Appian RPA vs Microsoft Power Automate comparison

Appian and Microsoft are both solutions in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category. Appian is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.7, while Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.8. Appian holds a 1.3% mindshare in RPA, compared to Microsoft’s 6.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Appian users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Appian RPA and Microsoft Power Automate based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Appian RPA vs. Microsoft Power Automate Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Appian RPA vs. Microsoft Power Automate

June 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 908,877 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Automation Anywhere

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Automation Anywhere is 5.4%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Appian RPA is 1.3%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Power Automate is 6.2%, down from 18.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Automation Anywhere	5.4%
Microsoft Power Automate	6.2%
Appian RPA	1.3%
Other	87.1%

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sivaprakash

Management Consultant at Accenture

Has significantly improved document-driven workflows and reduced processing time across finance and HR functions

Automation Anywhere has evolved significantly and upgraded itself to provide agentic AI and AI-based automation solutions for document automation. The product has matured considerably over time. We can create workflows that can call an API. We can include prompts in particular workflows for ChatGPT-related functions, connecting to an LLM and RAG to perform tasks. For document automation, modern features are available to train documents, ensuring high accuracy and repeatability over time. The system is very easy to use. I recently completed a course in document automation, typically designed for people involved in coding and technical aspects. Though I understand coding comprehensively, I don't do actual coding. The course was very accessible. Currently, extensive coding isn't necessary due to the hybrid model incorporating GenAI aspects, low-code, no-code capabilities, APIs, and numerous pre-built objects in Automation Anywhere. The features include GenAI-driven prompting methods and workflow creation capabilities. In these workflows, we can create decision boxes and call APIs without coding. We simply pull objects, drop them, connect them, and add minimal coding when needed. The most crucial aspect isn't coding but rather sizing the automation and fleshing out the details. Automation Co-pilot takes notes and performs automated analysis. It can extract details from videos, summarize conversations, and provide detailed information. During calls, it identifies instructions and performs tasks such as preparing reports and reconciliation. Automation Anywhere can also connect with Microsoft Co-pilot. Through Co-pilot, real-time operations can be executed, allowing direct interaction between vendors and automation through this component.

Read full review

Kunal Sharda

Director & Key Managerial Personnel at Newlight Technology Solutions Private Limited

Partnering with comprehensive automation for increased efficiency

The best feature of Appian RPA is that it is highly integrated into the Appian platform itself. It is very easy to configure that in the end-to-end Appian automation solution. The second notable feature is that Appian RPA gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of how you want to design the robotic tasks. It has a very detailed orchestration console which provides details about the entire runtime and the logs of Appian RPA where you can find in detail what the robot did on the virtual machine. Appian provides dashboards where users or admins can log in and see how the robots are performing various robotic tasks. It is very detailed and gives substantial insight into how Appian RPA is functioning or is operational. It also lets you drill down into specific details at each task level.

Read full review

Brijesh-Kumar

Sr. General Manager , Global IT Services at a non-profit with 5,001-10,000 employees

No-code workflows have streamlined daily operations and support seamless cross-application automation

Microsoft Power Automate's no-code workflows help my team in daily operations to a great extent. Automating a particular activity may not be so useful, but when you connect the whole workflow, then it starts helping a lot. I cannot say much about the best features in Microsoft Power Automate because I have not used it personally, but first of all, it is very easy, it is a low-code platform, and Microsoft has a lot of integration with Microsoft technologies, making it very easy to connect with MS Teams and different Microsoft products, including MS Azure. From that point of view, it provides a lot of connectivity options. From a cost point of view, Mendix is much more costly compared to Microsoft Power Platform, allowing us to develop applications very quickly.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"UI and document automation are two features I like. Document automation is helpful because it simplifies extracting and putting data into different ERP systems. I have three or four use cases for document automation. I also like the recorder objects feature, which was called object learning in the previous version, and screen scraping."

"With Automation Anywhere, they receive their financial statements while still on the call."

"There are instances where use cases and opportunities have arisen as a result of having Automation Anywhere and RPA in place that have come about through very casual conversations and have actually resulted in increased revenue opportunities that we didn't realize."

"The turnaround time of building bots is quick. We are deploying around four bots per month. The turnaround time to get a design, build, and deploy is very fast. This is very good for us. It has helped us out when scaling up in a better manner."

"I think that one of the coolest features that what Automation Anywhere has come up with is AI Sense. I see an immense potential there. Using AI Sense, we can automate outside Citrix. That's going to remove the client dependency or overall automation journey, and that can give lot of optimization, cost saving, and the time to market."

