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Automation Integration · head to head

Flowable vs Icinga

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
Icinga logo

Icinga

Networking

Open source infrastructure monitoring, free at its core, with paid support and modules sold separately by Icinga GmbH

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Icinga the free core has no vendor SLA, so production incidents are supported through community channels unless a paid support subscription is purchased
  • They diverge on capability: Flowable covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Icinga covers Forever Free core.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Flowable and Icinga actually diverge.

Attributes where Flowable and Icinga differ
AttributeFlowableIcinga
Pricing modelquoteOpen source core, with paid repository, module and support subscriptions sold separately
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes, CloudLinux, Web
CategoryAutomation IntegrationNetworking

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 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

Only in Icinga

  • Forever Free core
  • Clustering and HA
  • Icinga Web and API
  • Enterprise modules (paid)
  • Integration ecosystem

What people use each for

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

Flowable

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

Icinga

  • An IT team wanting unlimited-scale open source monitoring with no per-host licence fee, running standard Linux distributionsnot Flowable
  • An organisation on RHEL or SLES that wants officially packaged Icinga builds via the repository subscription rather than building from sourcenot Flowable
  • A team wanting an SLA-backed vendor support relationship rather than relying on community forums for a production monitoring systemnot Flowable
  • A company already invested in Prometheus and Grafana wanting to add host and service-level alerting from a compatible open source toolnot Flowable

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Icinga

  • The free core has no vendor SLA, so production incidents are supported through community channels unless a paid support subscription is purchased
  • Repository access for enterprise Linux distributions like RHEL and SLES is not free, so organisations standardised on those distributions face a real recurring cost most open source monitoring buyers do not expect
  • Enterprise modules are gated behind a separate module subscription, so some functionality demonstrated in marketing material is not part of the free core
  • Self-hosting and operating Icinga requires real Linux and monitoring expertise that a commercial SaaS tool would otherwise absorb, so total cost of ownership includes staff time not captured in the licence price
  • Pricing for the paid subscriptions varies by geographic region and is not published as a single global rate card, complicating budgeting for multinational organisations
  • The web interface and configuration language, while capable, are less immediately polished than a fully commercial tool like PRTG, and initial setup takes longer to reach a usable state

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Icinga

Free
  • IcingaFree
    • Unlimited hosts and services
    • Clustering and API
    • Community support
  • Support Subscription$undefined/year
    • Professional support (8x5 or 24/7)
    • Includes module and repository subscriptions

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Icinga if

  • You need forever free core.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want clustering and ha.
Icinga review

Questions people ask

Is Flowable or Icinga better?
Neither clearly leads. Flowable starts at Free and Icinga at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Flowable or Icinga?
Flowable starts at Free and Icinga at Free.
Does Flowable or Icinga run on more platforms?
Flowable runs on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud. Icinga runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Flowable for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Flowable best used for?
Flowable is most often used for an insurer automating claims handling where each case follows a different path and bpmn alone cannot express it, a bank embedding process orchestration inside an existing spring boot estate rather than buying a separate platform, a team leaving activiti or jbpm that wants the same api family with active commercial maintenance, a regulated organisation needing complete process history and decision table audit trails for supervisors. Of those, an insurer automating claims handling where each case follows a different path and bpmn alone cannot express it and a bank embedding process orchestration inside an existing spring boot estate rather than buying a separate platform are not what Icinga is typically brought in for.
What can Flowable do that Icinga cannot?
Flowable covers BPMN 2.0 engine, CMMN case management, DMN decision tables, Spring Boot integration. Icinga covers Forever Free core, Clustering and HA, Icinga Web and API, Enterprise modules (paid).

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Flowable: Is Flowable open source?

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

Icinga: Is Icinga free to run in production?

Yes, the core platform has no licence fee and no limit on hosts or services monitored.

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.

Icinga: What do the paid subscriptions actually add?

A repository subscription provides packages for certain enterprise Linux distributions, a module subscription unlocks enterprise-only add-on modules, and a support subscription bundles both with professional support.

Flowable: What does Flowable Enterprise cost?

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

Icinga: Is Icinga related to Nagios?

Yes, it originated as a fork of Nagios but has since diverged into an independently developed platform.

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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