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Automation Integration · head to head

Activiti vs Mathesar

Activiti logo

Activiti

Automation Integration

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mathesar logo

Mathesar

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet style interface that edits an existing PostgreSQL database directly, with no schema of its own

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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.; Mathesar there is no hosted offering of any kind, so a team without someone who can run and secure a server cannot use it at all.
  • They diverge on capability: Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Activiti and Mathesar actually diverge.

Attributes where Activiti and Mathesar differ
AttributeActivitiMathesar
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Docker, KubernetesWeb, Linux
CategoryAutomation IntegrationSpreadsheets

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 Mathesar

  • Direct PostgreSQL editing
  • PostgreSQL permissions
  • Schema editing
  • Data exploration
  • Relationship navigation
  • Import of tabular files
  • Self hosted only

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

Mathesar

  • A nonprofit or research group whose data is already in PostgreSQL and whose staff cannot write SQLnot Activiti
  • Giving analysts a safe editing interface governed by database roles that already existnot Activiti
  • Replacing a hand built Django or Rails admin screen that nobody wants to maintainnot Activiti
  • Editing production reference data where an export, edit and reimport cycle would risk losing concurrent changesnot 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.

Mathesar

  • There is no hosted offering of any kind, so a team without someone who can run and secure a server cannot use it at all.
  • It works only with PostgreSQL, so a MySQL, SQL Server or SQLite estate is excluded outright.
  • There are no automations, no webhooks and effectively no integration catalogue, so it edits data and does nothing else.
  • Because it writes to the live database, a careless bulk edit or column type change is a production change with no staging step and no undo.
  • Development is grant and community funded rather than commercially funded, so roadmap pace and long term continuity carry a different risk profile from a venture backed vendor.

Pricing, plan by plan

Activiti

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

Mathesar

Free
  • Self hosted open sourceFree
    • No licence fee
    • No hosted option offered
    • Connects to your existing PostgreSQL database

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 Mathesar if

  • You need direct postgresql editing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want postgresql permissions.
Mathesar review

Questions people ask

Is Activiti or Mathesar better?
Neither clearly leads. Activiti starts at Free and Mathesar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Activiti or Mathesar?
Activiti starts at Free and Mathesar at Free.
Does Activiti or Mathesar run on more platforms?
Activiti runs on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. Mathesar runs on Web, Linux.
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 Mathesar is typically brought in for.
What can Activiti do that Mathesar cannot?
Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Activiti Cloud, Modeler, Java and REST APIs. Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing, PostgreSQL permissions, Schema editing, Data exploration.

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.

Mathesar: Is there a cloud version?

No. Self hosting is the only option, and that is a deliberate project decision rather than a gap waiting to be filled.

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.

Mathesar: How does it handle permissions?

Through PostgreSQL roles and privileges directly, so there is no second permission model to keep in step.

Activiti: What licence is it?

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

Mathesar: What is the row limit?

Whatever PostgreSQL can handle. Mathesar adds no storage layer of its own.

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.

Mathesar: Does it support databases other than PostgreSQL?

No.

Mathesar: Can it replace Airtable?

Only for editing and exploring data. There are no automations, apps or integrations.

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