ActiveBatch by Redwood vs GoAnywhere MFT comparison

ActiveBatch by Redwood and Fortra are both solutions in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category. ActiveBatch by Redwood is ranked #10 with an average rating of 9.4, while Fortra is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7. ActiveBatch by Redwood holds a 2.1% mindshare in MFT, compared to Fortra’s 9.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of ActiveBatch by Redwood users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortra users who would recommend it.

ActiveBatch by Redwood

Read 35 ActiveBatch by Redwood reviews

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100% willing to recommend

GoAnywhere MFT

Read 53 GoAnywhere MFT reviews

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1,163 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

ActiveBatch by Redwood

GoAnywhere MFT

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 8, 2025

ActiveBatch by Redwood and GoAnywhere MFT both compete in the enterprise automation market. ActiveBatch appears to have an edge in platform integration and workflow customization, while GoAnywhere MFT excels in secure file transfers and encryption.

Features: ActiveBatch offers robust automation features, including integration across diverse platforms, numerous built-in steps to enhance efficiency, and extensive customization options for complex workflows. It provides comprehensive visibility of workflows through a single pane of glass, reducing manual efforts and optimizing processes. GoAnywhere MFT focuses on secure file transfers, utilizing extensive encryption features, comprehensive workflow automation, and built-in file monitoring systems to improve data exchange efficiency and security.

Room for Improvement: ActiveBatch users face a steep learning curve due to its complexity, with struggles in onboarding and navigation. Suggested enhancements include better help resources and cloud platform integration. GoAnywhere MFT could improve its UI design and documentation for novice users, and enhance Cloud Connectors to improve cloud service integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both ActiveBatch and GoAnywhere MFT are primarily deployed on-premises but support various environments including cloud options. ActiveBatch receives mixed reviews for its technical team, while GoAnywhere is praised for prompt and efficient service. Both platforms could improve user experience by streamlining support processes for consistent responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: ActiveBatch offers flexible licensing and a valuable agentless model, leading to significant ROI through operational efficiencies. GoAnywhere MFT is reasonably priced, with users finding value in its robust security features and ease of use. Its flexible licensing structure is appealing to organizations mindful of data transfer costs. Both solutions provide long-term savings and value, although pricing remains a key consideration for future feature expansion.

To learn more, read our detailed ActiveBatch by Redwood vs. GoAnywhere MFT Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ActiveBatch by Redwood vs. GoAnywhere MFT

June 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

ActiveBatch by Redwood

Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)

10th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Process Automation (9th), Workload Automation (9th)

GoAnywhere MFT

Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)

2nd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category, the mindshare of ActiveBatch by Redwood is 2.1%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GoAnywhere MFT is 9.8%, up from 6.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Managed File Transfer (MFT)

Featured Reviews

Shubham Bharti

Senior Analyst at Capgemini

Flexible, easy to use, and offers good automation

Occasionally, I find myself contemplating if there is room for improvement in the user interface (UI), and envisioning that with certain enhancements. The UI could potentially offer a more refined and user-friendly experience, fostering smoother interactions and facilitating easier navigation for users engaging with the application. New users might encounter a minor setback due to the absence of readily accessible training videos, which could have otherwise proven to be an invaluable resource in aiding their initial familiarization with the platform, potentially hindering their seamless onboarding process and delaying their ability to harness the software's full range of capabilities to its utmost potential.

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Vidyasagar Gupta

File Transfer Analyst at IG Group

Enables secure and efficient file transfers with customizable automations

The biggest improvement I've seen since using GoAnywhere MFT for three to four years is in security; control over our network security is the biggest factor to consider, and the solution automatically identifies and blocks attempts to attack our system. Additionally, the transfer speed is impressive; even if files are in GBs, it doesn't take much time to transfer, increasing our organization's efficiency significantly. In my opinion, the best feature of GoAnywhere MFT is its user-friendly UI; it's very simple to use compared to other managed file transfer tools such as MOVEit and Axway, which are a bit more complicated. While we don't use any connectors for services such as Salesforce, SharePoint Online, or MS365, GoAnywhere MFT does have the capability of connecting to these systems either through SFTP, HTTPS protocols, or API-based connections. The way it works here is different; we set up a resource-based connection to connect to various services such as SAP or Salesforce. The range of connectors that GoAnywhere MFT provides out of the box is quite extensive; it covers everything from legacy tools that support AS2 connections to the latest services such as AWS and Azure Blobs. I'm very satisfied with the connectivity options available in GoAnywhere MFT; they include everything you can think of, and as long as the system you want to connect to accepts connections, we can connect using AS2, AS4, and other cloud connectors. In relation to the agents, they are crucial for extending MFT automation to remote systems. I've noticed that in my previous organization, agents were not used as we connected via network shares, which led to occasional connectivity issues. Now, using agents increases the file transfer speed by about 20 to 30%, and they provide a more stable connection compared to legacy network shares.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"ActiveBatch helped us automate and schedule routine tasks such as data backups, file transfers, database updates, and report generation, which frees IT staff to focus on other studies."

