Bonita vs Flowable comparison

Bonitasoft and Flowable are both solutions in the Process Automation category. Bonitasoft is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.2, while Flowable is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.0. Bonitasoft holds a 4.9% mindshare in PA, compared to Flowable’s 6.2% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Bonitasoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Flowable users who would recommend it.

Bonita

Read 27 Bonita reviews

2,634 Views
1,957 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Flowable

Read 1 Flowable review

1,325 Views
1,161 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Bonita

Flowable

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Bonita and Flowable based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Camunda, BMC, Pega and others in Process Automation.

To learn more, read our detailed Process Automation Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Process Automation

April 2025

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Helped 849,686 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Bonita

Ranking in Process Automation

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Design (10th), Business Process Management (BPM) (14th)

Flowable

Ranking in Process Automation

20th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of Bonita is 4.9%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Flowable is 6.2%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Process Automation

Featured Reviews

Paparao Nadipineni

Architect at Evoke

A simple and lightweight college course automation system with third-party integrations

The initial setup is straightforward and can be completed with the environment within an hour. First, take the latest from the git repository and check the git code to the monitor studio and a bar file, a deployable Bonita archive file. Then, take that process to the Bonita server, running at runtime on another server. Finally, deploy and enable it by selecting the proper organization.

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Simon Greener

Solutions Architect at Cohga Pty Ltd

Helps to control the workflow and business process components of customers' operations but OSGi integration can be challenging

I'd rate my experience with the initial setup of Flowable at about a three out of ten, but for our developers, it's probably closer to a six. I found it challenging due to the complexity of the user and help documents and the fact that much of the Flowable documentation and tutorials are focused on cloud-based implementations. Since we're primarily interested in basic components like BPMN models and form design, which aren't included in the product, the learning process was more difficult for me. In contrast, our developers are more comfortable diving into the code and technology stack, which allows them to be more proactive in their approach. The deployment took three months to complete. We're still in the deployment process. Our main challenge is integrating the Flowable process engine into our product, which uses OSGi. This has led to complexity in managing the Java versions and dependencies, as the tool has around 150 Java files. We could have chosen to interact with Flowable via a Docker container and the REST API, which would have isolated the OSGi Java dependencies, but we decided to integrate it directly. This has required resolving Java version control issues and upgrades, leading to various development challenges that must be addressed. It is a learning process for all of us. As an integrated solutions architect, I would have probably opted for the Docker route rather than the direct OSGi integration chosen by the developers. However, since they went with the OSGi integration, it's taking us longer to complete the deployment. Currently, we have one full-time developer dedicated to deployment, along with one part-time developer, and my involvement at about a quarter of my time. So, we have about two people working on deployment. As for maintenance, we're not entirely sure yet. Given our direct OSGi integration choice instead of Docker and REST, maintenance may be more challenging. However, we'll have a clearer picture once deployment is complete.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is easy to use."

"Compared to other products on the market, Bonita presents a pretty acceptable level of robustness."

"The most valuable features of Bonita are the connectors, detailed documentation, and web applications. The documentation was useful because it is how I learned how to use it."

"Its user-friendliness, along with the availability of comprehensive and clear documentation on the website is the most valuable."

"I really enjoy using the workflow management."

"Bonita is simple and lightweight and is flexible to integrate with third-party systems. The UI is now flexible, whereas it was previously rigid. Any technology can be used as a frontend, including ReactJS, Angular, and others."

"Flexible and drag-and-drop type of UI is very valuable. The integrations are also very good. You can build workflows very quickly, which is my favorite activity. By using the GUI, you can build the entire mechanism, notifications, and all this kind of stuff."

"Development of forms and flows."

More Bonita pros

"The tool's most valuable feature is the process engine. It allows us to define BPM-based workflows, deploy them into our process engine, and interact with them within our product."

Cons

"I would like to improve the product's load balancing."

"There could be an improvement in IoT connectivity."

"Installation could be made easier."

"Bonita must add a rule engine. We are a 360-degree partner of Bonita. We can integrate with any kind of rule engine. We have a dashboard related to engine performance, but getting a configurable dashboard for the Buildium or transactional data will add value."

"The dashboard has limited features."

"Automation in vacation of a human resources replacement would be a good improvement in the product."

"I have run into a lot of problems because there is not enough documentation."

