head to head · open source
flowable-engine vs loonflow
flowable-engine has 9,542 GitHub stars, 2,890 forks, 411 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. loonflow has 2,090 stars, 704 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. flowable-engine leads on adoption by 357% (9,542 vs 2,090 stars). flowable-engine is written in Java under Apache-2.0; loonflow is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. flowable-engine has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, loonflow 34%. flowable-engine was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (workflow, 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
| flowable-engine | loonflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.5K | ★ 2.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-05-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 704 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick flowable-engine if
- You weight community size — 9.5K 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 loonflow if
- You want the loonflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and loonflow fits your workflow better
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 →
About loonflow
Loonflow is an open source process automation platform for enterprises, built around ticket and workflow operations. It lives in the Django and Python web ecosystem, and the README also identifies React and MUI for the interface.
read the full loonflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is flowable-engine or loonflow more popular?
flowable-engine has 9,542 GitHub stars and loonflow has 2,090. flowable-engine has the larger community by that measure.
Are flowable-engine and loonflow free?
Both are open source. flowable-engine is licensed under Apache-2.0 and loonflow under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between flowable-engine and loonflow?
flowable-engine is written in Java and loonflow in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, flowable-engine or loonflow?
Choose flowable-engine if you want the larger community (9,542 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose loonflow if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.