{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "node-red", "name": "Node-RED", "vendor": "OpenJS Foundation", "vendorUrl": "https://nodered.org", "kind": "http-api", "category": "workflow-automation", "summary": "Node-RED is an open-source flow-based automation runtime hosted by the OpenJS Foundation. The owner runs it on Node.js, and an Admin HTTP API and a command-line client deploy flows and install nodes.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/node-red", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/node-red.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/node-red.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/node-red.json", "repo": "https://github.com/node-red/node-red", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "node-red" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "node-red-admin" }, { "registry": "oci", "name": "nodered/node-red" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "A default install has no authentication. Setting `adminAuth` in `settings.js` turns on users with bcrypt-hashed passwords and permissions of `*`, `read` or a list such as `flows.read`. An agent then posts the username and password to `/auth/token` for a bearer token, valid seven days by default with no refresh. Access is self-serve, by running the software. Routes made by HTTP In nodes share one basic-auth username and password.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under Apache-2.0 with nothing to buy from the project, so an agent can start with no account, card or contract. FlowFuse, a separate company, sells a hosted platform for Node-RED that the docs link, and it is not graded here (https://nodered.org/about/license/, checked 2026-10-09).", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or the source. The project sells nothing (checked 2026-10-09).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 23729, "npmWeekly": 55172, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-09" }, "docsUrl": "https://nodered.org/docs/api/admin/", "capabilities": [ "automation.workflows", "automation.webhooks", "automation.code", "automation.apps" ], "tags": [ "self-hosted", "open-source", "local", "free", "javascript", "webhooks", "cli", "docker" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-08", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 61, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 486, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 5, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 44, "maintenance": 81, "payments": 60, "reliability": 90, "schema": 41, "security": 51, "transparency": 65 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-09" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Node-RED's Admin HTTP API covers flows, nodes and settings in 20 documented methods, with read and write permissions per resource and a revision check on deploys. It has no OpenAPI file, no pagination and no SDK, and a default install accepts API calls from anyone who can reach port 1880.", "bestFor": "Owners who want event-driven flows on their own machine or device, with a large library of community nodes, and an agent that deploys or edits flows as JSON.", "strengths": [ "Apache-2.0, with 12 releases between 30 July and 8 October 2026 on the 5.x and 4.x lines", "Admin API permissions are per resource, such as `flows.read` and `flows.write`, and a user or token can be limited to `read`", "`POST /flows` with `Node-RED-API-Version: v2` takes a `rev` value and answers 409 when the runtime holds newer flows", "Usage telemetry is opt-in, lists the four fields sent, and can be switched off in settings, by flag or by environment variable", "A release plan gives each major version a maintenance start and an end-of-life date, with 4.x ending on 31 December 2026" ], "weaknesses": [ "No OpenAPI file, `llms.txt` or SDK. The Admin API is documented as 20 hand-written pages on nodered.org", "`adminAuth` is commented out in the default settings file, so a fresh install has no authentication on the editor or the Admin API", "No pagination, filtering or field selection. `GET /flows` returns the whole flow configuration", "Access tokens come from a username and password grant, last seven days by default and cannot be refreshed", "Routes for context, plugins, library and projects exist in the source and are missing from the published method list" ], "agentNotes": [ "Call `GET /auth/login` first. An empty object means no authentication is set and every Admin API call is open", "Send `Node-RED-API-Version: v2` and the last `rev` on `POST /flows`, and re-read the flows on a 409", "Set `Node-RED-Deployment-Type` to `nodes` or `flows` to restart only what changed. The default `full` stops every node", "Prefer `GET /flow/:id` and `PUT /flow/:id` for one tab. `GET /flows` returns every node in the runtime", "Treat `flows.write` and `nodes.write` as code execution on the host. Function nodes run JavaScript and `POST /nodes` installs npm modules" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 61 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 44, "maintenance": 81, "payments": 60, "reliability": 90, "schema": 41, "security": 51, "transparency": 85 }, "provenanceScore": 45 }, "connect": { "install": "sudo npm install -g node-red", "http": "curl http://localhost:1880/auth/token --data 