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Blue Prism vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) comparison

SS&C Blue Prism and IBM are both solutions in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category. SS&C Blue Prism is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.0, while IBM is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.8. SS&C Blue Prism holds a 10.5% mindshare in RPA, compared to IBM’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of SS&C Blue Prism users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of IBM users who would recommend it.
Sponsored
Automate
Read 26 Automate reviews
  • 1,578 Views
  • 764 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
Blue Prism
Read 88 Blue Prism reviews
  • 13,309 Views
  • 7,692 Comparison Views
88% willing to recommend
IBM Robotic Process Automat...
Read 24 IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) reviews
  • 2,164 Views
  • 1,642 Comparison Views
88% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

Blue Prism and IBM Robotic Process Automation compete in the field of robotic process automation. Blue Prism appears to have the upper hand in process customization and management, while IBM RPA is noted for its cost-effectiveness and ease of use.

Features: Blue Prism is renowned for robust exception handling, comprehensive control room functionalities, and its ability to manage complex business processes with ease. Its Visual Basic Objects feature enhances process customization. IBM RPA stands out with its less complex pricing structure, user-friendly interface, and effective bundling options, making it cost-effective overall.

Room for Improvement: Blue Prism users suggest enhancements in AI capabilities, better attended automation, improved cloud service integration, and addressing cognitive learning issues. IBM RPA could focus on quicker customer support responses and better third-party system integration to increase its flexibility and usability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Blue Prism offers versatile deployment, including on-premises, public cloud, and hybrid solutions but receives mixed reviews on customer support responsiveness. IBM RPA matches this deployment flexibility. However, customer service is also critiqued for promptness, despite its focus on user-centric designs and integration ease.

Pricing and ROI: Blue Prism tends to be more expensive, with costs involving both licensing and necessary infrastructure. It is often seen as straightforward but high-priced. In contrast, IBM RPA offers annual licensing with a focus on Virtual Processor Cores, resulting in better flexibility and lower costs. Both platforms deliver significant ROI, but Blue Prism's high initial investment is a key consideration for buyers.

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To learn more, read our detailed Blue Prism vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Blue Prism vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
April 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Automate
Sponsored
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Blue Prism
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Robotic Process Automat...
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Automate is 1.5%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Blue Prism is 10.5%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is 2.5%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
 

Featured Reviews

Anabel Marco - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates processes efficiently with cost-effective scaling and robust customer support
Web scraping is quite good since it offers a lot of possibilities. Another important feature for me is its compatibility with MBI, the Power that is ISEQUADO Centers. I appreciate the ability to scale and increase the number of bots or studios without additional expense. Automate's non-reliance on additional orchestrators makes it quite cost-effective.
Read full review
Mohamed Salah Baccouche - PeerSpot reviewer
Way more efficient for debugging than other tools but the UI is complicated
The UI is more complicated than other tools. In Power Automate, it doesn't even feel like you are working because the tool does the job for you. But in the solution, there are studio, process, and object interfaces and you have to decode your own objects. The free objects that are predefined are not good compared to other tools. There is still a lot of work to do on the solution's intelligent automation part.
Read full review
Karinne Carnevalli De Almeida - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly interface and good stability
I would recommend using IBM RPA. I would advise you to learn about your main processes to automate inside your company. So you can apply it in big and small processes depending on the investment for your company. That is an advantage or not. Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. It has some difficulty in the tool, but it's a very stable and useful tool for automating processes.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We have found the pricing to be very reasonable."
"Fortra's Automate performs the job effectively and has the capability to alert us of any issues."
"I actually quite liked the no-coding functionality."
"It gives us a central place to schedule tasks and run them distributed."
"The most valuable features for my client are timing and scheduling."
"I find the ease of use from a programming perspective very valuable."
"The pricing is excellent. I would give them perfect marks in that regard."
"Overall, the whole product is really nice and provides significant benefits."
More Automate pros
"There are simple things you can put in place that help you understand workflow and how implementation acts."
"I use the basic features that are very useful."
"The way you design the flow and configure the activities for the bot is very useful if you are working with any of the BPM or local platforms."
"A feature I like about Blue Prism is the Control Room and how easy it is to find exceptions, to find common issues, and to troubleshoot your exceptions. Your Control Room person, without any development skills, can easily pick up what the problem is, with the exceptions, especially when there are a lot of exceptions related to one use case or process."
"We've started to use some of the new features such as translation, cognitive, and we are finding them useful. We are also finding API integrations very useful."
"As a developer, I liked the layout and UI, specifically referring to testing. I was able to watch the process through stages."
"Blue Prism currently supports SQL Servers and structured data."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to do surface automation, allowing interaction with legacy systems where terminal emulation is still in use."
More Blue Prism pros
"The solution is very user-friendly."
"The solution’s performance is good."
"The solution's ease of use is its most valuable aspect."
"IBM Robotic Process Automation has greatly improved the organization by improving the speed of performance, as the speed of the robot is estimated to be 20 times faster than the human being."
"Integrating the tool with SAP, EBS, or other ERPs is easy."
"The solution is scalability."
"It's user-friendly; even non-technical people can program bots using drag-and-drop functionalities."
"The initial setup is very easy."
More IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) pros
 

