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Automation Integration · head to head

Activiti vs Kogito

Activiti logo

Activiti

Automation Integration

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kogito logo

Kogito

Automation Integration

Cloud-native business automation for Quarkus, now an Apache KIE component

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Kogito kogito is a developer framework, not a product, so there is no equivalent of Camunda Operate for business users and any process monitoring interface has to be built or bought separately.
  • They diverge on capability: Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Kogito covers Build-time code generation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Activiti and Kogito actually diverge.

Attributes where Activiti and Kogito differ
AttributeActivitiKogito
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Docker, KubernetesLinux, Docker, Kubernetes

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 Activiti

  • BPMN 2.0 engine
  • Activiti Cloud
  • Modeler
  • Java and REST APIs
  • Pluggable persistence
  • Identity integration

Only in Kogito

  • Build-time code generation
  • Quarkus and Spring Boot support
  • DMN decision services
  • Drools rules engine
  • Serverless workflow
  • Kubernetes operator

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 Kogito
  • A Java application that needs to embed a BPMN engine as a library under a permissive licencenot Kogito
  • An organisation that has ruled out Camunda 8 on licence grounds and needs an Apache 2.0 alternativenot Kogito
  • Document-centric approval workflows where the process engine sits inside the content management stack rather than beside itnot Kogito

Kogito

  • A Quarkus microservice that must expose a DMN decision model as a REST endpoint with millisecond start-upnot Activiti
  • Serverless deployment of business rules where a traditional BPM server would be far too heavynot Activiti
  • A Red Hat shop that wants the upstream of Red Hat process automation with the option of a supported build laternot Activiti
  • Replacing hand-coded conditional logic with DMN tables that business analysts can review and amendnot 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.

Kogito

  • Kogito is a developer framework, not a product, so there is no equivalent of Camunda Operate for business users and any process monitoring interface has to be built or bought separately.
  • Long-running stateful processes need external persistence and messaging that you configure and operate yourself, which removes much of the convenience a BPM server normally provides.
  • It sits inside the Apache KIE incubator, and incubating status means graduation is not guaranteed and the project name and artefact coordinates have already changed once.
  • Red Hat is by far the dominant contributor despite ASF stewardship, so the roadmap follows Red Hat product priorities rather than community demand.
  • Documentation is spread across legacy JBoss sites, the old Kogito site and the new Apache KIE site, and search results routinely land on outdated versions, which costs real time during adoption.

Pricing, plan by plan

Activiti

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

Kogito

Free
  • KogitoFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Apache KIE incubating project
    • No usage limits

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 Kogito if

  • You need build-time code generation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want quarkus and spring boot support.
Kogito review

Questions people ask

Is Activiti or Kogito better?
Neither clearly leads. Activiti starts at Free and Kogito at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Activiti or Kogito?
Activiti starts at Free and Kogito at Free.
Does Activiti or Kogito run on more platforms?
Activiti runs on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. Kogito runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Activiti for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Kogito is typically brought in for.
What can Activiti do that Kogito cannot?
Activiti covers BPMN 2.0 engine, Activiti Cloud, Modeler, Java and REST APIs. Kogito covers Build-time code generation, Quarkus and Spring Boot support, DMN decision services, Drools rules engine.

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.

Kogito: Is Kogito still maintained?

Yes. It is an Apache KIE incubating project with active commits, with Red Hat as the dominant contributor.

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.

Kogito: How does it differ from jBPM?

Kogito compiles process and rule definitions into application code at build time; jBPM was a runtime engine that loads definitions.

Activiti: What licence is it?

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

Kogito: Does it need Quarkus?

It is designed for Quarkus and supports Spring Boot; both are Java frameworks rather than a standalone server.

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.

Kogito: Is there commercial support?

Not from Apache. Red Hat sells supported builds of this lineage as part of its subscriptions.

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