Flowroid or MacroDroid?

MacroDroid is an automation app built on macros of triggers, actions and constraints, with a free tier. Flowroid is on-device Android automation built on a node canvas or drafted from a sentence by AI, with no root and no accessibility service.

MacroDroid on Google Play since
20121
Sources checked

Which one should you use?

Start at 1. Each answer names an app or sends you to the next question.

  1. Question 1: Do you need to tap buttons, type, or read the screen inside other apps?

    Yes
    MacroDroidbuilt in, through its optional accessibility service
    No
    Go to 2

  2. Question 2: Do you want to keep it free, with ads, for five automations or fewer?

    Yes
    MacroDroidits free tier
    No
    Go to 3

  3. Question 3: Do you want an app that uses no accessibility service and has no root, ADB or Shizuku route at all?

    Yes
    Flowroidit has neither
    No
    Go to 4

  4. Question 4: Would you rather describe an automation in a sentence and refine the draft than assemble it step by step?

    Yes
    FlowroidCreate with AI, then the canvas
    No
    MacroDroidorFlowroideither fits — try both

Side by side

What each app does, row by row. Numbers are sources, listed at the end.

MacroDroid and Flowroid compared, feature by feature
MacroDroidFlowroid
PriceFree with ads, up to 5 macros; a one-time Pro upgrade removes the ads and the limit.1$4.99 once. The optional Flowroid AI subscription ($2.99 / month or $24.99 / year) adds hosted AI; flows never need it.2
Trying it firstThe free version is fully functional within its 5-macro limit.3A 14-day free trial of the whole app through Google Play, with no payment method.4
RootSome system-setting actions, such as airplane mode, mobile data and battery saver, need a permission granted through ADB, Shizuku or root.5Never. No feature uses root, ADB or a computer.6
Accessibility serviceOptional, in two services: one for app-launch and gesture triggers, one for UI interaction and reading the screen.1,5None, in any release.6
Tapping or reading other appsYes, built in: the UI Interaction action and screen-content triggers.5No. It can launch apps, send intents, and reply to or press buttons on notifications, but it cannot tap or read another app’s screen.6
How you buildMacros of triggers, actions and optional constraints, with IF/THEN/ELSE logic and loops.1A node canvas you wire by hand, or a sentence that AI turns into an editable flow; 97 ready-made templates.7
CatalogOver 120 triggers, 200 actions and 80 constraints.134 triggers and 54 actions, plus conditions, loops and sub-flows.8,9
Code and scriptingJavaScript and Java code actions, and shell scripts.10Variables and {{ }} template expressions. No JavaScript, Java or shell.11
Tasker/Locale pluginsYes — it hosts Tasker/Locale plugins.12No.9
AIAI actions, most of them on-device with Gemini Nano; cloud models with your own API key; and an assistant that advises on or modifies the macro you are editing.13Create with AI drafts a whole flow from a sentence, and five AI steps run inside flows. Hosted AI needs no API key; your own model (Ollama, LM Studio or any OpenAI-compatible server) is free.14,15
Receiving HTTP requestsAn HTTP Server Request trigger on the local network, and a cloud webhook trigger delivered through Google’s push messaging.16,17An opt-in HTTP API server that requires authentication and listens only on the phone until LAN access is turned on.18

Where each fits better

Where MacroDroid fits better

  • Price of entry: MacroDroid is free for up to 5 macros, with ads.1
  • Automating other apps’ screens, built in, through its optional UI-interaction accessibility service.5
  • Extending it: Tasker/Locale plugins, and JavaScript, Java and shell actions.10,12
  • On-device AI: most of its AI actions run on the phone with Gemini Nano, with no subscription.13

Where Flowroid fits better

  • No accessibility service in any release, and no action that needs ADB, Shizuku or root.5,6
  • No ads at any point: a trial, then one purchase.1,2,6
  • Create with AI drafts a whole flow from one sentence; MacroDroid’s assistant advises on or modifies the macro you are already editing.13,14

Sources

Every source was read on . Every claim about another app on this page carries the number of the source that says it. Prices are Google Play’s US prices on that day; apps change, so check the source before you rely on a detail. Something here out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.

  1. MacroDroid on Google Playplay.google.com
  2. Flowroid help — Plans & pricingflowroid.com
  3. MacroDroid wiki — Overviewwiki.macrodroid.com
  4. Flowroid help — Free trialflowroid.com
  5. MacroDroid wiki — Permissions and Special Accesswiki.macrodroid.com
  6. Flowroid help — Troubleshooting & FAQflowroid.com
  7. Flowroid help — Building flowsflowroid.com
  8. Flowroid help — Trigger catalogflowroid.com
  9. Flowroid help — Action catalogflowroid.com
  10. MacroDroid wiki — Scriptingwiki.macrodroid.com
  11. Flowroid help — Template expressionsflowroid.com
  12. MacroDroid wiki — Pluginswiki.macrodroid.com
  13. MacroDroid wiki — AI Featureswiki.macrodroid.com
  14. Flowroid help — The AI assistant and AI stepsflowroid.com
  15. Flowroid help — Running your own modelflowroid.com
  16. MacroDroid wiki — HTTP Server Request triggerwiki.macrodroid.com
  17. MacroDroid wiki — Webhookswiki.macrodroid.com
  18. Flowroid help — The embedded HTTP API serverflowroid.com

Other comparisons

Or see all four apps on one page.

Try Flowroid against your own automations

The quickest way to know is to rebuild one thing you already run in MacroDroid. The trial is the whole app, and nothing in it needs root or an accessibility service.

Get on Google PlaySee what people automate

14 days free, everything included. Then $4.99 once.