Cons

"I believe we need to test various OCR tools that assist in evaluating, let's say, six different customer resyncs. We analyze their spending patterns and documentations, but current OCR support has limitations, requiring highly standardized documents, which isn't always the case. With a more advanced OCR system, we could improve processes related to credit risk management and legal matters. We're exploring how to integrate Fortra's Automate with our CRM platform, taking cues from instances where Salesforce seamlessly merged with Automate. However, we use a different CRM, Insight for New Enterprise, and we're seeking ways to connect the automation process within our CRM. We aim for the automation to continue smoothly, even in instances where traditional automation methods might face hurdles."
"The interface could be more user-friendly and easier to navigate."
"We really need a free development environment for customers. Building and testing automation on production isn't ideal."
"There is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."
"It's possible that they could use a stronger community for seeking guidance and help."
"The workflow for variables could be better. The input and output of task-level variables could be made a little clearer in terms of passing those around from one task to another upon success, etc. Things like that could be a little easier potentially."
"I currently have three bugs open with them that I don't know if they are addressed in the new release."
"I find that most important features are strong, however, there is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."
More Automate cons
"We had a lot of challenges managing authentication and reusing or using external authentication providers."
"The solution can improve by having a free license for evaluation purposes."
"The control room is its worst feature. It can be laggy, and it is not as user-friendly. We're with staying Blue Prism, but we're moving it from on-premises to Microsoft cloud for cost savings. We looked into Blue Prism cloud. It has a lot of features, but it comes with a lot of costs. Right now, we have six spots, and we're only at 13% utilization. The cost didn't really weigh out for us for moving to Blue Prism cloud, but on-premises, it is working for what we need."
"In the next release of this solution, I would like to see support for attended robots."
"There are some new tools on the market that work better than Blue Prism. When Blue Prism receives information I have found other RPA solutions refresh the application better. At this moment it's not the best application."
"They have OCR technology, but it's not that great."
"It isn't very easy or intuitive for our developers to program the bot to make intelligent decisions. A bot, for the lack of a better word, is stupid, and it can only do what we program it to do. It cannot make intelligent decisions. For example, if we are reviewing Uber charges, they could be posting their transactions under different corporation names, even though they are under the same parent company or group. A human can easily understand that it is the name of the same company, and it just has an asterisk or space, but a bot cannot do that. When a bot cannot complete the transaction, it sends out an exception rate, business exception, or system exception for a human to do a manual review. The exception rate has been high because the bots cannot make decisions that we think are very simple, which is understandable because that's how they were programmed. There is potential in utilizing the higher intelligence side of the tool, but it is not easy to code higher intelligent actions. It is a very lengthy process to get the provisioning to ensure that it is kind of doing what it needs to do. Provisioning involves multiple things, and it is quite complicated and not the best experience, but it is not just because of Blue Prism. Blue Prism is easy, but it takes a long time to onboard into our in-house system."
"Blue Prism can improve a lot. The interaction with Google Chrome can be massively improved. I know in the next version there are slight improvements. We don't know how much, but we are comparing them. At this moment, Google Chrome is a massive issue within the toolset, due to the way Google Chrome receives updates regularly but Blue Prism is unable to cope. The spy method of Google Chrome is not as user-friendly as Internet Explorer is. However, Internet Explorer is being discontinued from their support, therefore it's not the best browser to be using. This has caused us major issues in the last six months."
More Blue Prism cons
"We're based in Thailand, but the documentation is not in Thai, which makes it difficult for us. If they could translate all of their documentation into our language, we'd be very grateful."
"Stability could be better."
"Needs better integration with artificial intelligence or with machine-learning."
"We are looking to see how it can connect with various interfaces seamlessly, through APIs."
"I would like to have more flexibility in connecting the platform with third-party systems."
"Extensibility is the key, especially in terms of the Recorders feature that we have. That should be browser independent. Enhance it because some people have Chrome, some have Internet Explorer, etc. Also, integration with PDFs: Not just the ability to read information from PDFs but the ability to write information from PDFs, make it secure, sign it, etc. Finally, if they can allow a token exchange inside the tool itself, that would help."
"There are certain limitations in the solution for screen reading."
"IBM’s support should improve response time."
More IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Once you buy the software, you just pay for the support for backend help."
"The cost is a bit high for a small business like ours, but we manage with Fortra's Automate."
"It has gone up in price. The price of Fortra's Automate has increased since we first started using it. It does a lot but also costs a lot. It was a lot more affordable before Fortra owned the software."
"While solutions like UiPath and Blue Prism cost around $11,000-$12,000 for each license, this product costs around $7,000 and you can keep it forever."
