{"id":2226,"date":"2026-03-27T19:57:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T23:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog2wrkdev.wpenginepowered.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T08:20:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T12:20:38","slug":"rpa-vs-workflow-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As business leaders experience economic headwinds, they\u2019re\u2014according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwc.com\/us\/en\/library\/pulse-survey\/executive-views-2022.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent survey data<\/a>\u2014automating more of their business processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their reasons for doing so aren\u2019t difficult to discern: Automation offers efficiency improvements and cost savings. And, if done right, it can help organizations transform their processes, allowing them to be agile and innovate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of determining the automations they need, organizations have to decide if they want to adopt RPA software or a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/workflow-automation-guide\/\">workflow automation tool<\/a> (or both).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ll help you navigate this exercise by reviewing each and by directly comparing them. We\u2019ll then present another type of solution that allows you to leverage RPA as part of a workflow automation.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Workato-25-2.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Workato-25-2.png\" alt=\"RPA can be delivered in the cloud or on-premises, and, depending on the vendor, it can come with additional features, like intelligent document processing (IDP).\" class=\"wp-image-42651\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is RPA?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>RPA, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/robotic-process-automation\/\">robotic process automation<\/a>, is a type of software that uses \u201cbots\u201d, or software scripts, to mimic human tasks at the user-interface level.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The tool can be delivered in the cloud or on-premises, and, depending on the vendor, it can come with additional features, like intelligent document processing (IDP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To help illustrate how, exactly, RPA can work, let\u2019s use an example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A software bot can be programmed to copy fields from a specific spreadsheet, log into a 3rd-party application, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/integrations\/salesforce?ref=connector-rpa-wa\">Salesforce<\/a>, create a new record, and paste the copied data into the corresponding fields within that record. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moreover, if the bot is unattended, it would perform this task at a predefined point in time, whereas if it\u2019s attended, human intervention is required to spur it into action.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2Z3YAvU8Uh-vfFSBRD4Lqn6WsYX1y7h8aP-OdvDT6EsulxrSobkEzgGk-yCYk8wHVLOBZUdubOoHubogfGjEu3u9o-0vL575UNvxkJWgjihlCegWJSQBae-F7MddoaujO-YAoUv_6HC2e8s2ovgqfOGlgqLytdXxiZutrnrLC2fq7xf_ka59hVBwiQ-1.png\" alt=\"An example of a task automation that RPA can support\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Pros<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It can work across a broad range of systems, including legacy systems that don\u2019t offer APIs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It can automate a wide range of tasks\u2014allowing it to be used in a variety of ways.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assuming your applications\u2019 UIs don\u2019t change frequently, it can work effectively.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cons<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The bots can be relatively fragile. A small change in an application\u2019s UI, for instance, can be enough to break a bot.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It doesn\u2019t fundamentally change how a process is carried out. In other words, if a process is faulty or less-than-optimal, RPA won\u2019t necessarily improve it (in fact, it may exacerbate the processes\u2019 issues).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As more tasks need to be automated, more bots will need to be built and managed. This requires investing in technical resources, which may come at a high cost.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/problems-with-rpa\/\">3 common problems of using RPA<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is a workflow automation platform?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A workflow automation platform is a type of platform that can automate a business process end-to-end. <\/strong>More specifically, it can listen for business events (or triggers), where once any takes place, it can carry out the appropriate set of actions across your applications, data, and employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following employee onboarding automation can help clarify this definition: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once a candidate is marked as hired in your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenhouse.com\/resources\/glossary\/what-is-an-applicant-tracking-system-ats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ATS<\/a>, the workflow gets triggered. The new hire would go on to get added to various systems, including your HRIS, ITSM tool, and identity and access management platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, the new hire would receive an email on their first day that welcomes them, shares valuable resources, and provides them with a list of tasks they need to complete during their onboarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Related: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/process-orchestration\/\"><em>What is process orchestration?<\/em><\/a><em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Workato-26-2.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Workato-26-2.png\" alt=\"A workflow automation platform is a type of platform that can automate a business process end-to-end.