Flowablevs
Temporal
Temporal: If you need code-defined durable execution for microservices rather than BPMN process modelling
Flowable
Apache 2.0 BPMN, CMMN and DMN engine from the team that originally built Activiti
As of 31 August 2026, Flowable is free to use. A Swiss business process automation platform built on a genuinely open source Java engine covering BPMN 2. Softwr lists it under Automation Integration. Flowable is made by Flowable AG, available on Linux, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
Overview
What Flowable does
Flowable is a process automation platform whose core is an embeddable Java engine implementing three OMG standards: BPMN 2.0 for structured processes, CMMN for case management where the path is not predetermined, and DMN for decision tables. The open source engine is Apache 2.0 and can be embedded as a library in a Spring Boot application or run as standalone services. Flowable Enterprise adds a modelling studio, a task and case application, forms, an admin console, connectors and support. The distinguishing capability is CMMN alongside BPMN. Most process engines only do BPMN, which models work as a defined sequence. Real knowledge work, insurance claims, legal matters, onboarding exceptions, does not follow a sequence, and forcing it into BPMN produces diagrams nobody can maintain. Flowable implements case management as a first-class engine, which is why it wins in financial services and insurance where investigations and exception handling dominate. The lineage matters commercially. The core developers built jBPM at JBoss, then Activiti at Alfresco, then forked Activiti in 2016 to form Flowable AG after a disagreement over direction. That means deep continuity of expertise, and it also means the ecosystem is fragmented across three engines with overlapping APIs. Buyers are enterprises with Java development capacity who want to embed process orchestration in their own applications rather than buy a low-code platform. Enterprise pricing is not published.
What people use it 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
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 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.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Flowable
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.
- FlowablevsNintex
Nintex: If business users rather than Java developers should be building the processes
- FlowablevsApache Airflow
Apache Airflow: If the orchestration is scheduled data pipelines rather than human and business processes
Pricing
What Flowable costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Flowable Open Source
Free
- Apache 2.0 licensed BPMN, CMMN and DMN engines
- Embeddable Java library or standalone apps
- No modelling studio or enterprise applications
- Community support only
Flowable Enterprise
On request
- Modelling studio, work application and admin console
- Connectors, forms and advanced identity management
- Support with SLA and version maintenance
- No pricing published, quoted per deployment
Capabilities
Features
BPMN 2.0 engine
Standards-compliant process execution embeddable as a Java library
CMMN case management
First-class engine for unstructured, milestone-driven work
DMN decision tables
Business rules as decision tables evaluated by the same runtime
Spring Boot integration
Starters and auto-configuration for embedding in existing Java services
Modelling studio
Graphical BPMN, CMMN, DMN and form design in the enterprise edition
Task and case application
Out-of-the-box user interface for work assignment and case handling
REST APIs
Full engine control over HTTP for non-Java clients
History and audit
Complete process instance history for compliance and analysis
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.
Is Flowable open source?
Yes, the BPMN, CMMN and DMN engines are Apache 2.0. The modelling studio and enterprise applications are commercial.
How does it relate to Activiti and jBPM?
The same core developers built jBPM, then Activiti, then forked Activiti in 2016 to create Flowable.
What does Flowable Enterprise cost?
Nothing is published. It is quoted per deployment by the vendor.
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.
Keep looking
Where to go from Flowable
- Flowable alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Flowable pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Flowable badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Automation Integration softwareThe full category
- Best Automation Integration softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Automation Integration software for
Compare Flowable with
- Temporal
- Nintex
- jBPM
- Activiti
- Camunda
- Kogito
- Airbyte
- Nango
- Windmill
- Hatchet
- Meltano
- RudderStack
- HighLevel
- Grouparoo
- Hevo Data
- HighByte Intelligence Hub
- IBM MQ
- Hatchet
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Flowable, 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 Flowable
Flowable alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Flowable pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Flowable
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Flowable badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best Automation Integration software alternatives
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