"There is a considerable learning curve."

More Bonita cons

"In my opinion, areas of improvement for Flowable include the management and creation of forms within the open-source components and the documentation and examples provided. While the cloud-based Flowable implementation with no-code features is attractive, we prefer more control over integration, especially since we deploy our product onto AWS. We also want to avoid additional licensing fees for Flowable runtime user components on top of our software development and implementation charges."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are using the Community Version, which can be used free of charge."

"I believe this is a very good financial choice."

"The product is not cheaper, not costlier; it is reasonable. Bonita’s license is very flexible, with options to meet the needs of different customers and clients. Previously, it was less flexible, but now, many different licensing options are available."

"The Community Edition comes free of charge."

"I am using the free version of Bonita."

"The Enterprise edition is very expensive."

"The price is fair for what we are using the solution for."

"Price to service ratio with Bonita BPM is good."

More Bonita pricing and cost advice

"Since the tool is open-source, we don't have to pay anything for it. It's free to download and use, which is great for us. If Flowable hadn't been available as open source and required a license fee for us to integrate it into our product, we might not have chosen it."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

30%

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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 Bonita, you can build the entire mechanism using the GUI, it’s that simple. You c...

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What do you like most about Bonita?

The user interface is easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Bonita?

The Enterprise edition is very expensive.

See all answers

What do you like most about Flowable?

The tool's most valuable feature is the process engine. It allows us to define BPM-based workflows, deploy them into our process engine, and interact with them within our product.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Flowable?

Since the tool is open-source, we don't have to pay anything for it. It's free to download and use, which is great for us. If Flowable hadn't been available as open source and required a license fe...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Flowable?

In my opinion, areas of improvement for Flowable include the management and creation of forms within the open-source components and the documentation and examples provided. While the cloud-based Fl...

See all answers

Comparisons

Camunda vs Bonita

Compared 57% of the time

Bizagi vs Bonita

Compared 17% of the time

IBM BPM vs Bonita

Compared 4% of the time

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs Bonita

Compared 3% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Bonita

Compared 2% of the time

More Bonita Competitors

Camunda vs Flowable

Compared 70% of the time

Temporal vs Flowable

Compared 18% of the time

Pega Platform vs Flowable

Compared 3% of the time

Oracle BPEL vs Flowable

Compared 2% of the time

Nintex Process Platform vs Flowable

Compared 1% of the time

More Flowable Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Bonita

April 2025

Download Bonita product report

Buyer's Guide

Process Automation

April 2025

Download Flowable product report

Also Known As

Bonita BPM

No data available

Overview

Bonitasoft helps innovative companies worldwide deliver better digital user experiences for customers and employees. The extensible and open Bonita application platform unleashes the full potential of multidisciplinary development teams to create Living Apps: applications that allow continuous and incremental improvement, connecting tailored user interfaces with reliable back-office operations.

Bonitasoft

Flowable is a versatile software that streamlines and automates business processes. It is commonly used for workflow management, task automation, and digital transformation initiatives.

Users also utilize Flowable for document management, case management, and customer journey mapping. Its valuable features include efficient workflow management, seamless integration capabilities, and a user-friendly interface.

Flowable allows for smooth collaboration and task automation, and its ability to integrate with other systems and applications enables a seamless flow of information.

The intuitive and easy-to-use interface makes it accessible to users of all technical backgrounds.

Flowable

Sample Customers

With more than 1000 customers in 75 countries, and its ecosystem of more than 120,000 members, Bonitasoft is the largest provider of open-source Business Process Management, Low-code and Digital Transformation software worldwide.

1. Adobe 2. BMW 3. Cisco 4. Dell 5. Ericsson 6. Ford 7. General Electric 8. Honda 9. IBM 10. Johnson & Johnson 11. Kia Motors 12. LG Electronics 13. Microsoft 14. Nike 15. Oracle 16. PepsiCo 17. Qualcomm 18. Red Bull 19. Samsung 20. Toyota 21. Uber 22. Visa 23. Walmart 24. Xerox 25. Yahoo 26. Zara 27. Accenture 28. Bank of America 29. Citigroup 30. Deutsche Bank 31. ExxonMobil 32. Facebook

Find out what your peers are saying about Camunda, BMC, Pega and others in Process Automation. Updated: April 2025.

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