Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

License Details and variables

What is the difference between user license and flow license? How many flows we can execute for one license? What is the execution limit for each flow?

i am trying to create 2 flows .

Approach 1: 1 flow will execute for 6 hours and another flow will execute it for 4 hours.

Approach 2: 1 flow itself executing for 10 hours .

Which approach is best. is there any cost will be charged for flows ?

Environment variables are there under solutions. is there any global variable concept available in power automate where i can store all the static data like config file to read it across the flows.?

Categories:

Licensing

Aspect	User License	Flow License
Scope	Assigned to a specific user	Assigned to a specific flow
Usage	Personal or user-triggered flows	Shared or system-initiated flows
License Examples	Microsoft 365 plans (e.g., Office 365 E3)	Power Automate Per Flow plan
Runs Per Month	- Microsoft 365: 5,000 runs/user/month	Unlimited runs for licensed flows
	- Premium: 40,000 runs/user/month
Premium Connectors	Requires additional licensing	Included
Ideal Use Case	Flows run by or related to specific users	Business processes used by multiple users

Aspect

User License

Flow License

Scope

Assigned to a specific user

Assigned to a specific flow

Usage

Personal or user-triggered flows

Shared or system-initiated flows

License Examples

Microsoft 365 plans (e.g., Office 365 E3)

Power Automate Per Flow plan

Runs Per Month

- Microsoft 365: 5,000 runs/user/month

Unlimited runs for licensed flows

- Premium: 40,000 runs/user/month

Premium Connectors

Requires additional licensing

Included

Ideal Use Case

Flows run by or related to specific users

Business processes used by multiple users

Aspect	Approach 1 (Two Flows: 6 hrs + 4 hrs)	Approach 2 (Single Flow: 10 hrs)
Advantages	Modular, easier to troubleshoot	Simpler to manage overall
Disadvantages	Slightly more complex to manage multiple flows	Larger flow might become harder to debug if errors occur
Cost	Similar, depends on total runs	Similar, depends on total runs
Recommendation	Use for logically distinct processes	Use for closely related processes

Aspect

Approach 1 (Two Flows: 6 hrs + 4 hrs)

Approach 2 (Single Flow: 10 hrs)

Advantages

Modular, easier to troubleshoot

Simpler to manage overall

Disadvantages

Slightly more complex to manage multiple flows

Larger flow might become harder to debug if errors occur

Cost

Similar, depends on total runs

Recommendation

Use for logically distinct processes

Use for closely related processes

Option	Description	Best Use Case
Environment Variables	Static/configuration data shared across flows in a solution	Store API endpoints, keys, or reusable configurations
SharePoint List / Dataverse	Use as a global storage for data accessible by multiple flows	Centralized configuration accessible by many flows
Compose Action	Define variables locally within a flow	Temporary data within a single flow
Azure Key Vault	Secure storage for sensitive data	Storing secrets like API keys or passwords

Option

Description

Best Use Case

Environment Variables

Static/configuration data shared across flows in a solution

Store API endpoints, keys, or reusable configurations

SharePoint List / Dataverse

Use as a global storage for data accessible by multiple flows

Centralized configuration accessible by many flows

Compose Action

Define variables locally within a flow

Temporary data within a single flow

Azure Key Vault

Secure storage for sensitive data

Storing secrets like API keys or passwords

Recommendation	Details
Use Environment Variables	For static data/configurations across multiple flows in a solution.
Monitor flow execution frequency	To optimize runs and avoid exceeding limits.
Choose licensing based on use case	For shared processes, consider Per Flow license for scalability.
Modularize flows if possible	Keep flows smaller and modular for better maintainability.

Recommendation

Details

Use Environment Variables

For static data/configurations across multiple flows in a solution.

Monitor flow execution frequency

To optimize runs and avoid exceeding limits.

Choose licensing based on use case

For shared processes, consider Per Flow license for scalability.

Modularize flows if possible

Keep flows smaller and modular for better maintainability.

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