Fortra's Automate vs VisualCron comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Fortra and SMA Technologies are both solutions in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category. Fortra is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.8, while SMA Technologies is ranked #30. Fortra holds a 2.8% mindshare in RPA, compared to SMA Technologies’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Fortra users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SMA Technologies users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 15, 2026

Fortra's Automate and VisualCron are two robust automation solutions competing in the automation software category. Fortra's Automate may have an upper hand due to its affordability, flexible pricing, and easy scalability.

Features: Fortra's Automate offers a no-code interface, extensive integration capabilities, and powerful scheduling features. It supports multi-cloud environments and has a drag-and-drop workflow feature that simplifies automation tasks. VisualCron provides strong database connectivity, scheduling capabilities, and an ability to handle complex workflows with ease, making it ideal for tight integration with existing systems.

Room for Improvement: Fortra's Automate is noted for its less modern interface and stability issues, with user feedback indicating a need for better error logging and community engagement. VisualCron could benefit from a more streamlined interface, comprehensive documentation, and a user-friendly command console.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortra's Automate supports public, private, and hybrid cloud deployments, providing flexibility and ease of deployment. It is recognized for good technical support but could improve community engagement. VisualCron, while supporting diverse deployments, could improve user experience with faster technical support and an intuitive setup process.

Pricing and ROI: Fortra's Automate offers a competitive bot-based pricing model that allows multiple processes on a single bot, leading to faster ROI through cost savings in labor and time. VisualCron provides transparent yearly licensing, which users appreciate, and delivers strong ROI, especially for organizations with specific database and system integration needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortra's Automate vs. VisualCron Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Automate vs. VisualCron

September 2026

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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

Automation Anywhere

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Automation Anywhere is 4.9%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortra's Automate is 2.8%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VisualCron is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Automation Anywhere	4.9%
Fortra's Automate	2.8%
VisualCron	1.2%
Other	91.1%

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sivaprakash

Management Consultant at Accenture

Has significantly improved document-driven workflows and reduced processing time across finance and HR functions

Automation Anywhere has evolved significantly and upgraded itself to provide agentic AI and AI-based automation solutions for document automation. The product has matured considerably over time. We can create workflows that can call an API. We can include prompts in particular workflows for ChatGPT-related functions, connecting to an LLM and RAG to perform tasks. For document automation, modern features are available to train documents, ensuring high accuracy and repeatability over time. The system is very easy to use. I recently completed a course in document automation, typically designed for people involved in coding and technical aspects. Though I understand coding comprehensively, I don't do actual coding. The course was very accessible. Currently, extensive coding isn't necessary due to the hybrid model incorporating GenAI aspects, low-code, no-code capabilities, APIs, and numerous pre-built objects in Automation Anywhere. The features include GenAI-driven prompting methods and workflow creation capabilities. In these workflows, we can create decision boxes and call APIs without coding. We simply pull objects, drop them, connect them, and add minimal coding when needed. The most crucial aspect isn't coding but rather sizing the automation and fleshing out the details. Automation Co-pilot takes notes and performs automated analysis. It can extract details from videos, summarize conversations, and provide detailed information. During calls, it identifies instructions and performs tasks such as preparing reports and reconciliation. Automation Anywhere can also connect with Microsoft Co-pilot. Through Co-pilot, real-time operations can be executed, allowing direct interaction between vendors and automation through this component.

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reviewer2849709

Information Technology Manager

Automation has transformed manual reporting and data extraction into scheduled digital workflows

The interface of Fortra's Automate is similar to GoAnywhere. I am not completely pleased with it, although it is intuitive, but it lacks something in terms of complexity. There is still clicking through many items involved. There are two things I would improve in Fortra's Automate. One is about the interface, as I need it to be improved because it is somewhat complex to navigate. The second is about performance reporting. I want those reports to be customizable. You can generate these reports and see what is happening with error logs, but the customization option is limited. Additionally, there should be an option to export them. Currently, you can export as Excel and PDF, but there is no option to export and send them to your email.

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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

"We get a significant ROI even though the licensing cost is higher than average. The gains we realize from the initial development make up for it. In the last three years, I estimate we have saved around 2,200 hours of labor. To date, we've saved almost $6 million."

"Automation Anywhere has very strong game because it is always up for asking feedback."

"Automation Anywhere RPA has enabled a lot of our employees to have their valuable time freed up to do other things, ranging from the Treasury department, the Revenue department, General and Cost Accounting."

"We spend less time preparing data."

"Our primary use has been to automate a few mundane tasks in the organization, which really helped us in this COVID situation, easing everyone's tasks, ensuring they were completed on time and without errors, keeping our customers happy, and enabling our vendors to help us meet customer satisfaction without compromising on anything."

"The most valuable feature is the power of AI Technologies involved in Automation Anywhere's IQBot - such as Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, Fuzzy Logic, and Machine Learning."

