Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. The largest vendors in business process modeling software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 16 tools, reviewed
#1 ADONIS BPM Suite
Process modeling suite with a free entry edition · Austria · boc-group.com
Free edition Published prices Process insights
ADONIS takes first place because a buyer can see where the money starts.
- Pricing: Free tier + published tiers. Community Edition is free with a limited number of processes. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Teams that want published tiers
- Strengths: Cloud-based Community Edition; Model comparison; Basic simulation.
Where it falls short
The Community Edition is limited to one user, one language and a small number of processes, so it works as a trial, not a team tool.
Wrong for
A company that wants models to run as live workflows on a built-in engine.
Visit ADONIS BPM Suite →
#2 Camunda
BPMN and DMN modeling tied to a workflow engine · Germany · camunda.com
BPMN and DMN Workflow engine Developer-led
Camunda is second because it models in the standards and then executes what was drawn. The web modeler adds shared editing and version history, Git Sync lets engineers keep diagrams next to code, and a desktop modeler covers offline work.
- Pricing: Quote only. SaaS and Enterprise are quote only with no prices shown. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Technical teams that will run the models
- Strengths: Desktop Modeler; Web Modeler; Collaborative modeling and version history.
Where it falls short
Prices are not published for SaaS or Enterprise, and the pricing page says production self-managed use needs an Enterprise license, while the Development card has wording that sits awkwardly with the FAQ.
Wrong for
A business-analyst team with no developers and a need for an all-in-one tool with printed prices.
Visit Camunda →
#3 Bonita BPM (Ofelia)
Process automation platform with a permanent free tier · France · ofelia.com
Free tier Process design Rebranding
Bonita lands third on the strength of its free tier: no time limit, no card, and 150 process instances a month are enough for a department to run one real approval flow.
- Pricing: Free tier + custom enterprise. Bonita Free costs nothing with no time limit and no credit card, capped at 150 process instances per month. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Small teams testing automation
- Strengths: Bonita Fabric; BPA Studio; Process Designer.
Where it falls short
The vendor now presents itself as Ofelia, and its social handles read Bonitasoft is now Ofelia, so product names and support paths are in flux.
Wrong for
A buyer who needs a stable, long-established product name and a documented modeling method for enterprise architects.
Visit Bonita BPM (Ofelia) →
#4 SAP Signavio
Process modeling and transformation suite from SAP · Germany · signavio.com
Enterprise suite SAP ecosystem Process intelligence
SAP Signavio is the suite to check when process work is part of a larger transformation program.
- Pricing: Quote only. Custom quote only; a 30-day free trial is linked and there is no free plan. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: SAP-centered enterprises
- Strengths: Process Modeler; Journey Modeler; Process Collaboration Hub.
Where it falls short
Everything is quote only.
Wrong for
A team of under fifty people that wants to map ten processes.
Visit SAP Signavio →
#5 Pega Platform
Enterprise workflow and case management platform · United States · pega.com
Case management Low code Enterprise
Pega earns its fifth place by doing something most modeling tools do not: it treats the process as a case that carries data, decisions and rules through to completion.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote only; a free Platform Trial is linked but its terms are not on the page. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Large regulated enterprises
- Strengths: Workflow Automation; AI Agents; Case Management.
Where it falls short
No price or license limit appears on the page we read, and the trial terms are unstated. The platform asks for specialist skills and a long implementation.
Wrong for
A small or mid-sized business that just wants documented processes.
Visit Pega Platform →
Enterprise Modeling method Process mining
ARIS sits sixth because we could verify only part of it.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices are shown on the community site. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Enterprises with a modeling practice
- Strengths: ARIS Express; ARIS Architect; ARIS Connect.
Where it falls short
We opened only the community site, not the product pages, so features, limits and price are not confirmed. Editions are named without prices.
Wrong for
A buyer who wants a transparent price before a call.
Visit ARIS →
#7 Bizagi
Process modeling and automation platform · United Kingdom · bizagi.com
Consumption pricing Automation Case management
Bizagi takes seventh place as a product that starts from a modeler and grows into automation and case work.
- Pricing: Quote only. Consumption-based and quote only. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Mid-sized teams moving to automation
- Strengths: Process Modeler; Process Automation; Case Management.
