The category
Engines, flow builders, case platforms and agent builders
Four families sit here. Process engines execute BPMN directly and need the technical bindings added to the diagram. Workflow and integration builders run flows of connected steps in their own format, usually JSON, and build them in their own designer. Case and application platforms run case types and workflows designed in their own tools, some with an AI design step. Agent builders run AI agents described in plain language. patchley is a vendor of a capture and analysis tool, not of a platform, and has no integration with any of them: the hand-over is a file.
Vendors
Eighteen platforms, as their vendors describe them
In alphabetical order.
| Vendor | What it runs | How a process definition gets in | BPMN 2.0 import, as published | Entry point as published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appian | Process models in its Process Modeler, RPA, and AI agents (process and chat agents). | Process models built in the Build view or generated from a workflow in Appian Composer; deployed as application packages. | Only through an App Market utility, BPMN Transformer by Appian Corporation, to "transform and import any BPMN process into Appian" and export to BPMN 2.0; tagged free with a licensed product and "not supported by the author". | Free community edition for personal development; tiers priced per user, per month, per app without public amounts. |
| Bizagi | Processes modelled in Modeler and built out in Studio, executed by Bizagi's automation services; AI agents and AI workers. | Model in Modeler, then Run to export to Studio, or Import Process in Studio; Modeler imports from Visio, Blueworks, XPDL and BPMN. | Published for the free Modeler; from there the process moves to Studio, where the data, forms and rules needed to run are added. | Free Modeler; consumption-based platform pricing without public amounts. |
| Camunda | BPMN processes on its orchestration engine (Camunda 8), with job workers, connectors, human tasks and AI agents as participants. | Modelled in Web Modeler or Desktop Modeler, or uploaded: "Upload a BPMN diagram, DMN diagram, or any other supported file to a modeling project." | Published; BPMN is the native format. To run: the docs require a diagram made for the engine version, and service tasks need a task definition with a job type that a worker completes. | Self-managed development free; SaaS trial, then free modelling; no public prices for production. |
| Dify | AI workflows, agents and knowledge pipelines, hosted or self-hosted. | Visual builder or chat-based agent creation; apps export and import as an app package with a YAML definition. | Not published on the pages read. | Free sandbox; free community edition for individuals; public yearly prices per workspace. |
| Flowable | Java engines for process (BPMN), case (CMMN) and rules (DMN), Apache 2.0 licensed; a commercial case platform and an agentic case platform. | Modelled in Flowable Design, or deployed as a business archive: "A business archive is the unit of deployment to a Flowable engine." | Published: the archive "is scanned for BPMN files with a .bpmn20.xml or .bpmn extension". Service tasks need their Java classes or expressions in place. | Open-source engines on GitHub; trial buttons and a free download; no public prices. |
| Gumloop | AI agents with connectors, instructions, skills, knowledge sources and subagents, started by triggers. | Natural language in the agent builder, or by API, MCP server, SDK or CLI. | Not published on the pages read. | 14-day trial of the paid plan; public monthly price in the docs. |
| Lindy | An AI assistant for teams with skills, routines and integrations, working through chat, email and the browser. | By instruction in plain language; no definition format published. | Not published on the pages read. | Free credits; public monthly price for the team plan. |
| Make | Scenarios of modules on a visual canvas, and AI agents on the same canvas. | Scenario Builder, or import of a blueprint, a JSON file. | Not published on the pages read; the blueprint format is JSON. | Free plan with monthly credits; the paid plans' prices did not load on the page read. |
| Microsoft Power Automate | Cloud flows (automated, instant, scheduled) and desktop flows (RPA); Process Mining as an add-on; agents belong to the separate Copilot Studio. | Built in the designer, from a template or with Copilot from a prompt; moved between environments as flow packages or solutions. | No BPMN file import published. Process Mining can export a process map "to a BPMN 2.0-compliant format". The Learn page marks the Visio route to a flow as deprecated, effective 14 July 2026. | 30-day trial; public per-user and per-bot prices, which the page says may differ from list price. |
| n8n | Workflows of connected nodes and AI agents; the agent node runs inside a workflow. | Canvas, AI assistant, or import of workflow JSON from a file, a URL, the API or the CLI. | Not published: "n8n saves workflows in JSON format." | Cloud trial without a card; public monthly prices; a self-hosted version on GitHub. |
| Nintex | Workflows, RPA, document automation, eSign and apps in Automation CE; workflow and apps in K2; process maps and BPMN models in Process Manager. | Workflows are built in Nintex's designers; BPMN and Visio files go into Process Manager's modelling canvas. | Published for Process Manager's modelling add-on: ".bpmn or .xml" import, "Export to BPMN 2.0" or SVG. A path from a BPMN model to a running workflow is not published on the pages read. | 30-day trial of workflow and apps; no public prices. |
| Pega Platform and Blueprint | Case types of stages and steps, workflows and AI agents on Pega Platform; Agentic Process Fabric as the orchestration layer. | Designed in Blueprint or the platform's low-code tools; Blueprint accepts legacy assets "like .BPMN files, video demos, or requirement documents". | Through Blueprint as AI conversion into a case design, not as direct execution; the page names BPMN files from several BPM tools as inputs. | Blueprint, a platform trial edition and a demo on the trial page; no public prices. |
