WinActor alternative: price revisions, VBScript, and AI RPA
WinActor is one of the most widely used RPA products in Japan. In MM Research Institute’s 2024 survey, it held a 21% share among mid-sized and large companies, second only to Power Automate (24%).
Over the past two years or so, though, several assumptions behind staying on WinActor have changed: a price revision, a new license for generative AI features, and VBScript’s deprecation. This guide sets out what changed, with sources, how to tell which robots to keep in WinActor and which to move, and how to migrate.
In short
- From January 2025, WinActor prices rose by roughly 10%, and generative AI features moved to a separate license (about ¥600,000 to ¥2.2 million a year)
- VBScript is planned to be off by default around 2027, and WinActor’s VBScript libraries will not even get bug fixes
- There is no need to replace everything. Start deciding with the robots that stop most and the ones whose VBScript must be rewritten
Recent changes in WinActor (as of October 2026)
Price revision
From January 1, 2025, prices of all WinActor products rose by roughly 10%. The annual license fee for a node-locked license is ¥1,098,680 for the full version and ¥300,080 for the runtime version (both including tax). Node-locked licenses are per PC, so the more PCs run robots, the larger the impact.
AI integration license
The “AI integration license” for generative AI features went on sale in October 2025. It includes using generative AI responses inside scenarios, drafting scenario templates through dialogue, and simplified form handling. It runs on an Azure OpenAI contract held by NTT Advanced Technology, so customers need no separate AI contract.
It costs ¥2,197,800 a year for the full version and ¥600,600 a year for the runtime version (both including tax, as of October 2026). From October 2026, generative AI usage is capped, and usage above the cap requires buying additional packs.
Judging from the published features, WinActor’s AI mainly helps build scenarios. We found no feature that repairs a scenario at run time after a screen change stops it.
VBScript’s deprecation
Microsoft announced in October 2023 that VBScript will be retired. It is enabled by default in Windows 11 version 24H2, but is planned to be off by default around 2027.
WinActor has no plans to add to, extend, or fix its VBScript libraries. Existing libraries remain usable, but the feature that helps convert VBScript libraries to Python, added in Ver.7.7 released in September 2026, is available only with the AI integration license.
Scenarios that rely on VBScript libraries or home-made components will need rewriting sooner or later. That rewrite is a good moment to consider moving them.
Robots to keep in WinActor, robots to move
| The robot | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Operates internal systems whose screens rarely change, and runs reliably | Keep it in WinActor | RPA’s strength, repeating fixed operations fast, pays off |
| Operates a system that offers an API or CSV export | Replace it with the official integration | More resilient to change, faster, and more reliable than operating the screen |
| Operates outside web systems whose screens change without notice | Move it to automation you can fix when a screen changes | No more relying on the scenario’s builder or a maintenance vendor for every fix |
| Needs judgment or a person’s check, such as reading invoices | Move it to automation that combines AI and human approval | People decide, AI operates the screens |
| Relies heavily on VBScript libraries or home-made components | Decide when it has to be rewritten | If it must be rewritten anyway, moving it then is less work |
| Its builder is gone, and nobody knows what it does | Investigate it and add it to the ledger first, then decide | Moving it blind leaves gaps in the work |
For how to investigate robots whose builders are gone, see Taking over an RPA bot whose builder has left.
How to migrate
- Collect the scenarios and their run history: gather running scenarios and their stops from management tools such as WinActor Manager on Cloud (WMC), Task Scheduler on the robot PCs, and shared folders
- Mark the scenarios that use VBScript: find the scenarios that rely on VBScript libraries or home-made components
- Set the order by fragility and impact: order the moves by how often a robot stopped, the impact of a stop on the work, and the effort to fix it
- Rewrite in the language of the work: do not copy the scenario operation by operation; write the flow of the work in words, spelling out where a person decides and what to check
- Prove it with a PoC: run it on the real screens and data, and check that it keeps going when a screen changes
- Run in parallel, then switch: run it alongside WinActor through a busy period such as a month-end, compare the results, then switch over
- Review your licenses: release the licenses of the PCs that ran the moved robots, in step with your renewal
How to switch from RPA to AI RPA explains each step in detail.
