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Automation Integration · head to head

Camunda vs Orkes

Camunda logo

Camunda

Automation Integration

BPMN process orchestration engine, now source-available rather than open source

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Orkes logo

Orkes

Automation Integration

Commercial Conductor, now the maintainer of the workflow engine Netflix archived

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Orkes has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Camunda camunda 7 Community Edition stopped receiving security patches after the 7.24 release in October 2025, so free production deployments are now running unpatched software.; Orkes netflix archived the Conductor repository in December 2023 and Orkes took over maintenance, so the large-company backing that justified many original adoptions no longer exists.
  • They diverge on capability: Camunda covers BPMN 2.0 execution, Orkes covers JSON workflow definitions.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Camunda and Orkes actually diverge.

Attributes where Camunda and Orkes differ
AttributeCamundaOrkes
Starting priceOn requestFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Docker, KubernetesLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud

Identical on both: pricing model (quote), 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 Camunda

  • BPMN 2.0 execution
  • DMN decision tables
  • Zeebe engine
  • Operate console
  • Job workers
  • Optimize

Only in Orkes

  • JSON workflow definitions
  • Polyglot workers
  • Visual workflow builder
  • AI and LLM tasks
  • Human tasks
  • Event handlers
  • RBAC and secrets
  • Hosted or self-hosted

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Camunda

  • Long-running business processes crossing several services where the state must be visible to non-developersnot Orkes
  • Insurance claims or loan origination where the process model is itself a compliance artefactnot Orkes
  • Replacing orchestration logic scattered across microservices with one engine that owns the state machinenot Orkes
  • A regulated organisation that needs an auditable record of how each process instance actually executednot Orkes

Orkes

  • A microservices estate that needs orchestration across services written in different languages without a shared SDKnot Camunda
  • A team already running Conductor OSS that wants a supported distribution now that Netflix has stopped maintaining itnot Camunda
  • An AI platform composing agent steps, model calls and vector lookups as versioned workflow definitionsnot Camunda
  • A business process needing human approval steps interleaved with automated service callsnot Camunda

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Camunda

  • Camunda 7 Community Edition stopped receiving security patches after the 7.24 release in October 2025, so free production deployments are now running unpatched software.
  • Camunda 8 Self-Managed is source-available under the Camunda License 1.0, not open source: production use requires a paid licence, and organisations that adopted Camunda for its Apache licence have to renegotiate that decision.
  • Migrating from Camunda 7 to 8 is a rewrite rather than an upgrade because the engine, the API and the persistence model all changed, and there is no in-place migration for running instances.
  • Camunda 8 Self-Managed has substantial infrastructure requirements including Zeebe brokers, Elasticsearch and Identity, which is a considerable operations burden compared with the single database that Camunda 7 needed.
  • Pricing is not published at all, so evaluating total cost requires a sales process, and there is no way to size a budget before committing engineering time to a proof of concept.

Orkes

  • Netflix archived the Conductor repository in December 2023 and Orkes took over maintenance, so the large-company backing that justified many original adoptions no longer exists.
  • Enterprise pricing is entirely unpublished, and the only free option is explicitly a prototyping sandbox whose limits can change at any time, so there is no supported low-cost entry point.
  • Self-hosting Conductor OSS in production means operating the engine plus its persistence and indexing dependencies, typically Postgres or Cassandra with Elasticsearch, which is a substantial platform commitment.
  • JSON workflow definitions are language agnostic but verbose and awkward to test, and teams accustomed to defining workflows in code find them a step backwards in developer experience.
  • Orkes is a small company whose commercial future is tied to a single open source project it also maintains, which concentrates both vendor and project risk in the same place.

Pricing, plan by plan

Camunda

On request
  • Camunda 8$undefined/year
    • Self-Managed under Camunda License 1.0, production licence required
    • SaaS with a thirty day full trial
    • Free unlimited BPMN and DMN modelling after the trial

Orkes

Free
  • Developer EditionFree
    • All Conductor OSS features plus enterprise capabilities
    • Sandbox for prototyping only
    • Rate limits and resources may change without notice
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Availability SLA up to 99.99%
    • Orkes-hosted or customer-hosted deployment
    • Dedicated technical account manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Camunda if

  • You need bpmn 2.0 execution.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want dmn decision tables.
Camunda review

Choose Orkes if

  • You need json workflow definitions.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want polyglot workers.
Orkes review

Questions people ask

Is Camunda or Orkes better?
Neither clearly leads. Camunda starts at On request and Orkes at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Camunda or Orkes?
Orkes has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Camunda and Free for Orkes.
Does Camunda or Orkes run on more platforms?
Camunda runs on Web, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. Orkes runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Orkes for free?
Yes. Orkes has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Camunda starts at On request.
What is Camunda best used for?
Camunda is most often used for long-running business processes crossing several services where the state must be visible to non-developers, insurance claims or loan origination where the process model is itself a compliance artefact, replacing orchestration logic scattered across microservices with one engine that owns the state machine, a regulated organisation that needs an auditable record of how each process instance actually executed. Of those, long-running business processes crossing several services where the state must be visible to non-developers and insurance claims or loan origination where the process model is itself a compliance artefact are not what Orkes is typically brought in for.
What can Camunda do that Orkes cannot?
Camunda covers BPMN 2.0 execution, DMN decision tables, Zeebe engine, Operate console. Orkes covers JSON workflow definitions, Polyglot workers, Visual workflow builder, AI and LLM tasks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Camunda: Is Camunda still open source?

No. Camunda 8 Self-Managed ships under the Camunda License 1.0, which is source-available and requires a paid production licence.

Orkes: Does Netflix still maintain Conductor?

No. Netflix archived its repository in December 2023. The open source project continues at conductor-oss under Apache 2.0, maintained by Orkes.

Camunda: What happened to Camunda 7?

Its final feature release, 7.24, was in October 2025 and the Community Edition receives no further patches. Enterprise support runs to April 2030.

Orkes: Is there a free production tier?

No. The Developer Edition is a sandbox that the vendor states is unsuitable for production. Self-hosting Conductor OSS is the free production route.

Camunda: Can I upgrade from 7 to 8?

Not in place. The engine, API and persistence changed, so it is a rewrite of the integration layer.

Orkes: What does Enterprise cost?

Nothing is published; it is quoted by deployment and support requirements.

Camunda: What does it cost?

Camunda does not publish prices. Both self-managed production and SaaS require a quote.

Orkes: How does it compare with Temporal?

Conductor uses declarative JSON workflow definitions and external workers; Temporal defines workflows in code. Temporal has the larger community.

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