'client_id=node-red-admin\u0026grant_type=password\u0026scope=*\u0026username=admin\u0026password=password'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/automation.workflows", "tool": "https://letme.dev/node-red" }, "area": "business", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "OpenJS Foundation", "domain": "nodered.org", "domainRegistered": "2013-09-12", "endpointOnVendorDomain": false, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/node-red/node-red/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-09", "notes": [ "The licence page on nodered.org says copyright is retained by the OpenJS Foundation, and the site footer reads Copyright OpenJS Foundation and Node-RED contributors.", "No terms or privacy link is given. Node-RED is Apache-2.0 software the owner runs, and the project publishes no service agreement or privacy policy of its own. The site footer links the OpenJS Foundation's terms of use and privacy policy, which are a parent body's website documents and were not read.", "The Admin API answers on the owner's own host, by default http://localhost:1880. Only the opt-in telemetry report goes to an endpoint the project hosts.", "https://nodered.org/.well-known/security.txt returns 404. SECURITY.md in the repository gives team@nodered.org and escalation to the OpenJS Foundation CNA.", "RDAP for nodered.org gives a registration date of 2013-09-12. The lookup through rdap.org was redirected to the registry's RDAP host.", "nodered.org has no robots.txt (404). No status page exists because there is no hosted service." ], "score": 45 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/node-red.json", "live": { "slug": "node-red", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "node-red/node-red", "version": "5.0.8", "released": "2026-10-08", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:08:22.991909994Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "node-red", "version": "5.0.8", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:08:20.781082858Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "node-red-admin", "version": "4.1.8", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:08:21.396260251Z" } ], "githubStars": 23730, "npmWeekly": 55172, "pages": [ { "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/node-red/main/CHANGELOG.md", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:45:37.181546944Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "4223a5392d5c" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T18:45:37.181546944Z" } }, "answer": "Microsoft Power Automate scores 62 (B) on agent readiness against Node-RED's 61 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Node-RED leads on reliability, payments \u0026 pricing and maintenance \u0026 community.", "b": { "slug": "power-automate", "name": "Microsoft Power Automate", "vendor": "Microsoft", "vendorUrl": "https://www.microsoft.com/power-platform/products/power-automate", "kind": "http-api", "category": "workflow-automation", "summary": "Microsoft's workflow builder for cloud flows across Microsoft 365, Dataverse and third-party connectors. Outside agents list, create, update and delete solution-aware flows through the Dataverse Web API, and start a flow through its HTTP request trigger.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/power-automate", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/power-automate.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/power-automate.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/power-automate.json", "license": "Proprietary service under the Microsoft Product Terms for Microsoft Power Platform", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "nuget", "name": "Microsoft.PowerPlatform.Dataverse.Client" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "PowerPlatform-Dataverse-Client" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "OAuth 2.0 through Microsoft Entra ID for flow management. A person registers an app in the tenant and an administrator creates an application user with a Dataverse security role, or a user signs in with delegated access. The read-only Power Platform API takes a token for `https://api.powerplatform.com` with `.default`. A flow's HTTP request trigger has three modes. Any user in my tenant (the default for new flows) and Specific users in my tenant take an Entra bearer token with audience `https://service.flow.microsoft.com/`, and the second can name service principal object IDs. The legacy Anyone mode needs only the trigger URL, which carries a shared access signature as `sig=`. No API-key path for management.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Power Automate Premium is $15 a user a month, Process $150 a bot a month and Hosted Process $215 a bot a month, all paid yearly, per the pricing page. API calls carry no separate charge and count against daily Power Platform request allowances (40,000 per Premium user, 250,000 per Process licence, a 25,000 tenant pool for unlicensed service principals). A flow owned by a service principal that uses premium connectors needs a Process licence or a designated licensed co-owner. To start without a contract there is a Free licence limited to standard connectors, a self-serve 90-day trial, and the Power Apps Developer Plan with a free Dataverse environment and 750 flow runs a month. Card requirements were not stated (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "$15 / seat-mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the Power Automate code docs, the Power Platform API reference or the