AutomationEdge vs VisualCron comparison

AutomationEdge and SMA Technologies are both solutions in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category. AutomationEdge is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.2, while SMA Technologies is ranked #18 with an average rating of 9.0. AutomationEdge holds a 1.0% mindshare in RPA, compared to SMA Technologies’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of AutomationEdge users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SMA Technologies users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

AutomationEdge and VisualCron compete in the automation landscape. AutomationEdge takes the lead with its seamless integration with enterprise systems, crucial for handling complex processes efficiently.

Features: AutomationEdge offers advanced AI capabilities, enabling precise automation of complex processes. It integrates effortlessly with various enterprise systems and includes technology products like OCR and a reporting dashboard. VisualCron provides a highly configurable environment with custom scripting options, extensive scheduling features, and seamless integration with databases, emphasizing flexibility.

Room for Improvement: AutomationEdge could improve by enhancing user-friendliness and offering more comprehensive plugin support. A reduction in dependency on coding for complex tasks would benefit non-technical users. VisualCron would benefit from a streamlined setup process and expanding its documentation for more intuitive use. Better support for cloud-based deployments and enhanced integration with external systems would be beneficial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AutomationEdge stands out with its smooth cloud-based deployment process complemented by comprehensive support, suitable for organizations with limited technical resources. VisualCron, requiring a more involved setup process using local resources, offers detailed documentation and reliable customer support, essential for tech-savvy teams.

Pricing and ROI: AutomationEdge provides competitive pricing with scalable plans, ensuring substantial ROI through efficient automation. VisualCron, while having higher initial setup costs, delivers significant ROI by allowing customization and reducing manual interventions. Its pricing strategy reflects its capacity for more complex automation needs.

To learn more, read our detailed AutomationEdge vs. VisualCron Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AutomationEdge vs. VisualCron

September 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

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Automate is 2.0%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AutomationEdge is 1.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VisualCron is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Automate	2.0%
AutomationEdge	1.0%
VisualCron	0.9%
Other	96.1%

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Featured Reviews

Jane Rachma Kiniti

IT Project Manager at Labo des histoires

Automate has streamlined workflows and increased efficiency with powerful automation

The best features of the solution are the flexible automation features, it is rich with beautiful connectors, and it is easy to use with little to no coding knowledge required to get started, so anybody can use the tool. The intuitive interface of Automate has an intuitive design, which makes it easy to learn and use even without a strong technical background, and it has a drag-and-drop interface, which makes everything so easy and straightforward. The error handling capabilities in complex automation tasks are powerful, as it handles all types of tasks, whether complex or simple. I've never faced any problems even when dealing with complex tasks, so everything is super smooth and highly reliable, even when dealing with big tasks, as it has never slowed down. Automate's compatibility with existing IT infrastructure has impacted our business operations positively by providing smooth integration with other software that we use, such as Gmail, Jira, and Microsoft 365 apps, which gives us a unified platform instead of having to keep switching from one software to another, saving a lot of time and streamlining the whole workflows. The automated analytics have helped improve our business processes since it has increased our efficiency by automating our everyday tasks, freeing up time for us to focus more on strategic activities such as analyzing data and developing new business strategies. It is also cost-saving. By minimizing manual labor, it decreases human errors that can lead to costly mistakes. By automating the tasks, it helps to save costs, and it also improves our accuracy by reducing these errors to ensure that tasks are done almost perfectly.

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Jajati Panda

Software Engineer at Apmosys

Delivers increased productivity and streamlines fraud processing in banking, though technical support could be faster

Before AutomationEdge, we had to hire coder-level experts with Java or Python knowledge. This approach took considerable time and required error handling to automate processes. With this tool, all processes are automatically handled with errors, and no-code automation is available. The cost for a developer is now significantly lower. Previously, we hired highly efficient developers with high salary packages. The license cost of 5 to 10 lakhs per year for one person to automate is equivalent to a person's annual salary. With the license and a developer hired at 3 to 5 lakhs, we can automate 40 to 50 processes.

