Kogitovs
Temporal
Temporal: Temporal if you want durable workflow execution as a service rather than a Java code generation framework.
Kogito
Cloud-native business automation for Quarkus, now an Apache KIE component
As of 31 August 2026, Kogito is free to use. Red Hat’s reworking of jBPM and Drools for Kubernetes, compiling process and rule definitions into a native Quarkus binary. Softwr lists it under Automation Integration. Kogito is made by Apache Software Foundation (Apache KIE, incubating), available on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
Overview
What Kogito does
Kogito takes the jBPM process engine and the Drools rules engine and repackages them as build-time libraries for Quarkus and Spring Boot rather than as a deployed BPM server. A BPMN process, a DMN decision or a DRL rule set becomes code generated at compile time, producing a service that starts in milliseconds and can be compiled to a GraalVM native image. That inverts the traditional BPM model, where a heavyweight engine loads process definitions at runtime. The governance detail that matters commercially: Kogito, along with Drools, jBPM and OptaPlanner, moved to the Apache Software Foundation incubator as Apache KIE. Red Hat has been the custodian of this lineage since the beginning and remains the dominant contributor, so ASF governance formalises the project without much changing who funds it. Development is active, with regular commits through 2026. Kogito is also the upstream of Red Hat Build of Apache Camel and Red Hat process automation offerings, so a Red Hat subscription is the commercial route. The realistic buyer is a Java organisation already committed to Quarkus and Kubernetes that wants decisions and processes expressed as models rather than code. The trade off is that Kogito is a developer framework, not a product: there is no business-facing process console equivalent to Camunda Operate out of the box, and stateful long-running processes need external persistence you configure yourself.
What people use it for
- A Quarkus microservice that must expose a DMN decision model as a REST endpoint with millisecond start-up
- Serverless deployment of business rules where a traditional BPM server would be far too heavy
- A Red Hat shop that wants the upstream of Red Hat process automation with the option of a supported build later
- Replacing hand-coded conditional logic with DMN tables that business analysts can review and amend
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 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.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Kogito
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.
- Kogitovsn8n
n8n: n8n if the actual need is connecting systems visually rather than embedding decision models in Java services.
- KogitovsConductor
Conductor: Conductor for language-agnostic workflow orchestration with a runtime server and its own UI.
Pricing
What Kogito costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Kogito
Free
- Apache 2.0 licence
- Apache KIE incubating project
- No usage limits
- Community support
- Commercial support available separately through Red Hat subscriptions
Capabilities
Features
Build-time code generation
BPMN, DMN and DRL compiled into application code rather than interpreted at runtime
Quarkus and Spring Boot support
Runs as an ordinary Java service, including GraalVM native images
DMN decision services
Standards-based decision models exposed as REST endpoints
Drools rules engine
Forward-chaining rules from the same lineage that powers Red Hat Decision Manager
Serverless workflow
CNCF Serverless Workflow specification support alongside BPMN
Kubernetes operator
Deployment and lifecycle management of Kogito services on Kubernetes
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 Kogito still maintained?
Yes. It is an Apache KIE incubating project with active commits, with Red Hat as the dominant contributor.
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.
Does it need Quarkus?
It is designed for Quarkus and supports Spring Boot; both are Java frameworks rather than a standalone server.
Is there commercial support?
Not from Apache. Red Hat sells supported builds of this lineage as part of its subscriptions.
Keep looking
Where to go from Kogito
- Kogito alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Kogito pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Kogito 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
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- Stitch
- Talend
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Kogito, 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.
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