pricing page (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": 10702, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/manage-flows-with-code", "capabilities": [ "automation.workflows", "automation.apps", "automation.webhooks" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "official", "oauth", "enterprise", "odata", "dotnet", "python", "closed-source", "sla", "audit-log", "freemium", "webhooks" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-02", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 62, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 447, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 3, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 69, "maintenance": 76, "payments": 25, "reliability": 63, "schema": 68, "security": 61, "transparency": 76 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Cloud flows in a solution are rows an agent can read and write through the Dataverse Web API under Entra ID OAuth and security roles, with published limits and a 99.9 per cent SLA. Flows under My flows can't be managed in code, a flow's body is one hand-built JSON string, and setup needs a tenant administrator.", "bestFor": "Organisations already on Microsoft 365 and Dataverse that want an agent to inventory, deploy or adjust flows inside existing roles and solutions.", "strengths": [ "Solution-aware cloud flows are rows in the Dataverse `workflows` table, with documented list, create, update, delete, share, export and import calls", "Service protection limits are published (6,000 requests per user in five minutes) and 429 responses carry `Retry-After`", "The SLA of 1 October 2026 pays a 25 per cent credit below 99.9 per cent uptime for Power Automate", "Each run of a solution flow is a `flowruns` row with status, error code and message, kept 28 days by default", "A service principal can own flows, and new HTTP request triggers default to callers signed in to the tenant" ], "weaknesses": [ "Flows under My flows can't be managed in code, and Microsoft calls the `api.flow.microsoft.com` API unsupported", "A flow's definition travels as `clientdata`, one string of encoded JSON with connection references the caller builds by hand", "No documented call runs, cancels or resubmits a flow. Starting one means an HTTP request trigger built into the flow", "The legacy Anyone trigger mode carries its signature in the URL query string as `sig=`", "Power Automate's own released versions page stops at version 2508.2 of August 2025, and service health needs an admin sign-in" ], "agentNotes": [ "Filter `workflows` on `category eq 5` for cloud flows, and add `$select`, because `clientdata` holds the whole definition", "Flows created through the API start with `statecode` 0 (off). The docs say to turn the flow on before use", "Put the flow in a solution first. Flows that sit only under My flows are outside the supported API", "On 429 wait the `Retry-After` seconds. Reads of `flowruns` count against the daily Power Platform request allowance", "Treat an HTTP trigger URL with `sig=` as a secret, and prefer the tenant or named-user trigger modes with a bearer token for `https://service.flow.microsoft.com/`" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 62 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 69, "maintenance": 76, "payments": 25, "reliability": 63, "schema": 68, "security": 61, "transparency": 62 }, "provenanceScore": 89 }, "connect": { "http": "curl \"https://$DATAVERSE_ORG.api.crm.dynamics.com/api/data/v9.2/workflows?\\$filter=category%20eq%205%20and%20statecode%20eq%201\u0026\\$select=name,workflowid,statecode\u0026\\$top=5\" \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $DATAVERSE_ACCESS_TOKEN\" \\\n -H \"Accept: application/json\" \\\n -H \"OData-MaxVersion: 4.0\" \\\n -H \"OData-Version: 4.0\"" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/automation.workflows", "tool": "https://letme.dev/power-automate" }, "sameCompany": [ "azure-foundry-fine-tuning", "azure-ai-content-safety", "azure-speech-to-text", "azure-text-to-speech", "microsoft-agent-framework", "microsoft-execution-containers", "microsoft-entra-agent-id", "azure-key-vault", "azure-document-intelligence", "azure-devops-mcp", "microsoft-learn-mcp", "playwright-mcp", "azure-mcp", "azure-maps", "azure-translator", "microsoft-graph-calendar", "azure-blob-storage", "onedrive-sharepoint", "microsoft-teams", "dynamics-365-sales", "foundry-local", "microsoft-advertising-api", "microsoft-excel-graph", "outlook-mail-graph" ], "area": "business", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Power Automate Premium", "unit": "seat-month", "usd": 15, "note": "paid yearly, 40,000 Power Platform requests a day" }, { "item": "Power Automate Process", "unit": "month", "usd": 150, "note": "per bot, paid yearly, 250,000 actions a day for one flow or a flow group" }, { "item": "Power Automate Hosted Process", "unit": "month", "usd": 215, "note": "per bot, paid yearly, with a Microsoft-hosted virtual machine" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Microsoft Corporation", "domain": "microsoft.com", "domainRegistered": "1991-05-02", "domainNote": "The management API answers on a dynamics.com host such as https://\u003corg\u003e.api.crm.dynamics.com, flow trigger URLs on logic.azure.com and the inventory API on api.powerplatform.com, all Microsoft domains. microsoft.com publishes a security.txt, but it passed its Expires date on 2026-09-23.