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Apache Airflow vs Camunda vs IBM BPM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
The tool's open-source nature and Python integration enhance efficiency, though some users see no return on investment.
Sentiment score
7.8
Camunda enhances financial companies' efficiency and cost-effectiveness with streamlined processes, reusable code, and reduced operational expenses.
Sentiment score
7.5
Businesses using IBM BPM reported improved efficiency, automation, and cost savings despite high costs and moderate ROI.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Users mainly rely on community resources and online documentation, occasionally using internal teams or tech support for assistance.
Sentiment score
6.2
Camunda's customer service is praised for engineer support but has mixed reviews on responsiveness, knowledge center, and pricing.
Sentiment score
6.6
IBM BPM customer service is generally positive, with effective support, though response delays and communication issues are noted.
Forums and community resources like Stack Overflow are helpful.
There is enough documentation available, and the community support is good.
AWS provides the best support, followed by Microsoft, and then Google.
They provide better support for the enterprise edition.
The customer service is outstanding.
We had a contract that provided on-site support, which was very satisfactory.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Apache Airflow is scalable, effectively used in multi-server applications, supported by cloud integration, despite some deployment complexities.
Sentiment score
6.9
Camunda provides scalable solutions with technologies like Spring Boot and Kubernetes, though database configuration may present challenges for some users.
Sentiment score
6.9
IBM BPM offers impressive scalability, efficiently managing high user volumes with varied experiences and requiring occasional careful tuning.
The solution is very scalable.
Apache Airflow scales well, especially when deployed in Kubernetes environments.
Camunda offers a high level of scalability, especially when using its SaaS model, which manages and scales implementations automatically.
It allows for easy scaling, especially with ECS service configurations.
The solution has scalability issues; on a scale, I would rate it at eight out of ten.
I found IBM BPM to be scalable to a certain level but it struggled with large volumes of concurrent transactions.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Apache Airflow is generally considered stable, though some experience challenges with bugs, management, and infrastructure under heavy load.
Sentiment score
7.8
Camunda is praised for stability and reliability, with minor integration challenges and occasional bugs, rated 7-10 by users.
Sentiment score
7.1
IBM BPM stability varies; recent versions improve reliability, but issues remain with infrastructure, configuration, and developer expertise.
I would rate the stability of the solution as ten out of ten.
Apache Airflow is stable and I have not experienced significant issues.
There haven't been any significant outages in my experience with Camunda.
 

Room For Improvement

Apache Airflow struggles with usability, lacking features and integration, needing improvements in scalability, documentation, and platform support.
Camunda's platform faces user dissatisfaction due to poor user-friendliness, documentation, performance, and costly licensing, needing significant improvements.
IBM BPM needs improved customization, integration, and user-friendliness, addressing complexity and high cost with enhanced API and AI features.
It is not suitable for real-time ETL tasks.
There is no dashboard for us to check all the Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs); a dashboard would help us analyze the work better.
There is an issue where, in some situations, I need to scale up by observing both CPU and memory usage of containers, yet under the current options available at Amazon, this is not possible.
More open documentation would be beneficial to understand the deployment process better and facilitate easier setup.
IBM BPM also lacks smaller solutions, so I must purchase multiple solutions to start with workflows and applications.
 

Setup Cost

Apache Airflow is free, but infrastructure costs and commercial support from providers like Astronomer or hyperscalers may incur fees.
Camunda provides cost-effective enterprise licenses, though costs can rise with usage, posing concerns for smaller companies.
IBM BPM's high costs suit large enterprises, while flexible Cloud Pak and tiered licensing offer varied pricing options.
I prefer using the open-source version rather than the enterprise version, which helps manage costs.
Apache Airflow is a community-based platform and is not a licensed product.
AWS pricing is very competitive compared to Azure and cheap compared to Google.
There is a licensing cost for using the SaaS model and Enterprise edition of Camunda.
SAP is more expensive, but IBM BPM is very expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Apache Airflow is popular for its user-friendly interface, Python support, extensive integrations, scalability, and open-source community backing.
Camunda offers flexible, lightweight architecture supporting BPMN, CMMN, and DMN, with user-friendly, non-programmer interfaces and seamless integration.
IBM BPM offers integration, scalability, and low-code development with strong UI, enhancing efficiency and reducing complexities.
Reliability is good, and when integrated with Kubernetes, it performs better compared to on-premises environments.
Apache Airflow is an open-source platform that allows easy integration with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
EC2 makes scaling horizontally incredibly easy, especially when working under the ECS service.
The integration capabilities of IBM BPM are excellent.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of Apache Airflow is 6.5%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Camunda is 20.9%, down from 21.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM BPM is 7.3%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

Kemal Duman - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables efficient orchestration of batch processes with very good reliability
I am using Apache Airflow to orchestrate my jobs, projects, and batch ETL jobs. It manages tasks, orchestrates jobs, and helps in handling batch processes effectively, incorporating integrations like DBT and Great Expectations Apache Airflow is easy to scale and its UI improves with each release.…
FABIO NAGAO - PeerSpot reviewer
Reduces costs with hardware abstraction and simplifies scaling
There is an issue where, in some situations, I need to scale up by observing both CPU and memory usage of containers, yet under the current options available at Amazon, this is not possible. I have to choose between monitoring CPU or memory to scale my solution. Not every software is built for deployment as a container service, although the current architecture trend is changing this.
Muhammad Kamran - PeerSpot reviewer
Has efficient processes and intuitive workflow with many valuable features
You will have access to make any needed changes. Additionally, the review will be published on PeerSpot.com in written or audio format, available to other people. You can stay anonymous if you wish. Notifications and the use of the review are subject to PeerSpot's terms of use, which you can find at PeerSpot.com/TOS. I would give the solution an overall rating of ten out of ten points.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
5%
Financial Services Firm
27%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
31%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - Camunda Platform or Apache Airflow?
Camunda Platform allows for visual demonstration and presentation of business process flows. The flexible Java-based ...
What do you like most about Apache Airflow?
Apache Airflow is easy to use and can monitor task execution easily. For instance, when performing setup tasks, you c...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Airflow?
I prefer using the open-source version rather than the enterprise version, which helps manage costs.
How does Bonita compare with Camunda Platform?
One of the things we like best about Bonita is that you can create without coding - it is a low-code platform. With B...
Which do you prefer - Appian or Camunda Platform?
Appian is fast when building simple to medium solutions. This solution offers simple drag-and-drop functionality with...
What do you like most about Camunda Platform?
The solution is useful for small projects.
Which is better, IBM BPM or IBM Business Automation Workflow?
We researched both IBM solutions and in the end, we chose Business Automation Workflow. IBM BPM has a good user inter...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM BPM?
Once it is installed, maintaining it is not a big issue.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Airflow
Camunda BPM
WebSphere Lombardi Edition, IBM Business Process Manager, IBM WebSphere Process Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Agari, WePay, Astronomer
24 Hour Fitness, Accruent, AT&T Inc., Atlassian, CSS Insurance, Deutsche Telekom, Generali, Provinzial NordWest Insurance Services, Swisscom AG, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VHV Group, Zalando
Barclays, EmeriCon, Banca Popolare di Milano, CST Consulting, KeyBank, KPMG, Prolifics, Sandhata Technologies Ltd., State of Alaska, Humana S.A., Saperion, esciris, Banco Espirito Santo
Find out what your peers are saying about Camunda, Apache, Automation Anywhere and others in Business Process Management (BPM). Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.