Software category guide
Robotic process automation (RPA) tools automate repetitive work on screens and applications: clicking, typing, moving data between systems and scraping. Free options come in two forms: vendor community editions with usage terms, and open-source frameworks you run yourself.
This page is for developers, IT teams and small businesses that want to start automating without a license budget. It covers seven options and explains the trade-offs between visual studios and code-first frameworks. Free terms change, so check each vendor before relying on them for production.
Tools, licences and pricing checked against vendor and repository pages on November 7, 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| UiPath Community Edition | Learning and building RPA with a visual studio | Community Edition free; paid plans from $25/month (Basic), others contact sales | Proprietary |
| Robot Framework | Code-friendly teams automating tests and processes | Free, open source | Apache-2.0 |
| RPA Framework | Python and Robot Framework RPA bots | Free, open source | Apache-2.0 |
| OpenRPA | Windows desktop automation without license fees | Free, open source | MPL-2.0 |
| Playwright | Reliable web UI automation in code | Free, open source | Apache-2.0 |
| Microsoft Power Automate | Microsoft 365 organizations | Premium $15/user/month (billed yearly); 30-day trial | Proprietary |
| Automation Anywhere | Learning enterprise RPA | See vendor pricing | Proprietary |
Best for: Learning and building RPA with a visual studio · Community Edition free; paid plans from $25/month (Basic), others contact sales
Free edition of the UiPath automation platform. UiPath's pricing page lists Community Edition as free forever with Studio or SDK development.
Best for: Code-friendly teams automating tests and processes · Free, open source
Open-source, keyword-driven automation framework for testing and RPA, extended by libraries such as Browser, Selenium and RPA Framework.
Best for: Python and Robot Framework RPA bots · Free, open source
Collection of open-source libraries and tools for RPA with Robot Framework and Python, covering browser, desktop, Excel, email and PDF tasks.
Best for: Windows desktop automation without license fees · Free, open source
Open-source RPA tool for Windows with a designer and robots, designed to work with the OpenFlow orchestrator.
Best for: Reliable web UI automation in code · Free, open source
Open-source browser automation library from Microsoft that drives Chromium, Firefox and WebKit through one API, with JavaScript, Python, .NET and Java bindings.
Best for: Microsoft 365 organizations · Premium $15/user/month (billed yearly); 30-day trial
Microsoft's automation platform with cloud flows and desktop flows for RPA. Desktop flows appear in paid plans on the pricing page.
Best for: Learning enterprise RPA · See vendor pricing
Enterprise automation vendor that offers a Community Edition for learning and small use.
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| If you need… | Start with |
|---|---|
| A visual studio to learn RPA | UiPath Community Edition |
| Code-first, test-friendly automation | Robot Framework |
| Python bots with ready libraries | RPA Framework |
| Windows desktop automation, open source | OpenRPA |
| Web-only automation in code | Playwright |
| You are on Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Power Automate |
Quick answers to common questions
Yes. Open-source tools such as Robot Framework, RPA Framework, OpenRPA and Playwright are free, and UiPath lists a free-forever Community Edition.
Open-source tools usually lack a built-in orchestrator and support; vendor community editions can restrict commercial use, so read the terms.
For web-only workflows, often yes. It does not automate native desktop applications.
Its pricing page lists desktop flows in paid plans, so treat it as paid for RPA.
No. AI Singapore states it has discontinued maintenance, so it was left out.
List it on TechLogHub and we'll review it for this guide.
