head to head · open source
LimeSurvey vs WorkFlow-Engine
LimeSurvey has 3,727 GitHub stars, 1,122 forks, 101 open issues and last shipped yesterday. WorkFlow-Engine has 865 stars, 151 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. LimeSurvey leads on adoption by 331% (3,727 vs 865 stars). LimeSurvey is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; WorkFlow-Engine is written in Java under GPL-3.0. LimeSurvey has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, WorkFlow-Engine 17%. LimeSurvey was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| LimeSurvey | WorkFlow-Engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.7K | ★ 865 |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 151 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LimeSurvey if
- You weight community size — 3.7K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick WorkFlow-Engine if
- You want the WorkFlow-Engine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and WorkFlow-Engine fits your workflow better
About LimeSurvey
LimeSurvey is a free and open source online survey platform written primarily in PHP with a JavaScript and React front end. It lives in the web forms and survey ecosystem, and it positions itself as a self hostable alternative to hosted services such as SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Qualtrics, and Google Forms. The project has been developed since 2006 and is used by businesses, academic institutions, teachers, students, governments, and financial institutes across more than 80 countries.
read the full LimeSurvey overview →
About WorkFlow-Engine
WorkFlow Engine is a Java, GPL 3.0 licensed workflow engine built on Spring Boot and Vue that gives Chinese agencies and enterprises visual form design, graphical process design and item management, and is aimed at teams that must digitise internal approval flows and drive third party business interfaces on their own infrastructure.
read the full WorkFlow-Engine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is LimeSurvey or WorkFlow-Engine more popular?
LimeSurvey has 3,727 GitHub stars and WorkFlow-Engine has 865. LimeSurvey has the larger community by that measure.
Are LimeSurvey and WorkFlow-Engine free?
Both are open source. LimeSurvey has no licence declared in this registry, and WorkFlow-Engine is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between LimeSurvey and WorkFlow-Engine?
LimeSurvey is written in JavaScript and WorkFlow-Engine in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, LimeSurvey or WorkFlow-Engine?
Choose LimeSurvey if you want the larger community (3,727 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose WorkFlow-Engine if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.