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/productoffering/MicrosoftPowerPlatform/MCA", "privacy": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement", "statusPage": "https://status.cloud.microsoft", "changelog": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/released-versions/Microsoft-Dataverse", "securityTxt": "expired", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The terms link is the Microsoft Product Terms page for Microsoft Power Platform under the Microsoft Customer Agreement, which names Power Automate Premium, Process and Hosted Process. It showed no effective date.", "The Microsoft privacy statement was last updated in September 2026 and says customer agreements control for enterprise and developer products. Customer data is governed by the Products and Services Data Protection Addendum, published as a .docx download, which we did not read.", "www.microsoft.com/.well-known/security.txt carries Expires 2026-09-23T16:00:00.000Z when read on 2026-10-08, with MSRC as the contact.", "status.cloud.microsoft rendered only a title for our reader. Tenant service health is in the Power Platform and Microsoft 365 admin centres behind an admin sign-in.", "The changelog link is the weekly Dataverse service update page, because flow management runs on Dataverse. Power Automate's own released versions page (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/released-versions/power-automate) lists nothing after version 2508.2 of August 2025.", "RDAP for microsoft.com gives a registration date of 1991-05-02. dynamics.com, azure.com and powerplatform.com were not looked up." ], "score": 89 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/power-automate.json", "live": { "slug": "power-automate", "versions": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "PowerPlatform-Dataverse-Client", "version": "1.1.0", "released": "2026-10-07", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:14:24.630531053Z" } ], "pypiWeekly": 11057, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://microsoft.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "expired", "expires": "2026-09-23T16:00:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:40:16.790821018Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/released-versions/Microsoft-Dataverse", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:41:19.805144047Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "feb16a164566" }, { "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/productoffering/MicrosoftPowerPlatform/MCA", "kind": "terms", "status": 502, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:52:24.060666925Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T18:52:24.060666925Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "OpenJS Foundation", "b": "Microsoft", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Apache-2.0", "b": "Proprietary service under the Microsoft Product Terms for Microsoft Power Platform", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-08", "b": "2026-10-02", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-09-01", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "24k stars, 55k npm/wk", "b": "11k PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Microsoft Power Automate scores 62 (B) on agent readiness against Node-RED's 61 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Node-RED leads on reliability, payments \u0026 pricing and maintenance \u0026 community.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Node-RED or Microsoft Power Automate?" }, { "answer": "Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Node-RED and Microsoft Power Automate need an API key?" }, { "answer": "No hosted endpoint is listed for Node-RED. No hosted endpoint is listed for Microsoft Power Automate.", "question": "Can an agent call Node-RED and Microsoft Power Automate without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "Node-RED is open source (Apache-2.0). No open-source release is listed for Microsoft Power Automate.", "question": "Are Node-RED and Microsoft Power Automate open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 90 against 63", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 25", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 81 against 76" ], "also": [ "Open source" ], "goodFor": "Owners who want event-driven flows on their own machine or device, with a large library of community nodes, and an agent that deploys or edits flows as JSON.", "slug": "node-red", "watchFor": "No OpenAPI file, `llms.txt` or SDK. The Admin API is documented as 20 hand-written pages on nodered.org" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 68 against 41", "Agent ergonomics, 69 against 44", "Security \u0026 auth, 61 against 51", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 76 against 65" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Organisations already on Microsoft 365 and Dataverse that want an agent to inventory, deploy or adjust flows inside existing roles and solutions.", "slug": "power-automate", "watchFor": "Flows under My flows can't be managed in code, and Microsoft calls the `api.flow.microsoft.com` API unsupported" } ], "job": { "capability": "automation.workflows", "name": "Workflow automation" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/activepieces-vs-node-red.json", "title": "Activepieces API + MCP vs