head to head · open source
flowable-engine vs Slickflow
flowable-engine has 9,635 GitHub stars, 2,904 forks, 411 open issues and last shipped 18 days ago. Slickflow has 923 stars, 265 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. flowable-engine leads on adoption by 944% (9,635 vs 923 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 | ★ 9.6K | ★ 923 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | C# |
| Last push | 2026-10-18 | 2026-06-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 265 |
| 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 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 ======== 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 Slickflow
Slickflow Current Version: NET8 1. 🤖 AI Powered Workflow Automation SlickFlow: Intelligent Workflow Automation with Large Language Models Slickflow integrates cutting edge Large Language Model (LLM) nodes directly into BPMN workflows, enabling advanced conversational reasoning, RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation), image understanding and other AI capabilities as first class workflow steps . This transforms traditional workflow systems into dynamic, AI driven orchestration platforms. 1.1 Native LLM Node Integration Add LLM / RAG / Agent nodes into your process diagrams as easily as traditional service tasks…
read the full Slickflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is flowable-engine or Slickflow more popular?
flowable-engine has 9,635 GitHub stars and Slickflow has 923. 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 (9,635 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Slickflow if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.