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Microsoft Power Automate vs Pega Robotic Process Automation 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortra's Automate
Sponsored
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Power Automate
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Process Mining (2nd)
Pega Robotic Process Automa...
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
14th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Fortra's Automate is 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Power Automate is 21.2%, down from 21.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pega Robotic Process Automation is 2.9%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
 

Featured Reviews

Anabel Marco - PeerSpot reviewer
Can automate several processes with only one bot and is easy to implement, administer, and use
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. We can automate several processes with only one bot, so it's much cheaper than other products where you need to buy additional licenses. We need a good value for our automation. The other solutions might be more robust, but Automate is perfect for us because we're not a large enterprise.
Nilesh Pundkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Good for email routing and management features but additional costs for plug-ins
Power Automate has fewer features and more limitations in general. It's not as mature a product as some of the others, like UiPath or Automate Anywhere. One of the main issues I've found is that Power Automate struggles with accessing Excel or other Office documents on servers. Even though it's a Microsoft product, we often have to log in through remote systems, and syncing can be problematic due to the way we use servers. At the very least, they should provide access to Office 365 directly, without requiring additional logins on servers. Most people utilizing Power Automate are already working within the Office 365 environment. Any proof of concepts (POCs) using Power Automate would naturally be built on top of Office 365.
VISHNU VARDHAN CHENNURU - PeerSpot reviewer
Great for UI creation, helpful support services, and reliable
Excel connectors need to be improved as there are a few connectors in Excel areas. The recording is not at best in Pega Robotics. They could look into it. The interactions with some applications, like Windows and web applications, are a little slow. They need to improve their speed. It should be normal, to open it with other tools. However, right now, it's a little hard. Users should feel they can develop easily. It will sometimes hang while interacting with third-party applications. Instead of adapters, if we had direct interaction of the applications with API and had scripts, that would be better. We have only CSharp supported right now. We'd like to have Python supported. If it was, it would be easier for us and make the solution more flexible. Currently, we are adding three different configuration files, however, if I had the option, I'd prefer to make a single configuration file and then differentiate it in all three environments. It can be difficult to create logic in automation. It's hard than if we used other RPA tools. If they could add more toolbox options, that would be ideal. They need to do what they can to help us reduce complexity in the automation and combine things under, for example, a single control.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It gives us a central place to schedule tasks and run them distributed."
"The solution is continuously adding more integrations to help with workflows and bot and task creation."
"Fortra's Automate performs the job effectively and has the capability to alert us of any issues."
"The licensing of the product is very good. You only need to license it once and then you have it forever."
"A great feature that you seldom see in these kind of systems is the ability to use a database as trigger to launch a task. This is something I asked for a few years ago and that was added."
"I find it very user-friendly. Our IT department and other departments can seamlessly collaborate without requiring extensive training. As a business department, we particularly value this aspect, as our team doesn't consist of many IT users. However, we couldn't solely rely on a drag-and-drop approach to implement and utilize the solution within our departments."
"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."
"I like the interface; it makes managing automation easy. We can set different schedules and templates for each task."
"In just in one click, we can see any documentation, etc., that we need. It makes it very easy to navigate."
"Good core applications."
"I like Power Automate because it is very easy to use for users who don't have IT knowledge."
"The development time for ProcessRobot is very good compared to other solutions."
"The product is very stable."
"The approval feature is the most important feature. We also use the flow history feature. It is a very useful product as compared to other products. We can automate easily when a list is updated. We can also handle approval-related issues and integrate it with emails."
"I use the product for automation."
"It is a stable solution."
"If you want to make any kind of base automation, you can easily code exactly what you want."
"It is really flexible in what it can do."
"The solution's ability to create adapters quickly is its most valuable feature."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The tech support is highly available and there is plenty of online training available."
"The platform's most valuable feature is the ability to perform most tasks reliably. It efficiently integrates with other systems and automates various tasks."
"I am impressed with the tool's recording feature."
"​It is a good and matured solution."
 

