual usage. Remove unused licenses. Add capacity where bottlenecks appear.

Getting Started

Power Automate pricing is complex, but the decision process doesn’t have to be:

Start with Microsoft 365 included capabilities. Build automations with standard connectors. Many organizations never need more.
Add Premium licenses when required. When you hit a wall—premium connector needed, RPA required, AI features desired—license appropriately.
Consider Process licenses for scale. When automation volume justifies dedicated bots running unattended, the ROI usually clears the cost.
Monitor and adjust. Licensing needs evolve. Review quarterly in the first year, annually thereafter.

Related Resources:

Need help planning your Power Platform licensing or building automations? Nexinite helps organizations implement Power Automate solutions that deliver ROI without overspending on licensing. Contact us to discuss your automation needs.