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IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) vs UiPath comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.0
Fortra's Automate delivers quick ROI through significant time savings, error reduction, and enhanced productivity in automating technical tasks.
Sentiment score
8.0
IBM RPA typically offers a 20-30% ROI, with returns realized in 6-12 months for medium-sized initiatives.
Sentiment score
7.4
Organizations achieve swift ROI with UiPath, enhancing efficiency, productivity, and cost savings while reducing human task requirements and errors.
Fortra's Automate has effectively replaced the workload of an entire employee, saving us significant time and money.
We have seen a 100% return on investment.
At first, processes save money, but eventually, automation without cost savings occurs due to licensing costs.
If you can run bots 24 hours nonstop on it when you can run many different processes, each process can save hours, hundreds of hours of time for employees.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Fortra's Automate support is praised for prompt, expert help, though some find the knowledge base and communication lacking.
Sentiment score
6.8
IBM RPA's customer support receives mixed reviews, praised for responsiveness but criticized for technical issues and training needs.
Sentiment score
7.2
UiPath's customer service is knowledgeable but inconsistent in response times, with valuable online resources enriching the user experience.
They don't always understand the processes I'm trying to implement.
They are very responsive and have been able to resolve any issues I have encountered.
I would rate the technical support as a nine out of ten because it is quite fast and courteous.
They were very helpful, addressing the issue in three hours.
The customer support from UiPath is amazing.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortra's Automate offers scalable, flexible task automation suited for enterprises, despite setup challenges and on-premises expansion limitations.
Sentiment score
7.6
IBM RPA excels in cloud scalability, supports Kubernetes, integrates AI, but on-premises scaling may face challenges.
Sentiment score
7.7
UiPath provides scalable automation solutions with adaptable deployment options, supporting diverse applications and seamless expansion from few to many bots.
It is easy to increase one bot or one studio without needing to buy another orchestrator, which can be quite expensive.
UiPath helped us revamp and upgrade our systems, making them more scalable.
You just need to change the number of robots for the process, and then it works very fast.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortra's Automate is reliable, but performance may dip with large files or server connectivity issues affecting stability.
Sentiment score
6.7
IBM Robotic Process Automation receives satisfactory stability ratings, with improvements noted in version 11, though challenges remain in memory use and integration.
Sentiment score
7.4
UiPath is reliable, with stability influenced by environment and integration, promptly supported to resolve occasional external or integration-related issues.
The stability of Fortra's Automate is excellent.
It has very robust features, and it is not prone to instability.
In the beginning, we depended on our infrastructure. However, now that we have services on the cloud, it is very stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortra's Automate needs interface simplification, better integration, improved OCR, enhanced security, and more comprehensive documentation and support.
IBM Robotic Process Automation requires better AI integration, enhanced features, expanded APIs, accessible support, and improved user-friendliness.
UiPath requires enhancements in scripting, stability, user experience, integration, debugging, documentation, licensing, and security features for better usability.
Integration with Amazon S3 is somewhat lacking.
I would prefer not having to log in to update a ticket; being able to respond via email would be beneficial.
I find that most important features are strong, however, there is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning.
It was more accessible initially, and we could have more resources with the same license.
With UiPath, one needs the UiPath Assistant installed on every machine, which is unrealistic as many people use the same machine in the hospital.
It would be beneficial to integrate voice commands with the UI to create an Excel spreadsheet and populate a data table.
 

Setup Cost

Fortra's Automate offers a competitive, cost-effective pricing structure per bot, appreciated for affordability and absence of hidden fees.
IBM RPA offers flexible licensing and a free trial, with mixed pricing opinions but competitive compared to similar tools.
UiPath's pricing is high yet valuable, with discounts for large enterprises, though costly for smaller companies needing multiple licenses.
Competitors are often more expensive than Automate.
It offered what we wanted at a good, competitive price.
It does a lot but also costs a lot.
It is more expensive than other automation services, but I don't deal with the financial details much.
 

Valuable Features

Fortra's Automate offers user-friendly automation with drag-and-drop, seamless integration, strong support, affordability, and minimal coding required.
IBM Robotic Process Automation simplifies use for all users, enhancing efficiency with drag-and-drop, Watson integration, and seamless SAP/ERP integration.
Automate's non-reliance on additional orchestrators makes it quite cost-effective.
The most valuable features of Fortra's Automate include its FTP functionality and file manipulation capabilities.
I really like the API functionality; it's a slick aspect of the solution when I'm using it.
Our use of automation sped up the process of getting paid from insurance companies, saving us substantial amounts of money.
The right path document understanding allows me to track information not only from structured documents but also unstructured documents through artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques.
Almost all the questions that we have can be found in the community, which is very helpful.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortra's 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
IBM Robotic Process Automat...
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
UiPath
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
817
Ranking in other categories
Agentic Automation (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Fortra's Automate is 1.3%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is 1.9%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of UiPath is 24.5%, down from 26.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
 

