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Bonita vs IBM BPM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Bonita
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
30th
Ranking in Process Automation
28th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (17th)
IBM BPM
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
5th
Ranking in Process Automation
9th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
113
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of Bonita is 1.9%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM BPM is 4.1%, down from 7.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM BPM4.1%
Bonita1.9%
Other94.0%
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

Paparao Nadipineni - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect at Evoke
A simple and lightweight college course automation system with third-party integrations
The initial setup is straightforward and can be completed with the environment within an hour. First, take the latest from the git repository and check the git code to the monitor studio and a bar file, a deployable Bonita archive file. Then, take that process to the Bonita server, running at runtime on another server. Finally, deploy and enable it by selecting the proper organization.
Ateeq Rehman - PeerSpot reviewer
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
Automation platforms streamline processes and offer flexibility, but AI integration and version upgrades pose challenges
In the technology world, there is always room for improvement. Technologies evolve day by day, especially with the emergence of artificial intelligence and generative AI models. Although IBM BPM is a substantial product, adopting and integrating new technologies quickly is not easy due to the migration and upgrade paths involved. Every time new versions are released, we face business and production challenges that make rapid adoption challenging. The main concern bothering me today regarding IBM BPM is the integration of AI components.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I find process management and user interface designing the most valuable features."
"Studio provides an opportunity to get early feedback from real users and quickly change the process and forms."
"Process automation with Bonita BPM is really easy."
"This product is very easy-to-use and user-friendly."
"Process automation with Bonita BPM is really easy."
"I think Bizagi is a powerful software or tool for organization, but Bonita is user-friendly and easy-to-use — easier to use for development."
"Its user-friendliness, along with the availability of comprehensive and clear documentation on the website is the most valuable."
"Compared to other products on the market, Bonita presents a pretty acceptable level of robustness."
"The most valuable feature for the organization is the Document Store."
"There is a component of this BPM pool - I can't recall the name. What it does is, it allows you to create various scenarios and then run them quickly, before actually putting them onto a tool. So I think that part of the tool is really fantastic, because that enables you to create scenarios, create simulations, before actually going out and putting it into the tool itself"
"It is a scalable solution, and one small company that is a customer uses this solution, and they do tender development proposal evaluations for clients."
"Integration is a big plus for me."
"The Process Portal provides access to most heritage capabilities and introduces many new features, such as a mobile-ready user interface, the ability to edit and share saved searches, and support for federated environments."
"I like the APIs and the BPM coach is a good tool. But if I had to pick one, it would be the API."
"It's a solid product. It covers most of the pain points for clients."
"This is one of the best tools to support the business and the way we work, and the numerous processes we need to implement."
 

Cons

"We are struggling a bit with integrations."
"We are struggling a bit with integrations."
"Installation could be made easier."
"Installation could be made easier. I would like to see more automated processes."
"I have run into a lot of problems because there is not enough documentation."
"It is missing some important features that other products have."
"That said, creating custom connectors for 3rd party applications and APIs is still a challenging task."
"BPMN 2.0 notations are not all supported, would love to see them all coming in (e.g. complex gateway)."
"Some of the features are not enough for my business. We need to build custom user management for the many end users affected by BPM."
"If the processing gets better, it would be more efficient."
"It is a very advanced tool, but very expensive."
"Performance on large scale requirements could also be improved."
"The price and the overall installation process could be improved."
"There are negative aspects, such as IBM BPM being quite heavy and not lightweight, and the licensing cost is higher, which has caused some companies to shift away."
"I would like to see more inclusion of RPA technologies. If we have more manual processes, we can use robotic process automation and integrate that in with the solution."
"There needs to be better documentation for IBM BPM in a central place; there is not any standard documentation for each component available and it has been a barrier for developers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product's pricing is acceptable. Pricing is yearly."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"You pay an annual fee and can have an unlimited number of processes and users."
"We are using the Community Version, which can be used free of charge."
"The Enterprise edition is very expensive."
"have installed the image of Bonita BPM on Amazon AWS and there is just one option to use and pay for."
"The price is fair for what we are using the solution for."
"I believe this is a very good financial choice."
"Its price is on the higher side, and it can be improved. Its licensing is on a yearly basis. There are no additional costs."
"We have a yearly licensing model. It is not expensive. There are no addition costs to the standard license."
"The solution is expensive since it is an enterprise application."
"IBM BPM is expensive, so most large companies opt for IBM based on their licensing options."
"The pricing is very high."
"The price is good but could be a little lower."
"I wish it was less expensive. I don't know why their pricing model is so high for a piece of software that could benefit so many. It just seems to me that they could have a lower cost, maybe with fewer features or whatever, but it should be possible to do a lower cost workflow software that uses the same interface and underlying engine but does not cost so much that you have to be a Fortune 50 company to buy it. It is annoying to me. There are a lot of solutions that IBM has that are really powerful but nobody can afford them. They know their business, but I still feel that there are a lot of customers who would benefit from this sort of thing. I don't know what this elitism is all about. I am sure they have people doing the money numbers, but it seems like you can make a lot more money by selling it to way more people for a little bit less."
"I rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise72
 

Questions from the Community

How does Bonita compare with Camunda Platform?
One of the things we like best about Bonita is that you can create without coding - it is a low-code platform. With Bonita, you can build the entire mechanism using the GUI, it’s that simple. You c...
Which is better, IBM BPM or IBM Business Automation Workflow?
We researched both IBM solutions and in the end, we chose Business Automation Workflow. IBM BPM has a good user interface and the BPM coach is a helpful tool. The API is very useful in providing en...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM BPM?
Once it is installed, maintaining it is not a big issue.
What needs improvement with IBM BPM?
There are negative aspects, such as IBM BPM being quite heavy and not lightweight, and the licensing cost is higher, which has caused some companies to shift away. IBM BPM is complicated to install...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Bonita BPM
WebSphere Lombardi Edition, IBM Business Process Manager, IBM WebSphere Process Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

With more than 1000 customers in 75 countries, and its ecosystem of more than 120,000 members, Bonitasoft is the largest provider of open-source Business Process Management, Low-code and Digital Transformation software worldwide.
Barclays, EmeriCon, Banca Popolare di Milano, CST Consulting, KeyBank, KPMG, Prolifics, Sandhata Technologies Ltd., State of Alaska, Humana S.A., Saperion, esciris, Banco Espirito Santo
Find out what your peers are saying about Bonita vs. IBM BPM and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
889,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.