head to head · open source
cakephp vs WorkFlow-Engine
cakephp has 8,792 GitHub stars, 3,366 forks, 25 open issues and last shipped yesterday. WorkFlow-Engine has 865 stars, 151 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. cakephp leads on adoption by 916% (8,792 vs 865 stars). cakephp is written in PHP under MIT; WorkFlow-Engine is written in Java under GPL-3.0. cakephp has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, WorkFlow-Engine 17%. cakephp was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (form-builder), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| cakephp | WorkFlow-Engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.8K | ★ 865 |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | PHP | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 151 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick cakephp if
- You weight community size — 8.8K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick WorkFlow-Engine if
- You want the WorkFlow-Engine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and WorkFlow-Engine fits your workflow better
About cakephp
CakePHP is an open source web application framework for PHP, distributed under the MIT license and maintained as an official repository on GitHub. It is built around design patterns that are already familiar to most PHP developers, including Associative Data Mapping, Front Controller, and Model View Controller. The stated goal of the project is to give PHP developers at every level a structured foundation for building robust web applications quickly, without giving up flexibility in how those applications are organised. The project has existed for roughly sixteen years and has accumulated a substantial community,…
read the full cakephp overview →
About WorkFlow-Engine
WorkFlow Engine is a Java, GPL 3.0 licensed workflow engine built on Spring Boot and Vue that gives Chinese agencies and enterprises visual form design, graphical process design and item management, and is aimed at teams that must digitise internal approval flows and drive third party business interfaces on their own infrastructure.
read the full WorkFlow-Engine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is cakephp or WorkFlow-Engine more popular?
cakephp has 8,792 GitHub stars and WorkFlow-Engine has 865. cakephp has the larger community by that measure.
Are cakephp and WorkFlow-Engine free?
Both are open source. cakephp is licensed under MIT and WorkFlow-Engine under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between cakephp and WorkFlow-Engine?
cakephp is written in PHP and WorkFlow-Engine in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, cakephp or WorkFlow-Engine?
Choose cakephp if you want the larger community (8,792 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose WorkFlow-Engine if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.