Side by side

Google Cloud Workflows vs Workflow Engine

Both stand on workflow orchestration software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Google Cloud Workflows

Free plan APIWeb

Workflows provides structured orchestration with connectors, scheduling, and execution monitoring. Its step-based billing and execution limits are important considerations when designing workflows.

Visit Google Cloud Workflows

Workflow Engine offers an embeddable designer and runtime with broad listed database support and process history features. Check the edition limits and host application's security responsibilities when assessing it for a deployment.

Visit Workflow Engine

The facts

	Google Cloud Workflows	Workflow Engine
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	No	Not published
Runs on	API, Web	API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows
Lowest paid plan	See the plans	Workflow Engine NEO Subscription: $8,000 a year
Plans published	6	7
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	cloud.google.com	workflowengine.io
On workflow orchestration software	#21 of 38	#25 of 38

Google Cloud Workflows: what it does well

Supports conditions, loops, and parallel steps
Can run on a schedule
Includes retries and error handling
Idle workflows incur no charges
Integrates with Cloud Logging and Monitoring

What to know first

Cloud deployment only
No visual workflow builder
Executions are capped at 100,000 steps
Maximum execution duration is one year

Workflow Engine: what it does well

Visual designer embeds in applications.
Supports .NET Framework 4.6.2 through .NET 10.
Lists eight supported database systems.
Imports BPMN 2.0 diagrams as native schemes.
Free edition is perpetual with no payment required.

What to know first

Free edition is limited to personal, non-commercial use.
Free edition allows 10 schemas and four execution threads.
BPMN diagrams cannot be exported back to BPMN.
Authentication remains the host application's responsibility.

Alternatives to Google Cloud Workflows Alternatives to Workflow Engine The whole list