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Automation Integration · head to head

Automation Anywhere vs Solace PubSub+

Automation Anywhere logo

Automation Anywhere

Automation Integration

Enterprise automation software

From
$200/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Solace PubSub+ logo

Solace PubSub+

Databases

Multi-protocol event broker sold as software, cloud service or a hardware appliance

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Solace PubSub+ has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Automation Anywhere no enterprise pricing tiers published; contact sales required for commercial deployment pricing; Solace PubSub+ no pricing is published at any tier, so evaluation requires a sales engagement before you can even judge whether it is in budget, and broker tier sizing determines cost in ways buyers frequently get wrong.
  • They diverge on capability: Automation Anywhere covers Desktop RPA, Solace PubSub+ covers Multi-protocol broker.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Automation Anywhere and Solace PubSub+ actually diverge.

Attributes where Automation Anywhere and Solace PubSub+ differ
AttributeAutomation AnywhereSolace PubSub+
Starting price$200/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsDesktop, WebLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, Hardware appliance
CategoryAutomation IntegrationDatabases
Founded2003Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Automation Anywhere

  • Desktop RPA
  • Cloud RPA
  • No-code automation
  • Intelligent process automation
  • Analytics
  • Monitoring
  • Scalability
  • 500+ connectors

Only in Solace PubSub+

  • Multi-protocol broker
  • Dynamic message routing
  • Hardware appliance
  • Event Portal
  • Guaranteed delivery
  • Mission Control
  • Topic hierarchies and wildcards
  • Kafka and MQ bridging

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Automation Anywhere

  • Workflow Automationnot Solace PubSub+
  • Data Integrationnot Solace PubSub+
  • Process Automationnot Solace PubSub+
  • App Integrationnot Solace PubSub+
  • API Connectivitynot Solace PubSub+

Solace PubSub+

  • A bank building an event mesh across regions where a Java JMS application and an MQTT mobile client must share the same topic spacenot Automation Anywhere
  • An exchange or trading platform with a latency budget that needs the hardware appliance rather than a software brokernot Automation Anywhere
  • An airline distributing operational events to ground systems, aircraft and partner APIs over different protocolsnot Automation Anywhere
  • A manufacturer bridging factory MQTT telemetry into an enterprise Kafka estate without writing translation servicesnot Automation Anywhere

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Automation Anywhere

  • No enterprise pricing tiers published; contact sales required for commercial deployment pricing
  • Cloud Community Edition is free but limited compared to enterprise offerings

Solace PubSub+

  • No pricing is published at any tier, so evaluation requires a sales engagement before you can even judge whether it is in budget, and broker tier sizing determines cost in ways buyers frequently get wrong.
  • The free Standard edition has hard capacity and support limits, which makes it useful for development but means any real deployment triggers a commercial negotiation.
  • The proprietary SMF protocol gives the best performance and feature coverage, so teams that lean on it acquire real switching costs even though open protocols are supported.
  • Operating a self-managed high availability broker pair with disaster recovery is a specialist task, and Solace expertise is scarce in the hiring market compared with Kafka skills.
  • Event Portal and Mission Control are licensed as part of platform packages, so the governance tooling that makes an event mesh manageable is not simply included with the broker.

Pricing, plan by plan

Automation Anywhere

$200/month
  • CommunityFree
    • Community version
    • Limited use
  • Enterprise$200/month
    • Full RPA capabilities
  • Premium$500/month
    • Advanced features
    • Priority support

Solace PubSub+

Free
  • Software Event Broker StandardFree
    • Free for production within capacity limits
    • Single node, capped connections and queues
    • No vendor support
  • Solace Cloud$undefined/year
    • Managed brokers in tiers from ENT-250 to ENT-100K
    • Foundation, Accelerate and Scale platform packages
    • Fixed subscription or annual consumption drawdown
  • Software Enterprise self-managed$undefined/year
    • Deploy in your own Kubernetes, VMs or data centre
    • High availability and disaster recovery
    • Support with SLA
  • Hardware appliance$undefined/year
    • Purpose-built appliance with FPGA message offload
    • Deterministic low latency
    • Sold with support contract

Which should you pick?

Choose Automation Anywhere if

  • You need desktop rpa.
  • You work on Desktop, Web.
  • You also want cloud rpa.
Automation Anywhere review

Choose Solace PubSub+ if

  • You need multi-protocol broker.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, Hardware appliance.
  • You also want dynamic message routing.
Solace PubSub+ review

Questions people ask

Is Automation Anywhere or Solace PubSub+ better?
Neither clearly leads. Automation Anywhere starts at $200/month and Solace PubSub+ at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Automation Anywhere or Solace PubSub+?
Solace PubSub+ has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $200/month for Automation Anywhere and Free for Solace PubSub+.
Does Automation Anywhere or Solace PubSub+ run on more platforms?
Automation Anywhere runs on Desktop, Web. Solace PubSub+ runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, Hardware appliance.
Can I use Solace PubSub+ for free?
Yes. Solace PubSub+ has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Automation Anywhere starts at $200/month.
What is Automation Anywhere best used for?
Automation Anywhere is most often used for workflow automation, data integration, process automation, app integration. Of those, workflow automation and data integration are not what Solace PubSub+ is typically brought in for.
What can Automation Anywhere do that Solace PubSub+ cannot?
Automation Anywhere covers Desktop RPA, Cloud RPA, No-code automation, Intelligent process automation. Solace PubSub+ covers Multi-protocol broker, Dynamic message routing, Hardware appliance, Event Portal.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Automation Anywhere: How much does Automation Anywhere cost?

Automation Anywhere provides a Cloud Community Edition available free with full-featured automation access. Enterprise and commercial deployment pricing is not publicly disclosed and requires contact with the sales team for a custom quote.

Source
Solace PubSub+: Is there a free version of Solace?

Yes, the Standard edition of the software event broker is free for production within capacity limits, with no vendor support.

Automation Anywhere: Does Automation Anywhere offer a free version?

Yes, Automation Anywhere offers the Cloud Community Edition as a free option with full-featured automation access for learning and development purposes. Commercial and enterprise use requires different licensing arrangements.

Source
Solace PubSub+: Does Solace publish prices?

No. Cloud, software and appliance are all quoted, based on broker tier from ENT-250 to ENT-100K and licensing model.

Solace PubSub+: Why buy an appliance in 2026?

Deterministic low latency with message processing offloaded to hardware, which matters in capital markets and little elsewhere.

Solace PubSub+: Can it replace Kafka?

Not for log retention and stream reprocessing. It is stronger at multi-protocol routing and guaranteed delivery, and the two are often bridged.

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