Make, Power Automate, n8n, Zapier, UiPath and nine more, scored on one published rubric. Every price and fact links to the vendor page it came from, with the date it was checked.
This guide is free and no vendor pays for a position. Links to vendors can earn the publisher a commission when you sign up. How the site makes money.
Short answer
The best process automation software for most teams in 2026 is Make: it scores 8.3 out of 10, the free plan includes 1,000 credits a month, and paid plans start at $12 a month billed annually with unlimited users1. Power Automate (8.1) fits Microsoft 365 companies, n8n (8.0) fits technical teams that self-host for free13, and Zapier (8.0) is the easiest to learn, with 9,000+ apps14.
Best overall
MakeFree plan with 1,000 credits a month; Core from $12 a month billed annually, unlimited users1
Best for Microsoft 365 companies
Microsoft Power AutomateCloud flows free with work accounts; Premium at $15 per user a month adds premium connectors and an attended robot on a registered PC23
Best for self-hosted RPA
UiPathFree Community plan with an unattended robot; self-serve Basic from $25 a month; self-hosted down to air-gapped networks on Standard and Enterprise45
Best for BPM and case management
PegaRules, robots and AI agents in one case678; a free trial of up to 45 days, then one flat price per completed case, with no published rate91011
Best agent-first platform
GumloopAI agents built in plain language; Pro at $37 a month with unlimited seats after a 14-day trial12
This page ranks software that automates business processes: moving data between apps, routing approvals, operating old desktop systems and handing work to AI agents. Four kinds of product compete for that work, and one rubric scores all of them:
Kind
What it does
Top score here
App-to-app connectors
Link cloud apps through their APIs with triggers and actions15
Business process automation and industrial process automation
The same phrase also names the control systems that run plants. Emerson describes a distributed control system (DCS) as one that monitors and manages complex industrial processes, used in oil and gas, chemical processing, power generation and manufacturing19. That field also runs on programmable logic controllers (PLCs)20 and SCADA systems21. This site covers the business kind: software for office work, approvals and data that moves between systems.
Who writes the other lists
On 8 November 2026, vendors or agencies wrote five of the top eight Google results for this search. n8n's list ranks n8n first22, and Vellum's list ranks Vellum first23. On this page the rubric sets every position, and the disclosure lists which vendors pay commissions.
The ranking
Process automation software ranked by overall score
Make is a visual automation platform owned by Celonis and formerly called Integromat4546. Scenarios are built on a canvas with routers, iterators, five types of error handler and JavaScript or Python code steps474142. Billing is by credits, and the free plan includes 1,000 credits a month1.
Price Free plan with 1,000 credits a month; paid plans from $12/mo billed annually for 10,000 credits (US price list)1
Score breakdown for Make
Ease of use 20%
7.5
Power 25%
8.5
Integrations 15%
8.5
Price and value 20%
8.5
Security and governance 10%
8.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
8.0
Strengths
The free plan includes 1,000 credits a month and the same no-code visual builder as the paid plans1.
Every plan includes unlimited users, so the price scales with credit volume alone1.
Routers, iterators, five error handler types and JavaScript or Python code steps handle complex logic4142.
Weak spots
Company SSO, audit logs, custom roles and the on-prem agent are Enterprise-only143.
Every plan, Enterprise included, runs on Make's AWS hosting; the pricing page lists no self-hosted option1.
Unused credits expire every month on Free, Core and monthly plans, and extra credits cost 25% more than plan credits144.
Power Automate runs cloud flows across more than 1,400 prebuilt connectors49 and desktop flows that operate Windows apps with no API, including SAP, mainframes and Citrix48. Power Automate Premium costs $15 per user per month and an unattended bot costs $150 per month, both paid yearly3. Work or school accounts get a free license for cloud flows with standard connectors2.
n8n is a workflow automation platform from n8n GmbH in Berlin51 that combines a visual builder with JavaScript and Python code steps and AI agents24. It runs on n8n Cloud, hosted in Frankfurt24, or on your own servers, where the Community edition is free13. Cloud plans start at €24 a month for 2,500 executions24.
Price From €24 a month on n8n Cloud, or €20 billed annually24; the self-hosted Community edition is free13.
Score breakdown for n8n
Ease of use 20%
6.5
Power 25%
9.0
Integrations 15%
7.5
Price and value 20%
8.5
Security and governance 10%
9.0
Support and ecosystem 10%
7.5
Strengths
Billing counts one execution per full workflow run, however many steps it has24.