\" class=\"wp-image-42652\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Pros\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It can fundamentally change how a process is performed\u2014for the better.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It can provide the actionable insights employees need to make intelligent decisions, quickly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It allows employees to stay in the application they\u2019re already working from (their business communications platform).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cons<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If an application doesn\u2019t have APIs, the workflow automation tool may not be able to connect to it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assuming the tool doesn\u2019t offer a low-code\/no-code UX, the majority of business users won\u2019t be able to use it. As a result, automation bottlenecks can quickly emerge, and friction between the teams that need automations and those that build them can form.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>RPA vs workflow automation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In short, RPA software allows you to work with any number of systems, regardless of whether or not they provide APIs, allowing it to (potentially) interact with more tools than a workflow automation solution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, workflow automation tools allow you to transform processes, which can carry greater benefits to your teams and to your business than task-based automations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Related: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/rpa-vs-ipaas\/\"><em>How to decide between an iPaaS and RPA software<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Get the best of both tools with Workato<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fortunately, you don\u2019t have to choose between RPA and workflow automation solutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using Workato, the leader in enterprise automation, you&#8217;re able to address the drawbacks of both tools as well as build workflow automations <em>that leverage<\/em> RPA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s just one example of how this can work:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/n3icubvH6t20bb-7zt7Te-QerXu0LuW97o1L-m1TC2eZX1hknYAKpUY4eiWgWCjOFpH9dgFnu-WrdUqNLBDks2lf1hoq1A5T1XaQkpmP5MQOSE6pWFWVM0JQOx6ooa0mEf-O4-TIljh8lBIe4O0wnnq5HrkM9Xb1FLUgjctr2RhVUvfqJTlWBPCuw-1.png\" alt=\"A workflow automation that highlights how Workato can utilize RPA tools\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Once an email service provider receives a purchase order, the workflow gets triggered.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Workato downloads the purchase order and, using the sender\u2019s email address, identifies their associated contact, account, and opportunity pages in your CRM.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An RPA bot searches for the opportunity\u2019s Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code from a 3rd-party site. Once found, the bot uses it to enrich the opportunity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The purchase order is parsed by both the bot and OCR technology in order to find the products and services the client purchased. Once found, the bot adds them to the opportunity. Workato also uploads the purchase order to the opportunity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.workbot.com\/workbot-slack?ref=connector-rpa-wa\">Workbot<\/a>, our customizable platform bot, notifies the assigned sales rep of the PO via a message in your business communications platform. Within the message, it also asks them to approve or reject it.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assuming the sales rep approves the PO, Workbot changes the opportunity\u2019s status to \u201cClosed Won.\u201d It also emails the client, letting them know that their order has been processed successfully.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\r\n    <div class=\"article__cta\">\r\n\t\t            <div class=\"article__cta-right\">\r\n                <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"article__cta-right_image\" src=\"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/AD_4nXcOwkKcrrTEe2h5Uh3Y0JgSO9grPIl3dfscv-VpSgbFyy4CugiH6fzvyiSO7dQTgpn3guRD2nErQYcNLFWUo7PqdmzFb56nDOKN69K2O8mlrcSC8Ahc5Zeg-E3ZQP1OLyqNFgmOPAkeycsFHeprG52GEgFrBoBrMojE7-150x150.png\"\r\n                     alt=\"\">\r\n                <div class=\"article__cta-right_content\">\r\n                    <h4>Want to learn more about Workato?<\/h4>\r\n                    <p>Discover how the platform lets you implement powerful end-to-end automations safely and without having to write a single line of code.<\/p>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t                    <a class=\"article__cta-right_btn\"\r\n                       href=\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/request_demo?ref=connector-rpa-wa\">Schedule a demo<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t            <\/div>\r\n\t\t    <\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As business leaders experience economic headwinds, they\u2019re\u2014according to recent survey data\u2014automating more of their business processes. Their reasons for doing so aren\u2019t difficult to discern: Automation offers efficiency improvements and cost savings. And, if done right, it can help organizations transform their processes, allowing them to be agile and innovate. As part of determining the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":10998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-automation-integration"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained - Workato<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"RPA vs workflow automation: explore key differences, benefits, limitations, and when to use each for automating business processes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained - Workato\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"RPA vs workflow automation: explore key differences, benefits, limitations, and when to use each for automating business processes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Workato\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-27T23:57:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-30T12:20:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/workato.com\/the-connector\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Workflow-automation-vs-RPA-header.