"I believe the price falls within a reasonable range, which significantly influenced our decision regarding the product. This aspect is crucial for any technological solution, especially in our country where enterprises might be hesitant to invest heavily in something untested or uncertain about its practicality and potential returns."
"The pricing is quite reasonable. We can run the process with one bot. The limitation is at the server level because they have some resources, and sometimes that is enough. It isn't too expensive, so you can get a good return off of one, and you can also have a pack of five bots that is quite competitive."
"From a distributor's perspective, one of the biggest selling points of Automate is its price point."
"I'm only involved in running the product and maintaining the systems, so I can't speak to the cost."
More Automate pricing and cost advice
"The licensing fees are low compared to other tools."
"Blue Prism is an expensive solution, especially in Southeast Asia, while in Europe and the UK, it can be considered moderate in terms of cost."
"The price of Blue Prism is high compared to others solutions. It would be helpful if they could provide a trial version for new users to try. Other vendors provide a community or trial version. There are not any hidden costs."
"To use Blue Prism, there is a need to pay INR 15,000 per customer."
"The solution is enterprise software so we will try to maximize our usage during the available slots. We will get ROI with the high price since there will be some value added with automation. I think that after doing a cost-benefit analysis, we are on the positive side."
"Our customers pay for an annual license."
"It's an expensive product. For what they are providing in terms of capabilities and features for the price, I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten."
"We have a three-year contract that is paid on a yearly basis."
More Blue Prism pricing and cost advice
"The pricing is reasonable for this solution."
"IBM licensing is annual and based on Virtual Processor Cores (VPC). This provides flexibility as part of the containerization environment."
"The license is paid annually."
"The product is reasonably priced compared to other tools."
"There is a free trial for one month, so you can use it to run your payloads or proof of concept. After that, you can pay for the license on a monthly or annual basis."
"IBM RPA is cheaper than other tools."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"I rate the pricing ten out of ten. So, the pricing is very good for me."
More IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
16%
Educational Organization
9%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HelpSystems AutoMate?
We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us.
See all answers
What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?
I am a consultant and I am making a lot of processes in human resources, payroll, certifications, trainings, web scra...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?
The pricing is quite good compared to its competitors. Competitors are often more expensive than Automate. I would ra...
See all answers
Should I choose Blue Prism or Microsoft Power Automate?
Hello Netanya, it depends on your needs and your expertise. In my humble opinion you can start a big RPA project imp...
See all answers
I am evaluating Blue Prism and UiPath for RPA for my company. Which one do you recommend?
I'm very familiar with UiPath and the RPA industry: was hired by Daniel Dines in 2015 when there were 35 employees an...
See all answers
What do you like most about Blue Prism?
It is a stable solution.
See all answers
What do you like most about IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
Integrating the tool with SAP, EBS, or other ERPs is easy.
See all answers
What needs improvement with IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
The product must be promoted more. There are no promotions.
See all answers
What is your primary use case for IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
We're working with different clients from the manufacturing environment. We have implemented end-to-end solutions. We...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Microsoft Power Automate vs Automate Logo
Microsoft Power Automate vs Automate
Compared 41% of the time
UiPath vs Automate Logo
UiPath vs Automate
Compared 38% of the time
Automation Anywhere vs Automate Logo
Automation Anywhere vs Automate
Compared 9% of the time
VisualCron vs Automate Logo
VisualCron vs Automate
Compared 6% of the time
More Automate Competitors
Microsoft Power Automate vs Blue Prism Logo
Microsoft Power Automate vs Blue Prism
Compared 36% of the time
UiPath vs Blue Prism Logo
UiPath vs Blue Prism
Compared 32% of the time
Automation Anywhere vs Blue Prism Logo
Automation Anywhere vs Blue Prism
Compared 12% of the time
Pega Robotic Process Automation vs Blue Prism Logo
Pega Robotic Process Automation vs Blue Prism
Compared 4% of the time
WorkFusion vs Blue Prism Logo
WorkFusion vs Blue Prism
Compared 1% of the time
More Blue Prism Competitors
Microsoft Power Automate vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Logo
Microsoft Power Automate vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Compared 67% of the time
Automation Anywhere vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Logo
Automation Anywhere vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Compared 11% of the time
UiPath vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Logo
UiPath vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Compared 11% of the time
Nintex RPA vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Logo
Nintex RPA vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Compared 3% of the time
Infrrd OCR vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Logo
Infrrd OCR vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Compared 2% of the time
More IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Automate
April 2025
Automate reportDownload Automate product report
Buyer's Guide
Blue Prism
April 2025
Blue Prism reportDownload Blue Prism product report
Buyer's Guide
IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
April 2025
IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) reportDownload IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) product report
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
No data available
IBM RPA
 

