Which RPA tool should I learn being a C# Developer

c# uipath blueprism rpa automationanywhere
user841311 picture user841311 · Oct 8, 2017 · Viewed 12.3k times · Source

I am a .NET developer who primarily developed web and stand alone apps using C# since beginning of my career. I am now interested to learn RPA so which RPA tool is best for me to learn where I can use my .NET skills more.

I came to know from Google that we can use C# in code stage of Blue Prism but nothing much about other famous tools like AA, UIPath, OpenSpan etc.

I understand that its best to select RPA tool based on requirements but I'm not looking that far as I haven't got a chance to work on a RPA project yet. I'm only looking from a .NET perspective. Thanks!

Answer

Roel Strolenberg picture Roel Strolenberg · Oct 9, 2017

Blue Prism is a good tool to start learning RPA with, but as Andrzej already pointed out: it's not free. Not even a little bit!

AA is mainly javascript and vbs and also very expensive!

UIPath, however, is free! (for small enterprises). The coding is in VB, which is .NET's predecessor. UIPath is also growing and used (currently) mostly in Eastern Europe (as far as I know).

In my opinion though: you're a developer. Whatever RPA tool you'll pick up is going to be child's play as there's very little coding involved among the more popular RPA tools.

UPDATE

Now that Automation Anywhere launched their own free community version, I will alter my previous statement:

"Either UiPath or Automation Anywhere are good starting points for new RPA Developers. I've worked with both for quite some time and they both have their pros and cons. A lot comes down to personal preference. In the end; if you know one, you will more easily pick up another."

UPDATE 2

As @Sergiu pointed out, this thread has become somewhat dated and so has this answer. The answer itself remains valid though, as UiPath still employs VB (.NET) most extensively in comparison to the other popular RPA tools.

That being said, UiPath has (according to Gartner) become the most used RPA tool worldwide, which arguably makes this answer all the more viable. Note though, that nowadays, BluePrism and Automation Anywhere also have community editions.

This would make BluePrism a notable contender for the OP's answer, but market-wise, I still suggest going for (sticking to?) UiPath.

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