The self-hosted Community edition is free13, and self-hosted data stays wherever you host it24.
JavaScript and Python code steps, webhooks, an AI Agent node, MCP and human approval for tool calls are on every Cloud plan24.
Weak spots
SSO and LDAP start with the Business plan at €800 a month, and Business runs self-hosted only24.
Audit logging and log streaming are Enterprise features24.
The Sustainable Use License limits use to internal business, non-commercial or personal use; letting your customers connect their accounts and build workflows in n8n needs a separate commercial agreement50.
Zapier is a no-code automation platform, co-founded in 2011 and backed by Y Combinator58. A Zap runs a trigger and one or more actions across 9,000+ apps, with branching Paths, error handler paths and JavaScript or Python code steps14596061. Billing is by tasks, and the free plan includes 100 tasks a month14.
Price Free plan with 100 tasks a month; paid plans from $19.99/mo billed annually for 750 tasks14
Score breakdown for Zapier
Ease of use 20%
9.0
Power 25%
8.0
Integrations 15%
9.0
Price and value 20%
6.0
Security and governance 10%
7.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
8.5
Strengths
Zapier counts 9,000+ apps and 66,000+ triggers and actions52.
Copilot drafts and auto-builds a Zap from a plain-language description, on every plan5314.
Triggers, filters, paths, formatter, delay and Looping steps use no tasks, so billing follows completed actions54.
Weak spots
Volume gets expensive: Professional costs $19.99/mo for 750 tasks, $129/mo for 10,000 tasks and $3,389/mo for 2 million tasks, all billed annually14.
The Free plan allows only two-step Zaps, 100 tasks a month and 15-minute polling, and email support is for paid plans1455.
Classic Zaps cap loops at 500 runs with no nesting; Next Gen Zaps lift these limits and are in early access5657.
Workato connects apps and data and orchestrates workflows and AI agents on one platform66. Workato Free grants 50,000 one-time credits, and Workato Pro starts at $75 per month for 2,500 credits27. The Enterprise editions include SAML SSO67, multi-region deployment and priority support at a custom price65.
Price Free plan with 50,000 one-time credits; Pro from $75 per month27
Score breakdown for Workato
Ease of use 20%
7.0
Power 25%
9.0
Integrations 15%
9.0
Price and value 20%
5.5
Security and governance 10%
8.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
9.0
Strengths
Security reports cover SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, HIPAA and PCI-DSS 4.062
Reaches on-premises systems through an agent that connects outbound over TLS 1.2, with no inbound access required62
IF conditions, loop steps and error handlers do not count as Tasks; only the actions inside them do63
Weak spots
Usage converts to credits64, but the credit cost of a Task, API call or Genie action is not published
UiPath robots operate legacy and Citrix applications through their screens when no API exists16, and the same platform runs AI agents, API workflows and, on Standard and Enterprise, BPMN-orchestrated processes5. The free Community plan includes one unattended robot4. Self-serve licenses start at $25 per user per month28, and Standard and Enterprise plans are priced by sales5.
Price Free Community plan; paid licenses from $25 per user per month28
Score breakdown for UiPath
Ease of use 20%
6.0
Power 25%
9.5
Integrations 15%
8.5
Price and value 20%
5.5
Security and governance 10%
9.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
9.0
Strengths
Robots operate legacy and Citrix applications through the screen, on Windows and macOS, when no API exists16.
The free Community plan includes an unattended robot4 and allows internal commercial use for organizations under USD 5 million in revenue68.
On Standard and Enterprise, agents, robots, API events and human tasks run in one BPMN-orchestrated process5.
Weak spots
Standard and Enterprise prices come only from sales5.
An unattended robot costs $960 per month and a Pro user $420 per month on the self-serve plan28.
Basic caps an organization at 5 Basic, 5 Plus and 1 Pro user and 2 robots, in the Europe region only5, with no SSO69.
Gumloop is an AI agent platform: you build agents that use your tools and data, then run them on triggers, schedules and the API18. Pro costs $37 a month for 20,000 credits, with unlimited seats12. Workflows, the drag-and-drop builder some buyers still associate with Gumloop72, now sit under a Legacy label on the pricing page12.
Price Pro from $37/month with 20,000 credits and unlimited seats; 14-day trial, no free plan12
Score breakdown for Gumloop
Ease of use 20%
8.0
Power 25%
8.0
Integrations 15%
7.0
Price and value 20%
6.0
Security and governance 10%
8.0
Support and ecosystem 10%
7.5
Strengths
Unlimited seats and teams on the $37 Pro plan, so a department shares one subscription12.
