Softwr

Automation Integration · head to head

Activiti vs Talend

Activiti logo

Activiti

Automation Integration

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Talend logo

Talend

Automation Integration

Cloud data integration platform

From
On request
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.; Talend no published pricing; all customers receive customized quotes based on usage
  • They diverge on capability: Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Talend covers ETL pipelines.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Activiti and Talend actually diverge.

Attributes where Activiti and Talend differ
AttributeActivitiTalend
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Docker, KubernetesWeb, On-premise
FoundedUnknown2006

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 Talend

  • ETL pipelines
  • Data quality
  • Master data management
  • Real-time streaming
  • Cloud synchronization
  • Monitoring
  • Scheduling
  • 1000+ 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 Talend
  • A Java application that needs to embed a BPMN engine as a library under a permissive licencenot Talend
  • An organisation that has ruled out Camunda 8 on licence grounds and needs an Apache 2.0 alternativenot Talend
  • Document-centric approval workflows where the process engine sits inside the content management stack rather than beside itnot Talend

Talend

  • Enterprises consolidating data integration and pipeline orchestration now under the Qlik Talend Cloud brandnot 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.

Talend

  • No published pricing; all customers receive customized quotes based on usage
  • Billing measured by combination of data volume moved, job executions, and execution duration
  • Pricing details available only through sales contact; no self-serve pricing model

Pricing, plan by plan

Activiti

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

Talend

On request
  • Starter$null/usage
    • Basic SaaS connectivity
  • Standard$null/usage
    • Real-time data movement
    • Change Data Capture (CDC)
  • Premium$null/usage
    • Transformation capabilities
    • Automation features
  • Enterprise$null/usage
    • Comprehensive quality features
    • Governance capabilities

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 Talend if

  • You need etl pipelines.
  • You work on Web, On-premise.
  • You also want data quality.
Talend review

Questions people ask

Is Activiti or Talend better?
Neither clearly leads. Activiti starts at Free and Talend at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Activiti or Talend?
Activiti has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Activiti and On request for Talend.
Does Activiti or Talend run on more platforms?
Activiti runs on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. Talend runs on Web, On-premise.
Can I use Activiti for free?
Yes. Activiti has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Talend starts at On request.
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 Talend is typically brought in for.
What can Activiti do that Talend cannot?
Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Activiti Cloud, Modeler, Java and REST APIs. Talend covers ETL pipelines, Data quality, Master data management, Real-time streaming.

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.

Talend: How is Talend Cloud priced?

Talend Cloud uses a usage-based pricing model where customers subscribe to a chosen edition (Starter, Standard, Premium, or Enterprise) and pay based on capacity used. Billing is calculated as a combination of data volume moved, number of job executions, and execution duration, with no published rates.

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.

Talend: What are Talend Cloud editions?

Talend Cloud offers four editions: Starter (basic SaaS connectivity), Standard (real-time data movement and CDC), Premium (transformation and automation), and Enterprise (comprehensive quality and governance). All pricing is custom based on usage.

Source
Activiti: What licence is it?

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

Talend: Does Talend Cloud provide usage monitoring?

Yes. Talend provides a self-serve telemetry dashboard where customers can monitor usage trends and receive alerts as utilization approaches capacity limits, allowing tracking of data volume, job executions, and execution duration.

Source
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.

Share

Related pages

More on Activiti

More on Talend

Keep looking

Other head to heads