Overview

Automate offers a user-friendly solution with a drag-and-drop interface for efficient task automation and integration with major platforms like SAP and Azure, making it ideal for quick deployment with minimal coding and training.

Automate provides powerful features for businesses seeking efficient automation, offering compatibility with databases, email integration, and cloud platforms. Its simple interface supports both beginners and experienced users, simplifying tasks like invoice processing, HR automation, and data transformation. Cost-effective pricing and flexible licensing enhance its appeal while integration capabilities and scheduling tools ensure smooth workflow automation.

What are Automate's Key Features?
  • Drag-and-Drop Interface: Simplifies automation with intuitive design.
  • Integration Capabilities: Connects with platforms like SAP and Azure for seamless data flow.
  • Database and FTP Triggers: Enhances automation potential through direct data interaction.
  • Efficient Scheduling: Automates tasks with precise timing and control.
  • Web Scraping: Automates data extraction for quick analysis and reporting.
What Benefits and ROI Should Users Expect?
  • Rapid Deployment: Minimizes coding efforts for quick implementation.
  • Cost-Effectiveness: Offers flexible pricing models to suit budget constraints.
  • Operational Efficiency: Reduces manual workloads and enhances productivity.
  • Comprehensive Integration: Facilitates improved data management across systems.
  • Scalability: Adapts to growing business needs with ease.

