Appianvs
OutSystems
OutSystems: If general-purpose application development matters more than process and case automation
Appian
Low-code process automation platform priced per user, per app, per month, with tier limits on data and AI volume
As of 1 September 2026, Appian's pricing is not published; the vendor quotes on request. A low-code platform for process automation and case management, publicly documented as priced per user, per app, per month across Standard, Advanced and Premium tiers, distinguished by hard caps on data rows, RPA bots and monthly AI actions rather than by feature access alone. Softwr lists it under No-Code. Appian is made by Appian Corporation, available on Web, iOS, Android.
Overview
What Appian does
Appian builds process automation, case management and enterprise application experiences on a low-code canvas backed by a business process management engine, robotic process automation, and AI-assisted process mining and orchestration. It positions itself less as a general app builder and more as a platform for automating multi-step business processes that span systems. The distinguishing commercial fact is that Appian, unusually among enterprise low-code vendors, discloses its pricing mechanism even without publishing exact dollar figures: it is priced per user, per app, per month, escalating across Standard, Advanced and Premium tiers that are differentiated by hard resource caps rather than only feature flags. Standard is capped at 4 million data rows and five RPA bots with 200,000 monthly AI actions; Premium extends to 50 million rows, unlimited bots and 1 million monthly AI actions. A workload that grows past a tier's cap forces an upgrade regardless of user count. Buyers are enterprises automating complex, auditable processes, particularly in regulated industries such as financial services and government, where case management and workflow orchestration matter more than general-purpose app building. The trade-off is that per-user-per-app multiplies quickly: a company deploying the same app to a large user base, or deploying many apps to overlapping user populations, needs to model the multiplication carefully, since the caps mean cost can jump a full tier level from data or AI volume growth alone, independent of headcount.
What people use it for
- A regulated enterprise (financial services, government, insurance) automating case management processes that need a full audit trail
- A company deploying RPA bots alongside low-code apps and wanting both in one licensed platform
- An organisation whose process data volume is large enough that the Standard tier's 4 million row cap is a real constraint worth planning for
- A business wanting embedded AI actions inside workflow steps rather than bolted on separately
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Appian.
- Cost multiplies on three axes at once, users, apps and month, so deploying several apps to overlapping user populations produces a bill that is not obvious from any single per-user headline figure.
- Each tier has hard caps on data rows, RPA bots and monthly AI actions, so a workload can force a tier upgrade purely from data or automation volume growth, independent of user count.
- No dollar figures are published anywhere on Appian's own site; every real price point comes from a sales negotiation, making early-stage budget comparison against OutSystems or Mendix difficult.
- The platform's strength in process orchestration and case management is less useful for teams that mainly want simple departmental data apps, where the pricing and capability are overkill.
- Exceeding the 200,000 (Standard) or 1,000,000 (Premium) monthly AI action allowance requires a renegotiation, so AI-heavy workflows carry real usage risk beyond the base subscription.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Appian
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- AppianvsMendix
Mendix: If you want app-count pricing rather than per-user-per-app-per-month multiplication
- AppianvsServiceNow
ServiceNow: If you are comparing enterprise workflow platforms with a stronger IT service management heritage
Pricing
What Appian costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Standard
On request
- Per user, per app, per month
- 4 million data row capacity
- 5 RPA bots included
- 200,000 monthly AI actions
- One portal per app
Advanced
On request
- Per user, per app, per month
- Higher data row capacity than Standard
- More RPA bots than Standard
- Higher monthly AI action allowance
- Unlimited portals per app
Premium
On request
- Per user, per app, per month
- 50 million data row capacity
- Unlimited RPA bots
- 1,000,000 monthly AI actions
- Full AI feature set unlocked
Capabilities
Features
Low-code process designer
Visual workflow, case management and form-building canvas
Robotic process automation
Built-in RPA bots, capped by tier (five on Standard, unlimited on Premium)
AI process automation
Generative and predictive AI actions embedded in workflows, metered monthly by tier
Data fabric
Unified data layer connecting external systems without full replication, capped in rows per tier
Portals
External-facing app portals, limited to one per app on Standard and unlimited on Advanced and Premium
Process mining
Analysis of existing process execution data to identify automation opportunities
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Does Appian publish its prices?
No dollar figures are public. It discloses the pricing mechanism, per user per app per month across three tiers, but actual rates are negotiated.
What happens if we exceed the data row cap?
Exceeding a tier's data row, RPA bot or AI action cap requires upgrading to the next tier or negotiating an add-on, regardless of user count.
Is Appian a general app builder like OutSystems?
It can build general apps but is oriented more toward process automation and case management, with RPA and AI embedded as core features.
Keep looking
Where to go from Appian
- Appian alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Appian pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Appian badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All No-Code softwareThe full category
- Best No-Code softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best No-Code software for
Compare Appian with
- Mendix
- OutSystems
- Zoho Creator
- Quickbase
- Thunkable
- Corteza
- Pabbly Connect
- Kintone
- FlutterFlow
- Caspio
- Noloco
- Directual
- Superblocks
- ToolJet
- WeWeb
- Whalesync
- Corteza
- Noloco
Other No-Code software
Siemens-owned low-code platform priced by app count, with cloud infrastructure billed separately
Free plan11 researched notesEnterprise low-code platform priced by application complexity units, not just users
11 researched notesLow-code app builder priced per user per month, bundled into the wider Zoho ecosystem
Free plan11 researched notesNo-code application platform with published per-user pricing and enforced minimum seat counts
11 researched notesNo-code, drag-and-drop mobile app builder priced by AI tokens and project counts
Free plan11 researched notesApache-licensed open source low-code platform, formerly Crust, positioned against Salesforce
Open source12 researched notesCustomizable workplace platform by Cybozu for no-code data, task and team management
From $24/mo10 researched notesVisual builder that outputs real Flutter code for iOS, Android and web
Free, then $30/mo11 researched notesNo-code database app platform charging by data records and DataPages rather than by user seats
11 researched notesClient portals and internal tools built over data you already have
Pricing on request11 researched notesNo-code backend with a visual workflow engine, used behind other tools rather than instead of them
Free plan12 researched notesAI-assisted platform for building internal tools and business apps
From $100/mo10 researched notesOpen-source low-code platform for building internal tools and business apps
Free, then $79/mo10 researched notesFront-end builder for applications whose data already lives somewhere else
Free plan11 researched notesTwo-way real-time sync between no-code databases and SaaS tools
From $40/mo12 researched notesApache-licensed open source low-code platform, formerly Crust, positioned against Salesforce
Open source12 researched notesClient portals and internal tools built over data you already have
Pricing on request11 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Appian, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Appian
Appian alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Appian pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Appian
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Appian badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best No-Code software alternatives
No-code application platform with published per-user pricing and enforced minimum seat counts
Per user per month, billed annually, with an enforced minimum seat count per tierEnterprise low-code platform priced by application complexity units, not just users
Application Object consumption plus internal and external user packsNo-code, drag-and-drop mobile app builder priced by AI tokens and project counts
Per month, tiered by AI token allowance and project countLow-code app builder priced per user per month, bundled into the wider Zoho ecosystem
Per user per month, billed annuallyNo-code database app platform charging by data records and DataPages rather than by user seats
Flat monthly fee by data record volume and DataPage count, unlimited users includedSiemens-owned low-code platform priced by app count, with cloud infrastructure billed separately
Per application tier (One App vs Unlimited Apps), cloud infrastructure billed separately