Every agent can run Python and shell commands in an isolated cloud sandbox70.
35+ AI models on one bill, with your own API keys as an option12.
Weak spots
No free plan: the 14-day trial needs a card and turns into paid Pro unless you cancel71.
Agent cost varies by task, and unused Pro credits reset each month29.
SAML SSO, SCIM, audit logs and role-based access require the custom-priced Enterprise plan12.
Pega Platform runs rule-heavy processes as cases, with decision tables that business owners maintain apart from the workflow6, attended and unattended RPA bots7 and AI agents embedded as workflow steps8. Pega publishes no price list11; on Infinity 26, clients pay a flat price per completed case with no per-token charges10. It runs on Pega Cloud or on your own Kubernetes cluster74.
Price No public price list11; Infinity 26 charges one flat price per completed case10
Score breakdown for Pega
Ease of use 20%
5.0
Power 25%
9.5
Integrations 15%
8.5
Price and value 20%
3.5
Security and governance 10%
9.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
9.0
Strengths
Business owners maintain decision logic apart from the workflow, so a rule change needs no process change6.
Workflows, attended and unattended RPA, process mining and AI agents run on one platform7.
Infinity 26 charges one flat price per completed case10, with tokens included on Pega-managed models73.
Weak spots
Pega publishes no price list: its pricing page promises a flat price and lists no rates11.
The free Community Edition is a trial that lasts 30 days and cannot run past 459.
Pega's own cost example assumes a 3-year term at about 1 million cases a year73.
Pipefy puts AI agents, workflows, forms, portals, data and integrations for business processes in one no-code platform79. The free Starter plan covers up to 5 processes and 10 users, and the Business and Enterprise plans are sold through sales with per-user billing32. The Pipefy Trust Center lists a 2025 SOC 2 report and an ISO 27001 certificate77.
Price Free Starter plan; Business and Enterprise prices on request32
Score breakdown for Pipefy
Ease of use 20%
8.0
Power 25%
7.5
Integrations 15%
7.0
Price and value 20%
4.5
Security and governance 10%
8.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
9.0
Strengths
Free Starter plan with Pipefy AI, up to 5 processes and 10 users, and no credit card required32
AI agents and bring-your-own-model work on all plans7576
The Trust Center lists SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports and four ISO certificates, including ISO 27001 and ISO 4200177
Weak spots
Business and Enterprise prices are not published; both plans say Contact Sales32
The free plan stops at 50 cards and 15 automation jobs per month32
SSO and two-factor authentication require the Enterprise plan3278
Lindy is an AI employee that does work across your connected tools: a private assistant in your DMs and a shared teammate in Slack channels84. Recurring work runs as routines, each made of a trigger, a plain-English prompt and a destination80. Paid seats start at $29.99 per user per month for 3,000 credits, or $49.99 for 5,000 in the version of the pricing page Lindy shows some visitors, after $50 in free credits that last 7 days33.
Price $50 in free credits for 7 days; paid seats from $29.99 per user per month for 3,000 credits, while a Lindy price test shows some visitors $49.99 for 5,00033
Score breakdown for Lindy
Ease of use 20%
8.5
Power 25%
7.0
Integrations 15%
7.5
Price and value 20%
5.5
Security and governance 10%
7.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
7.0
Strengths
A routine is set up from one sentence, with schedule or event triggers and a dry run before it goes live80.
1,500+ integrations plus any hosted MCP server, with browser use on Pro and up when a tool has neither8182.
One shared credit pool with per-person caps; when credits run out, Lindy pauses credit-using work and sends no surprise bill8333.
Weak spots
No lasting free plan: the $50 in free credits last 7 days33.
Every active user in the workspace is billed as a seat, so cost grows with headcount33.
SSO, SCIM, audit logs and the HIPAA BAA require the custom-priced Enterprise plan83.
Appian orchestrates AI agents, systems and people in business processes91, built as BPMN process models that assign work to users, AI agents or RPA bots92. It sells Standard, Advanced and Premium tiers priced per user, per month, per app and publishes no list prices34. AI agents and the Composer AI app builder start at the Advanced tier8993, and the free Community Edition is for learning and evaluation35.
