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Blue Prism Cloud vs IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) 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

Automate
Sponsored
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Blue Prism Cloud
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Robotic Process Automat...
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Automate is 1.7%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Blue Prism Cloud is 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is 3.0%, up from 2.3% 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.
Aaron Ingram - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates accounts payable process with no human interaction and saves 100% time
Edge browser extensions could be made slightly more resilient. It would be nice if they could package new libraries for end users rather than have them search for libraries. The extension resiliency would be huge. If we're looking for intelligent document processing and OCR functionality, we haven't found them yet.
GeorgeTzifas - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides smart AI tools and easy to use
I would like to have more flexibility in connecting the platform with third-party systems. It is easy to connect IBM RPA with other IBM products, but it is complicated when connecting to non-IBM systems. So, I would like IBM RPA to be even more flexible in connecting to third-party systems.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"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."
"We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us."
"It gives us a central place to schedule tasks and run them distributed."
"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 have found the pricing to be very reasonable."
"The product effectively handles all the tasks we require."
"It’s scalable."
"This solution comes with a lot of good features."
"The product itself is quite mature."
"The platform is user-friendly and easy to learn in a low-code environment."
"Ability to see the blueprint of the design executed alongside the actual process."
"The solution works well overall."
"The ease of building automation and the development environment"
"One of the most valuable features is automating manual and repetitive business processes, streamlining operations and reducing manual labour."
"It is easy to use. We have enabled our resources who don't have a background in automation to be certified and trained, then implement this product within a very short period of time, as it is very user-friendly."
"It's user-friendly; even non-technical people can program bots using drag-and-drop functionalities."
"The analytics and reporting tools in IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are the best compared to all other RPAs because all other RPAs only use dashboards while IBM is the only one to have a reporting tool that includes dashboards."
"IBM Robotic Process Automation is very easy to use."
"The good stuff about IBM is the fact that it's very easy to use, there are very nice and smart AI tools within the licensing that you don't have to pay any access. Moreover, it's more precise and more secure."
"Integrating the tool with SAP, EBS, or other ERPs is easy."
"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."
"The solution is scalability."
 

Cons

"The technical support could be better. We suffer from language barriers, as we are in Argentina."
"There is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."
"I would like to see some better web automation, a wizard like the one in the product WinAutomation would be very nice."
"I find that most important features are strong, however, there is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."
"The OCR for Hebrew text needs to be improved."
"The solution has a very weak knowledge base."
"Some companies have asked for voice integration. This is likely part of the roadmap."
"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."
"I think that there are some improvements in the product performance that are needed in Blue Prism Cloud...The initial setup of the product needs a lot of time and effort."
"Lacking advance features like CIO and optical character recognition"
"Blue Prism Cloud could improve by having more innovations for the solution, such as more capability. I am looking for cloud-based services, such as Power Automate that we can recommend for cloud customers. UiPath and Automation Anywhere have more innovation in their solution."
"It would be useful if some of the information protocols came built within the app instead having to create them."
"Blue Prism Cloud needs to improve its AI capabilities."
"Blue Prism could be more efficient in its resource use. Having one LPR agent per virtual machine wastes resources. If we could execute many applications at the same time, it would improve and optimize the resource used."
"Blue Prism should adopt a low-code approach. Most RPA vendors only provide what they call a "form builder." A low-code designer would enable us to build a custom UI."
"Blue Prism Cloud is a solid product that fulfils its intended functions well. Although there is room for improvement, it has integrated various cognitive and intelligent document processing features into a single product. But needs to effectively automate RPA processes despite some initial challenges addressed through product updates and new features."
"The users should be allowed to create folders in Control Center."
"Needs better integration with artificial intelligence or with machine-learning."
"I would like to have more flexibility in connecting the platform with third-party systems."
"The pricing of IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) could be improved."
"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."
"Capturing GUI operations is very easy, but capturing IBM Logistics automation is hard. It does not always work with browsers or automotive applications like SAP."
"The product must be promoted more."
"I would like to improve the efficiency of this solution and the Surface Level Agreement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other products, the pricing model for this solution is much more convenient, flexible, and adaptable to the Portuguese reality."
"From a distributor's perspective, one of the biggest selling points of Automate is its price point."
"Once you buy the software, you just pay for the support for backend help."
"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 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."
"The cost is a bit high for a small business like ours, but we manage with Fortra's Automate."
"It comes with a package that costs approximately $20,000 USD per year."
"Annual licensing costs were somewhere between $5,000 - $10,000 for the development tool. For the control tower, I think fees were about $50,000 annually."
"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten, with one being cheap and ten being expensive."
"It is highly-priced."
"The licensing structure is complex and the minimum contract length is three years."
"This solution comes at a medium to high price point. They need to work on their pricing to enable smaller enterprises to get the benefit of using the product."
"When compared with UiPath, I believe it will be difficult for Blue Prism to maintain its market share."
"There are many RPA solutions available from different vendors and the pricing for Blue Prism is competitive."
"There are costs for the machine to run the robots."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"IBM RPA is cheaper than other tools."
"The license is paid annually."
"I rate the pricing ten out of ten. So, the pricing is very good for me."
"The pricing is reasonable for this solution."
"The product has a yearly licensing fee."
"The product is reasonably priced compared to other tools."
"IBM licensing is annual and based on Virtual Processor Cores (VPC). This provides flexibility as part of the containerization environment."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
5%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Insurance Company
6%
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?
I am a consultant and I am making a lot of processes in human resources, payroll, certifications, trainings, web scra...
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...
What do you like most about Blue Prism Cloud?
It's easy to use, the interface, the the the the queries is which we use. It's user friendly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Blue Prism Cloud?
If we utilize Blue Prism's full capabilities, then it is cost-effective. Otherwise, the pricing can seem high. It req...
What needs improvement with Blue Prism Cloud?
Decipher, one of their solutions, is a waste of time. Other than that, there's nothing specific I can think of.
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)?
To improve IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for the next release, there should be more integration with external ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
My customers' main use cases for IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are especially in the banking industry, particu...
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
Blue Prism Thoughtonomy Virtual Workforce, Blue Prism Virtual Workforce, Thoughtonomy Virtual Workforce
IBM RPA
 

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
Cabot Credit Management, Hovis, Utilita
The Hanover Insurance Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Blue Prism Cloud vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.