Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Appian VS ProcessMaker

Compare Appian VS ProcessMaker and see what are their differences

Appian logo Appian

See how Appian, leading provider of modern low-code and BPM software solutions, has helped transform the businesses of over 3.5 million users worldwide.

ProcessMaker logo ProcessMaker

ProcessMaker is an easy to use BPM and workflow software solution. It is used to design, automate, and deploy business processes of any kind.
  • Appian Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-20
  • ProcessMaker Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-18

Appian features and specs

  • Low-Code Development
    Appian allows users to create applications with minimal hand-coding, catering to business analysts and developers alike. Its drag-and-drop interface simplifies development and accelerates time-to-market.
  • Process Automation
    Appian excels in automating complex business processes, improving operational efficiency, and reducing human error. Its powerful BPM tools streamline workflows effectively.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Appian provides strong integration capabilities with various third-party systems, databases, and cloud services. This ensures that applications can seamlessly communicate with existing enterprise systems.
  • Enterprise-Grade Security
    Appian offers robust security features, including role-based access control and data encryption, making it suitable for businesses with stringent security requirements.
  • Scalability
    As a cloud-native platform, Appian is highly scalable, supporting the needs of growing enterprises by easily handling increased loads and more complex applications.
  • User Experience
    The platform provides a user-friendly interface, both for developers building the applications and end-users interacting with them, enhancing overall user satisfaction.

Possible disadvantages of Appian

  • Cost
    Appian can be expensive, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses. Its pricing model might not be feasible for organizations operating on a limited budget.
  • Learning Curve
    Although it simplifies development, mastering Appian still requires a learning curve. Users need to invest time in training, which can slow down the initial development phase.
  • Complex Customization
    Highly tailored or very specific customizations can be challenging to implement within Appian. Some complicated functionalities may require extensive workarounds.
  • Limited Offline Functionality
    Appian's offline capabilities are limited, which can be a disadvantage for field services or users who need to access the application without a reliable internet connection.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Due to its proprietary technology, organizations may face vendor lock-in, making it challenging to migrate applications or data to another platform if needed.
  • Performance Issues at Scale
    While Appian is scalable, some users report performance issues when running extremely large and complex applications, which can impact user experience and overall efficiency.

ProcessMaker features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    ProcessMaker offers a simple and intuitive interface that makes it accessible even for users with limited technical expertise. It supports drag-and-drop functionality for workflow design, easing the process design phase.
  • Extensive Integration Capabilities
    ProcessMaker supports integration with a wide array of third-party applications and services, including ERP systems, CRM systems, and web services. This allows for seamless data flow between different systems.
  • Open-Source Availability
    ProcessMaker offers an open-source edition which can be a cost-effective solution for organizations. It allows for greater customization and transparency, giving developers the freedom to modify the source code according to specific needs.
  • Cloud and On-Premises Options
    ProcessMaker provides both cloud-based and on-premises deployment options. This flexibility enables organizations to choose a deployment model that fits their infrastructure and security requirements.
  • Robust Reporting and Analytics
    The platform offers extensive reporting and analytics capabilities. Users can generate various reports to track the performance of workflows and gain insights into operational bottlenecks, improving overall efficiency.

Possible disadvantages of ProcessMaker

  • Cost of Premium Features
    While the open-source version is free, many advanced features and capabilities are only available in the paid enterprise version. Organizations may incur significant costs if they require these premium features.
  • Learning Curve
    Although the interface is user-friendly, there is still a learning curve associated with mastering the tool, particularly for non-technical users. Comprehensive training or consultation may be required.
  • Scalability Issues
    Some users have reported performance issues and scalability limitations when handling very large or complex workflows. This can be a concern for large enterprises with extensive process automation needs.
  • Limited Customization in UI
    Although ProcessMaker is highly customizable in terms of workflow logic, the customization options for the user interface are somewhat limited compared to other BPM tools. This can be limiting for organizations wanting a highly tailored user experience.
  • Dependency on Third-Party Plugins
    The tool often relies on third-party plugins to extend its functionality. While this makes it versatile, it also introduces potential dependency issues and can complicate the upgrade and maintenance processes.

Analysis of ProcessMaker

Overall verdict

  • ProcessMaker is a solid choice for organizations seeking to optimize and automate their business processes. It is particularly useful for companies looking for an intuitive, scalable, and robust BPM solution that can be customized to fit various industry needs. Users generally report satisfaction with its ease of use and comprehensive feature set, although large enterprises might require an in-depth assessment to ensure it meets complex requirements.

Why this product is good

  • ProcessMaker is considered a good business process management and workflow automation tool because it offers a user-friendly interface, powerful process modeling capabilities, and a wide array of integrations with other software systems. It helps businesses streamline processes, enhance productivity, and improve compliance through effective workflow automation. Additionally, ProcessMaker provides cloud and on-premises deployment options, making it flexible for different organizational needs.

