head to head · open source
flowable-engine vs viewflow
flowable-engine has 9,542 GitHub stars, 2,890 forks, 411 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. viewflow has 2,875 stars, 413 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. flowable-engine leads on adoption by 232% (9,542 vs 2,875 stars). flowable-engine is written in Java under Apache-2.0; viewflow is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. flowable-engine has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, viewflow 14%. viewflow was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (bpmn, 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 | viewflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.5K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 413 |
| 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 viewflow if
- You want the viewflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and viewflow 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 viewflow
Viewflow is reusable workflow library for Django. It lives in Python and Django ecosystem, category Infrastructure & Operations / Orchestration & Scheduling. It targets low code business application building. It gives ready made components for user management, workflows, and reporting. It ships as one package. Each part works on its own, but parts also work together. Project homepage is viewflow.io. Concrete problem: business applications need process state, form handling, reporting, and integration with existing systems. Custom Django code often repeats this plumbing. Viewflow provides base classes, BPMN process…
read the full viewflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is flowable-engine or viewflow more popular?
flowable-engine has 9,542 GitHub stars and viewflow has 2,875. flowable-engine has the larger community by that measure.
Are flowable-engine and viewflow free?
Both are open source. flowable-engine is licensed under Apache-2.0 and viewflow under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between flowable-engine and viewflow?
flowable-engine is written in Java and viewflow in Python. 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 viewflow?
Choose flowable-engine if you want the larger community (9,542 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose viewflow if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.