Price No public prices; tiers priced per user, per month, per app34; free Community Edition for learning35
Score breakdown for Appian
Ease of use 20%
5.0
Power 25%
9.0
Integrations 15%
8.5
Price and value 20%
3.5
Security and governance 10%
9.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
9.0
Strengths
Appian Cloud has SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II reports and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification85, and Appian Government Cloud is FedRAMP Certified at Moderate and High8687
Runs in Appian Cloud or self-managed, on-premises or in AWS, Azure or Google Cloud34, and its AI can run air-gapped with no cloud dependencies88
AI agents run as steps inside BPMN process models through the Execute AI Agent smart service89
Weak spots
No public prices; every tier is quoted per user, per month, per app34
AI agents, Composer, DocCenter and Process HQ are left out of the Standard tier90
The free Community Edition is not suitable for production use and caps runs at 250 process instances a day35
Camunda coordinates AI agents, people, systems and business rules across end-to-end processes17 that are modeled in BPMN36. Self-Managed is free for development and non-production use, and production on your own servers or on Camunda SaaS requires an Enterprise license priced by sales36. Camunda says more than 750 companies use it99.
Price Free for development and non-production use; production needs an Enterprise license quoted by sales36
Score breakdown for Camunda
Ease of use 20%
4.5
Power 25%
9.5
Integrations 15%
8.0
Price and value 20%
3.5
Security and governance 10%
9.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
9.0
Strengths
Self-host the whole stack on Kubernetes with Helm, Docker or JAR files94, or run Camunda SaaS on AWS or Google Cloud in the region you choose95
The Trust Center lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and TISAX96, and AWS-hosted SaaS clusters accept your own encryption key through AWS KMS97
AI agents use models from Anthropic, AWS Bedrock, Google Gemini and OpenAI and call tools exposed by MCP servers98
Weak spots
No published prices: every production deployment, self-managed or SaaS, needs an Enterprise license quoted by sales36
After the 30-day SaaS trial, the free account is limited to BPMN/DMN modeling36
Self-Managed makes your team responsible for deploying, scaling, securing, maintaining and updating the stack94
Automation Anywhere sells the Agentic Process Automation System, which combines RPA bots, APIs, document processing and goal-based AI agents101 and runs them from a web-based Control Room109. It runs in the vendor's cloud or on your own Windows or Linux servers104, and its compliance portal lists SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and HITRUST documents102. Prices are not published: buyers go through its Talk to Sales page37.
Price No published prices: free Community Edition38, paid licenses through sales37.
Score breakdown for Automation Anywhere
Ease of use 20%
5.5
Power 25%
7.5
Integrations 15%
8.5
Price and value 20%
4.0
Security and governance 10%
9.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
9.0
Strengths
Bots record and replay clicks and keystrokes in desktop and browser apps100, and run alongside APIs and AI agents on one platform101.
The compliance portal lists SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001 and HITRUST documents102, and the platform supports SAML SSO and native audit logs103.
Self-hosting is supported: the On-Premises Control Room runs on Windows Server or Linux104.
Weak spots
No public prices: Automation Anywhere sends buyers to its Talk to Sales page37.
AI Governance requires the separately purchased Enterprise Platform add-on105, and AI Agents also consume purchased Automation AI Credits106.
On-Premises gets new releases later than Cloud: v.42 (release date 16 September 2026) has no On-Premises build107, so the newest On-Premises build is v.41, released 27 July 2026108.
Kissflow lets business teams build workflows without code while IT administers the platform118. Pricing is quote-only, on fixed annual agreements with no surcharges for AI or API usage39. SAML SSO, the account audit log and JavaScript code steps sit in the Enterprise plan115116117.
Price No published prices: quote-only annual agreements with no surcharges for AI or API usage39
Score breakdown for Kissflow
Ease of use 20%
7.0
Power 25%
6.5
Integrations 15%
5.5
Price and value 20%
3.0
Security and governance 10%
8.5
Support and ecosystem 10%
7.0
Strengths
SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 reports, ISO/IEC 27001, and a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement on request110111
No surcharges for AI or API usage39; integrations, APIs and AI features are included in the subscription111
Production data and backups are stored in the region you select: United States, European Union, India or Australia112
Weak spots
No published prices and no free plan listed39; the sign-up form hands you to a solution expert40
36+ no-code connectors113; systems outside that list need HTTP, REST or SOAP calls or the Enterprise-only connector builder114
SAML SSO, the account audit log and JavaScript code steps are Enterprise only115116117
An estimate from published list prices, checked 9 November 2026; a vendor's quote can differ. The workflow has one instant trigger (a webhook or app event) and four action steps, with no AI or code steps, one builder and annual billing. Zapier counts 4 tasks a run, because triggers use none54. Make uses up to 5 credits a run: each non-AI module uses 1 credit119, and this estimate counts the trigger as one. n8n counts 1 execution a run, however many steps it has24. Power Automate charges per user, and a Premium user's official limit of 40,000 requests a day120 covers both volumes. Zapier's own pages disagree on triggers: the help article and the pricing FAQ say triggers use no tasks5414, while the rates page counts a trigger step at 1 task121; at 5 tasks a run, 500 runs need the 5,000-task tier at $89 a month billed annually, and 2,000 runs still fit the 10,000-task tier14.
