# Power Automate Alternative: Elaichi

> A Power Automate alternative for AI-first teams: Elaichi workflows, approvals, shared tables and dashboards, and what each costs.

**TL;DR** Elaichi is a Power Automate alternative that puts connectors, workflows, shared tables, dashboards and AI in one place, under one set of rules. Workflows and the rest come with the Black plan. Your team keeps the AI it already uses. That AI drafts a workflow. A test run tries it on real data with every write held back. A person approves the risky step in Elaichi or Slack. Power Automate is the stronger fit for desktop RPA, on-premises data and approvals inside Teams and Outlook.

Your company runs approvals and handoffs in Power Automate, while your people do much of their work in Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor. Elaichi is a Power Automate alternative built for that AI-first work. Workflows, collections, dashboards, knowledge bases and the Elaichi Agent come with the Black plan. Your team's own AI drafts and tests governed workflows, and a person approves the risky step.

This post compares the two on cloud flows, AI agents, data, governance, audit, approvals, hosting and price. It uses Microsoft's own [Power Automate pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate/pricing) and [Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/overview-cloud) pages, checked November 2026. It also says plainly where Power Automate is the better choice.

## Is Elaichi a Power Automate alternative?

Yes, for work that starts in an AI client and runs against cloud apps. Elaichi gives a team workflows, approvals, shared tables, dashboards, knowledge bases and the Elaichi Agent. All of it sits on one governed connector catalog.

Power Automate starts from a different place. Microsoft describes cloud flows as "automated workflows that connect your apps and services" ([cloud flows overview](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/overview-cloud), checked November 2026). Power Automate is built around the Microsoft 365 tenant, its makers and its environments.

## What does one place with any AI look like?

Elaichi keeps connectors, workflows, shared tables, dashboards, knowledge bases and AI in one workspace. One set of roles, restrictions, approvals and audit covers all of it. The team brings the AI it already uses.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the standard way an AI assistant calls tools in other apps. Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client signs in at one address, https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp. Each one reaches the same 650+ connectors.

The Elaichi Agent works beside them, in the app and in Slack. It runs on the team's own keys from providers such as Anthropic, OpenAI, Fireworks AI and OpenRouter, one key per provider. Workflow agent steps pick from the same models.

The pieces connect in a concrete chain:

- A workflow calls connected tools and adds or updates rows in a collection, a shared table.
- A dashboard charts that collection, or live data from a toolbox's read-only tools. A toolbox is a named list of tools.
- A knowledge base answers the team's questions.
- Any of those AIs builds, tests and reads all of it through the same operations.

Every connected-tool call meets the same restrictions. Elaichi checks them at every place a member can reach a connector or tool, including listing, connecting, advertising, executing, the final outbound-request check and opening a stored tool file. A workflow runs under its owner's restrictions. The audit log records where each call came from: the Agent, an MCP client, the API or the console. The bill is seats plus one usage allowance pooled across the workspace, and AI apps never take a seat.

Microsoft prices the agent side separately: "Power Automate cloud flows use Power Automate licensing, not Copilot Credits" ([Copilot Studio billing rates](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/requirements-messages-management), checked November 2026).

## How do Power Automate and Elaichi compare?

Power Automate goes deep into the Microsoft tenant, the Windows desktop and the on-premises network. Elaichi goes deep into AI clients, per-role access and per-call audit.

| Area | Power Automate | Elaichi |
|---|---|---|
| Workflows | Automated, instant and scheduled cloud flows | Workflows with up to five triggers of seven types: manual, cron, one-time schedule, webhook, Slack, collection row and another workflow's run |
| AI agent | Copilot in the flow designer; agents in Copilot Studio, billed in Copilot Credits | The Elaichi Agent in the app and in Slack, on the organization's own model keys |
| Tables and dashboards | Dataverse tables, used in Power Apps, Power Automate and Power BI | Collections (shared tables) and dashboards that chart a collection or live data from a connected app |
| Governance | Environments, data policies per tenant or environment, Managed Environments, tenant isolation | 58 permissions in roles, and restrictions on a role or one member that name connectors and single tools |
| Audit | Microsoft Purview logs flow creation, edits, deletion and permission changes | An audit entry for each connected-tool call that reaches execution, plus 30 days of run records |
| Approvals | Approvals connector, answered in Outlook, Teams or the action center | Approve steps answered by a person in Elaichi or Slack |
| Hosting | Microsoft cloud, desktop flows (RPA), hosted bots, on-premises data gateway | Elaichi's cloud, in an EU, US or APAC region chosen at creation |
| Connectors | More than 1,400 prebuilt, certified connectors | 650+ connectors, plus a team's own remote MCP servers |
| List price | $15 per user per month; $150 or $215 per bot per month; $0.60 per premium run pay-as-you-go, in preview | $24 per user per month, or $18 billed yearly, plus usage past a free monthly allowance |

