Side-by-side comparison · Automation & Workflows
n8n vs Parseur vs Power Automate
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Teams that want full control of their data and automations, or anyone building AI agents on a budget who doesn't mind getting a bit technical.
Pick it if: Small businesses and operations teams that copy details from the same kinds of email or PDF into spreadsheets or other apps.
Pick it if: Offices that already run on Microsoft 365 and want approvals, email handling and file admin to happen on their own.
Overview
| Attribute | n8n | Parseur | Power Automate |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Build automations and AI agents on a visual canvas, then host them yourself for free. | Pulls data out of emails and PDFs into your spreadsheets and apps. | Microsoft's automation tool: links Outlook, Teams, Excel and more so busywork runs itself. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | €20/mo | $49/mo | Included in most business plans |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | n8n | Parseur | Power Automate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.5Winner | 4.1 | 3.8 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 5.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | n8n | Parseur | Power Automate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | – | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | – | Yes |
| Browser extension | No | – | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | Yes | – | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | – | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | No | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | – | No |
| Works in many languages | – | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 10/ 17 | 7/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | n8n | Parseur | Power Automate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Community Edition Free (self-hosted) Anyone comfortable running software on a server. | Free Free Trying it on a handful of documents. | Included with Microsoft 365 Included in most business plans Offices that only need flows between Microsoft apps. |
StarterOur pick €20/mo billed yearly A small business that wants n8n hosted for them. | Micro $49/mo, or $468/yr A small business with a trickle of documents. | PremiumOur pick $15 per user/mo, billed yearly People who need flows that reach apps outside Microsoft. | |
Pro €50/mo billed yearly Teams running several business-critical workflows. | StarterOur pick $129/mo, or $1,188/yr Teams processing a few dozen documents a day. | Process $150 per bot/mo, billed yearly Businesses running one key process all day without a person watching. | |
Business €667/mo billed yearly Larger teams that need SSO and version control, self-hosted. | Pro $499/mo, or $4,788/yr Operations teams with high volume. | Hosted Process $215 per bot/mo, billed yearly Teams that want the bot on a virtual machine Microsoft manages. | |
Enterprise Custom Companies that need an SLA and dedicated support. | Enterprise Custom Very high volume or custom contract terms. | ||
| Which plan to pick | If you have anyone technical on hand, self-host the Community Edition on a small server and pay nothing. Otherwise Starter on the cloud is the right place to begin, and 2,500 executions covers a lot when each run of a long workflow counts as one. | Use Free to prove it can read your documents, then pick the plan that matches your monthly page count. Starter is where the cost per page becomes reasonable; yearly billing knocks roughly a quarter off. | Start with what your Microsoft 365 plan already gives you. Most small offices never need more. Buy Premium only for the people whose flows need an app outside Microsoft's standard list. Process and Hosted Process are for bigger companies running bots around the clock. Prices vary by country. |
Key features
| Attribute | n8n | Parseur | Power Automate |
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Pros and cons
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | n8n | Parseur | Power Automate |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, n8n, Parseur or Power Automate?
n8n scores highest overall in our ratings (n8n 4.5/5, Parseur 4.1/5 and Power Automate 3.8/5). n8n is best for AI agents that act on email or chat and self-hosted automation. Parseur is best for order and booking emails into a spreadsheet and lead notification emails into a CRM. Power Automate is best for approvals that run through Teams or Outlook and filing email attachments into OneDrive or SharePoint.
Which is cheaper, n8n, Parseur or Power Automate?
n8n: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at €20/mo. Parseur: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $49/mo. Power Automate: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at Included in most business plans.
Which is easier to use, n8n, Parseur or Power Automate?
Parseur rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small businesses and operations teams that copy details from the same kinds of email or PDF into spreadsheets or other apps.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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