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RPA for Mac: 13 RPA tools That Can Run On Mac (2024)

RPA for Mac: 13 RPA tools That Can Run On Mac (2024)RPA for Mac: 13 RPA tools That Can Run On Mac (2024)

RPA is one of the leading tools in the digital transformation space, with numerous RPA tools to choose from.

The problem is that with Windows being the most popular OS (Figure 1), most RPA tools are designed for Windows, and not for macOS.

A graph from Statista spanning from January 2013 to May 2022 showing the Windows OS is the dominant OS across users.
Figure 1: Windows dominate macOS and other operating systems in terms of usage. Source: Statista

But that doesn’t mean that RPA software for Mac doesn’t exist. In this article, we will explore:

  • Free RPA tools for Mac 
  • Paid RPA tools for Mac
  • And alternative methods for leveraging RPA on Mac.

What is RPA for Mac?

RPA for Mac is a vendor’s RPA solution that is accessible, programmable, and usable on Mac computers and laptops. RPA Windows, RPA solutions that work on Windows OS, are more common because PCs are more common in the enterprise. 

But with Macs becoming more prevalent in offices 1, big and small RPA vendors are starting to offer their solutions on macOS as well. This opens up a new market of users to them.

6 RPA tools for Mac

We have curated a list of all premium RPA tools that run on macOS.

UiPath and IBM are the biggest RPA vendors on this list, and anyone looking at RPA for Mac should consider them first.

Note: Vendor at the top is sponsored.

Vendor NameCompany Size (# of Employees)Is it open-source?Pricing
Comments
IBM500,000+No
They offer a 30 day free trial. After that, the platform starter pack starts at $840 per month.
- Low-code/no-code RPA software - Allows for building of intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) and dashboards - Built-in OCR - Attended and unattended bots are included in the platform starter pack
UiPath4000No
- 1 attended bot + 1 action center: $420/month - 1 attended + 1 unattended + 1 action center: $1,380/month - 1 unattended + 4 attended + 4 action centers: $1,930/month
Nividous Platform117NoN/A-
OneRPA-NoN/ASystem client is executed natively with no virtualization framework needed
Robomotion11Yes
Free: 1 user Startups: $19 for 3 users with limited features Corporate: $19 for 5 users Enterprise: Custom prices
-
T-Plan17NoNot available
-14 days free trial -enables GUI / screen interaction, OCR text extraction & image recognition

Best tools for RPA for Mac

IBM

IBM’s RPA offers a Windows-based virtual desktop that is usable on any operating system including Mac (see Figure 2). For example, as free-trial users, we accessed it over the cloud. Leveraging containerization, users can also launch such virtual desktops on their laptops as well.

A screen shot of IBM's RPA Mac tool that runs on Mac via a Windows virtual desktop
Figure 2: IBM’s virtual Windows desktop runs on Mac

UiPath

UiPath, like IBM, does not2 natively support Mac so users need to use UiPath Studio for bot building on Windows.

UiPath provides several models (e.g. virtualization for setting up UiPath Studio on Mac) for using UiPath Studio on Apple laptops (see Figure 3) but tells3 users to use them “at their own discretion”.

A screen shot of UiPath RPA for Mac tool that runs on Mac via a cloud-based application
Figure 3: UiPath’s Studio UI on Mac

7 Free RPA tools for Mac

Below is a list of free RPA tools that run on Mac.

