Flowable vs Kissflow (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Flowable if

• Fits if you have Java developers who need an embeddable process engine
• Makes sense if you're a bank, insurer or agency running audited case-based work

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if nobody on your team writes Java
• Not for you if you need a published price, because the site gives no plan list
• Watch out: the free trial page said it was offline for upgrades
• Tight if you want the case platform for free, as that is a separate commercial product

Pick Kissflow if

• Fits if you build approval workflows and portals for a larger company
• Works for a team that is happy to get a custom quote

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to try before you buy, as nothing free is on record
• Skip it if you want a price on the page, as none is shown
• Not for you if you are a single person or a very small team, as the marketing targets enterprises
• Watch out: complex apps may need the vendor's paid services

Flowable

• No prices are published for the platform, and the site gives no plan list.
• A free trial is advertised on the homepage, but the trial page currently says it is offline for upgrades.
• The open-source engines and Flowable Design are free to use; the Agentic Case Platform is a separate commercial product.

Kissflow

• No prices are published; the pricing page points to a custom quote and mentions user-based pricing with transaction tiers.
• The marketing is aimed at enterprises, with little to help individuals or very small teams judge cost.
• Complex apps may need the vendor's paid services.

Flowable

Process, case and rules engines

Open-source engines execute BPMN processes, CMMN cases and DMN decisions, and expose Java and REST APIs for application code.

Governed AI agents

Agents run inside policy-bound workflows, with capability limits enforced at runtime and people involved for sign-off where it matters.

Audit trail and observability

Every decision and action is logged so it can be traced, and agents are monitored in real time.

Case management

Long-running cases support dynamic routing and escalation, aimed at exceptions that fixed process flows handle poorly.

Low-code application building

Drag-and-drop design with expression builders, database and REST integrations, content management and fine-grained permissions.

Embedded or hosted engines

The engines can run embedded in a Java application, with Spring, or as a service on a server, cluster or cloud.

Kissflow

Workflows and approvals

Set up approvals, notifications and multi-stakeholder processes, from quick automations to complex end-to-end solutions.

AI app generation

The vendor says complete apps or building blocks can be generated with AI, aiming for predictable results in enterprise settings.

Forms, reports and boards

The platform lists forms, reports, boards and apps as building blocks, alongside integrations with other systems.

Portals

Build vendor and customer portals on top of the same apps and workflows.

Governance tools

Built-in governance modules are meant to let IT and transformation teams scale usage with security controls.

Services

The vendor also sells services to help build complex apps, such as ongoing optimization planning.

Flowable

Pricing could not be confirmed. See flowable.com.

Kissflow

Pricing could not be confirmed. See kissflow.com.