Node-RED", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/activepieces-vs-node-red" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/activepieces-vs-power-automate.json", "title": "Activepieces API + MCP vs Microsoft Power Automate", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/activepieces-vs-power-automate" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gumloop-vs-node-red.json", "title": "Gumloop vs Node-RED", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gumloop-vs-node-red" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gumloop-vs-power-automate.json", "title": "Gumloop vs Microsoft Power Automate", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gumloop-vs-power-automate" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-node-red.json", "title": "Kestra vs Node-RED", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-node-red" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-power-automate.json", "title": "Kestra vs Microsoft Power Automate", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-power-automate" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/make-vs-node-red.json", "title": "Make API + MCP vs Node-RED", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/make-vs-node-red" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/make-vs-power-automate.json", "title": "Make API + MCP vs Microsoft Power Automate", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/make-vs-power-automate" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-node-red.json", "title": "n8n API + MCP vs Node-RED", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-node-red" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-power-automate.json", "title": "n8n API + MCP vs Microsoft Power Automate", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-power-automate" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-paragon.json", "title": "Node-RED vs Paragon ActionKit + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-paragon" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-pipedream.json", "title": "Node-RED vs Pipedream API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-pipedream" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-prismatic.json", "title": "Node-RED vs Prismatic", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-prismatic" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-tray.json", "title": "Node-RED vs Tray.ai API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-tray" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-windmill.json", "title": "Node-RED vs Windmill API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-windmill" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-workato.json", "title": "Node-RED vs Workato API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-workato" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paragon-vs-power-automate.json", "title": "Paragon ActionKit + MCP vs Microsoft Power Automate", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paragon-vs-power-automate" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipedream-vs-power-automate.json", "title": "Pipedream API + MCP vs Microsoft Power Automate", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipedream-vs-power-automate" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-prismatic.json", "title": "Microsoft Power Automate vs Prismatic", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-prismatic" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-tray.json", "title": "Microsoft Power Automate vs Tray.ai API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-tray" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-windmill.json", "title": "Microsoft Power Automate vs Windmill API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-windmill" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-workato.json", "title": "Microsoft Power Automate vs Workato API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-workato" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 27, "edge": "node-red", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "node-red": 90, "power-automate": 63, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 27, "edge": "power-automate", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "node-red": 41, "power-automate": 68, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 25, "edge": "power-automate", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "node-red": 44, "power-automate": 69, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 10, "edge": "power-automate", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "node-red": 51, "power-automate": 61, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 35, "edge": "node-red", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "node-red": 60, "power-automate": 25, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 5, "edge": "node-red", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "node-red": 81, "power-automate": 76, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 11, "edge": "power-automate", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "node-red": 65, "power-automate": 76, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Microsoft Power Automate scores 62 (B) on agent readiness against Node-RED's 61 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Node-RED leads on reliability, payments \u0026 pricing and maintenance \u0026 community. Both do workflow automation.", "verdicts": { "node-red": "Node-RED's Admin HTTP API covers flows, nodes and settings in 20 documented methods, with read and write permissions per resource and a revision check on deploys. It has no OpenAPI file, no pagination and no SDK, and a default install accepts API calls from anyone who can reach port 1880.", "power-automate": "Cloud flows in a solution are rows an agent can read and write through the Dataverse Web API under Entra ID OAuth and security roles, with published limits and a 99.9 per cent SLA. Flows under My flows can't be managed in code, a flow's body is one hand-built JSON string, and setup needs a tenant administrator." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-power-automate", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-power-automate.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-power-automate.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-power-automate.min.md" }, "markdown": "Microsoft Power Automate scores 62 (B) on agent readiness against Node-RED's 61 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Node-RED leads on reliability, payments \u0026 pricing and maintenance \u0026 community. Both do workflow automation.\n\n- Node-RED: grade C, 61/100, rank #486 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/node-red.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/node-red.json\n- Microsoft Power Automate: grade B, 62/100, rank #447 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/power-automate.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/power-automate.json\n- Best workflow automation platforms with APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/workflow-automation/index.md\n- All 108 workflows comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/workflow-automation/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Node-RED (C)\n\nGood for: Owners who want event-driven flows on their own machine or device, with a large library of community nodes, and an agent that deploys or edits flows as JSON.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 90 against 63\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 25\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 81 against 76\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: No OpenAPI file, `llms.txt` or SDK. The Admin API is documented as 20 hand-written pages on nodered.org\n\n### Microsoft Power Automate (B)\n\nGood for: Organisations already on Microsoft 365 and Dataverse that want an agent to inventory, deploy or adjust flows inside existing roles and solutions.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 68 against 41\n- Agent ergonomics, 69 against 44\n- Security \u0026 auth, 61 against 51\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 76 against 65\n\nWatch for: Flows under My flows can't be managed in code, and Microsoft calls the `api.flow.microsoft.com` API unsupported\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Node-RED | Microsoft Power Automate | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 90 | 63 | Node-RED +27 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 41 | 68 | Microsoft Power Automate +27 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 44 | 69 | Microsoft Power Automate +25 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 51 | 61 | Microsoft Power Automate +10 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 25 | Node-RED +35 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 81 | 76 | Node-RED +5 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 76 | Microsoft Power Automate +11 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **61 · C** | **62 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Node-RED | Microsoft Power Automate |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | OpenJS Foundation | Microsoft |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Free | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Proprietary service under the Microsoft Product Terms for Microsoft Power Platform |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | no |\n| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-02 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-01 |\n| Customer content may train models | | yes |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | 24k stars, 55k npm/wk | 11k PyPI/wk |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Node-RED.** Node-RED's Admin HTTP API covers flows, nodes and settings in 20 documented methods, with read and write permissions per resource and a revision check on deploys. It has no OpenAPI file, no pagination and no SDK, and a default install accepts API calls from anyone who can reach port 1880.\n\n**Microsoft Power Automate.** Cloud flows in a solution are rows an agent can read and write through the Dataverse Web API under Entra ID OAuth and security roles, with published limits and a 99.9 per cent SLA. Flows under My flows can't be managed in code, a flow's body is one hand-built JSON string, and setup needs a tenant administrator.