By Rajesh Kannan, Co-Founder & CTO, Gramosoft · Last updated: · Microsoft and UiPath prices checked on their own pages on November 9, 2026

Every RPA buyer reaches the same fork. You can buy licences, build the bots and run them yourself. Or you can pay a provider a monthly fee to build, host and fix the bots for you, which is usually called RPA as a service. The first quote you see for each rarely tells you which one costs less over three years.

This guide starts with how Gramosoft prices and runs bots, since we offer both routes and an open-source one. Then it shows what each model really includes, the licence prices vendors publish, a break-even you can check yourself, and what to look for in a service contract before you sign.

TL;DR

  • Gramosoft builds bots on open-source Robot Framework and Python (no licence fee) or on Power Automate, UiPath and Automation Anywhere, and can run them for you with monitoring, fixes and hosting.
  • RPA as a service usually costs less when you have one to a few bots and no RPA staff: you pay one monthly fee instead of licences, servers and a team.
  • Buying licences usually costs less when the bot count grows and you have people to build and fix bots in-house.
  • Licence price is only one line. Servers, the vault, monitoring and fixes after screens change often cost more than the licence itself.
  • Real numbers: Power Automate lists ₹12,480 per unattended bot a month in India; on pay-as-you-go, an unattended run costs $3.00, so above about 50 runs a month the per-bot licence is cheaper.

Is RPA as a service cheaper than buying licences? For a small number of bots and no in-house RPA team, RPA as a service usually costs less because one monthly fee replaces licences, servers, monitoring and support staff. As the bot count grows and you build a team, buying licences usually wins. Gramosoft can run bots for you, or build open-source bots that need no licence at all.

Swipe the table sideways on mobile →

Route You pay for Costs less when Watch out for
Gramosoft open-source bots Build and support; no licence fee You want no per-bot licences Needs a partner or Python skills to maintain
RPA as a service One monthly fee: build, hosting, monitoring, fixes Few bots, no RPA staff Who owns the code; exit terms
Buy licences Licences, servers, build, your own support team Many bots, in-house team Costs that the licence price leaves out
Pay-as-you-go Per run (Power Automate: $3.00 per unattended run) Low or uneven run volume Costs climb fast with volume

How Gramosoft prices and runs RPA bots

Gramosoft is a Chennai software company that builds RPA bots and keeps them running. We don't sell one vendor's licences, so we can recommend whichever route costs you less: open-source Robot Framework and Python bots with no licence fee, or Power Automate, UiPath and Automation Anywhere where you already own licences or need their features.

Swipe the table sideways on mobile →

What you need From Gramosoft
Know which route costs less RPA consulting: we cost each process both ways before you commit
Bots with no licence fee RPA development on open-source Robot Framework and Python
Bots on licences you own UiPath, Automation Anywhere, or Power Automate consulting
Bots run for you Monitoring, fixes when screens change, and hosting on cloud
Documents read first GdoczAI, our document AI, for invoices and forms

In our work, one unattended bot runs a Kia dealership's daily routine across a web app and a desktop app, and bots clean GST invoice data from a supplier portal for a Mercedes-Benz dealership. In both cases the question of who runs the bot after go-live mattered as much as the build.

"Clients ask us what a bot costs. The better question is what it costs in year three, after two portal redesigns and a licence renewal. That's where the two models really differ."

Rajesh Kannan, Co-Founder & CTO at Gramosoft

What RPA as a service and buying licences include

When you buy licences, you pay the vendor for the software and then pay separately for everything around it: servers, the build, monitoring and the people who fix bots. With RPA as a service, a provider bundles most of that into one monthly fee. The total work is the same; what changes is who carries each cost.

What you pay for in each route: licences, bought from the vendor when buying, or in the fee or billed on with a service; machines and VMs, which you host and patch or the provider hosts; building each bot, by your team or a partner, or as a setup fee; monitoring and logs, watched by your team or the provider; fixes after changes, your unplanned hours or included in the fee within limits; and people who own the bots, your RPA staff or the provider's team
The work is the same either way; what changes is who carries each cost.
  • Buy licences: you hold the licences and servers, and your team or a partner builds and supports the bots.
  • RPA as a service: the provider builds, hosts, watches and fixes the bots; licences may be in your name or theirs.
  • Hybrid: you own the licences, and a partner such as Gramosoft runs the bots on a support contract.

