Accounting & Finance · head to head
Brex vs Microsoft Power Automate

Brex
Accounting & Finance
The financial stack for growing businesses
- From
- $29/month
- Rated
- -
Microsoft Power Automate
Automation & Integration
Automate tasks across cloud and on-premises apps
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Microsoft Power Automate has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Brex the free Essentials tier is limited to two legal entities; Microsoft Power Automate free plan limited to 750 flow runs/month and standard connectors only; premium connectors require paid plans
- They diverge on capability: Brex covers Corporate cards, Microsoft Power Automate covers Automated flows.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Brex and Microsoft Power Automate actually diverge.
| Attribute | Brex | Microsoft Power Automate |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $29/month | Free |
| Pricing model | freemium | Unknown |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, Ios, Android | Web, Cloud, Desktop |
| Category | Accounting & Finance | Automation & Integration |
| Founded | 2017 | 2016 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Brex
- Corporate cards
- Business accounts
- Expense management
- Bill pay
- Travel
- QuickBooks
- NetSuite
- Xero
Only in Microsoft Power Automate
- Automated flows
- Instant flows
- Scheduled flows
- Desktop automation
- Process mining
- Business process flows
- Approval workflows
- 500+ connectors
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Brex
- Corporate cards with spend controls for startupsnot Microsoft Power Automate
- Expense management and reimbursementsnot Microsoft Power Automate
- Travel booking inside the spend platformnot Microsoft Power Automate
- Bill pay and accounting system syncnot Microsoft Power Automate
- Multi-entity spend management on the paid tiersnot Microsoft Power Automate
Microsoft Power Automate
- Workflow Automationnot Brex
- Data Integrationnot Brex
- Process Automationnot Brex
- App Integrationnot Brex
- API Connectivitynot Brex
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Brex
- The free Essentials tier is limited to two legal entities
- Premium is $12 per user per month, so cost scales with headcount using the card
- Enterprise and Smart Card pricing is not published
- Eligibility criteria are not stated anywhere on the pricing page, which matters for a product that extends credit
Microsoft Power Automate
- Free plan limited to 750 flow runs/month and standard connectors only; premium connectors require paid plans
- Not suitable for long-running workflows; can fail unexpectedly without warning
- Limited to simple linear logic; fails with complex workflows involving multiple stakeholders
- Tasks cannot automate at scale when requiring more than approximately 60 users
Pricing, plan by plan
Brex
$29/month- EssentialsFree
- Corporate cards
- Expense management
- Bill pay
- Premium$12/month
- Advanced controls
- Custom approvals
- Travel booking
Microsoft Power Automate
Free- FreeFree
- 750 flow runs/month
- Standard connectors only
- Basic cloud flows
- Premium$15/user/month
- Cloud flows (DPA)
- Attended RPA
- 250 MB Dataverse database
- Process$150/bot/month
- Unattended automation
- Cloud and desktop flows
- 50 MB Dataverse database
- Hosted Process$215/bot/month
- Microsoft-managed virtual machine
- Unattended automation
- Same Dataverse entitlements as Process plan
Which should you pick?
Choose Brex if
- You need corporate cards.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want business accounts.
Choose Microsoft Power Automate if
- You need automated flows.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Cloud, Desktop.
- You also want instant flows.
Questions people ask
- Is Brex or Microsoft Power Automate better?
- Neither clearly leads. Brex starts at $29/month and Microsoft Power Automate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Brex or Microsoft Power Automate?
- Microsoft Power Automate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Brex and Free for Microsoft Power Automate.
- Does Brex or Microsoft Power Automate run on more platforms?
- Brex runs on Web, Ios, Android. Microsoft Power Automate runs on Web, Cloud, Desktop.
- Can I use Microsoft Power Automate for free?
- Yes. Microsoft Power Automate has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Brex starts at $29/month.
- What is Brex best used for?
- Brex is most often used for corporate cards with spend controls for startups, expense management and reimbursements, travel booking inside the spend platform, bill pay and accounting system sync. Of those, corporate cards with spend controls for startups and expense management and reimbursements are not what Microsoft Power Automate is typically brought in for.
- What can Brex do that Microsoft Power Automate cannot?
- Brex covers Corporate cards, Business accounts, Expense management, Bill pay. Microsoft Power Automate covers Automated flows, Instant flows, Scheduled flows, Desktop automation.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Microsoft Power Automate: Is Power Automate included with Microsoft 365?
Yes. If you have an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription, you can use Power Automate at no extra cost for flows relying only on standard connectors (SharePoint, Outlook, Teams). Premium connectors (Salesforce, SAP, Oracle) require paid plans.
SourceMicrosoft Power Automate: How many flow runs are allowed on the free plan?
Power Automate's free tier (included with Microsoft 365) is limited to 750 flow runs per month and standard connectors only. Out of 900+ total connectors, the free plan only includes Microsoft ecosystem apps and limited third-party apps.
SourceMicrosoft Power Automate: What's the difference between Premium and Process plans?
Premium ($15/user/month) provides attended automation with cloud flows and standard RPA. Process plan ($150/bot/month) enables unattended automation where bots run without human intervention on virtual machines for high-volume, repetitive tasks.
SourceMicrosoft Power Automate: Does Power Automate support long-running workflows?
No. Power Automate is not suitable for long-lasting workflows because they can run without warning and fail unexpectedly. The platform is built for linear, branching logic (if-then) rather than complex, multi-step business processes involving multiple stakeholders.
SourceRelated pages
More on Microsoft Power Automate
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