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Automation Integration · head to head

Activiti vs Mage AI

Activiti logo

Activiti

Automation Integration

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mage AI logo

Mage AI

Automation Integration

Data pipeline platform with AI-generated workflows and governance

From
$100/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.; Mage AI usage-based pricing lacks transparency for cost forecasting
  • They diverge on capability: Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Mage AI covers AI-generated workflows.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Activiti and Mage AI actually diverge.

Attributes where Activiti and Mage AI differ
AttributeActivitiMage AI
Starting priceFree$100/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUsage-based cloud platform
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Docker, KubernetesCloud, Hybrid, Private Cloud, On-Premises

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 Mage AI

  • AI-generated workflows
  • Pipeline building
  • Data validation
  • Workflow orchestration
  • Automatic recovery
  • Reusable components
  • Governance controls

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

Mage AI

  • Building and orchestrating data pipelines with visual interfacenot Activiti
  • Automating ETL workflows with AI assistancenot Activiti
  • Validating data quality across transformationsnot Activiti
  • Distributing transformed data to multiple destinationsnot 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.

Mage AI

  • Usage-based pricing lacks transparency for cost forecasting
  • Limited standalone pricing details on website
  • Requires contact for enterprise deployment options
  • Smaller ecosystem compared to established competitors
  • May require significant customization for complex data models

Pricing, plan by plan

Activiti

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

Mage AI

$100/month
  • Cloud$100/month
    • 1 development environment
    • Unlimited users
    • Usage-based infrastructure pricing
  • Hybrid Cloud$null/custom
    • Private data processing
    • Custom infrastructure
    • Contact sales
  • Private Cloud$null/custom
    • Complete isolation
    • Full infrastructure control
    • Contact sales
  • On-Premises$null/custom
    • Full local control
    • Enterprise deployment
    • Contact sales

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 Mage AI if

  • You need ai-generated workflows.
  • You work on Cloud, Hybrid, Private Cloud, On-Premises.
  • You also want pipeline building.
Mage AI review

Questions people ask

Is Activiti or Mage AI better?
Neither clearly leads. Activiti starts at Free and Mage AI at $100/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Activiti or Mage AI?
Activiti has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Activiti and $100/month for Mage AI.
Does Activiti or Mage AI run on more platforms?
Activiti runs on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. Mage AI runs on Cloud, Hybrid, Private Cloud, On-Premises.
Can I use Activiti for free?
Yes. Activiti has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mage AI starts at $100/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 Mage AI is typically brought in for.
What can Activiti do that Mage AI cannot?
Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Activiti Cloud, Modeler, Java and REST APIs. Mage AI covers AI-generated workflows, Pipeline building, Data validation, Workflow orchestration.

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.

Mage AI: What is the starting price for Mage Cloud?

Cloud plan starts at $100/month for one development environment with unlimited users, plus usage-based compute charges.

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.

Mage AI: How is compute usage billed on Mage?

CPU is charged at $0.50 per hour and RAM at $0.50 per 4GB per hour of utilization.

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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