Power Automate figures come from these Microsoft pages, all checked November 2026: [pricing page](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate/pricing), [product page](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate), [pay-as-you-go meters](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/pay-as-you-go-meters), [data policies](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/prevent-data-loss) and [Purview activity logs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/activity-logging-auditing/activity-logs-power-automate). Microsoft's yearly prices are "paid yearly". Its pricing page says prices "may not be reflective of actual list price" in every region. Elaichi prices are US-dollar list prices; [the pricing page](/pricing/) shows yours.

## How does a workflow run in Elaichi?

An Elaichi workflow runs as the person who owns it, with that person's access and restrictions. Triggers start it, steps call connected tools, and every run leaves a record a person can read.

A workflow takes up to five triggers. A cron trigger (a repeating schedule) fires at most every five minutes. A webhook trigger gets its own address, where another app sends a message when something happens. Elaichi checks each delivery by signature, token or HMAC (a signature made with a shared secret).

No trigger fires on an event inside a connected app; a webhook covers that. A workflow holds up to 50 steps, such as call_tool, branch, approve and agent.

The organization's restrictions on the owner apply for the whole run, not only at the start. Elaichi re-checks the owner about every minute. If the owner can no longer act, the run fails with owner_invalid and the workflow pauses.

Runs are kept for 30 days. Elaichi does not browse, search or fetch the web for a workflow. Every outside call goes through a connector.

Power Automate keeps run history for 30 days too. A run that waits longer than 30 days times out ([limits and configuration](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/limits-and-config), checked November 2026).

## How does your own AI build and test a workflow before it goes live?

The AI your team already uses drafts the workflow in Elaichi. A test run then proves it on real data before anything is published.

Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client does this over MCP. The Elaichi Agent can build, test and publish a workflow from a chat, in the app or in Slack. It asks the person before it publishes or turns anything on.

Each stage has its own MCP operation:

1. **Draft.** `elaichi__automation__draft__create` makes a new workflow as a draft.
2. **Validate.** `draft__validate` checks the definition without saving it.
3. **Test run.** `dry_run`, or "Test run (changes nothing)" in the console, runs the latest draft against real data.
4. **Publish.** `publish` turns the draft into a numbered version.
5. **Turn on.** `enable` starts its triggers.

In a test run, tools that only read run for real, as the person who starts the test. Tool calls that write, collection writes, knowledge writes and state writes are recorded as what would have been sent. A notify step sends nothing. An approve step reports what it would ask. The test costs no run time.

A webhook trigger that is still a draft already has its address. Deliveries to it are kept as samples, up to five for seven days. A test run can replay one as the payload.

Power Automate's Copilot builds flows from a prompt in the new designer. Microsoft notes it "supports only a subset of connectors" ([Copilot in cloud flows FAQ](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/faqs-copilot), checked November 2026). Its drafts and version history cover solution-aware flows only. Its FAQ answers "Can drafts be tested?" with "Not at this time" ([drafts and versioning](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/drafts-versioning), checked November 2026).

## Who approves a step, and where do they answer?

In Elaichi, a named person or team approves a step before it runs, in Elaichi or in Slack. The AI never approves its own work. No AI client, Agent or workflow can approve or reject.

An approve step asks named people or teams. It also asks the workflow's owner, unless the step leaves the owner out. The request shows on the Approvals page. In Slack, it carries Approve and Reject buttons only when no destructive step waits behind the request. Email carries a link to the console.

Power Automate's Approvals connector offers everyone-must-approve, first-to-respond, custom and sequential approvals. Approvers "can respond directly from an Outlook email, a Microsoft Teams adaptive card, or the Power Automate action center" ([approvals](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/get-started-approvals), checked November 2026).

## Where do shared tables, dashboards and knowledge live?

Elaichi keeps shared data in collections, charts it in dashboards and keeps team know-how in knowledge bases. All three sit in the console: Collections and Dashboards under Automate, and Knowledge under Connect.

A collection is a shared table, or a set of up to 20 tables. One collection holds up to 1,000,000 rows. A dashboard reads one of three sources:

- a collection
- a read-only tool from a toolbox, for live data from a connected app
- workflow runs

A collection widget is read for each viewer as that viewer. A public link shares a copy, not live access. Links stay off until an admin turns them on. Each link expires after 90 days by default.

