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BotFarm 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
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
BotFarm
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
21st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Robotic Process Automat...
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
11th
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 September 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Automate is 2.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of BotFarm is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is 3.2%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Automate2.0%
IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA)3.2%
BotFarm0.5%
Other94.3%
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
 

Featured Reviews

Ibukun Shweta - PeerSpot reviewer
Automation optimizes scheduling, but improvements needed in error reporting and script execution
In my particular use case, for session management, it would be better if I could get a more granular view into connectivity issues to servers. Sometimes, although your flows or tasks are running as scheduled, connecting to the servers can hit a snag without alerts or error logs to check. Some servers might need patching or could be affected by network issues or latency. The workflow sometimes gets stuck without clarity on the errors. An explicit error report would be helpful, especially when the connection fails unexpectedly. It's complex to analyze problems that might arise from firewall issues or other anomalies that could hinder the flow from executing as expected. The depth of these connection challenges would benefit from better debugging capabilities. As for improvements, if Automate wasn't designed primarily for script execution, that's understandable. However, for Linux, I would prefer to see less complexity in workflows to achieve a natural completion of scripts. There are features, such as 'wait for terminal output,' that should more intuitively detect completion based on the shell prompt. Improving those aspects would make Automate more efficient for my needs. Regarding error reporting, I think Automate should offer better error reporting when connecting to servers. Currently, there are many instances where I see empty logs, indicating that, while tasks are scheduled, commands are not executing successfully. This is a significant concern, especially with critical workloads where visibility into errors is essential.
Ganesh-Subramanian - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers enhancement in data accuracy with low-code requirements and easy onboarding
It's a scalable product. In our organization, we sometimes write a script once and reuse it several times, which improves workflow efficiency. Our team inputs the datasets one by one or in a batch mode into BotFarm and schedules them or calls individually as needed. For instance, if one individual has 15 or 20 forms that need to be scanned and logged immediately, it's possible to implement with BotFarm and its scheduling operations. The solution is ideal for small and medium-sized enterprises and can fit in for large enterprises as well, depending upon the use case. For instance, if 100 agents are working across different locations through a mobile app, all the data from the agents can be stored in a common repository and scheduled. BotFarm can be configured based on the architecture and business operations.
Saman Guruge - PeerSpot reviewer
We can connect to different databases and use inbuilt activities, but we can't include our own activities
We can use its inbuilt activities, and it's a complete package, but just like ElectroNeek, a limitation is that we have to depend on its inbuilt activities. We can't include our own activities or we can't introduce other activities. When it comes to deployment and scheduling bots, there are some conflicts. They are using Microsoft MQ to communicate with their bots, but it's not reliable. When we are scheduling time, if I need to schedule an interval of one minute, sometimes, the queue gets loaded with a lot of processes or bots, and they don't wait until the first one gets complete. So, that sort of disadvantage is there. I have found one bug in version 22 when sending or configuring mail. While using their orchestration environment, on IBM Server, you can configure an SMTP connection to send out the details you want. For example, when you create a user, they send out an email. That part didn't work, and I created a few tickets. The issue is that there's a typo in the endpoint API. They have probably corrected it in version 23.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I actually quite liked the no-coding functionality."
"The solution is continuously adding more integrations to help with workflows and bot and task creation."
"I like the interface; it makes managing automation easy. We can set different schedules and templates for each task."
"This product is quite easy to install, learn, and use, with our new employees being able to start using it in projects for clients after only two weeks of internal training."
"The pricing is excellent. I would give them perfect marks in that regard."
"Automate increases efficiency and eliminates errors during documentation and invoicing processes."
"It's very easy to use. That's a big selling point for it. It has got a drag-and-drop interface, so you can quickly deploy bots."
"The most valuable features of Fortra's Automate include its FTP functionality and file manipulation capabilities."
"The entire backend system structure is something that I found really valuable."
"There are not many challenges when setting up this solution, and there is a good amount of documentation to go with it."
"The solution seems to offer high stability. We haven't seen any bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze."
"BotFarm has been working perfectly fine with our business model. Its scalability is the most valuable feature. We can easily scale out bots on a need basis. Portability is another valuable feature. We work with different payment systems like Visa and MasterCard and have bots for them. Because of BotFarm, we are able to reuse these bots."
"The most valuable features I have found to be the screen scraping and the integration with third-party solutions."
"The solution has very good processes. It's very easy to deploy and has good reviews on it. It offers good automation and the solution has very good developers working on it."
"The most valuable feature is the interface, which helps to provide a good user experience."
"Productivity increased far more than thirty percent."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"The solution is scalability."
"I like the integration with Watson and the possibility to have an intelligent reading of all the customers' documents."
"The solution’s performance is good."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to automate mundane tasks. This improves efficiency, reliability, etc. You can form critical operations which can be highly automated."
"The feature I found most valuable is the TCO."
"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."
"The quality is great! It's very strong and has a very strong platform."
 