What RPA licences cost in 2026

Only some vendors publish prices. Microsoft lists Power Automate per user, per bot and per run. UiPath publishes only its entry plan. Open-source tools such as Robot Framework have no licence fee. Below are the figures we found on each vendor's own page on November 9, 2026, before any discount.

Swipe the table sideways on mobile →

Licence Published price Notes
Robot Framework and Python (Gramosoft builds) ₹0 licence Open source; you pay for build, hosting and support
Power Automate Premium (attended) ₹1,250 per user a month ($15 in the US) Paid yearly, GST extra
Power Automate Process (unattended) ₹12,480 per bot a month ($150) You supply the machine the bot runs on
Power Automate Hosted Process ₹17,885 per bot a month ($215) Microsoft hosts the machine
Power Automate pay-as-you-go $3.00 per unattended run; $0.60 per cloud or attended run Microsoft says meter prices may vary by contract
UiPath Basic From $25 a month, up to 2 unattended robots UiPath says Basic "is evolving"; Standard and Enterprise are quote-only

Sources: Microsoft's India and US pricing pages, the pay-as-you-go meters page on Microsoft Learn, and UiPath's pricing page. Enterprise deals for UiPath, Automation Anywhere and Blue Prism are quoted privately, so compare written quotes rather than figures from blogs.

The costs a licence price leaves out

A licence lets a bot run; it doesn't build, host or fix it. When you buy licences you also pay for a machine for each unattended bot, a password vault, monitoring, a test environment, the build itself, and the hours spent fixing bots when a portal or ERP changes its screens. RPA as a service folds these into the fee.

What a licence price leaves out: above the line is the licence; below it are machines or VMs for unattended bots, a password vault and test environment, building each bot, monitoring, logs and alerts, fixes when portals change screens, and the people who own and support bots; RPA as a service folds these into one fee
The licence is the part of the cost you see first.
  • Machines: unattended bots need a Windows machine or VM, unless you pay for a hosted option.
  • Build: grows with the number of systems and exceptions, not the number of steps.
  • Fixes: every screen change in a connected app is unplanned work, so budget for it monthly.
  • People: someone has to own each bot, read its logs and answer when it stops.

Which costs less: a break-even you can check

Start with the one comparison you can make from published prices alone. On Power Automate pay-as-you-go, each unattended run costs $3.00. The Process licence costs $150 per bot a month. So a bot that runs more than 50 times a month is cheaper on the licence, and one that runs less is cheaper on pay-as-you-go.

Chart of monthly cost against unattended runs per month for one Power Automate bot: pay-as-you-go rises at $3.00 per run and crosses the $150 Process licence line at 50 runs; the Hosted Process licence sits at $215 a month with the machine included; below 50 runs pay per run, above it the licence is cheaper, excluding the machine for the Process licence
Microsoft list prices, checked November 9, 2026. The Process licence needs your own machine.

The same logic decides service against buying. Add up each route over 36 months, using written quotes:

  • Buy: build fee + (licences + machines + vault and monitoring + support hours) × 36.
  • Service: setup fee + monthly service fee × 36 + licences, if they are billed to you separately.
  • Exit: add what it would cost to move the bots if you leave the provider, or rebuild them if you leave the platform.

Run it per bot and again for the bot count you expect in year two. The cheaper route often flips as the number of bots grows.

When each route costs less

RPA as a service usually costs less when you have a handful of bots, no RPA staff and processes that change often. Buying licences usually costs less once you run many bots and have people to build and fix them. Open-source bots cost less again when the bot count grows but you don't want per-bot licences.

Decision tree for which route costs less: if you have no people to build and fix bots, RPA as a service; if you do but will run only a few bots, licences with partner support or pay per run below about 50 runs a month; if you will run many bots and want to avoid per-bot licence fees, open-source bots on Robot Framework and Python built by Gramosoft; otherwise buy licences
Re-run the sums when your bot count changes.