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Sourav-Dutta

Technical Lead - Database Administrator at SMART ENERGY SYSTEMS LLC

It's user-friendly, and I didn't need long to understand the process

We use VisualCron for all our automation needs, like connecting to FileZilla, calling APIs, generating PGP keys, creating encryption files with the PGP key login to Azure, etc. It can automatically log in to SQL Server and execute SQL script jobs in bulk. We had 2,000-3,000 users at my previous…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Overall, the whole product is really nice and provides significant benefits."

"The automated analytics have helped improve our business processes since it has increased our efficiency by automating our everyday tasks, freeing up time for us to focus more on strategic activities such as analyzing data and developing new business strategies."

"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."

"This tool has machine learning and voice recognition and computer vision, which are both quite useful aspects. These aren't available in other tools. It's a good addition to this tool and it gives the solution an edge on the market."

"The pricing is excellent. I would give them perfect marks in that regard."

"The best features of the solution are the flexible automation features, it is rich with beautiful connectors, and it is easy to use with little to no coding knowledge required to get started, so anybody can use the tool."

"I like the interface; it makes managing automation easy. We can set different schedules and templates for each task."

"The intuitive interface of Automate has an intuitive design which makes it easy to learn and use even without a strong technical background, and it has a drag and drop interface which makes everything so easy and straightforward."

More Automate pros

"If we want to change your processes, we can code it from scratch, making it a beneficial feature of the product."

"The most valuable feature of AutomationEdge is creating accounts."

"We can quickly adapt to our end users."

"The chatbot that they have is most valuable. It is one of the best features because they own it, and they don't need to integrate with other parties to have a chatbot. This is one of the main features. The rest of the features are common to all RPA tools or vendors available in the market."

"It is a valuable tool for developing efficient solutions, especially in finance and banking."

"The support from the vendor is very good."

"The staff went above and beyond to make sure our stay was perfect, even surprising us with a complimentary dessert to celebrate our anniversary."

"AutomationEdge has shown the most productive impact, and the productivity was excellent before, and now it can increase by 20 to 30% more with AI implementation."

More AutomationEdge pros

"What I found most beneficial from VisualCron is that you can directly connect it with different databases, user accounts, and credentials. You can run queries from one machine to another using the credentials, unlike PowerShell, that's run by the machine itself. With VisualCron, you can directly ask other machines and run requests through user credentials. Suppose you have an AWS or Azure environment. In that case, you can maintain the connection between on-premises and cloud-based machines, which is the type of setup in the organization I'm working for. You can directly call some of the services via VisualCron on your local on-premises machine, and I found that an excellent feature of the tool."

"It helped us reduce manual steps."

"VisualCron is a very powerful program to automate different steps in your business processes. We use it to automate replacing files and inform departments about the replacement."

"It has improved our organization with more automation within the business departments and less administration and development in the IT department. Usually, as the IT department, we are the bottleneck for many requirements within the business. With this tool, the business departments are able to perform many task themselves."

"'ve only had a few cases where I've had to request support in the past 12 years of use, but the support response time and resolution were was extremely quick."

"What I like about VisualCron is that like its name, it's a very visual tool. In my previous company, there were a lot of scripts for all kinds of services, and through VisualCron, you get to group all flows and get a nice visual overview. VisualCron also has an alerting feature, so you receive alerts from it. VisualCron makes everything clearer and easier to maintain. Every other solution that I was looking for almost always needed a programmer, but with VisualCron, you can do what you need to do without programming skills, so this is another valuable feature of the tool."

"The ability to clone jobs to shorten the time it takes to implement a process has been invaluable, but its flexibility also gives us the ability to create a job that can handle a multifaceted process with a complex workflow."

"The most valuable feature of VisualCron is its ability to schedule interactive jobs so that you can have interdependencies within the job and interdependencies of a job on another job, and so on."

More VisualCron pros

Cons

"Regarding customer support, I face challenges sometimes. They're not always available, and you may need to wait for assistance, but overall their support is acceptable."

"There is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."

"They do not encrypt passwords, so this is an issue with HIPAA compliance."

"We really need a free development environment for customers. Building and testing automation on production isn't ideal."