"We use the main job-scheduling feature. It's the only thing we use in the tool. That's the reason we are using the tool: to reduce costs by replacing manual tasks with automated tasks and to perform regular, repetitive tasks in a more reliable way."

"The software offers real-time monitoring and reporting features that let IT teams keep tabs on the progress of their batch operations and workflows."

"The product offers a centralized platform for managing activities across many environments, applications, etc."

"The automation feature is a very valuable feature as the associates do not have to worry about performing repetitive tasks (i.e. endpoint security scans on a daily basis) that would take several hours to complete on a daily basis."

"From a scheduling point of view, it is pretty good."

"We are able to integrate it into multiple third-party tools like email, backup, tracking systems, SharePoint, Slack alerts, etc."

"One of the most valuable features is the job templates. If we need to create an FTP job, we just drag over the FTP template and fill out the requirements using the variables that ActiveBatch uses. And that makes it reusable. We can create a job once but use it for many different clients."

More ActiveBatch by Redwood pros

"We like that GoAnywhere helps to centralize the exchange of data among our systems, employees, and customers."

"I like the versatility GoAnywhere provides, allowing transfers through HTTPS and different protocols. It can also transfer through a server and a client."

"Handling file transfers is efficient and accurate, which enhances our business processes by minimizing human error and improving accuracy, ultimately reducing costs."

"It helps me keep all my sensitive data and files secure and safe. The software's user interface is friendly and intuitive, making it easy to use and navigate without any hassle."

"The most valuable features are the automatic processing of files and scheduled execution of the files."

"The best feature of GoAnywhere is that transfers are straightforward if there are no other requirements from the source and destination. It doesn't require much maintenance."

"The most valuable feature is customer data transfers for traditional SFTP. Some of our biggest customers are on the platform, and it works out very well for us as a big selling point."

"It streamlines the files. Anyone can go pick up the file that we give access to. It is great."

More GoAnywhere MFT pros

Cons

"The user interface can be improved so that it is more appealing and accessible to new users."

"Between version 10 and version 12 there was a change. In version 10, they had each object in its own folder. But on the back end, they saw it at the root level. So when we moved over to version 12, everything was in the same area mixed together. It was incredibly difficult and we actually had to create our own folders and move those objects—like schedules, jobs, user accounts—and manually put those into folders, whereas the previous version already had it."

"Providing some detailed training materials could be very helpful for new users who have very limited technical information about the tool."

"ActiveBatch is a little complex."

"It does have a little bit of a learning curve because it is fairly complex. You have to learn how it does things. I don't know if it's any worse than any other tool would be, just because of the nature of what it does... the learning curve is the hardest part."

"The help center and documentation are not that helpful."

"As more organizations are moving towards a cloud-based infrastructure, ActiveBatch could incorporate more capabilities that support popular cloud platforms, such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud."

"Any product is going to have some room for improvement, no matter what. I see the company has already ventured into AWS and they're constantly trying to improve the managed file transfer which they have recently improvised. I think they bought a software called JSCAPE and they're trying to improve it, which is good. I am not sure if JSCAPE would be part of the base product but currently, you have to buy a separate license for it, which doesn't make sense. If it was Microsoft, ServiceNow, or integrating with other software vendors, I would understand but JSCAPE is now in-house and I'm not sure if they can justify having a separate license for JSCAPE. I would probably expect them to be packaging JSCAPE into the base product. They did switch over from a perpetual license model to a subscription model, which hurt the company a little bit. Nobody is offering the perpetual model anymore. As long as the transition is fair for both the companies, I think it should be fine and not burn us out."

More ActiveBatch by Redwood cons

"The solution's support for the Unix platform and AS2 should be improved."

"Writing variables is sometimes difficult. It would be helpful if they provided additional basic training for administrators who manage this product."

"The UI of GoAnywhere MFT could be a bit crisper because sometimes it gets tricky to find where to look for information."

