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Apache Airflow vs Appian comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
The tool's open-source nature and Python integration enhance efficiency, though some users see no return on investment.
Sentiment score
6.9
Calculating ROI from Appian is challenging, but many report significant benefits, improved satisfaction, and increased adoption across organizations.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Users mainly rely on community resources and online documentation, occasionally using internal teams or tech support for assistance.
Sentiment score
7.4
Appian's customer service is generally effective, with quick responses for critical issues but needs improved response times for complex problems.
Forums and community resources like Stack Overflow are helpful.
There is enough documentation available, and the community support is good.
Their customer service is responsive, and the team is very prompt for support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Apache Airflow is scalable, effectively used in multi-server applications, supported by cloud integration, despite some deployment complexities.
Sentiment score
7.4
Appian effectively scales for medium to large enterprises, managing various user sizes despite occasional hardware and integration challenges.
Apache Airflow scales well, especially when deployed in Kubernetes environments.
The solution is very scalable.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Apache Airflow is generally considered stable, though some experience challenges with bugs, management, and infrastructure under heavy load.
Sentiment score
7.9
Appian is stable with high uptime, but performance relies on best practices, especially under heavy data processing loads.
I would rate the stability of the solution as ten out of ten.
Apache Airflow is stable and I have not experienced significant issues.
It depends on how it has been designed and how it has been configured.
 

Room For Improvement

Apache Airflow struggles with usability, lacking features and integration, needing improvements in scalability, documentation, and platform support.
Appian users seek improvements in UI customization, integration flexibility, efficiency, mobile features, pricing, and enhanced training materials.
It is not suitable for real-time ETL tasks.
There is no dashboard for us to check all the Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs); a dashboard would help us analyze the work better.
If there is a very complex process that includes a lot of data transitioning and memory-centric processes, it consumes a lot of memory.
 

Setup Cost

Apache Airflow is free, but infrastructure costs and commercial support from providers like Astronomer or hyperscalers may incur fees.
Appian's pricing offers flexibility but is often seen as costly, yet competitive with IBM and Oracle for licensing options.
I prefer using the open-source version rather than the enterprise version, which helps manage costs.
Apache Airflow is a community-based platform and is not a licensed product.
On the pricier side, both Appian and Pega are enterprise-level solutions, placing them on the slightly higher side.
 

Valuable Features

Apache Airflow is popular for its user-friendly interface, Python support, extensive integrations, scalability, and open-source community backing.
Appian offers low-code development, intuitive modeling, seamless integration, and scalable deployment for streamlined business process automation.
Reliability is good, and when integrated with Kubernetes, it performs better compared to on-premises environments.
Apache Airflow is an open-source platform that allows easy integration with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
It is easy for me to define the process and create configurable workflows.
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Airflow
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Appian
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Process Automation (4th), Rapid Application Development Software (5th), Low-Code Development Platforms (4th), Process Mining (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of Apache Airflow is 7.1%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Appian is 6.2%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

Kemal Duman - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables efficient orchestration of batch processes with very good reliability
I am using Apache Airflow to orchestrate my jobs, projects, and batch ETL jobs. It manages tasks, orchestrates jobs, and helps in handling batch processes effectively, incorporating integrations like DBT and Great Expectations Apache Airflow is easy to scale and its UI improves with each release.…
Srimanta Pandit - PeerSpot reviewer
Flexible, improves operational efficiency, and reduces the time taken to complete processes
The solution’s turnaround time for development is better compared to other tools. The solution enables fast development. The traceability of the processor is good. There is much more governance and regulations on the processers. The tool reduces the time of the processes by 30% to 40%. The solution’s low-code aspect has greatly impacted the development and deployment speed. One of the major reasons we are using the product is that we can reuse the modules. The developers can reuse all the modules. It enables us to make subsequent developments in less time. The prebuilt modules can be deployed within two to three weeks. The tool is very flexible. Compared to other platforms, the Appian product team was agile in quickly customizing things for us.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
5%
Educational Organization
30%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - Camunda Platform or Apache Airflow?
Camunda Platform allows for visual demonstration and presentation of business process flows. The flexible Java-based option was a big win for us and allows for the integration of microservices very...
What do you like most about Apache Airflow?
Apache Airflow is easy to use and can monitor task execution easily. For instance, when performing setup tasks, you can conveniently view the logs without delving into the job details.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Airflow?
I prefer using the open-source version rather than the enterprise version, which helps manage costs.
Which do you prefer - Appian or Camunda Platform?
Appian is fast when building simple to medium solutions. This solution offers simple drag-and-drop functionality with easy plug-and-play options. The initial setup was seamless and very easy to imp...
Is Appian a suitable solution for beginners who have no additional preparation?
Appian is actually pretty big on educating its users, including with courses that reward you with certifications. There is a whole section on their company’s website where you can check out the edu...
Is it easy to set up Appian or did you have to resort to professional help?
We had some issues when we were setting up Appian. It was quite surprising, since this is a low-code tool which, in its essence, means it is meant for business users and inexperienced beginners. So...
 

Also Known As

Airflow
Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Agari, WePay, Astronomer
Hansard Global plc, Punch Taverns, Pirelli, Crawford & Company, EDP Renewables, Queensland Government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (, Bank of Tennessee
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Airflow vs. Appian and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.