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.

Read full review

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

"Automation Anywhere is a valuable tool, as a developer I can do whatever I want: if I want to do automation with the web, Windows, mainframe, or SAP applications, we can do whatever we want with automations using Automation Anywhere."

"Automation Anywhere is very easy to use; it's a low-code platform that a person who doesn't have any technical knowledge can use."

"The marketing automation software provides easy workflow creation and management."

"MetaBots are useful when connecting to websites or to forms with objects that need to be captured."

"Improved Efficiency : Post RPA services, the efficiency and accuracy of the processes have increased tremendously and now the employees can focus more on important research and analysis work."

"Co-pilot certainly makes the job easier if the client has a subscription. It allows me to analyze desktop flows and activities and create flows using natural language."

"I found the new feature of integrating Python and HTML the most valuable."

"Automation Anywhere's image reader is the most valuable feature."

More Automation Anywhere pros

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

"Fortra's Automate performs the job effectively and has the capability to alert us of any issues."

"Fortra's Automate positively impacts my organization by reducing costs, errors, and time because I can create any automation for saving time."

"The stability is very good; as far as I know, we haven't had any issues so far, it's very reliable, and the performance is good."

"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."

"Automate's best feature is that we do not need to write any code; we can create our jobs using the drag and drop option available, and any technical member without coding expertise can use this tool."

"We have found the pricing to be very reasonable."

"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."

More Fortra's Automate pros

"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."

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

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

"The tool has reduced our operational costs by 40%."

"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."

"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."

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

"It helped us reduce manual steps."

More VisualCron pros

Cons

"The EXE license is such that I can create executable files from the developer machine and deploy it; however, the file that you created can only be deployed to one system, so if you wanted to deploy this test file to, say, 10 test systems you would need 10 licenses."

"The product is not totally stable."

"Autosuggestion of existing use cases based on the problem statement could use improvement."

"Now, it is a big complex to download the product and install it, then again to install the patches. So, it takes a lot of time to download it."

"I would like to have a cloud-based version with support."

"Anything that can be done to simplify the solution. I would love to see it where anybody who can run Excel will be able to create bots. Right now, I am watching everyone around me struggle with the tool."

"If you were to come to me and ask for an OCR to be done, I could only guarantee you about eighty percent accuracy."

"I am looking forward to seeing writing on Linux in the web and WorkBatch in the next release."

More Automation Anywhere cons

"I have encountered challenges with error handling and alerting, as some jobs fail and require retries."

"Some challenges include the system being too loaded or delayed in taking instructions and responding quickly as needed."

"Areas for improvement in Automate would be a more modern web-based workflow designer, an enhanced real-time monitoring dashboard, and built-in API integration tools for REST and SOAP."

"The solution has a very weak knowledge base."

"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."

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

"I believe we need to test various OCR tools that assist in evaluating, let's say, six different customer resyncs. We analyze their spending patterns and documentations, but current OCR support has limitations, requiring highly standardized documents, which isn't always the case. With a more advanced OCR system, we could improve processes related to credit risk management and legal matters. We're exploring how to integrate Fortra's Automate with our CRM platform, taking cues from instances where Salesforce seamlessly merged with Automate. However, we use a different CRM, Insight for New Enterprise, and we're seeking ways to connect the automation process within our CRM. We aim for the automation to continue smoothly, even in instances where traditional automation methods might face hurdles."

"There are newer AWS services such as Lambda or Security Hub that security analysts use to detect malicious traffic or alerts, but the integration is not available for these, so we still rely on custom scripting because there are no options for drag-and-drop with these newer services."

More Fortra's Automate cons

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

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

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

"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."

More VisualCron cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost can be reduced a little for users."

"With the rebate processing automation that we did, it has provided us a savings of around an hour or two a person on a daily basis, which is quite a lot of savings."

"I don't agree with the IQ Bot licensing costs, which depends on the consumption of the document rather than per bot or user. This is confusing for me, because most of the cases for us in a possible future scenario, there would be a lot of invalid data to be scanned to get to real data. E.g., we would have to supply approximately 100 pages of scanned data to extract two pages of original data. In these type of cases, the IQ Bot might be a costly venture."

"If it is saving FTE and Generating a good ROI then it is Worth Investing."

"I don't know exactly what the pricing schemes are for the product as this type of negotiation is not my responsibility, but I think the basic pricing comes to $15,000."

"Automation Anywhere has an advantage in terms of licensing. It is more cost-efficient compared to all other RPA platforms. It is a recommended solution when clients need a cost-efficient automation tool to perform unattended automation."

"The price is very reasonable."

"Pricing is too high for small-scale groups. The Control Room yearly fee is high, making it difficult to break even."

More Automation Anywhere pricing and cost advice

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

"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."

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

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

"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."

"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."

More Fortra's Automate pricing and cost advice

"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."

"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."

"ROI is 95 percent."

"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."

"ROI is one month."

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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...

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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

UiPath Platform vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 10% of the time

Blue Prism vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 4% of the time

AutomationEdge vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 3% of the time

WorkFusion vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 2% of the time

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UiPath Platform vs Fortra's Automate

Compared 10% of the time

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

More VisualCron Competitors

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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