"It would be helpful to have a way to actually have a job run without notifying the email addresses you have set up and without posting to the actual FTP... when you need to make a small change to a job that is deployed to production, and test that change, you have to go back and reset everything. It's not really a great way to test."

"The customer support is a bit slow from their end. The time lag they take to respond to our queries is more than expected, so I would give a solid seven out of ten for the customer support."

"While the technical support team is knowledgeable, their response time for critical issues needs improvement. A response within one business day is insufficient for urgent matters."

"On the platform side, I would like to see some improvements in the dashboarding and telemetry data."

"For us, it is perfect. It is a good solution that we are using, and we are going to continue to do so. However, it should be advertised more as a solution. I did not see it out there beforehand."

More GoAnywhere MFT cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I like ActiveBatch Workload Automation's licensing model because they're not holding you down on an agentless model or agent model, where every server needs to have an agent. That's the main selling point of the solution and I hope they stay that way."

"It allows for lower operational overhead."

"Currently, we are paying approximately $7,000 yearly, which includes support."

"I don't think we've ever had a problem with the pricing or licensing. Even the maintenance fees are very much in line. They are not excessive. I think for the support that you get, you get a good value for your money. It's the best value on the market."

"The price was fairly in line with other automation tools. I don't think it's exorbitantly expensive, relatively speaking."

"ActiveBatch is currently redesigning themselves. In the past, they were a low cost solution for automation. They had a nice tool that was very inexpensive. With their five-year plan, they will be more enhancement-driven, so they're trying to improve their software, customer service, and the way that their customers get information from them. In doing that, they're raising the price of their base system. They changed from one pricing model to another, which has caused some friction between ActiveBatch and us. We're working through that right now with them. That's one of the reasons why we're why we were evaluating other software packages."

"If you compare ActiveBatch licensing to Control-M, you're looking at $50,000 as opposed to millions."

"The pricing was fair. There are additional costs for the plugins. We have the standard licensing fees for different pieces, then we have the plugins which were add-ons. However, we expected that."

"I find it to be very fair. It is very good."

"GoAnywhere's price is justified by its features and the time it saves me."

"It is very attractive. In terms of the capacity of the product and functionality, it is a good price."

"The cost is fine. It is probably the best software that I've had for the money that we spend for it. I am not aware of any costs in addition to the standard licensing fees. I don't pay for it. IT pays for it."

"Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT pricing is competitive."

"It has flexible and affordable pricing because of custom quotes. The prices depend on the modules one needs and the volume of data being transferred. Overall, they offer custom and flexible pricing with an annual subscription, where you pay for specific features and functionality required."

"After evaluating other solutions, we found the pricing they offered to be genuinely competitive."

"I get the invoices, and its price is fine and appropriate. It is well priced. Even if it was double the price, we'd use it. For us, it is indispensable. We're not going to go anywhere else. There are no additional costs. Its licensing is good. There is just one charge that we get. That's it."

More GoAnywhere MFT pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ActiveBatch Workload Automation?

Managing the workload and monitoring the tasks were very difficult with manual interventions. Now, by using ActiveBatch, the process is automated and it runs tasks on a scheduled basis.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ActiveBatch Workload Automation?

I'd advise users to start by knowing what the actual requirement is and thoroughly assess the automation needs. New users should take advantage of the demos and trial versions so they get an idea o...

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What needs improvement with ActiveBatch Workload Automation?

After upgrades we are facing a few issues and errors triggered, so focusing on this would be appreciated. Some of the advanced features in the user interface are a bit confusing even after referrin...

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What do you like most about Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?

GoDrive eliminates the need to use the exchange server for file sharing.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?

After evaluating other solutions, we found the pricing they offered to be genuinely competitive. Compared to other competitors, they are highly recommended and have provided good pricing. I would r...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?

The speed could be better, and the user interface could be more user-friendly. In some areas, it's a bit complex and the learning trajectory is steep, so they can definitely improve on these aspects.