In industries such as healthcare, banking, and logistics, Automate is used for tasks like invoice payment automation, data transformation, and task automation. This leads to streamlined processes and reduced manual workload, illustrating its value in enhancing operational efficiency through diversified workflows.

Fortra

Blue Prism is an intelligent, business-developed, no-code automation platform for SaaS deployments as well as for on-premises, public cloud, multi-cloud, and hybrid environments. Unlike other automation technology, Blue Prism combines robotic process automation with expanded artificial intelligence and cognitive capabilities. Blue Prism gives users instant access to the tools you need for building and delegating automations, as well as a digital workforce that is already AI-equipped.

With Blue Prism’s code-free RPA, deployed through use of their Robotic Operating Model, your business can scale efficiently, improve customer satisfaction, reduce costs, and augment its talent to take on new responsibilities. Blue Prism helps to accelerate operational agility and efficiency by making it easy to automate the most important processes. Allocating everyday tasks to your Digital Workforce gives you immediate increased capacity and allows your teams to focus on their strategic goals. In addition, it delivers a return on investment, increases efficiency gains, and can even introduce new revenue streams.

“Workforce of the Future”

Blue Prism’s all-in-one intelligent automation platform consists of:

  • Design Studio with drag-and-drop process automation building, reusable “objects” across your business, and updates to objects and processes saved throughout the process library.
  • Control Room where you can assign processes to digital workers, scale digital worker and task volume ondemand, and gain real-time transparency of process proficiencies.
  • Digital Workforce of autonomous software robots that can learn and mimic business processes like humans and are equipped with six intelligent automation skills:
    1. Knowledge and Insight - The ability to harvest, understand, and deliver insights from multiple disparate data sources.
    2. Visual Perception - The ability to read, understand, and contextualize visual information.
    3. Learning - The ability to derive contextual meaning and adapt to evolving process patterns.
    4. Planning and Sequencing - The ability to optimize workloads and identify opportunities for better outcomes.
    5. Problem-solving - The ability to autonomously solve system, logic, and business problems.
    6. Collaboration - The ability to seamlessly work with both people and systems.

Reviews from Real Users

Blue Prism stands out for its enterprise-level functionality, which is why many companies choose it over its competitors. PeerSpot users note that the solution is easy to use, stable, and robust scalability-wise. The security is also top-notch. One user pointed out that "One of the most powerful features in Blue Prism is exception handling. It's one of the features that really differentiates it from other platforms." Blue Prism helps businesses with everything from compliance to quality control and error-avoidance.

SS&C Blue Prism

IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that encompasses the use of smart robots in any process requiring efficiency, consistency and speed, with no risk of mistakes. In a nutshell, RPA simulates a human user working.

Today, it is possible to automate processes through the use of digital robots, or bots, which execute pre-programed, repetitive tasks in a safe and mistake free manner. There are literally thousands of opportunities for Robotic Process Automation to make an impact on your organization today, including: automatic invoice emission, system integration, information reconciliation, report generation, intelligent email management to lead generation, and many others.

IBM
 

Sample Customers

Aldergrove Financial Group, Preferred Health Professionals, Mindbeam Technologies, First Credit Union in British Columbia, Vestcom International, Prime Liberty Benefits, University of Tampa, CNLBancshares, World Precision Instruments, BJ's Restaurants, Globe Pequot Press, Accudata Technologies, Norton Healthcare, Pacific Toxicology Laboratories
Coca-Cola, Walgreens, American Express, Royal Bank of Canada, Pfizer, Shop Direct, O2, Siemens, Ascension Healthcare, Jaguar Land Rover
The Hanover Insurance Group
Buyer's Guide
Blue Prism vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
April 2025
Free Report: Blue Prism vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Find out what your peers are saying about Blue Prism vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
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We monitor all Robotic Process Automation (RPA) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.