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Automation Integration · head to head

Activiti vs Blue Prism

Activiti logo

Activiti

Automation Integration

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Blue Prism logo

Blue Prism

Automation Integration

The digital exchange for intelligent automation

From
$1000/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.; Blue Prism no pricing displayed on the vendor homepage
  • They diverge on capability: Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Blue Prism covers RPA platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Activiti and Blue Prism actually diverge.

Attributes where Activiti and Blue Prism differ
AttributeActivitiBlue Prism
Starting priceFree$1000/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Docker, KubernetesWeb, Desktop
FoundedUnknown2001

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 Blue Prism

  • RPA platform
  • Intelligent automation
  • Robotic workers
  • Process intelligence
  • Monitoring
  • Analytics
  • Scalability
  • 100+ 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 Blue Prism
  • A Java application that needs to embed a BPMN engine as a library under a permissive licencenot Blue Prism
  • An organisation that has ruled out Camunda 8 on licence grounds and needs an Apache 2.0 alternativenot Blue Prism
  • Document-centric approval workflows where the process engine sits inside the content management stack rather than beside itnot Blue Prism

Blue Prism

  • 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.

Blue Prism

  • No pricing displayed on the vendor homepage
  • Enterprise automation platform typically requires custom pricing and implementation agreements

Pricing, plan by plan

Activiti

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

Blue Prism

$1000/month
  • Starter$1000/month
    • 1 bot
    • Basic features
  • Professional$3000/month
    • 5 bots
    • Advanced features
  • Enterprise$10000/month
    • Unlimited bots
    • Dedicated 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 Blue Prism if

  • You need rpa platform.
  • You work on Web, Desktop.
  • You also want intelligent automation.
Blue Prism review

Questions people ask

Is Activiti or Blue Prism better?
Neither clearly leads. Activiti starts at Free and Blue Prism at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Activiti or Blue Prism?
Activiti has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Activiti and $1000/month for Blue Prism.
Does Activiti or Blue Prism run on more platforms?
Activiti runs on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. Blue Prism runs on Web, Desktop.
Can I use Activiti for free?
Yes. Activiti has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Blue Prism starts at $1000/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 Blue Prism is typically brought in for.
What can Activiti do that Blue Prism cannot?
Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Activiti Cloud, Modeler, Java and REST APIs. Blue Prism covers RPA platform, Intelligent automation, Robotic workers, Process intelligence.

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.

Blue Prism: How much does SS&C Blue Prism cost?

SS&C Blue Prism does not publish pricing on their website. Platform pricing is customized based on deployment requirements, number of users, and selected modules. Organizations should contact their sales team or schedule a free trial to discuss pricing.

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.

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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