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Microsoft Power Automate vs SAP Intelligent 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
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Power Automate
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
126
Ranking in other categories
Process Mining (2nd)
SAP Intelligent RPA
Ranking in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
9th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) category, the mindshare of Automate is 1.5%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Power Automate is 21.1%, down from 21.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Intelligent RPA is 1.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
 

Featured Reviews

Anabel Marco - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates processes efficiently with cost-effective scaling and robust customer support
Web scraping is quite good since it offers a lot of possibilities. Another important feature for me is its compatibility with MBI, the Power that is ISEQUADO Centers. I appreciate the ability to scale and increase the number of bots or studios without additional expense. Automate's non-reliance on additional orchestrators makes it quite cost-effective.
Nilesh Pundkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Good for email routing and management features but additional costs for plug-ins
Power Automate has fewer features and more limitations in general. It's not as mature a product as some of the others, like UiPath or Automate Anywhere. One of the main issues I've found is that Power Automate struggles with accessing Excel or other Office documents on servers. Even though it's a Microsoft product, we often have to log in through remote systems, and syncing can be problematic due to the way we use servers. At the very least, they should provide access to Office 365 directly, without requiring additional logins on servers. Most people utilizing Power Automate are already working within the Office 365 environment. Any proof of concepts (POCs) using Power Automate would naturally be built on top of Office 365.
Keerthana Jayathran - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers integration of the document extraction service into SAP ALC, enabling the direct upload and extraction of details
I found that SAP Intelligent RPA can be somewhat unstable when using SAP GUI. When we upgraded from SAP GUI version 7.50 to version 7.70, we had to update our SAP Intelligent RPA screens even though the screens were the same. This was difficult and time-consuming. The one I would like to see is in context with the screens, if they are using the same SAP UI, and if it updates, it should not be changed. At least it should be able to identify the screen. There should be more of an error, like a proper error feature, in future releases. Sometimes, we don't understand why that automation is not learning what, like, where it is stuck, what the reason is, or what the criteria we are missing to add. A proper error message would be helpful.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the drag-and-drop interface, which is very Windows-like."
"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 product effectively handles all the tasks we require."
"We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us."
"The most valuable features for my client are timing and scheduling."
"Fortra's Automate performs the job effectively and has the capability to alert us of any issues."
"The interface is simple, user-friendly, and very intuitive."
"The sequencer programming mode's ease of use is its most valuable aspect. The ease of calling out the functions in a sequence, basically from the functional side, is great."
"The solution is very easy to use. It's a code three platform that works very easily with documents to create custom automations."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to integrate across multiple systems."
"Power Automate has allowed us to simplify the business process and improve operational efficiency."
"It's not hard to learn, which means we'll be able to make more workflows in the future."
"The best feature is that it doesn't require any other connectivity."
"It is very easy to learn and use. It is quite useful for any sort of back-office work. Any kind of work with low and medium complexity is very doable in ProcessRobot. For higher complexity, some refinement is required, but it is doable."
"I like that Power Automate gives us a connector to be able to connect different data sources or different software."
"It is remarkably easy to configure and code, and it doesn't require an extensive technical background or coding expertise."
"The initial setup of SAP Contextor is easy."
"The most valuable feature of SAP Contextor is that everyone is in one place in the program that I need."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"Scalability is fine. It is pretty nice."
"Contextor is a good solution for a Citrix environment. It's the first with this tool. Other tools provide the same functionality, but not with the Citrix environment."
"The standout features of SAP Intelligent RPA are its flexibility and integration capabilities."
"Most of the details are already in the help portal and SAP notes are available. It is well documented as part of the product support."
 