"The training and resources for this tool are very good, they are so simple that anyone can easily learn it, and one of the tool values is its ease of use."

"We found that RPA with additional AI capabilities, such as machine learning and Computer Vision, can enable the organization to augment existing business operations by creating efficiencies and improving the accuracy of data to be processed, without changing too much of the existing system."

"We used to do many daily routine checks and jobs. We have implemented the automation knowledge which resulted in good productivity, time-saving, and extra efforts being reduced."

More Automation Anywhere pros

"The best feature of Appian RPA is that it is highly integrated into the Appian platform itself and is very easy to configure in the end-to-end Appian automation solution."

"I find the pricing of Appian RPA reasonable because it is user-based, and we can experiment with it."

"Appian RPA is super easy to use, offering low code, no code capabilities."

"I think the most valuable thing about this product for me is that it is really quick and easy to use."

"The best feature is that it doesn't require any other connectivity."

"The templates on offer are very good."

"The initial setup is pretty easy."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Power Automate in the desktop version is web scraping because you can do a lot with it. I work in retail and you can study prices changes, which can give you a lot of information. The solution is no code which is a large advantage."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Power Automate is the many functionalities, and ease of use. We had summer interns from college in their second year of engineering and they were able to start the building process quickly within a day."

"The most valuable feature is that you can run multiple automations at the same time, in parallel."

"Everything has been perfectly fine."

More Microsoft Power Automate pros

Cons

"One thing with the bot that we are always struggling with is the memory management."

"We have a few issues which have persisted. These end up restarting the machine. We are hoping in version 11.3 of Automation Anywhere, our compatibility and infrastructure issues will be resolved."

"I would like more integration into the entire Microsoft Suite of products, not just Excel."

"I would like to leverage the AI component without the requirement to know a coding language, such as Python."

"For assisted automation, the AA bot needs the facility to be triggered through an application interface after collecting input from the user."

"We had several issues when trying to connect the different components, due to our firewalls. They were eventually solved by our internal IT and the AA technical team."

"They could improve the learning curve."

"I haven't gone deep in the tool, but so far it looks good."

More Automation Anywhere cons

"There are many competitive products in the market right now, for example, UiPath and Automation Anywhere. These competitive products are now coming up with features which Appian RPA currently does not have."

"There are not any areas that need improvement off the top of my head."

"In my opinion, Appian RPA can be improved."

"When comparing with Automation Anywhere, there are a couple of things that this product doesn't have. One of the major things is the key management system. It would be great if they improve this. Its documentation can also be improved."

"One of the frustrating things is that you can't use a lot of connectors without having a premium license."

"One of the challenges is dealing with OCR text recognition."

"I would not recommend it for large-scale or for critical operations because it returns quite a lot of errors, not only automation errors, but also errors when liaising with other applications, so in some cases, those applications may not run properly, resulting in errors."

"Microsoft shouldn't charge extra for the database license if you want to store the data in the database during the trial. We wanted to have a historical trend of the data, and we started with the trial version of the tool. The database license is not included with the trial version, and you have to purchase it separately. Because we had a budget constraint, we had to pull all the information manually from the system, massage it, and push it to the dashboard. About two months ago, we have upgraded to the full-fledged version in which the database is integrated. The database license should be there in the trial version, but they have totally decoupled it. They should have provided a bundle, at least for the trial version, so that once a person or a firm gets a sense of it, they can start building. It might be because they wanted to sell additional licenses or premium licenses, and that's why they have added it in the premium version. It should have more cognitive features. Automation Anywhere and UiPath are different because they have cognitive functionality plus intelligent automation. The cognitive functionality is currently not there in Microsoft Power Automate. It is just for workflow automation and basic bot-level tasks. It should have more cognitive features, which probably will be launched in a couple of years."

"The solution's licensing model is very complex and not straightforward."

"Execution of workflows could be improved."

"The integration of our system into Power Automate was a bit tricky. We had to put a data lake in place before automating anything because we were not very structured in terms of data. Our major issue was cleaning up the data."

More Microsoft Power Automate cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing model can be a bit more flexible."

"Regarding the price, licensing, and maintenance, Automation Anywhere provides its customers with its best and affordable value."

