head to head · open source
compose vs flowable-engine
compose has 38,195 GitHub stars, 5,825 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. flowable-engine has 9,542 stars, 2,890 forks, 411 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. compose leads on adoption by 300% (38,195 vs 9,542 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; flowable-engine is written in Java under Apache-2.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, flowable-engine 30%. compose 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.
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Side by side
| compose | flowable-engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 9.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick compose if
- You weight community size — 38K 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 compose
Docker Compose is an Apache 2.0 licensed Go tool that defines and runs multi container applications on Docker from a single Compose file, aimed at developers and operators who need several containers to start together as one isolated application.
read the full compose overview →
About flowable-engine
Flowable is an open source workflow and Business Process Management platform written in Java and distributed under the Apache 2.0 license. It bundles three engines in one project: a BPMN process engine, a CMMN case engine, and a DMN rule engine. The project lives in the Java ecosystem, integrates with Spring, and exposes both a Java API and a REST API for orchestrating human or system activities.
read the full flowable-engine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or flowable-engine more popular?
compose has 38,195 GitHub stars and flowable-engine has 9,542. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and flowable-engine free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and flowable-engine under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and flowable-engine?
compose 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, compose or flowable-engine?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,195 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.