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Is Power Automate included in Microsoft 365? What your plan covers in 2026

Short answer: yes, for much of what most businesses need. Here's where the line is, and what's licensed separately.

By Nate BriscoPublished 3 minute read

What's included

Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium, along with the enterprise E3 and E5 plans, include Power Apps and Power Automate "for Microsoft 365." In practice that covers:

  • Apps and cloud flows that use standard connectors, including SharePoint, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and Excel Online
  • Approvals in Teams and Outlook
  • Scheduled and automated flows, like reminders, digests, and file handling
  • Power Apps that save to SharePoint lists

That's enough for a large share of everyday business processes: request forms, approvals, notifications, and trackers.

What needs a premium license

You need a premium license when a solution uses:

  • Premium connectors, such as SQL Server or calling another system's web API over HTTP
  • Custom connectors to systems Microsoft doesn't support out of the box
  • On-premises data reached through a data gateway
  • Dataverse, Microsoft's business database (except the limited Dataverse for Teams)
  • Desktop flows that automate older applications without connectors

As of October 2026, Microsoft lists Power Apps Premium at $20 per user per month and Power Automate Premium at $15 per user per month, both with an annual commitment. Power Automate Process, for unattended automation, is $150 per bot per month.

What about Power BI?

Power BI Desktop, the tool for building reports, is free. Sharing reports with colleagues requires Power BI Pro at $14 per user per month, which is included only in Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5. Power BI Premium Per User is $24 per user per month.

How to plan your licensing

  • Design around standard connectors first. SharePoint lists handle most everyday business data needs well.
  • Use premium where it matters. Microsoft's multiplexing rules apply: if a premium flow serves many people, each of them generally needs a premium license, or the flow needs its own Power Automate Process license. Keep premium features to the processes that truly need them, and check your specific case.
  • Check what you already own. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Billing, then Your products, to see every plan on your account.

Microsoft changes plan names and prices often. Recent plan versions include "with Copilot" editions, so confirm current details before you buy. For Copilot itself, see Microsoft Copilot licensing in plain English.

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