Where it falls short
No price, trial or free plan appears on the pages we opened, and consumption pricing is hard to forecast before real volumes exist. The messaging has moved toward AI agents, which can bury the modeling features a buyer came for.
Wrong for
A buyer who needs a self-service trial and a predictable seat price.
Visit Bizagi →
#8 Flowable
BPMN, CMMN and DMN engines and case platform · Switzerland · flowable.com
Open engines Case management Developer-led
Flowable ranks eighth for a specific reader: a development team that wants BPMN, CMMN and DMN engines it can inspect and embed.
- Pricing: Open source + quote. Quote only for the platform. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Engineering-led teams that want open engines
- Strengths: Agentic Case Platform; Agent Orchestration; Policy Controls and Governance.
Where it falls short
The pricing page lists no plans or prices, and the trial length is not stated.
Wrong for
A process-improvement team of analysts that needs a visual workspace and no code.
Visit Flowable →
#9 Trisotech
Standards-based modeling and governance platform · Canada · trisotech.com
Four standards Governance Traceability
Trisotech is ninth, and the reason it is on the list at all is standards coverage: the pages say it handles DMN, BPMN, CMMN and SDMN, which matters when decisions and cases need modeling alongside the process.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote only through a Request Pricing link. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Regulated firms using several notations
- Strengths: Knowledge Entity Modeler; Digital Enterprise Graph; Versioning and approvals.
Where it falls short
No plans or prices appear, no address was found on the pages we read, and the headline wording is about AI governance more than everyday process mapping.
Wrong for
A small team that wants a simple tool with a printed price.
Visit Trisotech →
#10 QualiWare
Enterprise architecture and process management platform · Denmark · qualiware.com
Enterprise architecture Digital twin Danish vendor
QualiWare earns tenth place by treating process models as one layer of a model of the whole organization.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote only; the site offers a demo and shows no price or free trial. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Architecture teams that model the whole organization
- Strengths: Enterprise Architecture; Business Process Management; Digital Twin of an Organization.
Where it falls short
Price is not listed, there is no free trial on the page we read, and the entry point is a demo request. The wide scope means a longer rollout and a methodology to learn before the repository pays back.
Wrong for
A department that needs to document a handful of processes this quarter.
Visit QualiWare →
#11 Orbus iServer (now OrbusInfinity)
Enterprise architecture platform with process module · United Kingdom · orbussoftware.com
Repository Diagramming Enterprise architecture
Orbus is eleventh because its strength is the repository, not the process canvas.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote only, described as a flexible pricing model. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Architects who link processes to systems
- Strengths: Central Repository; Diagramming; Flexible Metamodel.
Where it falls short
Pricing is quote only and no trial is mentioned, so evaluation needs sales contact.
Wrong for
A process owner without an architecture team.
Visit Orbus iServer (now OrbusInfinity) →
#12 Heflo
BPMN diagramming with process automation · Brazil · heflo.com
BPMN Free academic plan Dashboards
Heflo is twelfth, and it gets there on breadth at the low end. It offers BPMN diagramming alongside landscape, org chart and mind map diagrams, process automation with deadline alerts, custom dashboards, single sign-on and integrations with DocuSign and DeepL.
- Pricing: Free tier + contact. The Academic plan is free with community support through Reddit. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Students and small modeling teams
- Strengths: BPMN diagramming; Process landscape diagrams; Organization chart diagrams.
Where it falls short
Lite has chat support without an SLA and a limited documentation portal.
Wrong for
A company that needs contractual support and published business pricing from day one.
Visit Heflo →
#13 Kissflow BPM
No-code BPM for business users · United States · kissflow.com
No-code Business users Forms
Kissflow BPM comes thirteenth as a tool for the business user who wants to build a request-and-approval flow without engineering.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote only. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Business teams without developers
- Strengths: Process designer; Form builder; Native integrations.
Where it falls short
No plan prices, user limits or volume limits are stated on the pages we read.
Wrong for
An architecture or compliance group that needs BPMN diagrams exchangeable with other tools.
Visit Kissflow BPM →
#14 Cflow
No-code workflow automation with published prices · India · cflowapps.com
Published prices Approvals No-code
Cflow is fourteenth because it automates processes more than it models them, though few in this list print as many numbers.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Joy is $22 per month billed monthly with a minimum of 10 users. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Small teams automating approvals
- Strengths: Workflow templates; Visual builders; Rules engine and escalation.
