10 Business Process Automation Tools (2026)

These ten tools repeat a business process. Most of them connect apps. Elyx is the row for a process that is already an Excel file. It does not replace a flow between apps.

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Elyx, an AI agent inside Excel.

Summary

1. Microsoft Power Automate

• A cloud flow can start from a form, a file, or a schedule, then act in another Microsoft 365 app.
• The Excel Online (Business) connector adds or reads rows in a workbook on OneDrive for Business or SharePoint.
• A file that exists only on your desktop is outside that connector.

2. Zapier

• A Zap runs when something happens in one app and then updates another.
• The Excel connector needs a paid Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise account and a cloud .xlsx file.
• Confirm the current plan on Zapier's site. This page does not state a price.

3. Make

• Make (formerly Integromat) connects apps in a visual scenario you can rerun.
• A scenario can update a cloud Excel workbook as one step.
• Confirm the current offer on Make's site. This page does not state a price.

4. UiPath

• UiPath is robotic process automation. A robot can read and write Excel as one step.
• The robot runs outside the Excel window, which suits a process that also clicks through other desktop apps.
• You maintain the robot. Check the current offer on UiPath's site.

5. n8n

• n8n connects apps in a workflow you can host yourself or run on n8n Cloud.
• A workflow can include a spreadsheet step. Confirm the current Excel node on n8n's site.
• Check the license and the price on n8n's site. This page does not state them.

6. Workato

• Workato connects business apps with recipes. Excel can be one of those apps when the connector is on your account.
• It is built for a company-wide process, not for a one-off edit in a local file.
• Check Workato's site for the current offer.

7. Elyx

• You describe the workbook task. Elyx does it in the file: fill a column, clean a range, or build a table.
• It does not watch another app, send an approval, or add a row to a cloud file on a schedule.
• There is no permanent free plan. Elyx does not run in Google Sheets.

8. Automation Anywhere

• Automation Anywhere is an RPA vendor. A bot can read or write Excel as one step of a larger process.
• The bot runs outside Excel, on a machine you set up.
• Check the current offer on the vendor site. This page does not state a price.

9. Microsoft Copilot in Excel

• On an eligible license, you can ask Copilot to change the open workbook: formulas, a chart, or a PivotTable.
• It does not move a record from another app into Excel on a schedule.
• The button is missing when the license or the organization does not include it.

10. Office Scripts

• You record or write a script that repeats the same steps in Excel on the web.
• Power Automate can run that script on a schedule, with a business Microsoft 365 license.
• A script is the Excel step. It is not the product that connects the rest of your apps.

Questions

What is a business process automation tool?

Software that repeats a business process: a form that becomes a row, an approval, or a record moved from one app to another.

Does Elyx replace Power Automate or Zapier?

No. Those products connect apps. Elyx works inside the Excel file you have open. Use it when the process is the workbook itself.

Where do you check a price this page does not state?

On the vendor page. When the current amount is not certain, the table says "Free offer and paid plans" and does not invent a figure.

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