How scenario elements translate
| In a WinActor scenario | In steps written in the language of the work |
|---|---|
| Clicks and entries on browser or window elements | Name the target by its heading on screen, such as “Enter it in the invoice number field” |
| Finding a target by image | Name the target by its heading or role on screen |
| Waits of a fixed number of seconds | Write the condition to wait for, such as “Check that the list is shown” |
| Reading and looping over Excel rows | Write “For each row of the list” and process row by row |
| Branches (different handling by condition) | Write the condition in words, and send hard calls to a person |
| Error handling | Continue from the failed step and notify the owner |
How WinActor and Kitewell differ
| Aspect | WinActor | Kitewell |
|---|---|---|
| Building | Record operations and edit the scenario. With the AI integration license, drafting templates through dialogue too | Write steps in the language of the work. Build them by talking with the AI assistant, and apply them after reviewing the diff |
| When a screen changes | Fix the scenario | When the remembered steps do not work, AI reads the screen again and relearns the operation. The run record shows what was relearned |
| Judgment and approval | People handle it outside the robot | A person decides in an approval step, and what was decided, and when, is recorded |
| Handover | Procedure documents written separately from the scenario | The assistant writes knowledge as it works, and a robot ledger exports to Excel |
| Where it runs | Windows PCs | PCs on macOS and Windows, internal servers, and closed networks |
| Price | Node-locked: ¥1,098,680 a year for the full version, ¥300,080 for the runtime version (per PC, including tax) | Team and Enterprise for organizations are quoted on the number of computers, never per user |
WinActor prices are from official sources as of October 2026. Features change, so check each vendor’s official site for current information.
Start with one robot
Descarty offers a PoC that replaces one robot that keeps stopping with Kitewell in two weeks (¥300,000, excluding tax). If the agreed success criteria are not met, you pay nothing. If your WinActor renewal is near, we plan so the results are in before it.
Sources
- MM Research Institute: RPA use in Japan 2024 (July 24, 2024, in Japanese)
- WinActor: follow-up on the price revision (November 29, 2024), notice of the price revision (July 22, 2024), license prices (in Japanese)
- NTT Advanced Technology: announcement of the AI integration license (September 4, 2025), announcement of Ver.7.7.0 (August 19, 2026) (in Japanese)
- WinActor: VBScript’s deprecation and WinActor’s response (in Japanese)
- Microsoft: VBScript deprecation: Timelines and next steps (May 22, 2024)
Frequently asked questions
- Can Kitewell use our WinActor scenarios as they are?
- No. Kitewell does not import and convert WinActor scenarios; you rewrite the flow of the work in everyday language. Because the old screen's assumptions, such as coordinates and element references, are left behind, the workflow copes better with small screen changes.
- Can we use WinActor and Kitewell together?
- Yes. Keep the robots that run reliably in WinActor, and move only the ones that keep stopping, or work that needs judgment or approval, to Kitewell. There is no need to replace everything at once.
- What happens to scenarios that use VBScript libraries?
- Microsoft announced VBScript's deprecation in October 2023 and plans to turn it off by default around 2027. WinActor has no plans to add to or fix its VBScript libraries, and help converting them to Python is offered only with the AI integration license. Deciding whether to move a scenario when it has to be rewritten anyway is the efficient choice.
- How much does a WinActor license cost?
- From January 1, 2025, the annual fee for a node-locked license is ¥1,098,680 for the full version and ¥300,080 for the runtime version (both including tax). The AI integration license for generative AI features is separate, at ¥2,197,800 a year for the full version and ¥600,600 a year for the runtime version (both including tax, as of October 2026).
- Why do our WinActor robots stop so often?
- Usually not because of WinActor itself, but for reasons shared by any tool that operates screens as they were recorded. A changed web screen, an unexpected pop-up, a slow page, unusual data, or a change in the browser or screen resolution leaves the robot unable to find what it operates, and it stops.
- How long does a migration take?
- For one robot that keeps stopping, a two-week PoC shows whether Kitewell can replace it. We recommend switching production over only after a parallel run that includes a busy period such as a month-end, planned backward from your license renewal date.
Start by choosing what to switch
We look at your current robots and support you from choosing the work to switch to AI RPA through to a PoC.