head to head · open source
conductor vs Slickflow
conductor has 32,401 GitHub stars, 1,051 forks, 253 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Slickflow has 922 stars, 265 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. conductor leads on adoption by 3,414% (32,401 vs 922 stars). conductor is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Slickflow is written in C# under MIT. conductor has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, Slickflow 29%. conductor was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | Slickflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 922 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-06-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 265 |
| 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 Slickflow if
- You want the Slickflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and Slickflow 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 Slickflow
Slickflow Current Version: NET8 1. 🤖 AI Powered Workflow Automation SlickFlow: Intelligent Workflow Automation with Large Language Models Slickflow integrates cutting edge Large Language Model (LLM) nodes directly into BPMN workflows, enabling advanced conversational reasoning, RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation), image understanding and other AI capabilities as first class workflow steps . This transforms traditional workflow systems into dynamic, AI driven orchestration platforms. 1.1 Native LLM Node Integration Add LLM / RAG / Agent nodes into your process diagrams as easily as traditional service tasks…
read the full Slickflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is conductor or Slickflow more popular?
conductor has 32,401 GitHub stars and Slickflow has 922. conductor has the larger community by that measure.
Are conductor and Slickflow free?
Both are open source. conductor is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Slickflow under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between conductor and Slickflow?
conductor is written in Java and Slickflow in C#. 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 Slickflow?
Choose conductor if you want the larger community (32,401 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Slickflow if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.