Automation Integration · head to head
Activiti vs Asana
Activiti
Automation Integration
Apache 2.0 BPMN engine under Hyland, from which Flowable and Camunda were forked
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Activiti the last stable release was 8.2.0 in January 2024, and while release candidate builds continue, a two-year gap between stable versions is a real risk signal for a production dependency.; Asana the free Personal tier is capped at 2 users, so it does not cover a small team
- They diverge on capability: Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Asana covers Multiple project views.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Activiti and Asana actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Activiti
- BPMN 2.0 engine
- Activiti Cloud
- Modeler
- Java and REST APIs
- Pluggable persistence
- Identity integration
Only in Asana
- Multiple project views
- Task dependencies
- Milestones
- Portfolios
- Goals & OKRs
- Workflow automation
- Resource management
- Reporting dashboards
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Activiti
- An Alfresco or Hyland content services deployment where Activiti is already the embedded workflow enginenot Asana
- A Java application that needs to embed a BPMN engine as a library under a permissive licencenot Asana
- An organisation that has ruled out Camunda 8 on licence grounds and needs an Apache 2.0 alternativenot Asana
- Document-centric approval workflows where the process engine sits inside the content management stack rather than beside itnot Asana
Asana
- Project planning & trackingnot Activiti
- Campaign managementnot Activiti
- Product launchesnot Activiti
- Event planningnot Activiti
- Agile & Scrum managementnot Activiti
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Activiti
- The last stable release was 8.2.0 in January 2024, and while release candidate builds continue, a two-year gap between stable versions is a real risk signal for a production dependency.
- Both Camunda and Flowable forked away and took large parts of the contributor base with them, so the community, tutorials and third-party tooling around Activiti are much thinner than around either fork.
- Commercial support is only realistically available by buying Hyland Alfresco subscriptions, so there is no way to pay for Activiti support on its own.
- Activiti Cloud imposes a distributed architecture of several Spring Boot services plus Keycloak, which is heavy for teams who simply wanted an embeddable engine.
- Documentation is dated and partly split between old Alfresco sites and Hyland Connect, and the transition between Activiti 6, 7 and 8 architectures makes much of the older material actively misleading.
Asana
- The free Personal tier is capped at 2 users, so it does not cover a small team
- Timeline and Gantt views, reporting dashboards and time tracking all require Starter at $10.99 per user per month
- Portfolios, goals, workload management and approvals need Advanced at $24.99 per user per month
- Salesforce, Tableau and Power BI integrations are Advanced or above
- Monthly billing costs more, at $13.49 and $30.49 against the annual rates
Pricing, plan by plan
Activiti
Free- ActivitiFree
- Apache 2.0 licence
- Embeddable Java library or Activiti Cloud services
- No usage limits
Asana
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Asana review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Activiti if
- You need bpmn 2.0 engine.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
- You also want activiti cloud.
Choose Asana if
- You need multiple project views.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want task dependencies.
Questions people ask
- Is Activiti or Asana better?
- Neither clearly leads. Activiti starts at Free and Asana at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Activiti or Asana?
- Activiti starts at Free and Asana at Free.
- Does Activiti or Asana run on more platforms?
- Activiti runs on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. Asana runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Activiti for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Activiti best used for?
- Activiti is most often used for an alfresco or hyland content services deployment where activiti is already the embedded workflow engine, a java application that needs to embed a bpmn engine as a library under a permissive licence, an organisation that has ruled out camunda 8 on licence grounds and needs an apache 2.0 alternative, document-centric approval workflows where the process engine sits inside the content management stack rather than beside it. Of those, an alfresco or hyland content services deployment where activiti is already the embedded workflow engine and a java application that needs to embed a bpmn engine as a library under a permissive licence are not what Asana is typically brought in for.
- What can Activiti do that Asana cannot?
- Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Activiti Cloud, Modeler, Java and REST APIs. Asana covers Multiple project views, Task dependencies, Milestones, Portfolios.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Activiti: Is Activiti still maintained?
Yes, Hyland continues to publish builds, but the last stable release was 8.2.0 in January 2024.
Asana: Does Asana have a free tier?
Yes. Asana offers a free Personal plan for up to 2 users, plus free trial access to paid plans.
SourceActiviti: What is its relationship to Camunda and Flowable?
Both are forks of Activiti: Camunda in 2013 and Flowable in 2016, when core developers left Alfresco.
Asana: What is the starting price for Asana paid plans?
Asana Starter plan begins at $10.99 per user per month when billed annually, or $13.49 per user when billed monthly.
SourceActiviti: What licence is it?
Apache 2.0, which distinguishes it from Camunda 8’s source-available licence.
Asana: Does Asana integrate with other work tools?
Yes. Asana offers 200+ integrations including Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Jira, and Zoom.
SourceActiviti: Should I choose Activiti for a new project?
Only if the Apache licence or an existing Alfresco deployment is decisive. Flowable and Camunda have far larger ecosystems.
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