Q&A Highlights

WS
May 25, 2022
 

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.
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.
Navinkumar Sadasivam. - PeerSpot reviewer
Reduces the cost of digital transformation and helps our client reduce their on-premises footprint
Building automation using UiPath is easy and in most cases can be done with a single click. There is no need to write coding. We can insert and delete columns or remove duplicate frames easily. We have already implemented a couple of solutions, one of which is a maintenance automation database. The users of the database want to send emails with attached files and other artifacts, and previously this was done manually. Each day, up to 300-500 items were manually processed by 50-60 people who would navigate to a separate application, search for the file, upload it, and send the email. This was a tedious task and accuracy and reliability were questionable, requiring manual verification. This process was repeated monthly for around 10,000-12,000 items, taking around 25-30 days to complete. We automated this process and provided a high-level solution initially, which was later built, bought, and deployed. The bot we created is capable of processing 900-950 items per day, meaning that all 10,000 items can be processed within eight to ten days. This reduces the processing time by one-third and the cost from 100 to around 12 months, as we only need three to four rotational shifts to monitor the bot. Sometimes the bot may disconnect or encounter issues beyond our control, but we address these promptly to reinstate the process. This is the work we are doing in our organization. End-to-end automation is a crucial aspect of completing tasks within the specified time frame. Clients do not want to wait for extended periods, such as a month or two, and prefer to see progress at least one-third or one-fourth of the way through. This ensures that clients are not preoccupied with a single task and can focus on improving their business while also increasing accuracy. UiPath aims to provide clients with a high return on investment from both the software build and business development perspectives. This is achieved by delivering effective solutions that meet clients' needs. We are satisfied with UiPath's community. Occasionally, we encounter some queries or doubts, such as whether we should use a particular feature or MAC code, or whether we can use a certain file. While we cannot always rely on direct support for such minor issues, we found that the UiPath community can be a helpful resource. We search for similar issues that other users may have faced and posted about, and we often find solutions to our questions in a timely manner. Overall, we find the UiPath community to be effective and useful. UiPath has helped our client reduce their on-premises footprint. This decision is purely based on the client's interests and has nothing to do with our personal or company interests. Generally, clients prefer cloud integration as they want their systems to be up and running 99.9 percent of the time. However, sometimes they may opt for on-premises solutions based on the CDRT of a particular application, which refers to the sensitivity of the data involved. We have some limited automation that deals with sensitive information, such as credit-related automation, which the client cannot access. In such cases, clients may prefer an on-premises solution, but overall, cloud integration is becoming more important. With the implementation of AI, we can utilize UiPath for automation, which is more dependable. UiPath reduces the cost of digital transformation. Our clients are highly satisfied with the nearly 99 percent reduction in human error achieved through the use of UiPath. This includes both individual and team errors. However, during the development phase, some human input was necessary to create rules for the bot to follow. Any potential issues were identified and resolved during testing by our IT and testing teams. Overall, our clients are pleased with the system's reliability and performance.
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Answers from the Community

WS
May 25, 2022
May 25, 2022
My question to you would be - Why are you mixing the two vendors? Do you have licenses for both and are trying to maximize investment? If you have IBM automation you probably have other IBM technology - let the IBM automation run on that as its integration is a little more complicated than UiPath and may cost you time in execution. If you have both IBM and UiPath then I would use UiPath for a...
2 out of 6 answers
DR
Nov 3, 2020
My question to you would be - Why are you mixing the two vendors? Do you have licenses for both and are trying to maximize investment?  If you have IBM automation you probably have other IBM technology - let the IBM automation run on that as its integration is a little more complicated than UiPath and may cost you time in execution.  If you have both IBM and UiPath then I would use UiPath for any areas that are not integral to the IBM technology or systems.  I would need to know a little more about your strategy before giving a definitive answer to your question but all 3 are good technical foundations depending on the scenario.
JF
Jul 6, 2021
Although I've worked with UiPath (not Automation Anywhere), my experience is now solely with AutoMate from Help Systems.  I would recommend aligning IBM's digital business automation with Robotic Process Automation and how it works. It seems to be a very different tool from RPA. If programming is required in the use of IBM's digital business automation go with RPA.  
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
14%
Educational Organization
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
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.
What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?
We used the platform primarily for task automation, including transmitting EDR files. Additionally, we've utilized it...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?
The starter pack was all we needed and was reasonable. Others were either more expensive or didn't do all that I want...
What do you like most about IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
Integrating the tool with SAP, EBS, or other ERPs is easy.
What needs improvement with IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
The product must be promoted more. There are no promotions.
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...
Best RPA tools for IBM iSeries
I can only speak to UiPath since that is the only RPA solution that I have used. I know that there are specific packa...
RPA that Bots can run without centralized control?
Yes, Attended Bots which can run without centralized control Module. RPA Tools like Automation Anywhere, uiPath ,Pow...
How do I choose between UiPath and Microsoft Power Automate?
Microsoft‌ ‌Power‌ ‌Automate‌ ‌is‌ ‌intuitive‌ ‌and‌ ‌easy‌ ‌to‌ ‌integrate‌ ‌and‌ ‌use.‌ ‌I‌ ‌like‌ ‌that‌ ‌there‌ ‌...
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
IBM RPA
No data available
 

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
The Hanover Insurance Group
1. Accenture 2. Deloitte 3. PwC 4. IBM 5. Capgemini 6. KPMG 7. Ernst & Young 8. Infosys 9. Cognizant 10. Wipro 11. Tata Consultancy Services 12. HCL Technologies 13. Genpact 14. Tech Mahindra 15. DXC Technology 16. Atos 17. NTT Data 18. CGI 19. L&T Infotech 20. Hexaware Technologies 21. Mindtree 22. Mphasis 23. Virtusa 24. Syntel 25. Zensar Technologies 26. WNS Global Services 27. Hexaware Technologies 28. Larsen & Toubro Infotech 29. Persistent Systems 30. QuEST Global 31. Sonata Software 32. Zensar Technologies
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) vs. UiPath and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.