Billed monthly, Make Core costs $16, n8n Starter €24, and Zapier $73.50 at 2,000 tasks or $193.50 at 10,00012414. With a work account and only standard connectors, Power Automate cloud flows cost nothing2. Workato, Gumloop and Lindy are left out: Workato does not publish how many credits a task uses64, and Gumloop and Lindy bill AI credits that vary with each task2933.
Integration counts, as each vendor states them
Each count is the vendor's own, checked 9 November 2026. Vendors count different things: apps, connectors, catalog entries or MCP servers, the connectors AI agents call.
Tasks: each successful action step uses 1 task; triggers, filters, paths, formatter and loop steps use none54; AI by Zapier uses 1 to 5 tasks per AI step by model tier, with each AI tool call billed separately; MCP tool calls use 2121
No. Zapier stores data on AWS in the United States; Enterprise adds VPC Peering to reach internal data sources14139
Users, in tiers by level of platform use; AI, APIs and integrations included111
No on-premises option listed. Cloud only: Kissflow's multi-tenant cloud, single tenant hosted by Kissflow, or a private single-tenant deployment on GCP or AWS153
36+ no-code connectors, plus HTTP, REST and SOAP113
SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3, ISO/IEC 27001111
Make, for most teams in 2026: it scores 8.3 out of 10 on this site's rubric and starts at $12 a month billed annually with unlimited users1. Microsoft 365 companies get Power Automate cloud flows with standard connectors free with their work accounts2.
What is the best free process automation tool?
n8n, if you can run a server: the self-hosted Community edition is free13. Without a server, Make's free plan gives 1,000 credits a month1, and Zapier's gives 100 tasks a month with two-step Zaps14.
What's better than n8n?
Make, if you want a lower entry price and no server to run: Core costs $12 a month billed annually, against €20 for n8n Starter124. Zapier is easier for non-developers and counts 9,000+ apps14, and Power Automate adds desktop robots for apps with no API48.
What are the two types of process automation?
Business process automation runs office work in software: approvals, documents and data between apps. Industrial process automation runs plants with control systems; Emerson describes a distributed control system as one that monitors and manages complex industrial processes in oil and gas, chemicals, power generation and manufacturing19. This site covers the business kind.
What is the difference between process automation and RPA?
RPA is one method of process automation: software robots work apps through the screen the way a person would, which reaches legacy and Citrix systems that expose no API16. Workflow tools such as n8n connect apps through integrations, HTTP APIs and MCP instead15.
Can non-technical users build process automations?
Yes. Zapier says no coding is needed, and its Copilot drafts a Zap from a plain-language description on every plan1453. Lindy and Gumloop build AI agents from typed instructions80154.
Which process automation platforms can you self-host?
n8n, UiPath on Standard and Enterprise, Automation Anywhere, Pega, Appian and Camunda run on your own servers1375104743494, and Gumloop Enterprise deploys inside your own AWS, Azure or Google Cloud account144. Zapier, Make and Power Automate list no self-hosted edition139149.
Is Zapier or Make cheaper?
Make, at both volumes priced on this page. For 2,000 runs a month of a five-step workflow, Make Core costs $12 a month and Zapier Professional $129, both billed annually114.
What is the most secure process automation platform?
UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Pega, Appian and Camunda share the top security score here, 9.5: each lists SOC 2 and ISO 27001 and offers SSO, audit logs, a choice of data region and self-hosting1431021468596.
Recent changes
First published: 14 process automation platforms scored on a six-criterion rubric, with 6 situational shortlists, 7 head-to-head comparisons, a cost estimate at 500 and 2,000 runs a month, and a dated table of each vendor's integration count.