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Automation Integration · head to head

Activiti vs Automation Anywhere

Activiti logo

Activiti

Automation Integration

Apache 2.0 BPMN engine under Hyland, from which Flowable and Camunda were forked

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Automation Anywhere logo

Automation Anywhere

Automation Integration

Enterprise automation software

From
$200/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Activiti has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Automation Anywhere no enterprise pricing tiers published; contact sales required for commercial deployment pricing
  • They diverge on capability: Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Automation Anywhere covers Desktop RPA.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Activiti and Automation Anywhere actually diverge.

Attributes where Activiti and Automation Anywhere differ
AttributeActivitiAutomation Anywhere
Starting priceFree$200/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Docker, KubernetesDesktop, Web
FoundedUnknown2003

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Automation Integration).

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 Automation Anywhere

  • Desktop RPA
  • Cloud RPA
  • No-code automation
  • Intelligent process automation
  • Analytics
  • Monitoring
  • Scalability
  • 500+ connectors

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 Automation Anywhere
  • A Java application that needs to embed a BPMN engine as a library under a permissive licencenot Automation Anywhere
  • An organisation that has ruled out Camunda 8 on licence grounds and needs an Apache 2.0 alternativenot Automation Anywhere
  • Document-centric approval workflows where the process engine sits inside the content management stack rather than beside itnot Automation Anywhere

Automation Anywhere

  • Workflow Automationnot Activiti
  • Data Integrationnot Activiti
  • Process Automationnot Activiti
  • App Integrationnot Activiti
  • API Connectivitynot 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.

Automation Anywhere

  • No enterprise pricing tiers published; contact sales required for commercial deployment pricing
  • Cloud Community Edition is free but limited compared to enterprise offerings

Pricing, plan by plan

Activiti

Free
  • ActivitiFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Embeddable Java library or Activiti Cloud services
    • No usage limits

Automation Anywhere

$200/month
  • CommunityFree
    • Community version
    • Limited use
  • Enterprise$200/month
    • Full RPA capabilities
  • Premium$500/month
    • Advanced features
    • Priority support

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.
Activiti review

Choose Automation Anywhere if

  • You need desktop rpa.
  • You work on Desktop, Web.
  • You also want cloud rpa.
Automation Anywhere review

Questions people ask

Is Activiti or Automation Anywhere better?
Neither clearly leads. Activiti starts at Free and Automation Anywhere at $200/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Activiti or Automation Anywhere?
Activiti has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Activiti and $200/month for Automation Anywhere.
Does Activiti or Automation Anywhere run on more platforms?
Activiti runs on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. Automation Anywhere runs on Desktop, Web.
Can I use Activiti for free?
Yes. Activiti has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Automation Anywhere starts at $200/month.
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 Automation Anywhere is typically brought in for.
What can Activiti do that Automation Anywhere cannot?
Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Activiti Cloud, Modeler, Java and REST APIs. Automation Anywhere covers Desktop RPA, Cloud RPA, No-code automation, Intelligent process automation.

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.

Automation Anywhere: How much does Automation Anywhere cost?

Automation Anywhere provides a Cloud Community Edition available free with full-featured automation access. Enterprise and commercial deployment pricing is not publicly disclosed and requires contact with the sales team for a custom quote.

Source
Activiti: 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.

Automation Anywhere: Does Automation Anywhere offer a free version?

Yes, Automation Anywhere offers the Cloud Community Edition as a free option with full-featured automation access for learning and development purposes. Commercial and enterprise use requires different licensing arrangements.

Source
Activiti: What licence is it?

Apache 2.0, which distinguishes it from Camunda 8’s source-available licence.

Activiti: 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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