See all answers

Comparisons

Control-M vs ActiveBatch by Redwood

Compared 18% of the time

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform vs ActiveBatch by Redwood

Compared 13% of the time

AutoSys Workload Automation vs ActiveBatch by Redwood

Compared 10% of the time

Stonebranch vs ActiveBatch by Redwood

Compared 10% of the time

Redwood RunMyJobs vs ActiveBatch by Redwood

Compared 10% of the time

More ActiveBatch by Redwood Competitors

IBM Sterling File Gateway vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 14% of the time

JSCAPE by Redwood vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 13% of the time

MOVEit vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 11% of the time

Control-M vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 6% of the time

BMC Control-M Managed File Transfer vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 6% of the time

More GoAnywhere MFT Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ActiveBatch by Redwood

June 2025

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Buyer's Guide

GoAnywhere MFT

June 2025

Download GoAnywhere MFT product report

Also Known As

ActiveBatch

HelpSystems GoAnywhere MFT, GoAnywhere MFT, GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer,

Overview

ActiveBatch by Redwood automates and manages batch processes, data integration tasks, and workflow scheduling. It's used for file transfers, data processing, server monitoring, and report generation, supporting both on-prem and cloud environments.

Organizations implement ActiveBatch by Redwood to automate complex job scheduling and data workflows, integrating seamlessly with FTP, SQL, PowerShell, and other systems. With features like real-time monitoring, error handling, and centralized management, users can significantly boost productivity while minimizing manual intervention. Its flexibility in supporting on-premises and cloud environments makes it adaptable for diverse IT landscapes. The tool simplifies workflow orchestration with an extensive library of pre-built steps and robust API integrations, ensuring efficiency in handling various workloads.

What are ActiveBatch by Redwood's key features?

Job automation: Automates routine and complex jobs.
Real-time monitoring: Offers instant insights into job performance.
Customizable workflows: Tailors workflows to specific business needs.
PowerShell integration: Supports advanced script execution.
Job triggering: Initiates tasks based on specific conditions.
File handling: Manages file transfers and processing efficiently.
Server management: Monitors and handles server tasks consistently.
API integration: Connects with various applications for streamlined operations.
Alerting: Provides notifications for critical job events.
Flexible scheduling: Enables detailed and adaptable job scheduling.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Centralized management: Simplifies oversight of all processes.
Productivity boost: Reduces manual effort and errors.
Time savings: Accelerates task completion and workflow execution.
Comprehensive visibility: Enhances monitoring of all job activities.
Reliable performance: Ensures consistent task execution.
Scalability: Adapts to growing business and IT needs.

In various industries, ActiveBatch by Redwood is used to streamline operations, whether in finance handling large-scale data processing, healthcare managing patient records, or retail optimizing supply chains. It addresses specific needs by offering robust automation, efficient job scheduling, and seamless integration with existing systems, driving operational excellence and efficiency.

ActiveBatch by Redwood

GoAnywhere MFT offers user-friendly workflow features, advanced security, and seamless integrations. Its intuitive interface supports streamlined operations and rapid project creation, making it suitable for managing secure file transfers.

GoAnywhere MFT provides sophisticated automation through Advanced Workflows, enabling reduced manual tasks and improved efficiency. With centralized data exchange, file monitoring, and comprehensive security protocols, it supports scalability, encryption, and IP filtering for enhanced protection. Users appreciate its adaptability with systems including IBM and Epic, contributing to improved process management and significant time savings. While beneficial, enhancements in DNS support, user interface intuitiveness, and customer service responsiveness are potential growth areas. License costs are noted as high, with demands for better documentation, cloud service integrations, and improved scalability and load-balancing functionalities.

What are the key features of GoAnywhere MFT?

User-Friendly Workflows: Intuitive interface streamlines operations.
Advanced Security: Includes encryption, IP filters, and monitoring.
Seamless Integrations: Adapts to systems like IBM and Epic.
Automation: Simplifies processes with reduced manual tasks.
Scalability: Grows with business needs.

What are the benefits and ROI of using GoAnywhere MFT?

Improved Efficiency: Reduces workload through automation.
Time Savings: Accelerates project delivery.
Enhanced Security: Protects data with advanced protocols.
Adaptability: Supports multiple platforms and integrations.
Process Management: Simplifies and streamlines data exchange.

GoAnywhere MFT is deployed by organizations for secure file transfers across systems like financial, healthcare, and corporate sectors. It supports SFTP, FTP, and HTTPS for data exchanges and is highly effective in automating processes and managing large file movements efficiently. It integrates well with cloud platforms like Azure and accommodates environments such as Windows, Linux, and IBM iSeries.

Fortra

Sample Customers

Informatica, D&H, ACES, PrimeSource, Sub-Zero Group, SThree, Lamar Advertising, Subway, Xcel Energy, Ignite Technologies, Whataburger, Jyske Bank, Omaha Children's Hospital

McKesson City of Modesto, California Kwik Trip Northwestern University Charter Communications

Buyer's Guide

ActiveBatch by Redwood vs. GoAnywhere MFT

June 2025

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