A knowledge base holds short text documents that workflows and people search. A document a workflow writes is saved as untrusted. It stays that way until a person marks it reviewed in the console.

Power Automate's data store is Dataverse, where data "is stored within a set of tables" with role-based security. Dataverse data "can then be used in Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI" ([What is Dataverse](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/data-platform/data-platform-intro), checked November 2026).

## What does the Elaichi Agent do for the team?

The Elaichi Agent works inside Elaichi and in Slack, on the Black plan. It runs connected tools and builds workflows, collections and dashboards. It shows an approval card before a write.

In the console, the Agent opens from the "Agent" row at the top of the sidebar. In Slack, a team tags @Elaichi in a channel or a direct message. Before a write, the Agent shows an approval card with "Deny", "Allow once" and, when the action can be remembered, "Always allow".

A remembered "Always allow" skips the card next time. The organization's automatic-writes setting is off by default, and it skips the card only for Elaichi's own writes. Publishing or turning on a workflow asks every time and can never be remembered. The Agent cannot answer a workflow approval. It has no built-in web search or web fetch.

Copilot Studio meters agents in Copilot Credits. Microsoft sells a pack of 25,000 credits for $200 a month. Its pay-as-you-go meter is $0.01 per credit ([Copilot Studio pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/pricing/copilot-studio), [pay-as-you-go meters](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/pay-as-you-go-meters), checked November 2026). Agent flows there cost 13 credits per 100 actions ([billing rates](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/requirements-messages-management), checked November 2026).

## How are roles, restrictions and the audit log set?

Elaichi governs per role and per person. Roles hold permissions. Restrictions name which connectors and tools a role or one member may reach. The audit log records each connected-tool call.

Elaichi has 58 permissions, and each member holds one role. RBAC (role-based access control, where a role decides what a person may do) covers workflows too. A Member can publish the workflows they build. Reaching other people's workflows needs automation:manage.

A restriction targets a role or one member, never a team. A restricted person can file an access request from their client. Only a person in the console decides it. A rule aimed at a member can only narrow what their role allows, and never replaces or loosens a role rule. A role or restriction change takes effect within about two minutes. Removing a member works faster: removing or suspending a member revokes every live grant in the same transaction as the membership change.

The audit log (a record of who did what) keeps one entry for each connected-tool call that reaches execution (a call refused earlier writes none). Each entry names the person, the tool, the connection it reached, how it was approved and whether it worked. Elaichi keeps 90 days of audit history. On Elaichi, export to your own Datadog comes with the Black plan. Also, customer-managed keys in AWS KMS come with the Black plan.

Power Automate governs per tenant and per environment. Data policies sort connectors into Business, Non-business and Blocked groups. Microsoft says "Connectors in this group can't share data with connectors in other groups" ([manage data policies](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/prevent-data-loss), checked November 2026).

Purview audit covers flow lifecycle and permission events. Microsoft says those logs "don't include individual flow runs, action executions, and connector calls at runtime" ([Purview activity logs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/activity-logging-auditing/activity-logs-power-automate), checked November 2026).

## What does each one cost per user, per bot and per run?

The Black plan charges per user plus usage. Power Automate charges per user, per bot or per run, depending on the plan.

Black lists at $24 per user per month, or $18 per user per month billed yearly ($216 a year). A free monthly allowance of 1,000 run minutes and 1 GB-month of storage is pooled across the workspace. Past it, a run minute costs $0.02 and a GB-month (1 GB stored for a month) costs $5.

You pay per user, never for the AI apps working for them. Only working time counts. Waiting for a person or a timer is free, and test runs cost nothing.

Gold lists at $15 per user per month in USD, or $10 per user per month billed annually, without workflows or the Agent. The free trial is 14 days of Black with every feature on. These are US-dollar list prices; [the pricing page](/pricing/) shows the price for your country.

Microsoft lists Power Automate Premium at $15 per user per month. Process is $150 per bot per month, and Hosted Process is $215 per bot per month. Each is paid yearly ([pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate/pricing), checked November 2026).

Microsoft splits its connectors into standard and premium. Pay-as-you-go, in preview, charges $0.60 per premium cloud flow run and $3.00 per unattended desktop run. "Flows with standard connectors are excluded from charges" ([pay-as-you-go meters](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/pay-as-you-go-meters), checked November 2026).

## Where does Power Automate win outright?

Power Automate is the better choice when the work lives inside Microsoft 365, on a Windows desktop or on the company's own network. All five cases below come from Microsoft's pages, checked November 2026.