Vendor Name Company Size (# of Employees)Is it open-source?Comments
AirSlate530No
-No code bot configuration and orchestration -Pre-fill workflows with data from Salesforce, GSuite, Office 365 via no-code integrations
Automagica (Acquired by Netcall)-No
Automagica is acquired by Netcall and is no longer open-source since October 2020
Hammerspoon-Yes
You can write Lua code that interacts with OS X APIs for: -Applications, -Windows, -Mouse pointers, -Filesystem objects, -Audio devices, -Batteries, -Screens, -Low-level keyboard/mouse events, -Clipboards, -Location services, -Wifi, and more.
RoboCorp48YesFree if number of users is less than 5
SikuliX
Supports following scripting languages: -Python language level 2.7 (supported by Jython), -RobotFramework text-scripts, -Ruby language level 1.9 and 2.0 (supported by JRuby), -JavaScript (supported by the Java Scripting Engine)
Tag UI-Yes
Available under Apache 2.0 license which makes it free for commercial and noncommercial use
UI.Vision-Yes
-Data extraction and screen scraping capabilities -Produces automation scripts for Windows, Mac, and Linux

RPA for Mac: Alternative methods

1. macOS apps for automation

Automator 4 is an Apple application that comes pre-installed on macOS. Automator enables desktop automation of repetitive tasks by creating workflows. 

Thanks to this tool, you can automate activities using drag & drop  interface, facilitating the customization of particular functions for users with no coding skills.

Learn more about no-code AI.

2. Running MS Windows compatible RPA software on your Apple hardware

Though almost all RPA tools are designed only for Windows operating systems, there are ways to run and install them on the Mac operating system.

Here are your options 5 for installation:

Dual boot solutions

Solutions such as Apple Boot Camp 6 enable you to install a Microsoft Windows operating systems and allow both operating systems to work simultaneously.

Remote desktop virtualization

These solutions run on a remote operating system connected to your local Mac device over a network using a remote display protocol. So you can remotely control and run RPA bots on a Windows machine using your macOS device. Solutions you can prefer are:

  • Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

3. Virtual machines 

Applications such as Parallels 9 allow users to run a version of Microsoft Windows in a window on Mac.

RPA for Mac FAQs

Does IBM’s RPA work on Mac?

IBM’s RPA works on Apple hardware through a Windows-based virtual desktop. You can also use it on the cloud regardless of your operating system.

Can Automation Anywhere work on Mac?

You can use it via virtualization or containerization on Apple hardware but Automation Anywhere doesn’t 10 run on MacOS. It only runs on Windows.

Can I use UiPath on Mac?

You can use it via virtualization or containerization on Apple hardware but UiPath doesn’t natively 12 run on macOS. In addition, you can use it on the cloud regardless of your operating system.

Does Blue Prism run on Mac?

You can use it via virtualization or containerization on Apple hardware but Blue Prism doesn’t natively 13 run on macOS. Check our article on Blue Prism alternatives for more about the tool’s features.

Does Microsoft’s Power Automate RPA run on Mac?

You can use it via virtualization or containerization on Apple hardware but Microsoft Power Automate does not run natively 14 on MacOS. Check our article on Power Automate alternatives for more about the tool’s features.

For more on RPA

To learn more about RPA, you can read about:

Download our RPA whitepaper that covers the topic comprehensively:

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And if you are ready to leverage an RPA solution, we have a data-driven list of RPA vendors.

We will help you choose the right solution for your needs:

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Access Cem's 2 decades of B2B tech experience as a tech consultant, enterprise leader, startup entrepreneur & industry analyst. Leverage insights informing top Fortune 500 every month.
Cem Dilmegani
Principal Analyst
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Cem Dilmegani
Principal Analyst

Cem has been the principal analyst at AIMultiple since 2017. AIMultiple informs hundreds of thousands of businesses (as per similarWeb) including 60% of Fortune 500 every month.

Cem's work has been cited by leading global publications including Business Insider, Forbes, Washington Post, global firms like Deloitte, HPE, NGOs like World Economic Forum and supranational organizations like European Commission. You can see more reputable companies and media that referenced AIMultiple.

Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised businesses on their enterprise software, automation, cloud, AI / ML and other technology related decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.

He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.

Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

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1 Comments
Torsten Becker
Nov 10, 2021 at 10:52

Hi,

I would also add Automator, the standard automation tool from Apple, in the list.

Best regards

T. Becker

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