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Appian vs Pega Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 6, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Appian
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
6th
Ranking in Process Automation
3rd
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
5th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Process Mining (6th)
Pega Platform
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
3rd
Ranking in Process Automation
2nd
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
6th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Business Rules Management (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2024, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of Appian is 6.5%, up from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pega Platform is 5.9%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

Devashish Mishra - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 21, 2023
Low resource consumption, easy setup, and stable
To determine whether a platform, such as Appian, is suitable for your domain industry, you must first assess whether it offers any out-of-the-box features relevant to your needs. If it does, utilizing that platform would be the best option since it already has the required functionalities. If the available features do not align with your requirements, consider choosing a platform that can easily build such services. Attempting to modify pre-existing features on a platform is a challenging task, and any upgrades to the platform could pose further issues for users. The solution has high performance but the main issue is the lack of customization after deploying it. I rate Appian an eight out of ten.
Balaji  Choda - PeerSpot reviewer
May 9, 2024
Provides built-in frameworks that can be reused and reduces time and cost
The frameworks are built over the core Pega platform. All the codes are already built. A user can directly use the framework according to their needs. All the corresponding data models and processes already built in the framework can be reused with our custom layer. The tool reduces our costs. It is faster to implement. The solution has everything. It is model-driven. It generates its own code. It has a rules engine. Previously, Pega had its own UI. Now, we have Constellation DX API. It helps us have any user interface we need, like Angular or React. API helps create work objects in the workflow.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With low-code, we don't need a lot of coding, and then from the plumbing perspective, there is a complete CI/CD pipeline that exists within Appian that can be leveraged for open deployment."
"The initial setup was seamless. We didn't run into any hardships at all."
"The low code functionality and being able to get applications faster to customers or to the market are valuable."
"The tech support is quite good."
"It has very flexible adaptation and the ability to save and automate processes."
"The process models provide self-documenting systems."
"Good workflow engines that bridge the gaps of processes."
"The valuable features include process automation, Appian Portal, and Appian RPA."
"There are a lot of frameworks in the product. I use Pega PRPC the most."
"The most valuable feature of the product is that it's very customer-centric. It's easy to use for a customer or a user. It's also easy for someone who is developing an application. You can develop different features in just one place. You don't have to go to different places."
"What I found most valuable in PegaRULES is that it allows you to quickly make changes to an existing application. It's pretty easy to do any modification in the tool, which you cannot do in legacy solutions. For example, it takes a lot of time to do it in Java or in .NET. I have worked with both legacy technologies in the past, so that I can tell the difference."
"One of the key advantages of PegaRULES is its out-of-the-box capabilities, which eliminate the need to build certain functionalities from scratch. For instance, features like "get next" in process flows allow for the seamless continuation of a flow without the requirement of additional activity creation. This serves as an illustration of how existing components can be leveraged rather than starting from scratch. It provides a solid foundation, to begin with, and allows for enhancements at a higher level, making it a beneficial starting point."
"Case Management, as well as Workflow Automation, are Pega's most powerful capabilities."
"The solution's case management is its most valuable aspect."
"It's an end-to-end solution and a digital transformation tool."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its quick setup. Nowhere else you can create a good-looking application this quick. It's a fairly robust system."
 