1. **Microsoft 365 bundling.** Microsoft 365 licenses "entitle the user to create and run cloud flows with standard connectors" ([license deep dive](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/power-automate-licensing/deep-dive-on-specific-license)). The Approvals connector is a standard connector.
2. **Approvals in Teams and Outlook.** Approvers answer from an Outlook email or a Teams adaptive card ([approvals](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/get-started-approvals)).
3. **Desktop flows.** Robotic process automation (RPA) automates "legacy applications, such as terminal emulators" that have no API ([desktop flows](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/desktop-flows/introduction)).
4. **On-premises data.** The on-premises data gateway lets a company "keep databases and other data sources on their on-premises networks" and use them in flows ([gateway](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/gateway-reference)).
5. **Entra-native governance.** Every environment sits under a Microsoft Entra tenant, Microsoft's sign-in and identity layer. Tenant isolation restricts cross-tenant connections for Entra-based connectors ([tenant isolation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/cross-tenant-restrictions)).

If most of your next workflows fit those five, stay on Power Automate. Elaichi reaches apps through its connectors and through remote MCP servers a team brings.

## Switch to Elaichi if these hold

Switch to Elaichi when your people work in AI clients and those clients must run governed workflows. If most of these are true, Elaichi is the better fit:

- Your team works in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another MCP client, and you want that AI to draft and test workflows itself.
- You need a test run on real data, with every write held back, before a workflow goes live.
- An approval must come from a named person, never from the AI, and Slack is where your team answers.
- Access is decided per role and per person, down to a single tool, and changes reach a running workflow.
- You need an audit entry for each connected-tool call, naming the person, tool and connection.
- You want connectors, workflows, tables, dashboards and AI under one set of rules and one bill.

Every new workspace starts on the Black plan itself, free for 14 days, with no credit card. Every Black feature is on: workflows, collections, dashboards, knowledge bases and the Elaichi Agent. During the trial, the free usage allowance is a hard stop. A workspace that buys nothing moves to the free Personal plan, with nothing deleted. A paid Gold workspace upgrades to Black in place, from Settings.

[Start the trial](https://app.elaichi.ai/signup), then build your first workflow from your own AI client.

For the full plan, read [what comes with the Black plan](/blog/elaichi-black-plan/). See [how Elaichi workflows run](/blog/elaichi-workflows/) step by step. For the Microsoft agent side, compare [Copilot Studio with an MCP gateway](/blog/copilot-studio-vs-mcp-gateway/). Browse [the connector catalog](/connectors/) to check your apps.

## FAQ

### Is Elaichi a Power Automate alternative?

For work that starts in an AI client, yes. Elaichi runs workflows on a schedule, a webhook, a Slack message or a change to a shared table. A person answers each approval in Elaichi or in Slack. The Black plan also has shared tables, dashboards and the Elaichi Agent. Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client can draft and test those workflows. Power Automate fits better for desktop RPA, on-premises data and approvals inside Teams and Outlook (Microsoft's Power Automate docs, checked November 2026).

### How much does Elaichi cost compared with Power Automate Premium?

The Black plan lists at $24 per user per month in US dollars, or $18 billed yearly. Usage past a free 1,000 run minutes and 1 GB-month of storage a month is extra. Microsoft lists Power Automate Premium at $15 per user per month, paid yearly. Power Automate Process is $150 per bot per month, paid yearly (Microsoft's pricing page, checked November 2026). The units differ, so price your own users, bots and runs.

### Can an AI approve its own workflow step in Elaichi?

No. Only a person can answer an Elaichi approval request. No AI client, no Elaichi Agent and no workflow can approve or reject one. The request goes to named people or teams. They answer on the Approvals page in Elaichi or in Slack, and email carries a link to the console.

### Does a test run in Elaichi send anything to my apps?

No write is sent. A test run reads for real and holds every write back. Tools that only read run against real data, as the person who starts the test. Tool calls that write, collection writes and knowledge writes are recorded as what would have been sent. A notify step sends nothing, and the test costs no run time.

## Read next

- [Copilot Studio vs MCP gateway for company apps](/blog/copilot-studio-vs-mcp-gateway/) — Copilot Studio vs MCP gateway: where each one puts the rules about which company app an AI client may reach, and who gets to write them.
- [Microsoft Copilot vs Claude for company apps](/blog/microsoft-copilot-vs-claude-for-company-apps/) — Microsoft Copilot vs Claude is rarely a real choice: one indexes company records for search, the other calls apps live over MCP. Here is what that means for IT.
- [Zapier MCP alternative for a whole company](/blog/zapier-mcp-alternative/) — Elaichi is a Zapier MCP alternative: one organization endpoint with role restrictions and an audit log. What each costs, and when Zapier fits.