Where it falls short
Joy caps workflows at 20 and keeps data for three years.
Wrong for
A team that needs BPMN diagrams, simulation or an architecture repository.
Visit Cflow →
#15 Process Street
Checklist workflows with audit-ready records · United States · process.st
Checklists Compliance Approvals
Process Street ranks fifteenth because it answers a different question than modeling: how do we make people follow the process and show it afterwards.
- Pricing: Quote only. Startup, Pro and Enterprise all show Contact sales. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Teams that must prove procedures were followed
- Strengths: Unlimited workflows and tasks; Approvals; Enforced task order.
Where it falls short
No prices are shown on any plan, and the Startup plan is capped at five users and 50 public API calls a month.
Wrong for
A process analyst who needs diagrams in a standard notation to hand to developers.
Visit Process Street →
#16 bpmn.io
Web toolkits for BPMN, DMN and forms · Germany · bpmn.io
Toolkit BPMN Embeddable
bpmn.io closes the list because it is a component, not an application.
- Pricing: Open source toolkit. Offered as toolkits with an online demo. Free plan: open source.
- Best for: Developers embedding a modeler
- Strengths: bpmn-js BPMN 2.0 viewer and editor; dmn-js DMN 1.3 editor; form-js form builder.
Where it falls short
There is no hosted workspace, no user management, no review workflow and no support contract on the page we read.
Wrong for
Any team without developers.
Visit bpmn.io →
What the data says about this market
The sixteen products here pull in four directions. Seven are modeling-first suites or repositories (ADONIS, SAP Signavio, ARIS, Trisotech, QualiWare, OrbusInfinity, Heflo), four are engines or platforms that run models (Camunda, Bonita, Pega, Flowable), two are low-code process builders (Bizagi, Kissflow BPM), two are checklist or approval tools (Process Street, Cflow), and one is a developer toolkit (bpmn.io). Buyers often shop across these types without noticing, which is why a quote for an engine and a quote for a diagramming repository are not comparable. Pricing transparency is poor.
More in our report The Global Shift to ICT Services, on market data and in all industry reports.
Questions and answers
What is the best business process modeling software in 2026?
ADONIS BPM Suite ranks first of 16, best for teams that want published tiers. Camunda is second (technical teams that will run the models) and Bonita BPM (Ofelia) third (small teams testing automation). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
What is the difference between process modeling and process automation?
Modeling describes how work should flow, usually as a BPMN diagram that people can read and review. Automation executes a flow in software, assigning tasks, calling services and enforcing deadlines.
Do I need BPMN, or are plain flowcharts enough?
A flowchart is enough when one team wants a picture for a wiki or training deck.
Is there free business process modeling software?
Yes, in several forms.
How much does process modeling software cost?
Very little is published. ADONIS lists Starter from €99 per month for one seat and Grow from €1,195 per month for five seats billed annually. Cflow lists $22 per month per user on Joy with a ten-user minimum.
Can I move my process models to another tool?
Only as far as the notation allows. BPMN 2.0, DMN and CMMN files move between tools that support them, but layout, comments, attributes and links to documents often do not.
Should an enterprise architecture tool double as a process modeler?
It can, if processes need to be linked to applications, capabilities and risks. QualiWare, OrbusInfinity and ARIS combine the two in one repository. The cost is setup time and a methodology to learn.
What is the difference between process modeling and process mining?
Modeling draws how a process is supposed to run. Mining reads event data from your systems to show how it actually runs, including delays and detours. Celonis and the process intelligence modules in SAP Signavio and ARIS cover mining.
Can business users model processes without developers?
For documentation, yes. ADONIS, Heflo and Bizagi's modeler are aimed at analysts, and Kissflow BPM and Cflow let business users build approval flows without code.
Why do several vendors now describe themselves as AI platforms?
Because the budget moved. Pega, Bizagi, Flowable, Trisotech and Ofelia all lead with AI agents, orchestration or governance.
When is a checklist tool better than a process modeler?
When the problem is people not following a known procedure, not that nobody agrees what the procedure is. Process Street enforces task order, approvals and records for audits, and Cflow handles routine approvals with SLA settings. Neither draws BPMN swimlanes.
