head to head · open source
Kestra vs flowable-engine
Kestra has 28,181 GitHub stars, 3,005 forks, 713 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. Kestra leads on adoption by 195% (28,181 vs 9,542 stars). Kestra is written in Java under Apache-2.0; flowable-engine is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Kestra has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, flowable-engine 30%. Kestra 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
| Kestra | flowable-engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 9.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Kestra if
- You weight community size — 28K 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 Kestra
Kestra is an open source, event driven orchestration platform for data, AI, and infrastructure workflows. It operates in the Java based ecosystem and is licensed under Apache 2.0. The project provides a unified interface for both scheduled and real time automation, supporting declarative workflow definitions in YAML while also offering visual and AI assisted authoring.
read the full Kestra 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 →
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 Kestra or flowable-engine more popular?
Kestra has 28,181 GitHub stars and flowable-engine has 9,542. Kestra has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kestra and flowable-engine free?
Both are open source. Kestra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and flowable-engine under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kestra and flowable-engine?
Kestra 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, Kestra or flowable-engine?
Choose Kestra if you want the larger community (28,181 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.