head to head · open source
flowable-engine vs sdk-go
flowable-engine has 9,635 GitHub stars, 2,904 forks, 411 open issues and last shipped 18 days ago. sdk-go has 996 stars, 370 forks, 229 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. flowable-engine leads on adoption by 867% (9,635 vs 996 stars). flowable-engine is written in Java under Apache-2.0; sdk-go is written in Go under MIT. flowable-engine has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, sdk-go 37%. sdk-go 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
| flowable-engine | sdk-go | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.6K | ★ 996 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-18 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 370 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick flowable-engine if
- You weight community size — 9.6K 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 sdk-go if
- You want the sdk-go feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and sdk-go fits your workflow better
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 →
About sdk-go
Temporal Go SDK Temporal is a distributed, scalable, durable, and highly available orchestration engine used to execute asynchronous long running business logic in a scalable and resilient way. "Temporal Go SDK" is Temporal's framework for authoring workflows and activities using the Go language. Add the SDK to your project The core Temporal Go SDK packages, including client , worker , and workflow , are released together as the go.temporal.io/sdk module. From your application's Go module, run: Then import the packages you need, such as: The integrations and tools under contrib are released as separate Go…
read the full sdk-go overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is flowable-engine or sdk-go more popular?
flowable-engine has 9,635 GitHub stars and sdk-go has 996. flowable-engine has the larger community by that measure.
Are flowable-engine and sdk-go free?
Both are open source. flowable-engine is licensed under Apache-2.0 and sdk-go under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between flowable-engine and sdk-go?
flowable-engine is written in Java and sdk-go in Go. 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 sdk-go?
Choose flowable-engine if you want the larger community (9,635 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose sdk-go if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.