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Automate vs MOVEit comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (5th)
MOVEit
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Managed File Transfer (MFT) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Automate and MOVEit aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Automate is designed for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and holds a mindshare of 1.8%, up 1.0% compared to last year.
MOVEit, on the other hand, focuses on Managed File Transfer (MFT), holds 9.3% mindshare, down 13.0% since last year.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
 

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.
Sumit Mundik - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable, has a simple GUI, and provides brilliant automation capabilities
It is very easy to configure the setup. MOVEit is a reliable tool. I have not seen as many issues with it as in Globalscape. The tool’s GUI is very simple. I can do anything from the web. I need not log in to the desktop version. The automation capabilities are brilliant. We can create and add any kind of schedule. We can create schedules and have them run on a specific day. For example, we can run the schedule on the third and fourth business days or the first seven business days. We can run schedules for every 10, 15, or 20 minutes. When we pick a file, the tool creates a temporary directory in the MOVEit server. When the file is sent to the destination, it does not store the file inside the system. The moment the files get picked up, the tool delivers them. We did not face many challenges while integrating the tool into our environment. It is a really good product. Even if we face any issues, we can easily resolve them because the errors we see are self-explanatory.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I would rate the technical support as a nine out of ten because it is quite fast and courteous."
"The most valuable features for my client are timing and scheduling."
"The ability to connect to websites and pull data is the solution's most valuable feature."
"The product effectively handles all the tasks we require."
"The pricing is excellent. I would give them perfect marks in that regard."
"We are still in the process of rolling it to production and tweaking it (our AD groups are a mess), but the improvements are priceless. Having users ID's created the same way every time without human error is the best part. We don't need to worry about why groups were not added, user rights not set to folders or missing a private folder being created, typos or just even knowing when things are done and logged."
"We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us."
"We have tried other RPA solutions like UiPath or Automation Anywhere. They are fantastic products but complex, and it's hard to understand everything. It would be best if you had a skilled developer or several. Automate is easy to implement, administer, and use. It's appropriate for us because our cases are simple and easy to automate. We don't need complicated tools with many features; We prefer to get a significant ROI quickly."
"From an administration standpoint, it's very easy to manage, and I feel pretty confident in the security of the product. From an end-user standpoint also, it's very easy."
"Especially at the time of monitoring, it's a nice way to take a look at the script and take a look at run time, which gives enough information for the files that are getting picked or not."
"The renaming and timestamp features are great."
"The log findings and troubleshooting on MOVEit are pretty easy. When you go to the logs, it clearly tells you what time a transfer happened, what time it failed, what is the source path, what is the destination path, and what is the failure reason. It's pretty straightforward."
"The major advantage is moving files as part of a workflow."
"The most valuable feature of MOVEit is the upload speed."
"The tool’s GUI is very simple."
"Offers a large collection of very good path planning algorithms."
 

Cons

"I currently have three bugs open with them that I don't know if they are addressed in the new release."
"The technical support could be better. We suffer from language barriers, as we are in Argentina."
"The interface could be more user-friendly and easier to navigate."
"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."
"Sometimes when we communicate with the ERP system and there is an issue, we are not always aware of the specifics of Automate and the source of the problem."
"There is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."
"The solution has a very weak knowledge base."
"I would like the updates to be easier to deploy. Integration with Amazon S3 is somewhat lacking."
"It would be beneficial to include a feature that allows you to hide items and not be locked out if someone has made too many password attempts."
"If the transfers are more or the file size is big, it takes more time. It doesn't have much capacity to process multiple files at the same time. It can get stuck or take a lot of time to process the files."
"We have had some challenges. Earlier when we were setting it up, a component called gateway, which runs in the DMV, was not working as expected. It was going down very often. That means most of our vendors were not able to connect using SFTP because that service was down. We had to put in a lot of monitoring to make sure if that goes down, there is some visibility instantaneously so that our system admins can go and do a restart."
"With the new other vendors coming up, they come up with certain features, in addition to the file transfer. But MOVEit does not develop their product. That's why we are looking out for other solutions."
"At times, we had connection issues with MOVEit, and it had a tendency to reboot without any reason."
"Since I have to monitor two times a day, it would be nice if they have script templates."
"Communication can be improved between the product owners and users."
"In future releases, MOVEit could add support for some additional protocols. For example, I don't think they supported the SFTP or FTPS protocols at the time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From a distributor's side, one of the biggest selling points is its price point. Without going into any numbers, compared to UiPath, Automation Anywhere, and Blue Prism, we're significantly cheaper. The main difference is that other competitors usually charge you per process. However, in Automate's case, it's priced per bot. So, a bot can run multiple processes at the same time, but you are only priced for a single bot."
"I like the way this solution is priced because you can buy a license, or you can buy the software outright."
"The cost is a bit high for a small business like ours, but we manage with Fortra's Automate."
"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."
"It comes with a package that costs approximately $20,000 USD per year."
"I'm only involved in running the product and maintaining the systems, so I can't speak to the cost."
"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."
"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."
"Technical support is only available with a paid license."
"I haven't really priced out many other products like this, but I feel it's reasonable. Their upgrade support after hours was going to be $6,000. I just made the decision to wing it and just do it during business hours and call support if there was a problem."
"It's cost-effective."
"When compared to other products I've used, I believe MoveIt is worth the money someone might pay to use it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
5%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Insurance Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

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.
What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?
The main purpose is for automation. That has been the purpose why I have been using it so far.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?
Regarding pricing, it is very friendly. I would not say that it is really cheap or very expensive, but it fits within our budget.
What do you like most about MOVEit?
The automation is generally very simple that helps with operational efficiency. Since we mainly created interfaces and scheduled transfers, the tool itself handled the file transfer automation.
What needs improvement with MOVEit?
The product must improve its security features. Recently, there have been multiple attacks on the solution. It has ruined the reputation of clients who use the solution. The vendor must ensure that...
What is your primary use case for MOVEit?
We can use the product to transfer files. I work for a bank. The files we transfer have PGP encryption by default. The data we send or receive is encrypted, ensuring that there is no data breach.
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
Ipswitch File Transfer, Ipswitch Managed File Transfer
 

Overview

 

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
Cambridgeshire County Council, Capita Document & Information Services, Enterasys, City of Guelph, Hermes
Find out what your peers are saying about UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Microsoft and others in Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Updated: June 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.