head to head · open source
flowable-engine vs Slickflow
flowable-engine has 9,542 GitHub stars, 2,890 forks, 411 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Slickflow has 920 stars, 264 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. flowable-engine leads on adoption by 937% (9,542 vs 920 stars). flowable-engine is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Slickflow is written in C# under MIT. flowable-engine has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, Slickflow 29%. 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 (bpmn, 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 | Slickflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.5K | ★ 920 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-06-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 264 |
| 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 Slickflow if
- You want the Slickflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and Slickflow 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 Slickflow
Slickflow is an MIT licensed, .NET 8 open source workflow engine that treats large language model nodes, business rules, and multi agent orchestration as first class steps inside BPMN process diagrams, aimed at .NET developers and teams building AI driven business process automation.
read the full Slickflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is flowable-engine or Slickflow more popular?
flowable-engine has 9,542 GitHub stars and Slickflow has 920. flowable-engine has the larger community by that measure.
Are flowable-engine and Slickflow free?
Both are open source. flowable-engine is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Slickflow under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between flowable-engine and Slickflow?
flowable-engine is written in Java and Slickflow in C#. 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 Slickflow?
Choose flowable-engine if you want the larger community (9,542 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Slickflow if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.