Resource / Comparison
Power Automate is often the right first choice for simple flows in Microsoft 365. Custom automation pays off when the flow spans many systems, needs AI judgment, or must run with full control. Here is the honest comparison.
Last updated: September 18, 2026
Notifications, approvals, simple flows between Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and Excel, and connections to hundreds of standard services - without writing code. For a business already living in Microsoft 365, the threshold is low and early wins come fast.
Complex branching, advanced error handling, AI assessment of documents and images, tight logging and versioning, or flows across line-of-business systems without good connectors. Click-built flows then grow fragile, costly to change, and hard to debug.
We do not build Power Automate solutions. Recommending the tool anyway when it fits loses us an assignment but keeps trust. Send your flow and we will honestly say whether it belongs in Power Automate, in custom code - or in a combination.
In practice: Power Automate for notifications and simple connections, custom services where AI, heavy integrations, or strict operations are required. The point is never the tool - it is that the flow gets faster, safer, and measurable.
Answer this and you will see where the flow belongs.
Does the flow stay inside Microsoft 365, or span line-of-business systems?
Is AI interpretation of text, documents, or images needed along the way?
What happens on error - and who must approve?
How often does the flow change, and who changes it?
Who monitors, logs, and debugs when something stops?
See Aprex's workflow automation service.
Often yes, for simple Microsoft 365 flows. Send a flow example to post@aprex.no - we will honestly say so even when the answer is that you do not need us.
Licenses versus development hours - but total price is set by change needs and operations over time. A fragile click-flow needing constant fixes soon costs more than code.
Yes, and it is often the best solution: standard flows where they hold, own API services where AI, logging, or complex integrations are required.
No, we build custom. But we openly recommend Power Automate when it fits the case - ask us for an honest assessment.
This page recommends a Microsoft product we do not sell, where it fits. The reason is simple: advice you can trust brings customers you can keep.
Describe the flow and the systems. We answer honestly - even if the answer is Power Automate.
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