Some business tasks resist automation because the system involved has no API: a legacy desktop application, a government or supplier portal, or a stack of PDFs that someone retypes every week. Robotic process automation, or RPA, handles these by recording and repeating the clicks and keystrokes a person would make. Zoho RPA brings this to the Zoho ecosystem, with bots for Windows and web applications, Excel, files, OCR and PDFs, connected to Zoho Flow for cloud apps. This guide explains when to use it and how to start. It is part of our Development & Automation guide.
RPA mimics a person using a computer: opening an application, clicking buttons, copying values and pasting them elsewhere. It is powerful for systems that cannot be connected any other way, but it depends on screens staying the same. Use it as the last option, after checking for APIs, native integrations or Zoho Flow connectors.
| Situation | Best approach |
|---|---|
| Both apps have connectors or APIs | Zoho Flow or a native integration |
| Logic inside one Zoho app | Workflow rules or Deluge |
| A desktop or web app with no API | Zoho RPA |
| Data locked in scanned documents or PDFs | Zoho RPA with OCR and PDF automation |
| Type | How it runs | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Attended | Alongside a person, triggered when they need it | Tasks that need human judgement at some step |
| Unattended | On its own, on a schedule, webhook or desktop event | Overnight batches and repetitive data entry |
Zoho RPA handles desktop and screen-based steps, while cloud app actions, such as creating a record in Zoho CRM or Zoho Books, run through Zoho Flow. That means a single automation can read data from a legacy desktop system with RPA and push it into Zoho apps with Flow. Cloud actions use a Zoho Flow subscription and count against Flow’s task limits, not RPA’s.
| Plan | RPA flow executions | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 3 per month | 1 active RPA flow, 30 days of history, core builder |
| Standard | 500 per month, with add-on packs | Unlimited active flows, 90 days of history, Windows, Mac and Linux agents, Windows, web, Excel, OCR and PDF actions |
Zoho RPA uses usage-based pricing, where one execution is one successful run of a flow, and a 15-day free trial includes premium features. Check the current Zoho RPA pricing page for rates and add-on packs.
| Task | What the bot does |
|---|---|
| Supplier invoices arrive as PDFs | Extract invoice data with OCR and pass it to Zoho Books through Flow |
| Orders entered in a legacy desktop system | Read new orders and create matching records in Zoho CRM |
| Daily report from a portal without an API | Log in, download the report and file it in a shared folder |
| Spreadsheet clean-up before import | Open the workbook, standardize columns and save a clean copy |
| Faxed or scanned forms | Read the document and fill in a Zoho Creator form |
A good first bot takes a task that happens daily, follows the same steps every time and currently takes someone 15 to 30 minutes. Success there builds confidence and shows the team what automation can do before tackling anything more complex.
Compare these against the cost of executions on your plan; a bot that saves a few hours a week usually pays for itself quickly.
Bots can run on a schedule, such as every weekday at 7am, when a webhook is called from another system, or on a desktop event, such as a new file appearing in a folder. Event-based triggers keep work flowing without waiting for the next scheduled run, while schedules suit batch tasks like daily reports.
Enterprise platforms such as UiPath and Automation Anywhere offer deep orchestration for large bot fleets, with pricing to match. Zoho RPA focuses on small and mid-sized businesses: published usage-based pricing, a low-code builder and a native link to Zoho Flow and the Zoho apps. For organizations already using Zoho, it is usually the faster, cheaper way to automate the handful of tasks that need RPA.
RPA works best as one link in a chain. A bot extracts data from a legacy system or document, Zoho Flow pushes it into Zoho CRM or Books, and workflow rules in those apps take it from there. Our guide to identifying automation opportunities helps you spot where each tool fits.
Bots often use real logins to applications. Store credentials securely, use dedicated bot accounts where the application allows it, give those accounts only the access they need and keep the machines that run unattended bots locked and up to date.
Short answers, drawn from the guide above.
Zoho RPA is a low-code robotic process automation tool that automates repetitive tasks across Windows and web applications, Excel, files and documents, using a recorder, OCR and PDF automation.
Zoho RPA has a free edition with 3 flow executions per month and one active flow. The Standard plan is usage-based, starting at 500 executions per month with add-on packs.
Use Zoho Flow when apps have connectors or APIs. Use Zoho RPA for systems without an API, such as legacy desktop applications, portals and scanned documents.
Zoho RPA’s paid plan supports agents on Windows, Mac and Linux. Windows-specific actions, such as desktop application automation, require a Windows agent.
Desktop and screen actions run in Zoho RPA. Actions in cloud apps, such as Zoho CRM or Zoho Books, run through Zoho Flow and need a Flow subscription.
An execution is one successful run of an RPA flow. Every time an active flow completes without errors, it counts as one execution against your plan.
Yes. Zoho RPA includes OCR and PDF automation, with intelligent document processing, to extract text and data from scans, images and PDFs.
Yes. Zoho RPA’s low-code builder, recorder and usage-based pricing are designed for small and mid-sized businesses that need to automate a handful of repetitive tasks.
UiPath offers deeper orchestration for large enterprise bot fleets. Zoho RPA focuses on small and mid-sized businesses, with published usage-based pricing, a low-code builder and a native link to Zoho Flow.