Recommended for

  • Small to medium-sized businesses seeking efficient workflow automation
  • Organizations looking for a user-friendly and flexible BPM tool
  • Companies in need of process optimization and regulatory compliance
  • Teams that require a customizable platform for process management
  • Businesses considering cloud or on-premises deployment options

Appian videos

Appian CEO: Delivering ‘Mission-Critical’ Software | Mad Money | CNBC

More videos:

  • Review - This is Appian
  • Review - Appian Application Designer: Build Applications in Days, not Years

ProcessMaker videos

ProcessMaker - 3 Minute Tour

More videos:

  • Review - Think Beyond Your Workflow with JotForm + ProcessMaker

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Appian and ProcessMaker)
BPM
65 65%
35% 35
Workflow Automation
77 77%
23% 23
Project Management
49 49%
51% 51
BPM Platform
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Appian and ProcessMaker

Appian Reviews

Top 10 Microsoft Power Apps Alternatives and Competitors 2024
Strengths: A powerful low-code platform, Appian caters to large enterprises with complex business process automation needs. It offers robust workflow management capabilities, allowing you to automate intricate business processes with decision-making logic and case management features. Appian excels in industries like finance, insurance, and healthcare, where complex...
Source: medium.com
7 Best Business Process Management Tools (2023)
Appian is used by companies to automate their routine tasks, integrate with other enterprise tools, and create custom workflows. It offers a wide range of features such as mobile app development, chatbots, AI assistants, etc.
11 Business Process Management (BPM) Software for SMBs
Experience the power of business workflow automation with Appian and accelerate your business governance, results, and efficiency. Appian simplifies your workflow design to empower users and pro developers to draw processes, such as a flowchart.
Source: geekflare.com
10 Best Low-Code Development Platforms in 2020
Verdict: Appian is the provider of the software development platform. The Appian low code development platform is a combination of intelligent automation and low-code development.
Best Google App Maker alternatives in 2020
Appian excels when used to create form-based apps. The product does allow building custom UI components, but only by using Appian’s in-product customization tools. Appian’s reasoning for this is security and to ensure JS compliance across browsers and devices.
Source: retool.com

ProcessMaker Reviews

7 Best Business Process Management Tools (2023)
ProcessMaker is a flexible and intuitive software suite that allows you to create, manage, and deploy complex workflows using visual design, and an integrated UI for management, simulation, and testing.
Top 7 Workflow Software (2020 Reviews)
ProcessMaker is an open-source workflow automation software that’s best suited for large companies. Its low-code business process management platform lets users design and automate workflows quickly.
Source: clickup.com
10 Best Open Source BPM Tools
ProcessMaker is a software that allows you to model your business processes. You access a graphical interface on which you can drag the different constituent elements of your workflows.
20 Free Open Source BPM Software for Businesses in 2021
ProcessMaker Workflow BPM is one of the top open-source BPM software solutions that helps in creating a navigable framework of business processes. It is cloud-based and can be accessed from all popular devices and browsers. The best think is that it can be used by businesses of all the sizes and requirements
Top 15 Workflow Management Software Solutions
ProcessMaker is an easy to use and cost effective open source business process management (BPM) and workflow software tool. It is lightweight, very efficient, and has a low overhead. Numerous business analysts and subject matter experts use ProcessMaker as their workflow software solution because it enables them to communicate with their technical teams effectively and...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Appian seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 5 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Appian mentions (5)

  • Low-Code tools & Frontend
    Does any of you use a low-code tool like Retool or Appian? If so, what is the most common use case? Source: over 2 years ago
  • Appian Associate Developer Certification help
    Look for use case inspiration in the Solutions area of appian.com and within the AppMarket. See if you can build proof of concepts of some of these. Source: over 2 years ago
  • What is best way to create an online responsive database driven website to help manage my small orchard?
    There are low code database driven website creation systems out there at the moment e.g. OutSystems and Appian however they have very limited free trials (e.g. auto-disable after a few days of no use), and then the paid options are again too expensive. Although I will note that they seem to be great in terms of their usability and would be perfect for creating a simple interface without too much diving into code. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Software Engineer role - Transferable or Pigeon-holed?
    My concern however is - the working software isn't a generic language such as Java, C#/C++, Python etc. - it is with Appian (Business Process Management), which is a rather specific low-code platform for developing workflow and automation solutions. The role does have other elements potentially too such as getting hands on cloud and API dev etc. The pay for Appian Developers currently is GREAT due to high demand -... Source: about 3 years ago
  • What is low code?
    Platforms like UiPath, Workato, and Appian provide ways to integrate apps and automate the processes that connect and flow between them. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago

ProcessMaker mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of ProcessMaker yet. Tracking of ProcessMaker recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Appian and ProcessMaker, you can also consider the following products

Camunda - The Universal Process Orchestrator

Kissflow - Kissflow is a workflow tool & business process workflow management software to automate your workflow process. Rated #1 cloud workflow software in Google Apps Marketplace.

Kintone - Build business apps and supercharge your company's productivity with kintone's all-in-one...

ProntoForms - ProntoForms is a mobile business solutions application, converting paper forms onto any tablet or mobile device.

Scoop Solar - Scoop Solar is a comprehensive mobile business process management tool for growing solar companies.

Nintex - Cloud-based digital workflow management automation platform