head to head · open source
conductor vs flowable-engine
conductor has 32,401 GitHub stars, 1,051 forks, 253 open issues and last shipped yesterday. flowable-engine has 9,633 stars, 2,902 forks, 411 open issues and last shipped 16 days ago. conductor leads on adoption by 236% (32,401 vs 9,633 stars). conductor is written in Java under Apache-2.0; flowable-engine is written in Java under Apache-2.0. conductor has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, flowable-engine 30%. conductor was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (java, workflow-engine), 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
| conductor | flowable-engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 9.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick conductor if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick flowable-engine if
- You want the flowable-engine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and flowable-engine fits your workflow better
About conductor
Conductor Durable Execution for Workflows and Agents Build agents that adapt. Run graphs that endure. Conductor is an open source durable execution platform for microservices, AI agents, and adaptive workflow graphs. It turns runtime choices—loops, branching, fan out, tool calls, approvals, retries, and cancellation—into durable, inspectable execution. It originated at Netflix and is actively maintained by Orkes and the community. Get Running in 60 Seconds Prerequisites: Node.js v16+ and Java 21+ must be installed. Open — your server is running with the built in ui next UI. Upgrading from a previous version? The…
read the full conductor overview →
About flowable-engine
Flowable ======== Homepage: flowable / flowəb(ə)l / a compact and highly efficient workflow and Business Process Management (BPM) platform for developers, system admins and business users. a lightning fast, tried and tested BPMN process engine, CMMN case engine and DMN rule engine written in Java. It is Apache 2.0 licensed open source, with a committed community. can run embedded in a Java application, or as a service on a server, a cluster, and in the cloud. It integrates perfectly with Spring. With a rich Java and REST API, it is the ideal engine for orchestrating human or system activities. Introduction…
read the full flowable-engine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is conductor or flowable-engine more popular?
conductor has 32,401 GitHub stars and flowable-engine has 9,633. conductor has the larger community by that measure.
Are conductor and flowable-engine free?
Both are open source. conductor is licensed under Apache-2.0 and flowable-engine under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between conductor and flowable-engine?
conductor is written in Java and flowable-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, conductor or flowable-engine?
Choose conductor if you want the larger community (32,401 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose flowable-engine if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.