"Additional costs will be for the machines and the number of machines that you are using. You can deploy virtually as well as on physical machines. In both the situations, you do need to allocate a certain budget for securing the machines and where the software will be installed and running. The machines cannot be used for anything else, because only a certain bot can run at a certain time. You need to be very particular about your scheduling of running the bots, and while the bot is running nobody can use the machine. You cannot have an agent working on a machine and the bot running in the background. It has to be completely dedicated. Then there are the network bandwidth requirements and space requirements, which are additional costs apart from the licensing and software costs. The developer is also going to charge you for their coding time too."

"I've seen the price vary by whether the client is going to scale and adopt a tool."

"It's very good in terms of cost and pricing."

"Overall, the pricing of Automation Anywhere is good."

"On a yearly basis, our licensing costs are about $80,000. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees."

"I am not involved in the pricing, but based on what I hear from our central RPA team, it is not very expensive; it is also not cheap. Its price is in the midrange."

More Automation Anywhere pricing and cost advice

Information not available

"It is free for us. It is embedded directly in the Office package."

"Its licensing cost is comparatively less as compared to Automation Anywhere. We have bought a two-year license agreement."

"Currently, we are using the free license for testing. After everything is done, we'll buy the license."

"My company switched to a monthly payment for the WinAutomation by Softomotive license. I don't have the exact figure, but it roughly amounts to 500 Euros a year which isn't bad."

"The licensing cost for us at this time is between $8 and $20 per user, per month."

"The pricing is reasonable and the western license is fantastic."

"This solution is bundled with our Office 365, so there is no additional licensing fee."

"Initially, we had a Microsoft account for Office 365. Later, we discovered that our license included access to Power Automate at no additional cost. There was a small fee for additional features, but it was negligible compared to the benefits. There are not any additional fees required to use the solution."

More Microsoft Power Automate pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

908,877 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Construction Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Construction Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

17%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	157
Midsize Enterprise	81
Large Enterprise	558

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	50
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	69

Questions from the Community

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It depends on your use case. Is it simply to automate a couple of processes? Is it to augment a human team? AA is ver...

See all answers

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

From my experience using AA tool, it depends on the applications that you want to automate, because there some applic...

See all answers

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It is a highly preferred RPA tool. You can check my Automation Anywhere Review to know more.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Appian RPA?

I didn't handle payments or costs. We recommended infrastructure stacks to our clients, who implemented them, and we ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Appian RPA?

In my opinion, Appian RPA can be improved. We are planning to conduct a proof of concept on volume because we are sti...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Appian RPA?

We have been working with Appian RPA along with the entire workflow case management suite. Recently, Appian released ...

See all answers

RPA that Bots can run without centralized control?

Yes, Attended Bots which can run without centralized control Module. RPA Tools like Automation Anywhere, uiPath ,Pow...

See all answers

How do I choose between UiPath and Microsoft Power Automate?

Microsoft‌ ‌Power‌ ‌Automate‌ ‌is‌ ‌intuitive‌ ‌and‌ ‌easy‌ ‌to‌ ‌integrate‌ ‌and‌ ‌use.‌ ‌I‌ ‌like‌ ‌that‌ ‌there‌ ‌...

See all answers

How is Automation Anywhere compared to Microsoft Power Automate?

‌Neither‌ ‌solution‌ ‌requires‌ ‌any‌ ‌coding‌ ‌experience,‌ ‌and‌ ‌both‌ ‌are‌ ‌easy‌ ‌to‌ ‌use‌ ‌and‌ ‌have‌ ‌great...

See all answers

Comparisons

UiPath Platform vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 12% of the time

Blue Prism vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 6% of the time

AutomationEdge vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 2% of the time

WorkFusion vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 2% of the time

Appian vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 2% of the time

More Automation Anywhere Competitors

UiPath Platform vs Appian RPA

Compared 10% of the time

Temporal vs Appian RPA

Compared 9% of the time

Control-M vs Appian RPA

Compared 8% of the time

Blue Prism vs Appian RPA

Compared 7% of the time

More Appian RPA Competitors

UiPath Platform vs Microsoft Power Automate

Compared 12% of the time

Blue Prism vs Microsoft Power Automate

Compared 7% of the time

IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) vs Microsoft Power Automate

Compared 5% of the time

Celonis vs Microsoft Power Automate

Compared 3% of the time

Fortra's Automate vs Microsoft Power Automate

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Power Automate Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere

August 2026

Download Automation Anywhere product report

Buyer's Guide

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

July 2026

Download Appian RPA product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power Automate

July 2026

Download Microsoft Power Automate product report

Also Known As

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise, Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)

Jidoka RPA

Power Automate, Microsoft Flow, MS Power Automate, WinAutomation by Softomotive, ProcessRobot by Softomotive, Minit

Interactive Demo

Automation Anywhere

Demo not available

Appian

Demo not available

Microsoft

Overview

Automation Anywhere offers ease of use, robust system connectivity, and GenAI-driven document automation through a cloud-native platform, significantly enhancing productivity across multiple industries with advanced AI features.