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"525\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jon Gitlin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jon Gitlin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jon Gitlin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.workato.com\\\/the-connector\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f3da64b9a8d4e29689a77d18992c857\"},\"headline\":\"RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-27T23:57:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-30T12:20:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":942,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/Workflow-automation-vs-RPA-header.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Automation &amp; Integration\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/\",\"name\":\"RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained - Workato\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.workato.com\\\/the-connector\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/Workflow-automation-vs-RPA-header.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-27T23:57:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-30T12:20:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.workato.com\\\/the-connector\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f3da64b9a8d4e29689a77d18992c857\"},\"description\":\"RPA vs workflow automation: explore key differences, benefits, limitations, and when to use each for automating business processes.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/Workflow-automation-vs-RPA-header.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/Workflow-automation-vs-RPA-header.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":525},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.workato.com\\\/the-connector\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.workato.com\\\/the-connector\\\/\",\"name\":\"Workato\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.workato.com\\\/the-connector\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.workato.com\\\/the-connector\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f3da64b9a8d4e29689a77d18992c857\",\"name\":\"Jon Gitlin\",\"description\":\"Jon Gitlin is the Managing Editor of The Connector, where you can get the latest news on Workato and uncover tips, examples, and frameworks for implementing powerful integrations and automations. In his free time, he loves to run outside, watch soccer (er...football) matches, and explore local restaurants.\",\"sameAs\":[\"jhammond\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\\\/author\\\/jon-gitlin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained - Workato","description":"RPA vs workflow automation: explore key differences, benefits, limitations, and when to use each for automating business processes.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained - Workato","og_description":"RPA vs workflow automation: explore key differences, benefits, limitations, and when to use each for automating business processes.","og_url":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/","og_site_name":"Workato","article_published_time":"2026-03-27T23:57:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-30T12:20:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":525,"url":"https:\/\/workato.com\/the-connector\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Workflow-automation-vs-RPA-header.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jon Gitlin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jon Gitlin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/"},"author":{"name":"Jon Gitlin","@id":"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/#\/schema\/person\/3f3da64b9a8d4e29689a77d18992c857"},"headline":"RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained","datePublished":"2026-03-27T23:57:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-30T12:20:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/"},"wordCount":942,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Workflow-automation-vs-RPA-header.png","articleSection":["Automation &amp; Integration"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/","url":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/","name":"RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained - Workato","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Workflow-automation-vs-RPA-header.png","datePublished":"2026-03-27T23:57:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-30T12:20:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/#\/schema\/person\/3f3da64b9a8d4e29689a77d18992c857"},"description":"RPA vs workflow automation: explore key differences, benefits, limitations, and when to use each for automating business processes.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Workflow-automation-vs-RPA-header.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Workflow-automation-vs-RPA-header.png","width":1200,"height":525},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/rpa-vs-workflow-automation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"RPA vs Workflow Automation: Key Differences Explained"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/","name":"Workato","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/#\/schema\/person\/3f3da64b9a8d4e29689a77d18992c857","name":"Jon Gitlin","description":"Jon Gitlin is the Managing Editor of The Connector, where you can get the latest news on Workato and uncover tips, examples, and frameworks for implementing powerful integrations and automations. In his free time, he loves to run outside, watch soccer (er...football) matches, and explore local restaurants.","sameAs":["jhammond"],"url":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/author\/jon-gitlin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2226"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13876,"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2226\/revisions\/13876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}