"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."

"The OCR for Hebrew text needs to be improved."

"The user interface could be slightly enhanced to make it more modern."

"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."

More Automate cons

"With the solution, customizing software can be time-consuming."

"AutomationEdge's ecosystem has shortcomings and needs improvement. When we compare AutomationEdge to other RPA tools in our company, we find that it has a very minor online community."

"There are some shortcomings in the product's stability that need improvement."

"The installation process could improve. It was difficult to complete."

"AutomationEdge's primary issue is its price point, especially compared to other products."

"We cannot use extra modules while working with AutomationEdge. It crashes if we have lots of data to process in Excel."

"Regarding stability and reliability, AutomationEdge is mid-range. When compared with other tools such as Automation Anywhere and UIPath, they are more stable than AutomationEdge."

"The ease of use is the main thing on which they really have to focus. If they want to go against the giants, it should be improved in ease of use, and it should be more user-friendly. It would be helpful because everyone should be empowered irrespective of whether they know how to code or not. They should enhance its user interface and make it more intuitive."

More AutomationEdge cons

"The error timeout and info could be better. When making web request calls, it will time out sometimes and we won't get any useful info out of the error response."

"VisualCron is software, and you will experience performance degradation when you scale up. VisualCron takes too much memory or CPU power. We have to increase the hardware resources of a specific server or system."

"I would like for VisualCron to expand audit log to show who changed job variables that are initialized per job run."

"Our suggestion to make it better and more manageable in terms of GDPR: Implement it in a very partnership way."

"The only problem I face when I use the tool is that it doesn't contain much documentation or it doesn't have many video tutorials on its features."

"VisualCron seems to operate like an efficient machine when it comes to improvements and enhancements and new features. I always appreciate the quick response I get when bringing up an issue or coming up with suggestions. I've mentioned before that it would be great to see a move away from SQLCE and XML configuration files."

"There are some conditions in the mail trigger, but you can only use them as an "AND" condition, not as an "OR" condition. This is an improvement that could be useful. For example, some people put "invoice" in the subject and others put "invoice" in the body. If I want to make a trigger for everybody whose sending invoices, I have to make two jobs for this now."

"I want to improve the UI in VisualCron, as it's not as user-friendly, particularly when setting up the task scheduler. If you're familiar with the tool, then no problem, but if not, you'll have a problem typing text because sometimes, the cursor points to other places, so there's an issue with text box alignment in VisualCron. That was painful for me when I was just a VisualCron novice, but when you become used to it, there won't be a problem."

More VisualCron cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Once you buy the software, you just pay for the support for backend help."

"I'm only involved in running the product and maintaining the systems, so I can't speak to the cost."

"I like the way this solution is priced because you can buy a license, or you can buy the software outright."

"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."

"The cost is a bit high for a small business like ours, but we manage with Fortra's Automate."

"Compared to other products, the pricing model for this solution is much more convenient, flexible, and adaptable to the Portuguese reality."

"It comes with a package that costs approximately $20,000 USD per year."

"From a distributor's perspective, one of the biggest selling points of Automate is its price point."

More Automate pricing and cost advice

"It is expensive but its value can justify the cost."

"The product is available at the lowest price."

"If you are looking for a budget solution, you can consider AE. It has all the features. Scaling it is way easier because of the cost itself."

"I give the price of the solution a nine out of ten."

"Price-wise, AutomationEdge is pretty affordable, making it not so expensive when you compare this with other tools in the market."

"The licensing for this solution should have a more competitive pricing model. The price is in the top five of similar products."

"Pricing can be made better. Currently, I think the pricing is based on the market. The pricing also depends on the business partners that offer you the solution."

"ROI is one month."

"VisualCron is correctly priced because it wasn't very cheap, and it wasn't overly expensive, so the price for it was set correctly. When my previous company bought VisualCron, it was €800 per server per year. On a scale of one to five, I would rate the pricing for VisualCron a five because it was just right. The tool was affordable, and it has one of the most competitive pricing in the market."