"The scheduling feature allows for scheduling of the bots to a specific time every day, which helped remove the dependency on humans completely."

"Learning Automation Anywhere prepares our students for a better future because the future belongs to RPA Automation."

More Automation Anywhere pros

"The interface is simple, user-friendly, and very intuitive."

"I can say it's a very good product, it has very good results and it is well suited for my requirements, and everything more or less I've been able to create in line with what the client requires."

"The most valuable features for my client are timing and scheduling."

"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."

"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."

"The most valuable features of Fortra's Automate include its FTP functionality and file manipulation capabilities."

"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 licensing of the product is very good; you only need to license it once and then you have it forever, which makes the product quite affordable."

More Fortra's Automate pros

"I love VisualCron because we previously spent a lot of time writing Power switches to connect to SQL Server. VisualCron makes it easier to execute services or connect to FileZilla by only adding the credentials to the master credentials stored in the solution."

"Support is AAA+, fast, and very detailed."

"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."

"VisualCron makes everything clearer and easier to maintain."

"'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."

"VisualCron is a handy tool that we (the IT department) provide for the business departments to obtain easy access when automating and scheduling."

"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."

"VisualCronv is currently handling so many different critical processes for our company, it's become a key factor in our livelihood and success."

More VisualCron pros

Cons

"We would like to see more capability for integration and more customization available with some features."

"The AISense recorder in Automation Anywhere needs improvement in resilience and OCR capabilities, particularly in comparison to UiPath's superior OCR functionality."

"A2019 is less stable than the previous versions."

"You could improve the tools for reading CSV/Excel, also providing wizards or detailed guides, otherwise, it is quite complex to use them, especially at the beginning."

"A standardized improvement area for any RPA tool is making it more user-friendly. This can be done by allowing users to give instructions in their language. For example, one should be able to say in his or her language to automate the login page of the XYZ application. It should be able to create a flow based on the information or screenshots that the user provides."

"The automated regression testing could be better. I need to build my own testing suite, and I know other tools have built-in testing suites. That is an area that's very weak in this platform."

"The biggest challenge in attended automation, every time the agent has to log in to the control room and execute bot for most of the agents this is a time-consuming activity plus they are not tech-savvy."

"OCR capability needs to become better."

More Automation Anywhere cons

"I find that most important features are strong, however, there is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."

"The product also has a limited use case in some respects."

"Some companies have asked for voice integration. This is likely part of the roadmap."

"It's possible that they could use a stronger community for seeking guidance and help."

"The documentation for errors needs improvement as many of the error messages we receive are very vague."

"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 areas that have room for improvement in Fortra's Automate include the reporting and analytics functionality, where the analytics could be more detailed."

More Fortra's Automate 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."

"I've mentioned before that it would be great to see a move away from SQLCE and XML configuration files."

"Some preferences and permissions are not quite self-explanatory, but those are rather advanced features."

"An area for improvement in VisualCron is its cluttered interface. It isn't always easy to find all functionalities, so what VisualCron needs is a user interface expert who can improve the interface. There's a learning curve in terms of finding what you need from the interface of VisualCron. The technical support for VisualCron also needs improvement in terms of response time. Currently, there's no live support or hotline you can call to get quick answers, so this is what I'd like to see in the next version of VisualCron. A less cluttered and more streamlined interface, where you don't need to hunt for some of the features, is also what I'd like to see in the next VisualCron update."

"There are some conditions in the mail trigger, but you can only use them as an "AND" condition, not as an "OR" condition."

"VisualCron's command console is a little bit difficult to understand and needs to improve."

"I want to improve the UI in VisualCron, as it's not as user-friendly, particularly when setting up the task scheduler."

"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."

More VisualCron cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Automation Anywhere is expensive, making it suitable only for enterprise organizations."

"Licensing costs range from $50,000 to $200,000."

"One of the things that will be good for the community will be to get the free version to download, which came out just a month ago called Community Edition. So, you can actually download it and try it for yourself."

"It's very good in terms of cost and pricing."

"We're on a license package with Automation Anywhere (AA), paid yearly. What would be better is for them to have different packages for different types of organization."

"There is an annual license to use the solution."

"The certifications are free of cost."

"I would rate the price of Automation Anywhere a six out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."

More Automation Anywhere 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."

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

More Fortra's Automate pricing and cost advice

"ROI is 95 percent."

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

"The price is a bit high."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	162
Midsize Enterprise	86
Large Enterprise	565

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	33
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	11

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

Questions from the Community

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It depends on your use case. Is it simply to automate a couple of processes? Is it to augment a human team? AA is ver...

See all answers

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

From my experience using AA tool, it depends on the applications that you want to automate, because there some applic...

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How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It is a highly preferred RPA tool. You can check my Automation Anywhere Review to know more.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?

I mainly use Fortra's Automate to automate routine IT tasks and schedule workflows, which reduces manual work. I auto...

