head to head · open source
dapr vs flowable-engine
dapr has 26,158 GitHub stars, 2,170 forks, 452 open issues and last shipped yesterday. flowable-engine has 9,624 stars, 2,899 forks, 411 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. dapr leads on adoption by 172% (26,158 vs 9,624 stars). dapr is written in Go under Apache-2.0; flowable-engine is written in Java under Apache-2.0. dapr has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, flowable-engine 30%. dapr was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| dapr | flowable-engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 9.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-10-27 | 2026-10-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.2K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick dapr if
- You weight community size — 26K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- 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 dapr
The runtime for durable execution, AI agents, and secure distributed applications [![Go Report][go report badge]][go report url] [![OpenSSF][openssf badge]][openssf url] [![Docker Pulls][docker badge]][docker url] [![Build Status][actions badge]][actions url] [![Test Status][e2e badge]][e2e url] [![Code Coverage][codecov badge]][codecov url] [![License: Apache 2.0][apache badge]][apache url] [![FOSSA Status][fossa badge]][fossa url] [![TODOs][todo badge]][todo url] [![Good First Issues][gfi badge]][gfi url] [![discord][discord badge]][discord url] [![YouTube][youtube badge]][youtube link] [![Bluesky][bluesky…
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 →
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Orchestration & Scheduling projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Orchestration & Scheduling field.
Frequently asked questions
Is dapr or flowable-engine more popular?
dapr has 26,158 GitHub stars and flowable-engine has 9,624. dapr has the larger community by that measure.
Are dapr and flowable-engine free?
Both are open source. dapr is licensed under Apache-2.0 and flowable-engine under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between dapr and flowable-engine?
dapr is written in Go 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, dapr or flowable-engine?
Choose dapr if you want the larger community (26,158 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.