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Node-RED\n\n1. Call `GET /auth/login` first. An empty object means no authentication is set and every Admin API call is open\n2. Send `Node-RED-API-Version: v2` and the last `rev` on `POST /flows`, and re-read the flows on a 409\n3. Set `Node-RED-Deployment-Type` to `nodes` or `flows` to restart only what changed. The default `full` stops every node\n4. Prefer `GET /flow/:id` and `PUT /flow/:id` for one tab. `GET /flows` returns every node in the runtime\n5. Treat `flows.write` and `nodes.write` as code execution on the host. Function nodes run JavaScript and `POST /nodes` installs npm modules\n\n### Microsoft Power Automate\n\n1. Filter `workflows` on `category eq 5` for cloud flows, and add `$select`, because `clientdata` holds the whole definition\n2. Flows created through the API start with `statecode` 0 (off). The docs say to turn the flow on before use\n3. Put the flow in a solution first. Flows that sit only under My flows are outside the supported API\n4. On 429 wait the `Retry-After` seconds. Reads of `flowruns` count against the daily Power Platform request allowance\n5. Treat an HTTP trigger URL with `sig=` as a secret, and prefer the tenant or named-user trigger modes with a bearer token for `https://service.flow.microsoft.com/`\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Node-RED or Microsoft Power Automate?\n\nMicrosoft Power Automate scores 62 (B) on agent readiness against Node-RED's 61 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Node-RED leads on reliability, payments \u0026 pricing and maintenance \u0026 community.\n\n### Do Node-RED and Microsoft Power Automate need an API key?\n\nBoth take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Node-RED and Microsoft Power Automate without installing anything?\n\nNo hosted endpoint is listed for Node-RED. No hosted endpoint is listed for Microsoft Power Automate.\n\n### Are Node-RED and Microsoft Power Automate open source?\n\nNode-RED is open source (Apache-2.0). No open-source release is listed for Microsoft Power Automate.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-power-automate.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-power-automate.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"node-red\", \"b\": \"power-automate\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare node-red power-automate`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/node-red.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/power-automate.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Node-RED or Microsoft Power Automate\n\n- [Activepieces API + MCP vs Node-RED](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/activepieces-vs-node-red.md)\n- [Activepieces API + MCP vs Microsoft Power Automate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/activepieces-vs-power-automate.md)\n- [Gumloop vs Node-RED](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gumloop-vs-node-red.md)\n- [Gumloop vs Microsoft Power Automate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gumloop-vs-power-automate.md)\n- [Kestra vs Node-RED](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-node-red.md)\n- [Kestra vs Microsoft Power Automate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-power-automate.md)\n- [Make API + MCP vs Node-RED](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/make-vs-node-red.md)\n- [Make API + MCP vs Microsoft Power Automate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/make-vs-power-automate.md)\n- [n8n API + MCP vs Node-RED](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-node-red.md)\n- [n8n API + MCP vs Microsoft Power Automate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-power-automate.md)\n- [Node-RED vs Paragon ActionKit + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-paragon.md)\n- [Node-RED vs Pipedream API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-pipedream.md)\n- [Node-RED vs Prismatic](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-prismatic.md)\n- [Node-RED vs Tray.ai API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-tray.md)\n- [Node-RED vs Windmill API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-windmill.md)\n- [Node-RED vs Workato API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-workato.md)\n- [Paragon ActionKit + MCP vs Microsoft Power Automate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paragon-vs-power-automate.md)\n- [Pipedream API + MCP vs Microsoft Power Automate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipedream-vs-power-automate.md)\n- [Microsoft Power Automate vs Prismatic](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-prismatic.md)\n- [Microsoft Power Automate vs Tray.ai API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-tray.md)\n- [Microsoft Power Automate vs Windmill API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-windmill.md)\n- [Microsoft Power Automate vs Workato API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/power-automate-vs-workato.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-10", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Node-RED vs Microsoft Power Automate", "url": "" } ], "description": "Microsoft Power Automate scores 62 (B) to Node-RED's 61 (C) for workflow automation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Node-RED C 61", "Microsoft Power Automate B 62", "scores" ], "h1": "Node-RED vs Microsoft Power Automate", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-node-red-vs-power-automate.png", "path": "/compare/node-red-vs-power-automate", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Node-RED vs Microsoft Power Automate for AI agents (2026)", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/node-red-vs-power-automate" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2500, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }