Softwr

Automation Integration · head to head

Cyclr vs Flowable

Cyclr logo

Cyclr

Automation Integration

Embedded integration platform that SaaS vendors ship inside their own product

From
$1595/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Flowable logo

Flowable

Automation Integration

Apache 2.0 BPMN, CMMN and DMN engine from the team that originally built Activiti

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Flowable has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cyclr entry pricing of 1,595 US dollars a month for one connector and 100,000 API calls means small vendors will find building two or three integrations in-house genuinely cheaper, and Cyclr only pays off past a certain integration count.; Flowable the open source engine is genuinely usable but ships without the modelling studio, work application and admin console, so an open source deployment means building your own user interfaces before anyone can use it.
  • They diverge on capability: Cyclr covers White-label integration UI, Flowable covers BPMN 2.0 engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cyclr and Flowable actually diverge.

Attributes where Cyclr and Flowable differ
AttributeCyclrFlowable
Starting price$1595/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by API call volumequote
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APILinux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud

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 Cyclr

  • White-label integration UI
  • Connector library
  • Workflow builder
  • Custom connectors
  • Regional hosting
  • MCP server offering
  • Usage metering
  • Templates

Only in Flowable

  • BPMN 2.0 engine
  • CMMN case management
  • DMN decision tables
  • Spring Boot integration
  • Modelling studio
  • Task and case application
  • REST APIs
  • History and audit

What people use each for

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

Cyclr

  • A mid-market SaaS vendor losing deals because prospects ask for a CRM integration it has not builtnot Flowable
  • A product team that would rather ship an integration marketplace this quarter than hire two engineers to maintain connectorsnot Flowable
  • A European software company that needs its customers' integration data processed inside the EU for procurement reasonsnot Flowable
  • A vendor whose customers each want a slightly different variation of the same integration and cannot be served by one hard-coded connectornot Flowable

Flowable

  • An insurer automating claims handling where each case follows a different path and BPMN alone cannot express itnot Cyclr
  • A bank embedding process orchestration inside an existing Spring Boot estate rather than buying a separate platformnot Cyclr
  • A team leaving Activiti or jBPM that wants the same API family with active commercial maintenancenot Cyclr
  • A regulated organisation needing complete process history and decision table audit trails for supervisorsnot Cyclr

Where each one falls short

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

Cyclr

  • Entry pricing of 1,595 US dollars a month for one connector and 100,000 API calls means small vendors will find building two or three integrations in-house genuinely cheaper, and Cyclr only pays off past a certain integration count.
  • Connectors and API calls are metered separately, so a successful integration marketplace pushes you up tiers as your customers adopt it, meaning the cost rises with usage rather than with the revenue that usage generates.
  • Custom connectors to APIs outside the library are your work to build and maintain, so the promise of not building integrations only holds for applications Cyclr already covers.
  • Debugging is harder when the integration runs in a third-party runtime, because your support team sees a failed workflow rather than an HTTP response and has to escalate to Cyclr for anything non-obvious.
  • Deep embedding creates real switching cost: your customers' live integrations run on Cyclr, so migrating later means recreating every customer workflow, which in practice means you rarely leave.

Flowable

  • The open source engine is genuinely usable but ships without the modelling studio, work application and admin console, so an open source deployment means building your own user interfaces before anyone can use it.
  • It expects Java engineering capacity; teams looking for a business-user low-code automation tool will find the modelling and deployment cycle far too technical.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published and is quoted per deployment, leaving buyers without a benchmark against Camunda or IBM alternatives.
  • The Activiti fork left three engines with related APIs and overlapping documentation in circulation, and search results routinely return advice for the wrong one.
  • Flowable AG is a small Swiss company relative to its competitors, so the partner network, training market and pool of engineers with production experience are all limited outside Europe.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cyclr

$1595/month
  • PAYG$1595/month
    • 100,000 API calls included
    • 1 connector included
    • Unlimited integrations and users
  • Growth$2595/month
    • 1,000,000 API calls included
    • 10 connectors included
    • Everything in PAYG
  • Scale$7195/month
    • 5,000,000 API calls included
    • Unlimited connectors
    • Everything in Growth
  • Private Cloud$undefined/month
    • Dedicated hosting in US, UK or EU
    • Configurable processing and runtime
    • Quoted pricing

Flowable

Free
  • Flowable Open SourceFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed BPMN, CMMN and DMN engines
    • Embeddable Java library or standalone apps
    • No modelling studio or enterprise applications
  • Flowable Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Modelling studio, work application and admin console
    • Connectors, forms and advanced identity management
    • Support with SLA and version maintenance

Which should you pick?

Choose Cyclr if

  • You need white-label integration ui.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want connector library.
Cyclr review

Choose Flowable if

  • You need bpmn 2.0 engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want cmmn case management.
Flowable review

Questions people ask

Is Cyclr or Flowable better?
Neither clearly leads. Cyclr starts at $1595/month and Flowable at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cyclr or Flowable?
Flowable has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1595/month for Cyclr and Free for Flowable.
Does Cyclr or Flowable run on more platforms?
Cyclr runs on Web, API. Flowable runs on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Flowable for free?
Yes. Flowable has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cyclr starts at $1595/month.
What is Cyclr best used for?
Cyclr is most often used for a mid-market saas vendor losing deals because prospects ask for a crm integration it has not built, a product team that would rather ship an integration marketplace this quarter than hire two engineers to maintain connectors, a european software company that needs its customers' integration data processed inside the eu for procurement reasons, a vendor whose customers each want a slightly different variation of the same integration and cannot be served by one hard-coded connector. Of those, a mid-market saas vendor losing deals because prospects ask for a crm integration it has not built and a product team that would rather ship an integration marketplace this quarter than hire two engineers to maintain connectors are not what Flowable is typically brought in for.
What can Cyclr do that Flowable cannot?
Cyclr covers White-label integration UI, Connector library, Workflow builder, Custom connectors. Flowable covers BPMN 2.0 engine, CMMN case management, DMN decision tables, Spring Boot integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cyclr: What does Cyclr actually cost?

Published tiers start at 1,595 US dollars per month for 100,000 API calls and one connector, rising to 7,195 for unlimited connectors and five million calls.

Flowable: Is Flowable open source?

Yes, the BPMN, CMMN and DMN engines are Apache 2.0. The modelling studio and enterprise applications are commercial.

Cyclr: Do my customers know they are using Cyclr?

No. The interface is white-labelled to appear as part of your product.

Flowable: How does it relate to Activiti and jBPM?

The same core developers built jBPM, then Activiti, then forked Activiti in 2016 to create Flowable.

Cyclr: Can I host it in the EU or UK?

Yes, on the private cloud tiers, which matters for European procurement requirements.

Flowable: What does Flowable Enterprise cost?

Nothing is published. It is quoted per deployment by the vendor.

Cyclr: What if the connector I need does not exist?

You build a custom connector using Cyclr tooling, which is work you own rather than work the platform removes.

Flowable: Why choose it over Camunda?

CMMN case management is a first-class engine, which matters when work is exception-driven rather than a fixed sequence.

Share

Related pages

More on Cyclr

More on Flowable

Keep looking

Other head to heads