"We are fine with a rather cheap setup. Licensing with VisualCron is fair. You have a simple one-year licence in different sizes. There isn't a licensing jungle with hundreds of options and opt-ins."

"The price is a bit high."

"ROI is 95 percent."

"The pricing is extremely fair, and because of that I recommend purchasing multiple instances to split out the processing load across multiple application servers."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Healthcare Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

27%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

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.

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What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?

My main use case for Automate is to deliver enterprise-scale script execution jobs, which means we are using Automate...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?

Until now, I have not specified any other tech products except Microsoft Power Automate, N8N, and Make.com that I've ...

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What do you like most about AutomationEdge?

It helps us with cost optimization and easy implementation.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AutomationEdge?

I rate AutomationEdge's pricing as a six to seven. It is expensive but its value can justify the cost.

See all answers

What needs improvement with AutomationEdge?

In AutomationEdge, I think there could be improvements. I have not used it in maybe two months, but in the past, you ...

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What do you like most about VisualCron?

The tool has reduced our operational costs by 40%.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VisualCron?

The price is a bit high. However, it is okay.

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What needs improvement with VisualCron?

The documentation is a bit weak. The tool must provide a better set of documentation.

See all answers

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Redwood Software - Finance Automation Edition vs Automate

Compared 9% of the time

Control-M vs Automate

Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 41% of the time

UiPath Platform vs AutomationEdge

Compared 37% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs AutomationEdge

Compared 22% of the time

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Microsoft Power Automate vs VisualCron

Compared 34% of the time

Control-M vs VisualCron

Compared 22% of the time

ActiveBatch by Redwood vs VisualCron

Compared 9% of the time

OpCon vs VisualCron

Compared 8% of the time

Stonebranch vs VisualCron

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automate

October 2025

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Buyer's Guide

AutomationEdge

October 2025

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Buyer's Guide

VisualCron

September 2025

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Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate

No data available

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

AutomationEdge is an Intelligent Robotic Process Automation product which comes bundled with key essential technologies for automation of front office, middle office, back office and IT operations.
AutomationEdge provides Chatbots, Intelligent Automation bots, AI and Machine Learning capabilities that help clients reduce costs, improve response time, grow business and achieve compliance. AutomationEdge provides ready Bots and development environment to build new Bots.

AutomationEdge

VisualCron offers task automation through a visual interface, eliminating the need for programming skills. With capabilities like alerting and variable usage, users benefit from integration with databases, timely task execution, and cross-platform operations.

VisualCron empowers users by simplifying complex workflows. It allows seamless task automation through features like interactive scheduling and role-based operations. Users appreciate its integration capabilities, replacing multiple tools with a comprehensive automation solution. The support system ensures quick assistance, making it a reliable choice for workflow visualization and task execution. However, areas like error handling and interface design require enhancements for improved user experience.

What are the key features of VisualCron?

Visual Interface: Users automate tasks without needing programming skills.
Integration: Connects with databases and multiple systems to streamline operations.
Alerting: Notifies users about tasks and system statuses.
Task Scheduling: Allows interactive management of automated tasks.
Credentials Management: Enables cross-platform operations securely.

What benefits can users expect when evaluating VisualCron?

Increased Efficiency: Reduces the time spent on manual processes.
Cost Reduction: Eliminates the need for multiple tools by consolidating functionalities.
Enhanced Support: Offers robust post-sales support for quicker assistance.
Streamlined Workflows: Simplifies complex task automation.

Organizations leverage VisualCron in industries like finance and logistics to automate tasks such as encryption and secure file transfers. It's also integral in managing data operations, facilitating communications between systems, and executing SQL jobs, enhancing operational efficiency across sectors.

SMA Technologies

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

Smart Dubai Government (SDG)

7 Eleven, ABB Sécheron SA, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Amazon Europe Core, Apple, Assa Abloy, Aston Martin, Banco Santander, BMW (Australia)

Buyer's Guide

AutomationEdge vs. VisualCron

September 2025

Free Report: AutomationEdge vs. VisualCron

Find out what your peers are saying about AutomationEdge vs. VisualCron and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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