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Automation Integration · head to head

Decodable vs Flowable

Decodable logo

Decodable

Automation Integration

Managed Apache Flink and Debezium with credit-based pricing and a free tier

From
Free
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

  • Each has a real cost: Decodable credit pricing rewards intermittent work and penalises always-on pipelines: a single small task running continuously costs roughly 86 US dollars a month before any parallelism.; 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: Decodable covers Managed Flink, 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 Decodable and Flowable actually diverge.

Attributes where Decodable and Flowable differ
AttributeDecodableFlowable
Pricing modelPer credit by task hourquote
PlatformsWeb, LinuxLinux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Decodable

  • Managed Flink
  • Change data capture
  • SQL pipelines
  • Custom Flink jobs
  • Credit-based metering
  • Managed connectors

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.

Decodable

  • Streaming Postgres change data capture into Snowflake or Iceberg without running Debezium and Kafka Connect yourselfnot Flowable
  • Real-time enrichment and filtering of event streams before they reach an expensive warehousenot Flowable
  • A team that already writes Flink jobs but does not want to operate the cluster, checkpoint store or upgradesnot Flowable
  • Replacing a fragile set of cron jobs and Lambda functions that move data between operational systemsnot Flowable

Flowable

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

Where each one falls short

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

Decodable

  • Credit pricing rewards intermittent work and penalises always-on pipelines: a single small task running continuously costs roughly 86 US dollars a month before any parallelism.
  • Parallelism multiplies tasks, so scaling a pipeline to keep up with throughput multiplies the bill in a way that is easy to under-forecast at design time.
  • The free tier retains streams for only 24 hours, which is too short to debug an intermittent failure that surfaces days later.
  • Java and Python transformations are gated behind paid plans, so anything the SQL layer cannot express means moving off the free tier immediately.
  • The operational layer is proprietary even though Flink and Debezium are not, so migrating to self-managed Flink later means rebuilding connectors, schema handling and monitoring from scratch.

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

Decodable

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to four concurrent tasks
    • Small and medium task sizes
    • 24 hour or 10 GB stream retention
  • On Demand$undefined/month
    • 0.12 USD per credit, billed monthly
    • Unlimited concurrent tasks
    • Small, medium and large task sizes
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • 0.10 USD per credit on pre-purchased annual capacity
    • Custom task sizes
    • Extensible retention

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 Decodable if

  • You need managed flink.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want change data capture.
Decodable 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 Decodable or Flowable better?
Neither clearly leads. Decodable starts at Free and Flowable at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Decodable or Flowable?
Decodable starts at Free and Flowable at Free.
Does Decodable or Flowable run on more platforms?
Decodable runs on Web, Linux. Flowable runs on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Decodable for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Decodable best used for?
Decodable is most often used for streaming postgres change data capture into snowflake or iceberg without running debezium and kafka connect yourself, real-time enrichment and filtering of event streams before they reach an expensive warehouse, a team that already writes flink jobs but does not want to operate the cluster, checkpoint store or upgrades, replacing a fragile set of cron jobs and lambda functions that move data between operational systems. Of those, streaming postgres change data capture into snowflake or iceberg without running debezium and kafka connect yourself and real-time enrichment and filtering of event streams before they reach an expensive warehouse are not what Flowable is typically brought in for.
What can Decodable do that Flowable cannot?
Decodable covers Managed Flink, Change data capture, SQL pipelines, Custom Flink jobs. Flowable covers BPMN 2.0 engine, CMMN case management, DMN decision tables, Spring Boot integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Decodable: What is a credit worth?

0.12 US dollars on On Demand and 0.10 on Enterprise. A small task consumes one credit per hour, medium two, large four.

Flowable: Is Flowable open source?

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

Decodable: Is there a free plan?

Yes, up to four concurrent tasks with 24 hour or 10 GB stream retention.

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.

Decodable: Is it really Apache Flink underneath?

Yes, Flink for processing and Debezium for change data capture, both managed by Decodable.

Flowable: What does Flowable Enterprise cost?

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

Decodable: Can I run my own Flink jobs?

Yes, Java and Python jobs on paid plans; the free plan is SQL only.

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.

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