On paper, Zapier and Power Automate do the same job: watch for something to happen in one app, then make something happen in another. In practice, the right choice has very little to do with which tool is "better" — and almost everything to do with where your business already lives.
Both are excellent products. Zapier practically invented no-code automation for normal people, and Power Automate is the workflow engine wired into the Microsoft 365 subscription most businesses already pay for. This isn't a hit piece on either — it's the comparison we walk clients through before they commit to one, written down.
The short answer
If your company runs on Microsoft 365 — files in SharePoint, conversations in Teams, mail in Outlook, numbers in Excel — start with Power Automate. Standard connectors are included with the license you already pay for, and it reaches deeper into Microsoft tools than any outside platform can.
If your stack is mostly everything else — a CRM here, a form builder there, a dozen SaaS tools with no single vendor at the centre — Zapier is probably the faster, simpler choice, and there's no shame in that.
That's the verdict. The rest of this article is the reasoning, so you can test it against your own setup instead of taking our word for it.
Where Zapier genuinely shines
Credit where it's dueThe biggest connector catalog in the business. Zapier's core asset is breadth. It connects to thousands of apps, including small and niche tools that no other automation platform bothers with. If your business depends on a regional accounting app or an obscure scheduling tool, the odds that Zapier has a connector for it are better than anyone else's.
The gentlest onboarding anywhere. Nothing gets a non-technical person from zero to a working automation faster. The "when this happens, do that" editor is famously simple — an office manager can sign up in the morning and have a real Zap running by the afternoon, with no IT involvement and nothing to install.
Neutral glue for mixed stacks. When your CRM, forms, invoicing and project tools all come from different vendors, Zapier's neutrality is a feature. It has no home turf and treats every app roughly the same, which makes it a natural fit for startups and agencies assembled from best-of-breed SaaS.
None of that is marketing spin. If your business barely touches Microsoft, you can honestly stop reading here and go set up Zapier.
Where Power Automate pulls ahead
The Microsoft home advantageYou already own most of it
Standard connectors — SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, Excel, OneDrive, Forms, Planner — are included with most Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise plans. There's no new subscription to justify and no new vendor to onboard: the workflow engine is sitting in the license you're already paying for, switched off. Our Power Automate workflows service exists largely because so few teams have ever turned it on.
Native depth in SharePoint, Teams, Outlook and Excel
Zapier connects to Microsoft 365. Power Automate lives inside it. That difference shows up in the details: triggers on SharePoint columns and file properties, rich approval cards posted directly into Teams chats, shared-mailbox handling in Outlook, rows added straight into Excel tables. Because the connectors are first-party, new Microsoft features tend to land there first — and the awkward edge cases tend to work.
Approvals are a feature, not a project
Power Automate ships with a proper approvals system out of the box: accept and reject buttons inside Teams and Outlook, comments, delegation, and a full history of who approved what and when. Recreating that in Zapier means assembling it yourself from emails and webhooks. If leave requests, purchase sign-offs or document approvals are on your list, this alone justifies the choice.
RPA for the software that has no API
Zapier automates the modern web — apps with clean APIs. Power Automate also includes desktop flows: robotic process automation that records clicks and keystrokes to drive old Windows software. If part of your process still lives in a legacy accounting package or an aging ERP screen, Power Automate can automate it; Zapier simply can't reach it.
Your data stays in your tenant
Every Zap routes your data through Zapier's cloud. That's a well-run third party, but it's still a third party in your data path, your vendor list and your compliance paperwork. Power Automate flows run inside the Microsoft cloud, under the tenant your IT team already governs — with admin oversight, audit logs, and DLP policies that can stop confidential data from ever flowing into consumer-grade connectors. For legal, finance, healthcare and government teams, this section usually ends the conversation.
The real difference is the cost model
Per-task pricing vs a license you already pay forZapier charges per task. Every action a Zap performs counts against a monthly quota, and busier automation pushes you into higher tiers. That's clear and predictable at low volume — but it means success has a price tag. The more useful your automation becomes, the more it costs to run.