Cons

"The documentation is not that great."
"I would like the updates to be easier to deploy. Integration with Amazon S3 is somewhat lacking."
"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."
"The technical support could be better. We suffer from language barriers, as we are in Argentina."
"While this solution is continually improving, as it is now, the user interface could use improvement when I compare it to a product like UiPath."
"The OCR for Hebrew text needs to be improved."
"The solution has a very weak knowledge base."
"They do not encrypt passwords, so this is an issue with HIPAA compliance."
"The discovery suite that they just acquired could be included."
"Its UI could be made better. It should also be more flexible. Currently, it is more rigid, and a little more flexibility is required. Their technical support should also be better. We are not very happy with their technical support. Its price is also quite high as of now. They should improve its price. Its setup should also be made easier. It is quite complex to set it up. Even though we were able to set it up a little fast because we had done something similar earlier, but it has a very complex setup. It is extremely resource-hungry. If they can make it a little light on resources, that would also be useful."
"The tool must execute remedial actions to resolve problems before they cause significant incidents."
"There should be more support for developing in environments such as Citrix and Linux."
"I have called customer service three times and the experience has not been good. They do not offer 24/7 support, which forces us to wait till the next working day to solve a problem."
"One aspect that can be improved is the accessibility of reusable components for developers. It relates to role-based access and accessibility."
"The solution automation is incapable of interacting with our Pega software application development. It is based on the nested table concept and it is unable to read these tables. Several projects have been put on hold because of that."
"Although I like the OCR technology, it could still be further improved."
"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."
"We would like a decreased need for customer support."
"The time it takes for approvals, and risk analysis could be faster."
"IBM Robotic Process Automation should be more stable."
"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."
"One of the things I would definitely like to see is more of the machine-learning and cognitive capabilities. For example, now that we're starting to automate more and more tasks, there are some things that still require us to go back and modify the robots when we need to. But if we had more of the machine-learning integrated into it, I believe it would be easier to maintain, so that we wouldn't have to go back and adjust every time."
"The users should be allowed to create folders in Control Center."
"I would like to improve the efficiency of this solution and the Surface Level Agreement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I like the way this solution is priced because you can buy a license, or you can buy the software outright."
"It comes with a package that costs approximately $20,000 USD per year."
"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."
"Compared to other products, the pricing model for this solution is much more convenient, flexible, and adaptable to the Portuguese reality."
"Once you buy the software, you just pay for the support for backend help."
"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."
"Licenses are paid on a yearly basis and the cost is quite high."
"I think payment can vary but it's a re-occurring fee that needs to be paid every year."
"The pricing is fair."
"There is a license for this solution and it is on an annual basis. I am satisfied with the price."
"We are on an annual license for the solution and is priced well."
"The pricing model could be simplified."
"Its price is quite high as compared to other solutions, but it has a lot of features and good stability. They should reduce its price."
"The product is slightly expensive"
"The pricing is reasonable for this solution."
"I rate the pricing ten out of ten. So, the pricing is very good for me."
"The product is reasonably priced compared to other tools."
"IBM RPA is cheaper than other tools."
"The product has a yearly licensing fee."
"There is a free trial for one month, so you can use it to run your payloads or proof of concept. After that, you can pay for the license on a monthly or annual basis."
"The license is paid annually."
"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
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Performing Arts
6%
No data available
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Insurance Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise10
 

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...
What do you like most about BotFarm?
The product has increased efficiency and reduced the time spent on tasks.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BotFarm?
The product is slightly expensive. In comparison to competitor tools like UiPath, BotFarm's cost is greater. Our orga...
What needs improvement with BotFarm?
The solution can improve the accuracy of hand-written data reading. In some situations, the data needs to be hand-wri...
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
No data available
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
Cisco, CocaCola Bottlers Japan, Macy's, Whirlpool, Unilever
The Hanover Insurance Group
Find out what your peers are saying about BotFarm vs. IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.