Delivering a comprehensive suite of tools designed for easy integration and rapid deployment, Automation Anywhere drives efficiency by reducing costs and automating repetitive tasks. Its cloud-native platform supports broad industry adoption, including advanced AI features like process automation and Co-Pilot, streamlining complex workflows with minimal technical skills required. Users benefit from robust integration capabilities, which facilitate seamless interaction with multiple systems. However, there is room for improvement in areas such as user-friendliness for beginners, stability, flexible licensing, and enhanced OCR functionality. Organizations in sectors such as banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare gain from the improved operational efficiency and ROI Automation Anywhere offers.

What are the important features of Automation Anywhere?

Ease of Use: Simplifies automation tasks with a user-centric interface.
Robust Connectivity: Provides seamless integration with multiple systems.
GenAI-Driven Document Automation: Leverages AI to automate document management.
Process Automation & Co-Pilot: Enhances workflow automation with advanced AI.
Cloud-Native Platform: Enables rapid deployment and integration.

What benefits should be evaluated in reviews?

Time Savings: Automation drastically reduces manual processing time.
Cost Efficiency: Decreases overall operational costs by automating tasks.
Productivity Enhancement: Streamlines workflows with AI-driven tools.
Improved Integration: Enhances ability to work with multiple systems.
Scalability: Supports growth with a flexible cloud-native architecture.

In the insurance industry, Automation Anywhere is utilized for automating processes such as enrollment management and compliance checks. Its applications extend to supply chain management, financial transactions, and business performance monitoring across sectors like banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare, helping organizations to automate routine tasks, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

Automation Anywhere

Appian RPA is an advanced robotic process automation platform designed to streamline business processes by integrating and automating tasks across applications and systems. This tool enhances efficiency and operational accuracy for businesses leveraging its capabilities.

Appian RPA seamlessly integrates into existing infrastructures to automate repetitive tasks, boosting productivity. Its ability to orchestrate workflows and provide analytics sets it apart, allowing businesses to make informed decisions quickly. With a focus on scalability, Appian RPA supports digital transformation by connecting disparate systems and fostering innovation through automation.

What are the essential features?

Easy Integration: Connects with existing systems without complex configurations.
Dynamic Workflow Control: Allows users to manage and automate complex processes.
Comprehensive Analytics: Offers insights through detailed process analytics.
Scalability: Grows with the business and accommodates varying workloads.

What benefits or ROI should you look for in reviews?

Increased Efficiency: Reduces manual efforts and errors.
Cost Savings: Lowers operational costs through process automation.
Enhanced Productivity: Frees up human resources for higher-value tasks.

Appian RPA finds applications across industries like finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. In finance, it automates data entry and reconciliation processes. Healthcare providers utilize it for patient management and billing, reducing operational bottlenecks. Manufacturing benefits from inventory and supply chain automation, enhancing end-to-end processes.

Appian

Microsoft Power Automate is a powerful tool that streamlines and automates tasks within an organization.

It is used for workflow automation, data integration, and creating automated notifications and approvals.

Power Automate connects different applications and services, such as SharePoint, Excel, and Outlook, to automate data transfer and synchronization.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics

empark, talan, liverpool, ayesa, aeromexico, teknei

1. Coca-Cola 2. General Electric 3. Siemens 4. Accenture 5. Deloitte 6. Johnson & Johnson 7. Ford 8. Nestle 9. Procter & Gamble 10. IBM 11. Amazon 12. Google 13. Microsoft 14. Adobe 15. Cisco 16. Oracle 17. SAP 18. Intel 19. HP 20. Dell 21. Verizon 22. AT&T 23. T-Mobile 24. Walmart 25. Target 26. Home Depot 27. McDonald's 28. Starbucks 29. Nike 30. Apple 31. Facebook 32. Twitter

Buyer's Guide

Appian RPA vs. Microsoft Power Automate

June 2026

Free Report: Appian RPA vs. Microsoft Power Automate

Find out what your peers are saying about Appian RPA vs. Microsoft Power Automate and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

908,877 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Appian RPA vs. Microsoft Power Automate report.

See our list of best Robotic Process Automation (RPA) vendors.

We monitor all Robotic Process Automation (RPA) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.