UiPath Review (2026): Is It Still The King of Automation?

For over a decade, UiPath has been the undisputed king of Robotic Process Automation (RPA). While tools like Zapier connect APIs, UiPath deploys "Software Robots" that can mimic human actions—clicking buttons, reading screens, and filling out forms on legacy desktop software that has no API.

In 2026, UiPath has pivoted hard to AI-Powered Automation. With features like "Autopilot" and "Clipboard AI," it claims to have lowered the barrier to entry. But with Microsoft Power Automate offering similar features for free in Windows, is UiPath still the best choice for businesses?

What Does UiPath Do?

UiPath automates the "boring stuff" that traditional code cannot reach.

• UI Automation: It can "see" your screen. If you have a 20-year-old accounting software that requires you to manually click "File > Save," a UiPath robot can do that 1,000 times a minute without errors.
• Document Understanding: It uses OCR and AI to read invoices, receipts, and contracts, extracting specific data points (like "Total Due") and entering them into SAP or Salesforce.
• Autopilot (New): Instead of building complex workflows manually, you can now type "Take all email attachments from the 'Invoices' folder and upload them to OneDrive," and the AI builds the automation for you.

UiPath vs. Microsoft Power Automate

This is the main battleground for automation in 2026.

Feature	UiPath	Microsoft Power Automate
Best For	Complex, Enterprise Workflows	Simple Office 365 Tasks
Legacy App Support	Excellent (Citrix/Mainframe)	Good (Desktop Flows)
Learning Curve	Steep (Requires training)	Moderate
Pricing	Expensive (Pro starts ~$420/mo)	Cheap (Included in Windows/365)

UiPath Pricing (2026)

UiPath's pricing structure is often confusing. Here is the simplified breakdown:

• Community Edition (Free): This is a full-featured version for individuals, developers, and small businesses (under $5M revenue). It allows you to run automations on your local machine for free. It is widely considered the best free RPA tool on the market.
• Pro Plan (~$420/mo): For departments. Includes cloud orchestration, meaning you can schedule robots to run while you sleep.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited robots and advanced GPU AI capabilities.

Is It Legit?

Yes. UiPath is a Fortune 500-level tool used by agencies like NASA, Deloitte, and Uber. It is arguably the most secure and scalable automation platform available, which is why it commands a premium price tag.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is UiPath free?

Yes, the Community Edition is free forever for personal use and small businesses. It includes almost all the features of the Enterprise version, making it perfect for learning RPA.

2. Do I need to know coding?

Technically, no. It uses a drag-and-drop interface. However, understanding basic programming concepts (variables, loops, if/else logic) is highly recommended to build stable automations.

3. Can it automate web browsers?

Yes. UiPath has extensions for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox that allow it to interact with web pages, scrape data, and fill forms at lightning speed.

4. What is the difference between Studio and StudioX?

UiPath Studio is for developers building complex bots. StudioX is a simplified version for business users (non-coders) to automate their own daily tasks (like Excel to Email).

5. Does it work on Mac?

UiPath allows you to build automations on Mac (using web-based tools), but the actual "Robot" usually runs best on a Windows environment due to deep OS integrations.