Bonita vs IBM Blueworks Live comparison

Bonitasoft and IBM are both solutions in the Business Process Design category. Bonitasoft is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.3, while IBM is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.3. Bonitasoft holds a 4.4% mindshare in BPD, compared to IBM’s 3.5% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Bonitasoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Bonita

Read 27 Bonita reviews

3,094 Views
2,259 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM Blueworks Live

Read 20 IBM Blueworks Live reviews

2,419 Views
2,080 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Bonita

IBM Blueworks Live

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Bonita and IBM Blueworks Live are prominent contenders in the process management software category. Bonita is favored for its cost-effectiveness and service quality, while IBM Blueworks Live appeals to users seeking comprehensive features and advanced functionality.

Features: Bonita provides customization capabilities for flexible process modeling, integration, and a user-friendly interface. It supports mobile portal access and includes numerous connectors for different systems. IBM Blueworks Live offers robust process design with intuitive visual tools and extensive collaboration features, focusing on cloud-based accessibility.

Room for Improvement: Bonita could enhance its ease of use and reduce setup time. More comprehensive built-in error handling and support for non-programming implementations would be beneficial. IBM Blueworks Live could improve its cost-effectiveness and service flexibility. Enhancements in customization options and further advancements in process modeling tools are also areas for growth.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Bonita supports on-premise deployment with extensive resources for smooth integration and flexible deployment options. IBM Blueworks Live, as a cloud-based service, offers straightforward deployment with continuous updates. It provides reliable support, with some noted constraints in flexibility.

Pricing and ROI: Bonita is known for competitive pricing, lower setup costs, and strong return on investment due to reduced operational expenses. IBM Blueworks Live involves higher initial costs but offers potential long-term ROI through advanced process optimization. Its pricing is seen as valuable for organizations prioritizing feature-rich enhancements.

To learn more, read our detailed Bonita vs. IBM Blueworks Live Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Bonita vs. IBM Blueworks Live

July 2025

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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 Business Process Design

11th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Management (BPM) (19th), Process Automation (15th)

IBM Blueworks Live

Ranking in Business Process Design

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of Bonita is 4.4%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Blueworks Live is 3.5%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design

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.

Read full review

AjarMathur

Global Innovation Director at Ernst & Young

An easily scalable and affordable solution that enables users to document and digitize processes with ease

IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts. There is only one kind of BPMN 2.0 diagram. It is a process diagram. It doesn't have the concept of separate tools, which other products offer. If I had to do a hardcore BPMN 2.0 modeling, the product would have its own reservations. There were features we could not explore from a BPMN 2.0 perspective. Most of the time, people who are shifting from Microsoft Office tools to a digitized way of working still want the reporting capabilities to be strong. Some tools, like ARIS or Signavio, offer customized solutions from the reporting perspective. If I have documented my whole finance process and want to fetch out a complete SOP report in a very customized manner, IBM Blueworks cannot provide it. We have to rely on some other services. So that's one area in which we always struggled, how to really customize the reporting aspects. I understand that we need to keep the tool a little more asset-light. It's very difficult to keep adding many options, but at least a few BPMN 2.0 options were needed. We have been suggesting to IBM that we should have some way of customizing the reporting. At least we should get a custom way of reporting it into different formats like Excel or putting up a logo for one of the clients so that their SAP can be printed that way.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I find process management and user interface designing the most valuable features."

"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."

"It is a great product that is powerful in developing applications."

"Process automation with Bonita BPM is really easy."

"The user interface is better than all of the open-source BPMs that I have tried."

"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."

"One of the most valuable features is you can create without coding, it is a low code platform."

"The solution is easy to use."

More Bonita pros

"It enables decisions based upon processes that we do model, and ultimately move forward with."

"It's very easy, very quick to create a process map. It has templates. The look and feel is very nice. What we want to achieve out of the process map, we can achieve it using Blueworks."

"For me, what I find to be the most valuable is its simplicity and the association with Microsoft Office."

"The business process discovery is excellent. The diagram or blueprinting functionality of the solution are very good. It's quite easy. You can link the sub-processes and get a big overview of the whole process then."

"It is a stable solution since there has not been any downtime. Everything loads fast."

"IBM Blueworks Live is cloud-based and provides easy access to all your processes in one place."

"The solution is stable. All the refreshes run very well."

"We are you using the product as a process mapping tool and as part of a larger process improvement project. We use it with IBM BPM and IBM ODM. We get an automated workflow solution for our customers, an improved workflow automation."