Power Automate mostly doesn't. For standard connectors, flows run under the Microsoft 365 license you already own. Extra spend only appears when you need premium connectors — things like SQL Server or Salesforce — desktop RPA, or high-volume standalone plans. For a Microsoft-centric team, the marginal cost of the next workflow is usually nothing.
To be fair in both directions: Zapier's pricing page is far easier to read. Microsoft's licensing has more fine print, and the line between standard and premium connectors catches people out. But once the workload is mostly Microsoft, the renewal maths tends to favour the license you've already bought.
On per-task pricing, your bill grows as your automation succeeds. Inside Microsoft 365, most day-to-day workflows run on the license you already pay for.
Side by side
Here's the whole argument in one table. Read the left column, then be honest about which description sounds like your business.
| What matters | Zapier | Power Automate |
|---|---|---|
| Connector catalog | Thousands of apps, including long-tail and niche SaaS tools | Strong catalog, deepest for Microsoft services; premium connectors for major third-party apps |
| Ease of getting started | Simplest editor in the category; non-technical staff self-serve | Approachable for simple flows; more to learn as flows grow |
| Microsoft 365 depth | Connects to the basics from the outside | Native, first-party depth in SharePoint, Teams, Outlook & Excel |
| Approvals | Assembled by hand from emails and webhooks | Built in, with Teams/Outlook cards and a full audit trail |
| Desktop automation (RPA) | Not offered — web apps and APIs only | Included via desktop flows for legacy Windows software |
| Where your data flows | Through Zapier's cloud, a third party in your data path | Inside the Microsoft tenant your IT team already governs |
| Governance & DLP | Team and enterprise controls on upper plans | Tenant-level admin, DLP policies and audit logging |
| Cost model | Per task — the bill scales with usage | Standard connectors included with most Microsoft 365 licenses; paid tiers for premium features |
How to decide
Choose Power Automate first if…
- Your files, mail and chat already live in SharePoint, Outlook and Teams
- You need approvals with a proper audit trail behind them
- IT cares about governance, DLP or keeping data inside the tenant
- Part of your process runs on legacy desktop software with no API
Choose Zapier if…
- Most of your tools live outside Microsoft 365
- You depend on a niche app that only Zapier connects to
- Non-technical staff need to self-serve simple automations today
- You'd rather pay per task than read Microsoft licensing fine print
And yes — you can run both
Plenty of businesses do exactly that: Power Automate for the Microsoft core — approvals, SharePoint, Teams, Outlook — and Zapier at the edges for a handful of external tools. The mistake isn't picking the "wrong" one; it's drifting into both by accident, with nobody deciding which workflows belong where or watching where company data travels.
If you want more plain-English breakdowns like this, the rest of our blog covers what's hiding in your Microsoft 365 subscription. And if you'd like an honest opinion on your specific stack — including "stay on Zapier, it suits you" — get in touch.
Find out what your Microsoft 365 license already covers.
Book a free 30-minute audit. We'll map your current automations — Zapier included — against what's already in your subscription, and tell you honestly which workflows are worth moving and which aren't.
Book a free 30-min audit →Frequently asked questions
Is Power Automate free if we already have Microsoft 365? +
Standard connectors — including SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, Excel, OneDrive and Forms — are included with most Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise plans at no extra cost. You only pay more for premium connectors, desktop RPA flows or high-volume standalone plans, so most internal Microsoft 365 automation runs on the license you already have.
Can we use Zapier and Power Automate together? +
Yes, and plenty of businesses do. A common pattern is Power Automate for everything inside Microsoft 365 — approvals, SharePoint, Teams, Outlook — and Zapier for a handful of external tools it connects to more easily. Just make the split deliberate, and keep an eye on which workflows carry business data outside your tenant.
Is it hard to move existing Zaps to Power Automate? +
Most simple Zaps — a trigger, a filter and an action or two — translate to Power Automate cloud flows fairly directly, especially when the apps involved are Microsoft services. The sensible approach is to audit your Zaps first, move the Microsoft-centric ones, and leave anything that depends on a connector Power Automate lacks where it is.