Cons

"The UI of Appian is more internal. Recently, there has been an addition of an external user portal for the customer-facing stuff. It's still coming out."
"We have clients that want to use Office 365, Microsoft Analytics, and Power Apps. Appian just isn't the same as using something specifically designed to cater to the Microsoft Suite."
"There are four areas I believe Appian could improve in. The first is a seamless contact center integration. Appian does not have a contact center feature. The second is advanced features in RPA. The third would be chatbot and email bot integration—while Appian comes with chatbot and email bot, it's not as mature as it should be, compared to the competition. The fourth area would be next best action, since there is not much of this sort of feature in Appian. These are all features which competitors' products have, and in a mature manner, whereas Appian lacks on these four areas. I see customers who are moving from Appian to Pega because these features are not in Appian."
"I would like to see more features for enterprises. They would also benefit from adding documentation and training on their site."
"I wouldn't say their response time is long, but it could be quicker."
"We'd like improved functionality for testing new devices."
"They should provide more flexibility so designers can create a more picture perfect device."
"It is also not easy to learn. Training tutorials could be improved."
"We have experienced a few technical challenges, particularly triggering the workflow through file drops and accessing files."
"Pega's technical support could be better."
"Customers expect more out-of-box solutions to be readily available"
"The usability of the solution for developers is sometimes difficult to work with because instead of fixing the existing bugs in the previous version, there is always a rush to push out a new version leaving the bugs in the old versions unresolved."
"Pega BPM could be improved by including token-based authentication and extending its integration options."
"Pega currently is trying to add chatbots to their systems, and it's still quite immature. This part definitely needs to be improved."
"They need to support the solution better, at this time the company does not have enough support."
"First-time customers will find its licensing tricky. The technical support team for this solution could be faster in resolving tickets."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Appian is very flexible in their pricing. In general, Appian's pricing is much, much lower when compared to competition like Pega or other products. Appian also has a flexible licensing model across geographies. Pega usually goes with a single licensing cost—which is a US-based cost—for all global customers, and it's costly. Whereas Appian has a different regional licensing cost model and it can be cheaper, depending on geography. So Appian's licensing is very flexible, and cheaper when compared to other competition."
"It's good value for the price."
"You can't really test the software properly without actually buying the license first."
"More flexibility in the licensing model is still needed because initially there were customers who are looking at only one or two use cases of business areas, but now the business areas are changing and there is a larger scope. One license model may not fit everyone. They need to be a little more flexible on the licensing model."
"The cost is calculated on a per-user basis. It might be expensive for small and mid-sized enterprises."
"The price is high."
"The tool is quite costly."
"If you're doing an enterprise-wide digital transformation, Appian is worthwhile, but not for just one or two use cases because the license costs are higher."
"The price of PegaRULES is more expensive than other solutions on the market."
"PegaRULES is a good product, but its pricing is a bit on the premium side, especially for professionals."
"The price is a bit expensive."
"The solution could be less expensive according to my customers. However, I think the price of the solution is fair."
"They need to come up with licensing options. Right now they do have a cloud-based option, but the cloud prices I've seen are much more expensive compared to competing products."
"I am not aware of the cost. But, considering the licenses, user licenses, and infrastructure, I'd guess around a million USD."
"Users have to pay a yearly license cost for Pega BPM, which is expensive."
"In terms of the price, if I were to compare Pega to other tools, it would be more expensive, but it would also provide you with the same features."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
28%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 easy plug-and-play options. The initial setup was seamless and very easy to imp...
Is Appian a suitable solution for beginners who have no additional preparation?
Appian is actually pretty big on educating its users, including with courses that reward you with certifications. There is a whole section on their company’s website where you can check out the edu...
Is it easy to set up Appian or did you have to resort to professional help?
We had some issues when we were setting up Appian. It was quite surprising, since this is a low-code tool which, in its essence, means it is meant for business users and inexperienced beginners. So...
Is Pega BPM easy to work with and can beginners utilize this software?
You do need some preparation to be able to use all functions of Pega BPM. However, all users of this platform are in luck as it comes with good documentation and you can learn pretty much everythin...
Have you encountered any issues while using Pega BPM and were you assisted by the company?
My company has been using this tool for years and the only issue we have had, if you can call it that, was while setting it up. When we were setting it up initially, we had some drawbacks and could...
When you consider the features and benefits of Pega BPM, would you say this product is fairly priced?
Pega BPM can be considered overpriced for some; it all depends on the size of your company and the requirements of your customers. Sure, there are products out there that do the things that Pega B...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS
Pega BPM, Pegasystems, SmartBPM, PegaRULES
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hansard Global plc, Punch Taverns, Pirelli, Crawford & Company, EDP Renewables, Queensland Government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (, Bank of Tennessee
The State of Maine, ANZ, Coca-Cola, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), ME, New South Wales, OptumRx, Texas Department of Transportation, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement
Find out what your peers are saying about Appian vs. Pega Platform and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
813,418 professionals have used our research since 2012.