Swipe the table sideways on mobile →

Your situation Usually costs less Why
Many bots, no wish to pay per bot Gramosoft open-source bots No licence fee as you add bots
One to a few bots, no RPA staff RPA as a service No team, servers or vault to fund
Many bots, in-house RPA team Buy licences Fixed licence cost spread over many processes
Already on Microsoft 365 Power Automate licences, partner-run Fits Outlook, Teams and SharePoint
Low or seasonal volume Pay-as-you-go Below about 50 unattended runs a month

What to check in an RPA-as-a-service contract

A service fee is only cheaper if you can leave without starting again. Before signing, find out who owns the bot code and the process documents, whose name the licences are in, what the fee covers when a portal changes, how prices rise at renewal, and what you get on exit. These terms decide the real cost.

Six things to check in an RPA-as-a-service contract: who owns the bot code, process documents and runbooks; whose name the licences are in and whether they move with you; what the fee covers, such as fixes after screen changes and new exceptions; the billing unit per bot, process or transaction and its limits; service levels for restarting a stopped bot; and the exit plan with notice, handover and access returned
A cheap fee with no exit plan costs more later.
  1. Ownership: the bot code, process documents and runbooks should be yours.
  2. Licences: know whose name they are in and whether they move with you.
  3. What the fee covers: fixes after screen changes, new exceptions and monitoring hours.
  4. Billing unit: per bot, per process or per transaction, and what happens above the limit.
  5. Service levels: how fast a stopped bot is restarted, and who tells you.
  6. Exit: a handover plan with notice period, files and access returned.

A third route: open-source bots with no licence

Open-source tools such as Robot Framework with Python can run the same rule-based work as licensed RPA platforms, with no licence fee per bot. You still pay to build, host and support them. That makes them cheapest when the bot count grows, or when licences would cost more than the process saves.

  • Good fit: web portals, file and email work, ERP screens, and teams comfortable with code.
  • Less good: heavy citizen-developer use, where low-code designers matter more than licence cost.
  • With Gramosoft: we build, host and support open-source bots, so you get the service model without per-bot licences.

Frequently asked questions

Is RPA as a service cheaper than buying licences?

For one to a few bots and no in-house RPA team, usually yes, because one fee replaces licences, servers, monitoring and support staff. With many bots and your own team, buying licences usually costs less.

Does Gramosoft offer RPA as a service?

Gramosoft builds bots and can run them for you, with monitoring, fixes and hosting, on open-source Robot Framework and Python or on Power Automate, UiPath and Automation Anywhere.

How much does an RPA licence cost in India?

Microsoft lists Power Automate at ₹1,250 per user a month for attended automation, ₹12,480 per unattended bot and ₹17,885 per hosted bot, paid yearly, GST extra. UiPath and Automation Anywhere quote larger plans privately.

When is pay-as-you-go cheaper than a per-bot licence?

On Power Automate, an unattended run costs $3.00 on pay-as-you-go and the Process licence costs $150 a month, so pay-as-you-go is cheaper below about 50 runs a month.

What costs does a licence price leave out?

Machines for unattended bots, a password vault, monitoring, test environments, the build, and fixes when connected apps change their screens. These often cost more than the licence.

Who owns the bots in an RPA-as-a-service deal?

It depends on the contract. Ask for the bot code, process documents and runbooks to be yours, and agree an exit plan before you sign.

Can open-source RPA replace licensed tools?

For rule-based work on web portals, files, email and ERP screens, often yes. Robot Framework and Python have no licence fee, but you still pay to build, host and support the bots.

RK

Rajesh Kannan M

Rajesh Kannan M is Co-Founder & CTO of Gramosoft in Chennai, where he leads the teams building RPA bots, enterprise software and AI products including GdoczAI, GsearchAI and GcrawlAI. LinkedIn

Not sure which route costs less for you?

Send us one process. We will cost it as a service, on licences you buy, and as an open-source bot, and tell you honestly which is cheapest over three years.

Get a free cost comparison See our RPA services
CTA Illustration