Cons

"The OCR for Hebrew text needs to be improved."
"It's possible that they could use a stronger community for seeking guidance and help."
"I find that most important features are strong, however, there is a lack of good development for artificial intelligence, such as machine learning."
"I would like the updates to be easier to deploy. Integration with Amazon S3 is somewhat lacking."
"Fortra's Automate is not as reliable as I would like it to be."
"I would prefer not having to log in to update a ticket; being able to respond via email would be beneficial."
"I currently have three bugs open with them that I don't know if they are addressed in the new release."
"We really need a free development environment for customers. Building and testing automation on production isn't ideal."
"Automatic selectors that allow me to select parts of a website could be more adaptable."
"There should be more transparency when it comes to which features accompany the pricing, as there appear to be hidden features of which I am not aware."
"The UI of the solution is not so good."
"These products have some limitations, such as the need to build some custom controls in PCF or use the JSON format."
"The product should improve its RPA capabilities."
"I would like to have a user account so that the staff can see all of their requests, including the status and other details for each one, on the dashboard."
"The solution lacks maturity."
"It should work better for Angular websites, as it has a lot of problems."
"There should be more of an error, like a proper error feature, in future releases. Sometimes, we don't understand why that automation is not learning what, like, where it is stuck, or what is the reason like, or what is the criteria we are missing to add. So a proper error message would be helpful."
"The initial setup is of medium complexity. It is neither too hard nor too simple. You need some background in SAP and an understanding of it."
"The tool's licensing has been kind of a challenge...At the moment, the tool does not offer different licensing models to users."
"For potential features or improvements, one aspect I would suggest enhancing is the flexibility of the extraction process."
"I would like to see a better capacity for unstructured data, for example, PDF, or text within images."
"I found that the SAP scripting of a program is easier than SAP Contextor."
"One way SAP Intelligent RPA could improve is by integrating built-in DI services for document processing."
"SAP Contextor could improve by automating some processes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"I like the way this solution is priced because you can buy a license, or you can buy the software outright."
"From a distributor's perspective, one of the biggest selling points of Automate is its price point."
"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 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."
"Compared to other products, the pricing model for this solution is much more convenient, flexible, and adaptable to the Portuguese reality."
"There should be increased transparency about which features attend the pricing."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"When we purchase the Microsoft Dynamics license, the Power Automate license is often free, albeit with some limitations, such as a certain number of transactions per user."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing two to three out of ten."
"My company switched to a monthly payment for the WinAutomation by Softomotive license. I don't have the exact figure, but it roughly amounts to 500 Euros a year which isn't bad."
"It had by far the fairest licensing on the market. For the money, you got a very good value."
"Currently, we are using the free license for testing. After everything is done, we'll buy the license."
"With our Microsoft Office 365 license, we are able to use Microsoft Power Automate."
"The pricing is not that expensive. It is manageable."
"The initial cost might seem higher, but over time, with continued use over five or ten years, the cost tends to decrease, making it a more economical choice."
"It all comes with a bundle right now. Having advanced features, it is competitively priced."
"This is not a tool or software with a license as others are. The SaaS model is based on the usage of the tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
5%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Energy/Utilities Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HelpSystems AutoMate?
We use it for specific cases, mainly secure file transfers, which are vital for us. And it works for us.
What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?
I am a consultant and I am making a lot of processes in human resources, payroll, certifications, trainings, web scra...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?
The pricing is quite good compared to its competitors. Competitors are often more expensive than Automate. I would ra...
RPA that Bots can run without centralized control?
Yes, Attended Bots which can run without centralized control Module. RPA Tools like Automation Anywhere, uiPath ,Pow...
How do I choose between UiPath and Microsoft Power Automate?
Microsoft‌ ‌Power‌ ‌Automate‌ ‌is‌ ‌intuitive‌ ‌and‌ ‌easy‌ ‌to‌ ‌integrate‌ ‌and‌ ‌use.‌ ‌I‌ ‌like‌ ‌that‌ ‌there‌ ‌...
How is Automation Anywhere compared to Microsoft Power Automate?
‌Neither‌ ‌solution‌ ‌requires‌ ‌any‌ ‌coding‌ ‌experience,‌ ‌and‌ ‌both‌ ‌are‌ ‌easy‌ ‌to‌ ‌use‌ ‌and‌ ‌have‌ ‌great...
What do you like most about SAP Contextor?
The standout features of SAP Intelligent RPA are its flexibility and integration capabilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Contextor?
The pricing for SAP Intelligent RPA operates on a model that considers power usage and transactions per job. It is ad...
What needs improvement with SAP Contextor?
The tool's licensing has been kind of a challenge. If the tool can bring up a usage-based licensing model, it would b...
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
Power Automate, Microsoft Flow, MS Power Automate, WinAutomation by Softomotive, ProcessRobot by Softomotive, Minit
SAP Contextor, Contextor
 

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
1. Coca-Cola 2. General Electric 3. Siemens 4. Accenture 5. Deloitte 6. Johnson & Johnson 7. Ford 8. Nestle 9. Procter & Gamble 10. IBM 11. Amazon 12. Google 13. Microsoft 14. Adobe 15. Cisco 16. Oracle 17. SAP 18. Intel 19. HP 20. Dell 21. Verizon 22. AT&T 23. T-Mobile 24. Walmart 25. Target 26. Home Depot 27. McDonald's 28. Starbucks 29. Nike 30. Apple 31. Facebook 32. Twitter
BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Kabel Deutschland, Orange, Carrefour
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Power Automate vs. SAP Intelligent RPA and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.