Software · head to head
Microsoft Power Automate vs Tines
Microsoft Power Automate
Software
Automate tasks across cloud and on-premises apps
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Microsoft Power Automate free plan limited to 750 flow runs/month and standard connectors only; premium connectors require paid plans; Tines no-code, UI-driven approach is restrictive for complex logic and version control integration with SDLC
- They diverge on capability: Microsoft Power Automate covers Automated flows, Tines covers Story builder.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft Power Automate and Tines actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Power Automate | Tines |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Cloud, Desktop | Web |
| Founded | 2016 | 2018 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Microsoft Power Automate
- Automated flows
- Instant flows
- Scheduled flows
- Desktop automation
- Process mining
- Business process flows
- Approval workflows
- 500+ connectors
Only in Tines
- Story builder
- Drag-and-drop workflows
- Event triggers
- Incident response automation
- Threat intelligence
- Case management
- Alert triage
- Slack
Both cover
- SOC2
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Microsoft Power Automate
- Workflow Automation
- Data Integration
- Process Automation
- App Integration
- API Connectivity
Tines
- Workflow Automation
- Data Integration
- Process Automation
- App Integration
- API Connectivity
Both are used for workflow automation, data integration, process automation, app integration, api connectivity, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Tines
- No-code, UI-driven approach is restrictive for complex logic and version control integration with SDLC
- No native log intelligence layer to validate data completeness
- Limited scope to security workloads, cannot handle general business automation
- Governance features lag behind EU AI Act compliance requirements
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Tines
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Tines review.
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose Tines if
- You need story builder.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want drag-and-drop workflows.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Power Automate or Tines better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Power Automate starts at Free and Tines at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft Power Automate or Tines?
- Microsoft Power Automate starts at Free and Tines at Free.
- Does Microsoft Power Automate or Tines run on more platforms?
- Microsoft Power Automate runs on Web, Cloud, Desktop. Tines runs on Web.
- Can I use Microsoft Power Automate for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Microsoft Power Automate best used for?
- Microsoft Power Automate is most often used for workflow automation, data integration, process automation, app integration.
- What can Microsoft Power Automate do that Tines cannot?
- Microsoft Power Automate covers Automated flows, Instant flows, Scheduled flows, Desktop automation. Tines covers Story builder, Drag-and-drop workflows, Event triggers, Incident response automation. Both handle SOC2.
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.
SourceTines: What are Tines' pricing tiers?
Tines offers a free Community Edition for evaluation, Starter Edition at $500/month with annual billing, and Business/Enterprise tiers starting around $50,000/year for small security teams and scaling to $200,000+ for large SOCs.
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.
SourceTines: What is the Community Edition limited to?
As of July 2026, the free Community Edition is scoped to 1 builder and 3 flows as an evaluation tool to test Tines' capabilities.
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.
SourceTines: Is Tines limited to security automation?
Yes, Tines is purpose-built for security automation. Teams needing non-security automation on the same orchestration layer would need to evaluate alternatives.
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.
SourceTines: Does Tines have native log intelligence capabilities?
No, Tines lacks a native log intelligence layer, meaning it cannot determine whether the data feeding your detection tools is complete. Teams must build automation against whatever alerts their existing infrastructure provides.
Source