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

The setup cost is free, but I believe it is a little expensive.

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What needs improvement with Fortra Automate?

Fortra's Automate could be improved as the reporting could be more flexible, and some advanced workflows could be eas...

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Comparisons

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Blue Prism vs Automation Anywhere

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Microsoft Power Automate vs Automation Anywhere

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AutomationEdge vs Automation Anywhere

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WorkFusion vs Automation Anywhere

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UiPath Platform vs Fortra's Automate

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Microsoft Power Automate vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 7% of the time

Blue Prism vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 3% of the time

OpenText Operations Orchestration vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 3% of the time

UiPath Automation Cloud vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 2% of the time

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ActiveBatch by Redwood vs VisualCron

Compared 10% of the time

Stonebranch vs VisualCron

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs VisualCron

Compared 7% of the time

Control-M vs VisualCron

Compared 6% of the time

Nintex RPA vs VisualCron

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere

November 2026

Download Automation Anywhere product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Automate

November 2026

Download Fortra's Automate product report

Buyer's Guide

VisualCron

October 2026

Download VisualCron product report

Also Known As

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise, Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)

HelpSystems Automate, Automate

No data available

Interactive Demo

Automation Anywhere

Demo not available

Fortra

Demo not available

SMA Technologies

Overview

Automation Anywhere offers ease of use, robust system connectivity, and GenAI-driven document automation through a cloud-native platform, significantly enhancing productivity across multiple industries with advanced AI features.

Delivering a comprehensive suite of tools designed for easy integration and rapid deployment, Automation Anywhere drives efficiency by reducing costs and automating repetitive tasks. Its cloud-native platform supports broad industry adoption, including advanced AI features like process automation and Co-Pilot, streamlining complex workflows with minimal technical skills required. Users benefit from robust integration capabilities, which facilitate seamless interaction with multiple systems. However, there is room for improvement in areas such as user-friendliness for beginners, stability, flexible licensing, and enhanced OCR functionality. Organizations in sectors such as banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare gain from the improved operational efficiency and ROI Automation Anywhere offers.

What are the important features of Automation Anywhere?

Ease of Use: Simplifies automation tasks with a user-centric interface.
Robust Connectivity: Provides seamless integration with multiple systems.
GenAI-Driven Document Automation: Leverages AI to automate document management.
Process Automation & Co-Pilot: Enhances workflow automation with advanced AI.
Cloud-Native Platform: Enables rapid deployment and integration.

What benefits should be evaluated in reviews?

Time Savings: Automation drastically reduces manual processing time.
Cost Efficiency: Decreases overall operational costs by automating tasks.
Productivity Enhancement: Streamlines workflows with AI-driven tools.
Improved Integration: Enhances ability to work with multiple systems.
Scalability: Supports growth with a flexible cloud-native architecture.

In the insurance industry, Automation Anywhere is utilized for automating processes such as enrollment management and compliance checks. Its applications extend to supply chain management, financial transactions, and business performance monitoring across sectors like banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare, helping organizations to automate routine tasks, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

Automation Anywhere

Fortra's Automate offers a user-friendly platform for task automation, featuring a drag-and-drop interface that aids in scheduling, file management, and integrating with services like Azure and AWS.

Fortra's Automate provides substantial ease in automating complex tasks through its intuitive design. It offers seamless integration capabilities, especially with Azure and AWS, and comes equipped with strong error handling. Cost-effective and requiring minimal coding, it supports a broad range of industries by effectively automating tasks such as HR operations, invoice management, and data processing across servers.

What features stand out in Fortra's Automate?

Drag-and-Drop Interface: Simplifies task setup and automation without deep coding expertise.
Scheduling and File Management: Ensures efficient, automated handling of tasks and file transfers.
Integration Capabilities: Works with platforms like Azure and AWS for enhanced performance.
Error Handling: Offers solid solutions to manage and resolve task execution errors.
Minimal Coding: Facilitates automation with limited coding requirements, broadening accessibility.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-Effectiveness: Provides affordable licensing options for diverse businesses.
Operational Efficiency: Enhances productivity by automating repetitive tasks, reducing manual errors.
Versatility: Adapts well across sectors like banking, healthcare, and transportation.
Robust Support: Offers extensive assistance with automation features.
IT Compatibility: Easily integrates into existing IT infrastructures.

In industries such as healthcare and transportation, Fortra's Automate facilitates the automation of client management, HR operations, and data processing, boosting efficiency. Banks utilize it for managing extensive invoice workflows, while distribution sectors rely on its capabilities for insurance checks and system support. Its applicability across servers makes it a valuable tool for any sector seeking to reduce manual workload and improve task accuracy.

Fortra

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

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics

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

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

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Automate vs. VisualCron

September 2026

Free Report: Fortra's Automate vs. VisualCron

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra's Automate vs. VisualCron and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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