Bots EDI vs LANSA
Bots EDI
bots-edi.org
LANSA
lansa.comSide by side
| Figure | Bots EDI | LANSA |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Electronic Data Interchange Software | 8.0 (#8) | 7.6 (#10) |
| Audience | The site says Bots is used by both small businesses and global corporations, translating thousands of electronic documents daily. | LANSA describes its tools as serving IT and development teams working on enterprise business solutions, particularly for IBM i. |
| Founded | 2007 | 1987 |
| Integrations | The feature list names VAN connections including X400, IPMail, Sterling Commerce, Inovis, GXS, and InterCommit; it says AS2 is not direct but notes successful implementations using an external module. | LANSA Integrator supports XML and EDI document processing, database access, file transfer, and real-time or batch data exchange. |
| Purpose | Bots is open-source software for translating and routing EDI files, used by companies exchanging large numbers of electronic business documents. | LANSA provides developer tools and professional services for modernizing IBM i systems and building business solutions. |
| Support | The site points Bots NG users to a discussion group on Discord and lists commercial support from Ludovic Watteaux. | LANSA offers professional services for project scoping, implementation, maintenance, and ongoing support. |
Plans
In their own words
Bots EDI
Bots EDI is open-source software for translating and routing electronic business documents. It is intended for companies exchanging large volumes of EDI files, and the site says it can handle hundreds of thousands of messages monthly. Supported formats include EDIFACT, X12, Tradacoms, EANCOM, XML, JSON, SAP IDoc, CSV and fixed-width files. Translation mappings are written as Python scripts, and a web console lets users configure and supervise translation and routing. Bots provides functional acknowledgments and confirmations, including CONTRL and 997. Communication options include email protocols, FTP, SFTP, FTPS, HTTP(S), file exchange, XML-RPC and direct database access; it can also work with external AS2 servers and VANs. It runs on Windows, Linux, macOS and other Unix variants, with installation through Python rather than a dedicated Windows installer or Unix distribution package. Bots is licensed under GNU GPL Version 3. The current active fork, Bots NG 4.0.0, requires Python 3.10+ and Django 5/6; the legacy Frozen 3.2.0 requires Python 2.7.
LANSA
LANSA provides developer tools and professional services for modernizing IBM i systems and building business applications. Visual LANSA is a low-code platform for web, mobile, and desktop development, using one language across IBM i, Windows, and cloud deployments. For existing systems, LANSA supports green-screen refacing, web enablement, and access to legacy functions through APIs. LANSA Integrator processes XML and EDI documents, connects to databases, transfers files, and exchanges data in real time or batches; its secure communications options include HTTPS, SFTP, TLS, and SSL. Commerce Edition describes multi-tier security, PCI DSS compliance, SSL encryption, and payment gateway integration. LANSA BI can connect to external AI model providers; its AI features may send metadata such as column names and data types, but not dataset values or records. Professional services cover scoping, implementation, maintenance, and ongoing support. LANSA offers a free plan and invites prospective Visual LANSA users to request a free trial, with no trial duration stated. Pricing is on request and varies by business needs.