More IBM Blueworks Live pros

Cons

"The community edition has limited module functionality. If they could release some of the functionality that's available in the enterprise edition that would be helpful to those learning to use the solution."

"Bonita can improve by offering more flexibility. The developer does not receive the code of the application to modify it. Most of the other solutions I have used allow the developers to change or improve the code that is generated."

"It would be nice to have a wizard to help walk through the development process and create a backbone."

"The interface is advanced and quite good, but it could improve."

"It is missing some important features that other products have."

"There could be an improvement in IoT connectivity."

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

"I should be able to park the tasks that are within a process in a kind of container, and dynamically, a super admin should be able to connect these processes. This kind of feature might be helpful."

More Bonita cons

"Sometimes, the tool is automatic, which can complicate it, but once you're accustomed to manipulating it, you can use it very effectively."

"I can't insert any images. For example, within the process map, if I want to put it in the box or rectangle, or circle. If I have to use one image or icon, that's not possible."

"Some of the import functionality was a bit restrictive, in terms of loading data in from other data sources. Something as simple as Excel, loading data tables from Excel, wasn't great. And vice-versa. Some of the export and import functionality with something like Visio - which, I know it's a slightly different tool - but being able to work seamlessly with those other tool sets would've been quite useful. I know it was something that was in the pipeline to be looked at. So that would be useful."

"It is BPMN-compliant but the tool needs to be more involved to get into a completely 2.0 oriented tool. It has a few things but it's not the complete BPMN model."

"We would like the ability to add additional custom colors. We would like to color additional items to add notes to the blueprint."

"The initial setup is neither straightforward nor complex however you do need to know what you are doing."

"In the solution Signavio, they have a customer journey mapping feature that should be added to IBM Blueworks Live. It's valuable to map or document the customer journey to identify the pains and opportunities in this process."

"I wish Blueworks Live had simulations built in, but it doesn't. It also lacks a feature of reporting; ad hoc, drag and drop reporting. A lot of senior people are always asking for reports, and there's no reporting feature within IBM Blueworks."

More IBM Blueworks Live cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Enterprise edition is very expensive."

"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."

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

"have installed the image of Bonita BPM on Amazon AWS and there is just one option to use and pay for."

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

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

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

"The product's pricing is acceptable. Pricing is yearly."

More Bonita pricing and cost advice

"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."

"We are seeing ROI from this solution. The solution has saved us time."

"Based on the licenses purchased, from a footprint perspective, you can have as many people as you want. You have multiple different categories of licenses to keep the cost low."

"The solution is very, very cost-effective."

"Price wise, IBM Blueworks Live is in the middle range, and I would give it a five out of ten."

"There are editor licenses that are around 50 euros per month, and contributor licenses that are around 30 euros per month."

"The solution is not very expensive."

"Making it less expensive would be good."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

See all answers

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 IBM Blueworks Live?

The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put any lines or arrows in a decision point in IBM Blueworks Live; it's very automatic.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Blueworks Live?

The solution costs around 600-700 dollars/year, which is quite affordable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Blueworks Live?

Sometimes, the tool is automatic, which can complicate it, but once you're accustomed to manipulating it, you can use it very effectively.

See all answers

Comparisons

Camunda vs Bonita

Compared 53% of the time

Bizagi vs Bonita

Compared 15% of the time

Flowable vs Bonita

Compared 8% of the time

IBM BPM vs Bonita

Compared 5% of the time

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs Bonita

Compared 3% of the time

More Bonita Competitors

Visio vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 31% of the time

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 23% of the time

Lucidchart vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 13% of the time

ARIS Cloud vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 12% of the time

ARIS BPA vs IBM Blueworks Live

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM Blueworks Live Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Bonita

July 2025

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Buyer's Guide

IBM Blueworks Live

July 2025

Download IBM Blueworks Live product report

Also Known As

Bonita BPM

IBM Lombardi Blueprint

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

IBM Blueworks Live is a cloud-based business process modeling tool that helps you discover, map and document your processes. It is easy to use, allowing you to learn and perform business process modeling in minutes.

With Blueworks Live you can:

Simplify business process modeling
Quickly build business processes in a straightforward, cloud-based interface designed for both IT and business users.

Improve process efficiency and accuracy
A central process repository eliminates version control and consistency issues by providing users real-time access to process workflows.

Enhance cross-team collaboration
A shared team workspace engages all business process owners, encouraging cross-team participation and continuous process improvement.

IBM

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.

Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council

Buyer's Guide

Bonita vs. IBM Blueworks Live

July 2025

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