Cons

"The vendor is currently working on a solution that allows us to automatically create a process that is based on a document that we receive via email."
"We really need a free development environment for customers. Building and testing automation on production isn't ideal."
"Some companies have asked for voice integration. This is likely part of the roadmap."
"The solution has a very weak knowledge base."
"Error messages should be better. For error status, there should be better documentation because a lot of times, error messages that you get are quite vague. For example, you get a message saying that the workflow has run into an unknown status, which is vague. It just tells you that it failed, but you don't know how or why it failed. It makes debugging difficult."
"The documentation is not that great."
"The intelligent automation feature could be improved. It's interesting because it's simple, but the automation quality isn't always good. It's easy to use, but sometimes you need to make a slight improvement to the automation, and that's not so easy."
"The product also has a limited use case in some respects."
"Tech support could be more hands-on. Right now, they simply direct users to documentation instead of directly dealing with issues."
"All the services on the Microsoft platform are great. If we want to try something like with SharePoint or Azure or the 365 CRM, then we can't with the everyday community edition of the Microsoft Power Automate. It would be a good thing if there was some sort of trial period. Let's say you have 14 days. That way, can log into the loading screen with Power Automate, and get to utilize services like SharePoint, OneDrive, 365 CRM or etc. to see if they like them. It would be a good way for Microsoft to cross-sell or up-sell."
"It should be faster and more user-friendly."
"The tool must be more stable."
"WinAutomation is scalable to a certain extent. I would rate it seven for the scalability, which could be better. Softomotive is better scalable than WinAutomation in this regard."
"There are some bugs or intermittent behavior in the Excel activities that require using workarounds."
"On the governance side, there isn't enough documentation on how to govern Power Automate. People just build bespoke automation, which then becomes a problem point for different companies."
"Sometimes it can be difficult to share flows for multiple users to edit."
"The development experience needs to be improved."
"The solution's configuration and settings could be more comprehensive."
"In Pega, the UI has to be improved because that is the most challenging area that most of our customers ask for because we have to depend on some other React JS or some other tool to bring that kind of UI experience. So, there is a lot of room for improvement in terms of UI and UX."
"The handwritten structured and semi-structured data recognition accuracy is much lower and is an area that definitely needs to improve."
"You cannot use a two-dimensional array to read the data."
"Pega Robotic Process Automation can improve the OGR area. You don't have a feature to read documents in computer voices."
"I have faced many scenarios in the business workflow, where a few applications run on the Citrix environment. That could be a critical part of the process without which business won't be able to accept the automation solution. Because of one small bottleneck, you will lose a very good candidate for process automation."
"The new players such as UiPath and ABBYY are moving very quickly, but Pega is not. I'd definitely like to see Pega doing a few more interesting things on the AI or machine learning front so that we can use the platform for multiple things."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is a bit high for a small business like ours, but we manage with Fortra's Automate."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"I'm only involved in running the product and maintaining the systems, so I can't speak to the cost."
"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."
"Once you buy the software, you just pay for the support for backend help."
"Compared to other products, the pricing model for this solution is much more convenient, flexible, and adaptable to the Portuguese reality."
"Due to the pricing model, the solution is more convenient than any other tools."
"The pricing of this solution is very good and for me, it's the best option there is."
"When we purchase the Microsoft Dynamics license, the Power Automate license is often free, albeit with some limitations, such as a certain number of transactions per user."
"We use Office 365 and this solution is free for me to use with the package we have. We have plans to increase the usage of Microsoft Power Automate."
"With our Microsoft Office 365 license, we are able to use Microsoft Power Automate."
"We have it on our system. I don't really know if we need a separate license."
"The price is right. If you have Office 365 It's included."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"Pega Robotic Process Automation is an expensive solution."
"In terms of Pega Robotic Process Automation pricing, I would rate it a five out of five because the solution has a good price. Pricing is not very high, though I'm unsure of the exact cost, based on my experience, the price for Pega Robotic Process Automation is less than Blue Prism because I worked with a few clients that have both solutions and my clients prefer Pega Robotic Process Automation over Blue Prism particularly because of the licensing costs."
"​I was not involved in licensing and pricing, but it is worth the cost​."
"I would rate the product's pricing a nine out of ten."
"Pega is pretty costly."
"The licensing cost is too high."
"Pega is as competitive as the basic players such as UiPath or Automation Anywhere. UiPath is the most expensive, but Pega is at par with Automation Anywhere."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
15%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Healthcare Company
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...
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 ‌...
How is Automation Anywhere compared to Microsoft Power Automate?
‌Neither‌ ‌solution‌ ‌requires‌ ‌any‌ ‌coding‌ ‌experience,‌ ‌and‌ ‌both‌ ‌are‌ ‌easy‌ ‌to‌ ‌use‌ ‌and‌ ‌have‌ ‌great...
What do you like most about Pega Robotic Process Automation?
The solution's automation handling capability has positively impacted the overall automation process in my experience.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pega Robotic Process Automation?
I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive.
What needs improvement with Pega Robotic Process Automation?
The solution's configuration and settings could be more comprehensive.
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
Power Automate, Microsoft Flow, MS Power Automate, WinAutomation by Softomotive, ProcessRobot by Softomotive, Minit
Pega RPA, OpenSpan
 

Learn More

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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
1. Coca-Cola 2. General Electric 3. Siemens 4. Accenture 5. Deloitte 6. Johnson & Johnson 7. Ford 8. Nestle 9. Procter & Gamble 10. IBM 11. Amazon 12. Google 13. Microsoft 14. Adobe 15. Cisco 16. Oracle 17. SAP 18. Intel 19. HP 20. Dell 21. Verizon 22. AT&T 23. T-Mobile 24. Walmart 25. Target 26. Home Depot 27. McDonald's 28. Starbucks 29. Nike 30. Apple 31. Facebook 32. Twitter
eBay Enterprise, M&I Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Power Automate vs. Pega Robotic Process Automation and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.