The open-source alternative to Microsoft Copilot Studio

Looking for something like Microsoft Copilot Studio, but open source and free to start? Alfera is the AI coworker your whole team shares: a company brain that syncs your apps, connections shared per person or per team, permissions on every action, and Slack, WhatsApp and email. Self-host it in one click, or start on Alfera Cloud.

In one line: Alfera is open source with a company brain, vs a closed low-code agent builder for Microsoft 365.

Low-code agent and workflow builderAlfera on GitHub
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Microsoft Copilot StudioLow-code agent and workflow builderOpen source, or Alfera Cloud
What it isMicrosoft's low-code studio for building AI agents and workflows, connected to company data and published to Teams, Copilot and other channels.The AI coworker your whole team shares, with a company brain that syncs your apps. Open source.
Open sourceNoYes, AGPL-3.0
Self-hostNot publishedYes: one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or one command on any server
Price$200/pack/month for 25,000 Copilot Credits (tenant-wide), or pay-as-you-go meterFree to start: open source to self-host, and Alfera Cloud starts with $10 of free AI usage
Where it worksMicrosoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot, SharePoint, WhatsApp, Websites, Mobile apps, Facebook, Slack, Telegram, Twilio, Email and others via Azure Bot ServiceSlack, WhatsApp, email from its own address, the web app, a Mac app, the API and MCP
Team useAgents are built in Power Platform environments and published to users with Entra ID sign-in by default. Some agents get their own account for shared work.Multiplayer: one coworker for the whole team. It knows who is asking, and each connection is shared with everyone, one project, or one person
PermissionsWorkflows and agent flows include human-in-the-loop and human review steps. Admins control channels, triggers and external models through data policies.Allow, ask first, or never, per connection and per action. Approvals in Slack, email or the app, and every action logged
Starts on its ownEvent triggers let agents act on their own: e.g. SharePoint item created, OneDrive file created, Planner task completed, or a recurrence schedule.On a schedule, from a webhook, or on 600+ app events
ModelsGPT models by default; Claude models listed; external Anthropic, xAI, Mistral models; 11K+ models via Azure AI Foundry. Admins can block external models.230+ models: Claude, GPT, Gemini, open models, your ChatGPT plan, or your own

Where Microsoft Copilot Studio is the better choice

Organizations on Microsoft 365 and Power Platform that want low-code agents for employees and customers.

  • 1500+ pre-built data connectors plus MCP servers listed on its site
  • Runs inside Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot with Microsoft Entra ID sign-in turned on by default
  • Dev-Test-Prod lifecycle for agents with version control, release pipelines and approval gates

Everything Alfera does

  • A company brain that syncs your apps. Connect Google Drive, Notion, Slack and the rest. Documents sync on their own, keep every version, and every answer draws on them.
  • One coworker for the whole team. It knows who is asking. Many people, many tasks at once, each with their own chats and connections, and shared chats when you want.
  • 3,000+ app connections, shared the way you choose. Each connection is open to everyone, one project, or one person. A personal mailbox stays personal; the support inbox is the team’s.
  • Permissions on every action. Allow, ask first, or never, per connection and per action. Approvals land in Slack, email or the app, and every action is logged.
  • Where your team already is. Slack, WhatsApp, email from its own address, the web app, a Mac app, and your own code through the API and MCP.
  • It starts work by itself. On a schedule, from a webhook, or on 600+ app events in Gmail, HubSpot, Stripe and more.
  • Its own computer. Every chat runs in a sandbox with a terminal and a browser, and its files stay from one chat to the next.
  • Any model. 230+ models: Claude, GPT, Gemini, open models, your ChatGPT plan, or a model you run yourself.
  • Open source, and free to start. AGPL-3.0. Self-host it in one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or start on Alfera Cloud with $10 of free AI usage.

Microsoft Copilot Studio and Alfera

Alfera. Alfera is the AI coworker your whole team shares. It has a company brain that syncs your apps, 3,000+ app connections shared per person or per team, permissions on every action, and it works in Slack, WhatsApp, email and the web app. It starts work by itself, runs on any model, and it is open source: self-host it in one click or start free on Alfera Cloud. Microsoft Copilot Studio is not open source.

Sources

Facts about Microsoft Copilot Studio come from its own pages, read on 16 October 2026. Something out of date? Write to hello@alfera.ai and we will fix it.