Process Builder was Salesforce’s answer to Workflow Rules’ limitations. It’s a strict superset — Process Builder can do everything Workflow can plus several capabilities Workflow can’t. Today both are legacy and replaced by Flow, but interviewers still ask the comparison.
The capability matrix
| Capability | Workflow Rules | Process Builder |
|---|---|---|
| Update fields on the triggering record | Yes | Yes |
| Update fields on the master in a master-detail | Yes | Yes |
| Update fields on a lookup parent | No | Yes |
| Update child records | No | Yes |
| Create new records | No | Yes |
| Send email alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Create tasks | Yes (as an action) | Yes (via Quick Actions) |
| Outbound messages | Yes | No (would need to call Apex) |
| Branching logic (multiple criteria sets in one rule) | No (need multiple rules) | Yes |
| Time-based actions | Yes | Yes |
| Trigger on platform events | No | Yes |
| Submit for approval | No | Yes |
| Post to Chatter | No | Yes |
| Call Apex | No | Yes (invocable methods) |
| Launch a flow | No | Yes |
| UI | Simple form | Visual canvas |
When Process Builder was the right answer
If your automation needed any of these things:
- A new related record on save (e.g. auto-create a Case Comment when Case Priority changes)
- An update to a child or lookup parent
- A Chatter post
- Calling Apex without writing a trigger
- Multiple branches (if X do A, else if Y do B, else do C) in one place
…then Process Builder was the right declarative tool and Workflow Rules couldn’t get there.
Performance differences
- Process Builder runs after workflow rules in the order of execution. So a workflow field update happens first, and Process Builder sees the post-update state.
- Process Builder was generally slower per record than equivalent Apex or Flow — it had more overhead at runtime, especially with bulk updates.
Both are legacy now
The 2026 reality:
- Workflow Rules — retiring, migrate to Flow
- Process Builder — retired for new processes, migrate existing ones to Flow
- Flow — the actively-developed engine; every Process Builder capability is in Flow with better performance and debug experience
What interviewers want
- The capability list: child records, branching, Apex calls, platform events as Process Builder’s wins over Workflow
- Acknowledgement that both are deprecated and Flow is the replacement
- Bonus: position in order of execution — Process Builder runs after Workflow
Related
- What is a Process Builder?
- What are workflows?
Verified against: Salesforce Help — Migrate to Flow. Last reviewed 2026-05-17 for Spring ‘26 release.