Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

ARIS BPA vs Apache Airflow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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
6.8
ARIS BPA improves operational resilience, transparency, and stakeholder alignment, offering significant time savings and enhanced management understanding.
 

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
6.6
ARIS BPA technical support is praised for responsiveness, though improvements in communication and complex issue handling are needed.
Forums and community resources like Stack Overflow are helpful.
There is enough documentation available, and the community support is good.
The consultants are fine, however, reliance on single experts for modules can be risky.
 

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
7.6
ARIS BPA is scalable and flexible, supporting cloud-based growth across industries despite its cost considerations, accommodating various deployments.
The solution is very scalable.
Apache Airflow scales well, especially when deployed in Kubernetes environments.
For user scalability, it is a matter of licenses, while functional scalability is supported and easy to implement.
 

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
7.2
ARIS BPA is stable, with challenges in large environments; users appreciate performance improvements and responsive support.
I would rate the stability of the solution as ten out of ten.
Apache Airflow is stable and I have not experienced significant issues.
The stability of ARIS BPM is quite strong, rated eight out of ten.
 

Room For Improvement

Apache Airflow struggles with usability, lacking features and integration, needing improvements in scalability, documentation, and platform support.
ARIS BPA is criticized for high costs, complexity, and integration challenges, needing significant training and better user interface.
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.
Software AG could improve this by making the database more open.
 

Setup Cost

Apache Airflow is free, but infrastructure costs and commercial support from providers like Astronomer or hyperscalers may incur fees.
ARIS BPA's high cost is justified for large enterprises, offering flexible options and extensive features with negotiable terms.
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.
 

Valuable Features

Apache Airflow is popular for its user-friendly interface, Python support, extensive integrations, scalability, and open-source community backing.
ARIS BPA features a centralized repository, robust analytics, integration options, customizable methods, and supports notations like BPMN and EPC.
Apache Airflow is an open-source platform that allows easy integration with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
Reliability is good, and when integrated with Kubernetes, it performs better compared to on-premises environments.
The maintenance capabilities of ARIS BPM and the strong underlying database are particularly valuable.
 

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
ARIS BPA
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of Apache Airflow is 6.9%, down from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ARIS BPA is 5.3%, down from 5.3% 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.…
Libor Černý - PeerSpot reviewer
I can usually find an answer to my issue on ARIS Community
From the start, there were some difficulties on how to create outputs since there wasn't a repository tool in version 6. However, in version 7, there has been a tool for creating standards for a company, and that tool has been very intuitive. While I have been using this tool for several years, other people just starting to use it find the learning curve steep. This tool is very robust and accommodates many roles, where people can participate from compliance, IT designers, etc. This can create problems for users who have no experience with similar tools. It took me a year before I felt comfortable with this tool, because when I came from university it was the first or second tool that I worked on. It took me a year to run every feature or use it for every possibility since this tool is very robust. We sometimes have to create the link to the server and the repository twice because it is deleted once for some unknown reason. Though, this is not a big problem. There should be a more intuitive tool when creating reports.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Management (BPM) solutions are best for your needs.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
5%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
 

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.
What do you like most about ARIS BPA?
The most valuable features of ARIS BPA are its flexibility and reporting.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS BPA?
Pricing for ARIS BPA is average, not cheap or expensive. It's cost-effective and worth the money we pay.
What needs improvement with ARIS BPA?
I find it difficult to access the database as I want with direct querying. I must write scripts, which requires specific knowledge. Software AG could improve this by making the database more open. ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Airflow
ARIS, ARIS BPM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Agari, WePay, Astronomer
Tesco, Weifu, Airbus, Siemens, Proximus, Alicorp, Sekerbank, Bancor, Philips,Sky, Emirates NBD, Dubai Municipality, Suva, U.S. Army, Australia Post, Westfalen Weser Energie - ARIS serves customers across all industries and of every size worldwide. Companies trust ARIS as the market leader for process excellence with more than 30 years of experience in the market, 10 million users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.
Find out what your peers are saying about ARIS BPA vs. Apache Airflow and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.