| Pipefy | Pipes with phases, cards, fields and automations, and AI agents acting inside pipes. | Built with Pipefy AI, no-code creation or cloned templates; data enters pipes by spreadsheet, API or connector. | Not assessed on this page. | Free starter plan; otherwise contact sales. |
| Relevance AI | AI agents, tools and multi-agent workforces on a visual canvas. | No-code builder, templates and a marketplace; no import format found on the docs page read. | Not published on the pages read. | Enterprise contact on the pricing page; usage top-ups published in the docs. |
| ServiceNow | Workflows built in its designers and AI agents through AI Agent Studio, per the documentation read. | Built in the platform's designers. | Not assessed: the product pages could not be read, so this row says nothing about BPMN import. | Not readable on the pages read. |
| UiPath Maestro | RPA robots, API automation, document processing, human steps and AI agents, coordinated by Maestro; a BPMN canvas among others. | A BPMN 2.0 model on the canvas in Studio Web; per the FAQ "a diagram drawn in another tool can be imported". | Published: "Models are stored as standard BPMN 2.0 XML" and can be exported. To run: an implementation step binds steps to automations, agents and human tasks before publishing. | Free community edition; trial for the standard tier; otherwise contact sales. |
| Workato | Recipes (automation workflows) and AI agents called Genies, built in Agent Studio. | Built in the platform; moved as export packages of JSON files. | Not published on the pages read. | Trial sign-up; no public prices. |
| Zapier | Zaps (trigger-and-action workflows across apps), agents and chatbots. | Built in the Zap editor or with Zapier Copilot; import and export of Zaps as JSON on the team and enterprise plans. | Not published on the pages read; the import format is JSON. | Free plan; public monthly prices; 14-day trial. |
AS OF 3 NOV 2026 · VENDOR NAMES LINK TO THE SOURCE PAGES
Where in the lifecycle
What the platforms cover, and what patchley covers
A process lifecycle in eight stages. The first bar is a general statement about the category; the second is patchley: from capture to the hand-over as files, with running shown as the Executions pilot, in preparation. The hand-over is a file, not an integration.
Functions at a glance
What each tool states it does
One row per tool, patchley first as our own product. A mark says only what the vendor states on its own pages; a dash never means the tool lacks the function.
| Tool | Runs BPMN 2.0 | Own definition format | RPA or UI automation | AI agents | Self-hosted option | Hosted cloud | Free tier or trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| patchley our product | ○ | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Appian | ○ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bizagi | ○ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ○ |
| Camunda | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dify | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Flowable | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gumloop | – | – | – | ✓ | ○ | ✓ | ○ |
| Lindy | – | – | ○ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Make | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Microsoft Power Automate | – | ✓ | ✓ | ○ | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| n8n | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nintex | – | ✓ | ✓ | ○ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pega Platform and Blueprint | ○ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ○ |
| Pipefy | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | – | ✓ |
| Relevance AI | – | – | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | – |
| ServiceNow | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | – | – |
| UiPath Maestro | ✓ | ○ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Workato | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ○ |
| Zapier | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ |
✓ stated on the vendor's own pages · ○ stated partly or with a condition, per the vendor (for patchley: the Executions pilot, in preparation) · – not stated on the pages read · as of 3 Nov 2026; patchley from its own pages
Where patchley fits
Before the platform, with a file hand-over
patchley is a vendor and this is its own description. It captures and analyses the process before a platform is chosen or configured, and hands over files. It does not run processes.
When to use which
Capture first, platform second
The platform decision usually comes after the process is understood; the table is meant to make the hand-over predictable, not to pick one of them.
The platform executes BPMN
Camunda, Flowable and UiPath's BPMN canvas publish a BPMN 2.0 import. The diagram from patchley is the starting point; the technical bindings are added by the platform team, and a first file should be tested early.
The platform runs its own definition
Flow builders and case platforms run JSON, pipes, cases or flows built in their own designer. The patchley diagram is then the specification the builder works from, as a picture and as the analyses per step, not a file that is imported.
The platform runs agents with guardrails
Agent builders start from instructions. The agreed As-Is and the To-Be with its control steps say which steps an agent may take and where a person decides; the processes before AI agents page explains why that order matters.
patchley describes and agrees the process; the platforms in this table run it, each in its own way, and the hand-over is a file whose fate depends on the platform.
As of 3 Nov 2026. Vendor facts from the vendors’ own pages.