Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

VisualCron VS CTFreak

Compare VisualCron VS CTFreak and see what are their differences

VisualCron logo VisualCron

VisualCron is an automation, integration and task scheduling tool for Windows.

CTFreak logo CTFreak

Self-hosted Centralized IT task scheduler
  • VisualCron Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-02
  • CTFreak Landing
    Landing //
    2024-03-17
  • CTFreak Bash
    Bash //
    2024-03-17
  • CTFreak Notifier
    Notifier //
    2024-03-17
  • CTFreak BI
    BI //
    2024-03-17
  • CTFreak Workflow
    Workflow //
    2024-03-17

Ctfreak allows you to centralize, maintain and schedule various types of tasks:

  • Local command task to run a command directly on the host server on which CTFreak is installed.

  • Command task to run the same command on several servers (aka nodes) through SSH.

  • Bash script task to run the same bash script on several unix servers through SSH.

  • Powershell script task to run the same powershell script on several windows servers through SSH.

  • Ansible playbook task to run an ansible playbook targeting several servers through SSH.

  • SQL script task to run the same SQL script on several databases.

  • SQL report task to generate reports with charts and tables from SQL queries.

  • HTTP Request task to call API endpoints (webhook, ping, ...).

  • Workflow task to execute other tasks, sequentially or concurrently.

And to receive notifications (slack, teams, telegram, mattermost, discord, email) based on their executions.

Some use cases include:

  • Get rid of all your crontabs (sysadmin)
  • Setting up a self-hosted CI/CD pipeline (devops)
  • Update thousands of unix and windows servers (sysadmin)
  • Managing distributed computing workflows (data engineers)
  • Quickly generate a sales report for your CEO from your e-commerce platform

Demo instance: https://demo.ctfreak.com/#/login/demo

Docs: https://ctfreak.com/docs

CTFreak

$ Details
freemium €109.0 / Annually (Startup Edition)
Platforms
Linux Windows Google Chrome Firefox Safari Mac OSX BSD
Release Date
2022 September
Startup details
Country
France
Employees
1 - 9

VisualCron features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    VisualCron offers a graphical user interface that makes it easier for users to create, manage, and monitor tasks without requiring deep technical knowledge.
  • Versatile Task Options
    The tool supports a wide range of task types, including file operations, database interactions, scripts execution, web automation, and much more, making it a flexible solution for various automation needs.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    VisualCron can operate across multiple platforms, facilitating task automation in diverse IT environments.
  • Extensive Logging and Monitoring
    The software includes comprehensive logging and monitoring features, offering real-time insights and historical data for auditing and troubleshooting purposes.
  • Secure Execution
    It provides stringent security features like credential management, encryption, and secure execution to protect sensitive data and operations.
  • Customizability
    Users can extend and customize functionalities through its API, allowing for integration with other tools and services.
  • Excellent Support
    VisualCron offers responsive customer support and a robust community, aiding users in troubleshooting and finding best practices.

Possible disadvantages of VisualCron

  • Cost
    VisualCron is a premium tool and can be expensive for small businesses or individual users, especially when compared to free alternatives like cron jobs on Unix/Linux.
  • Learning Curve
    While the interface is user-friendly, there can be a learning curve for those unfamiliar with automation tools, particularly for advanced features.
  • Windows-Centric
    Although it offers cross-platform capabilities, VisualCron is primarily designed for Windows environments, potentially limiting its effectiveness in mixed or non-Windows ecosystems.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running multiple tasks and monitoring features can become resource-intensive, requiring significant system resources that could impact performance.
  • Complex Licensing
    The licensing structure can be complex, which may create confusion regarding the costs involved and the features available under different license types.
  • Potential Overhead
    The extensive feature set, while useful, might introduce overhead for users who only need basic scheduling capabilities, making it overkill for simple tasks.

CTFreak features and specs

  • Bash
  • Powershell
  • Workflow
  • Concurrent executions
  • Remote executions
  • Scheduling
  • Ansible

Analysis of VisualCron

Overall verdict

  • VisualCron is a robust and effective tool for businesses and IT professionals looking to streamline processes and improve efficiency through automation. Its comprehensive feature set and ease of use make it a good choice for those needing a reliable task automation solution on Windows systems.

Why this product is good

  • VisualCron is a versatile automation, integration, and task scheduling tool designed for Windows. It provides a user-friendly interface that allows users to automate various tasks without deep programming knowledge. Its features include task automation, file transfer automation, integration with multiple services, custom scripting, and the ability to handle complex workflows with ease. Users appreciate its flexibility, wide array of built-in tasks, and strong support community. It is suitable for businesses seeking to improve efficiency by automating repetitive tasks and integrating multiple systems.

Recommended for

    VisualCron is recommended for small to medium-sized businesses, IT departments, and system administrators who require a reliable task automation and scheduling solution that can integrate with various platforms and services, without the need for extensive programming skills.

VisualCron videos

VisualCron - Passing output Variables

CTFreak videos

No CTFreak videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VisualCron and CTFreak)
Automation
83 83%
17% 17
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100
Robotics Process Automation
Tool
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare VisualCron and CTFreak

VisualCron Reviews

15 Best AutoHotkey Alternatives 2022
All of this is available to anyone without prior coding experience, thanks to the intuitive user interface that’s very easy to use. Inside VisualCron, you can find over 100 tasks for almost anything you can think of automating.

CTFreak Reviews

  1. Very convenient for centralizing all our batch processing

    Very convenient for managing all batch processing tasks in a single tool for our infra, which combines Windows and Red Hat servers.

    🏁 Competitors: RunDeck
    👍 Pros:    Easy to use
    👎 Cons:    No docker integration

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, CTFreak seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1 time since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

VisualCron mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of VisualCron yet. Tracking of VisualCron recommendations started around Mar 2021.

CTFreak mentions (1)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing VisualCron and CTFreak, you can also consider the following products

Microsoft Power Automate - Microsoft Power Automate is an automation platform that integrates DPA, RPA, and process mining. It lets you automate your organization at scale using low-code and AI.

RunDeck - RunDeck is an open source automation service with a web console, command line tools and a WebAPI.

Pulover’s Macro Creator - Pulover’s Macro Creator is a Free Automation Tool and Script Generator.

Qatalog - Your new work hub

RoboIntern - An automation and scheduling software with focus on repetitive office tasks.

Workhub - Workhub is the first platform to provide compliance software and recognition programs for businesses to maximize productivity and efficiency.