The category
Modelling tools, repositories and the AI assistants inside them
A classic process tool gives you a canvas, a notation and a place to keep the result: a repository with versions, approvals and publishing. The process gets in by drawing, by importing a file, and increasingly by describing it to an assistant. What the tools differ in is how much they do beyond the drawing: governance, simulation, mining, architecture. patchley is itself a vendor and does not belong to this category; it captures the process from the people who run it and hands over a BPMN 2.0 file.
Vendors
Twelve tools, as their vendors describe them
In alphabetical order.
| Vendor | What it is | How a process gets in | BPMN 2.0 | Entry point as published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADONIS (BOC Group) | Business process management suite, offered as SaaS, for BPMN modelling, a process portal and related functions. | Web modelling with templates and a modelling assistant; BPMN DI file import; generation from a natural-language description; Process Extractor from uploaded SOPs (PDF, DOCX, XLSX). | Import and export via BPMN DI 2.0 (.bpmn, .xml or ZIP), per the documentation. | Free Community Edition; public per-seat prices for the paid editions, described as indicative. |
| Aeneis (intellior) | BPM and GRC platform from intellior GmbH, Stuttgart, with BPMN process modelling. | Drag and drop in the WebModeller; table-based SmartModel with diagrams generated automatically; speech input or file upload with AI generating a process table and then a BPMN diagram. | A "BPMN 2.0 interface" transfers existing diagrams into Aeneis. Export as BPMN: not published on the pages read. | 30-day free trial; no public prices. |
| ARIS | Process platform from SAG Aris GmbH: modelling, process mining, simulation, workflow orchestration, governance. | Modelling in ARIS Designer, table-based modelling, Visio import, BPMN 2.0 import in Advanced and Enterprise editions; drafts by AI Companion from SOPs, diagrams, transcripts and notes. | Feature matrix (Oct 2024): BPMN 2.0 export in all editions listed, import in Advanced and Enterprise. Current edition names not on the pages read. | Demo and consultation; no trial or prices on the pages read. ARIS Express is a free file-based tool. |
| Bizagi Modeler | BPMN process modelling and documentation application: a free desktop application and a paid subscription with cloud services. | Modelling by hand; import from Visio, XPDL, BPMN and Bizagi files; templates and shared maps. | BPMN import on the product page; BPMN export in the help pages' ribbon description. | Free desktop application; subscription prices not published. |
| Bizzdesign Hopex | Enterprise architecture, process and governance product of Bizzdesign, which merged with MEGA International. | Modelling in HOPEX; a beta store module generates BPMN from a text description. | Not published on the current Bizzdesign pages read. | Demo or contact; no trial or prices published. |
| Camunda Modeler | Visual BPMN and DMN design tool, as a desktop and a web application, for executable processes on the Camunda platform. | Drag-and-drop modelling; templates and connectors; plain-language draft through Copilot (alpha in the docs); BPMN file upload in the web application. | Export of BPMN 2.0 XML from Web Modeler; upload of BPMN files; built on BPMN. | Desktop Modeler free and open source; SaaS trial, then a free modelling account; no public prices for production. |
| GBTEC Process Design | Browser-based BPM modelling software from GBTEC Software AG, sold as SaaS, with a choice of notations. | Modelling by hand with auto-layout and syntax checks; BPMN DI XML or ZIP import; generation by the AI Modeler. | BPMN 2.0 as a notation; BPMN DI XML import, BPMN XML export for collaboration diagrams, with formatting lost both ways, per the documentation. | 14-day free trial; no public prices. |
| iGrafx | Process platform documented at doc.igrafx.com, with BPMN diagrams for design and simulation. | BPMN modelling in the web client; BPMN XML import, per the documentation. The product pages describing other routes could not be read. | BPMN 2.0 for design and simulation artefacts; BPMN XML import, per the documentation. | Not published on the pages read. |
| Lucidchart | Web-based diagramming application from Lucid Software. | Drawing by hand with shape libraries; import of Visio, Gliffy, Draw.io and OmniGraffle files; diagrams from text or an image with Lucid AI; screen recordings through Process Capture. | Not published on the vendor's product pages read; the vendor's community answers were not used. | Free plan, 7-day trial, public price for the individual plan. |
| Microsoft Visio | Microsoft's diagramming software for flowcharts, org charts and similar, as a desktop app and for the web. | Drawing by hand with templates and stencils; Excel data turned into process maps through Data Visualizer. | BPMN 2.0 shapes listed for Plan 2. Import or export of BPMN files: not published on the pages read. | Included in Microsoft 365 commercial plans; public per-user prices for Plan 1 and 2; one-month trial. |
| Nintex Process Manager | Cloud product from Nintex for process mapping, documentation and BPMN modelling. | Process mapping in the product; pasted procedure text; import of XML and Visio files; BPMN files into process models; AI Process Generator drafts procedures. | Process Modeling add-on: import of .bpmn or .xml files, "Export to BPMN 2.0" or SVG, per the help pages. | 30-day free trial; no public prices. |
| SAP Signavio Process Modeler | Web-based process modelling product within SAP's Signavio Process Transformation Suite. | Drag-and-drop modelling; text, whiteboard sketches, Visio exports and tables converted to BPMN; SAP best-practice models as a starting point; BPMN 2.0 XML import. | Import and export of BPMN 2.0 XML, documented in SAP Help. | Free trial and demo request; no public prices. |
AS OF 3 NOV 2026 · VENDOR NAMES LINK TO THE SOURCE PAGES
Where in the lifecycle
What these tools 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 | Draw by hand | BPMN 2.0 import | BPMN 2.0 export | Repository or governance | AI assist | Speech or meeting capture | Document to diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| patchley our product | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ADONIS (BOC Group) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ○ | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Aeneis (intellior) | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ARIS | ✓ | ○ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ○ | ✓ |
| Bizagi Modeler | ✓ | ✓ | ○ | ○ | – | – | – |
| Bizzdesign Hopex | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ○ | – | – |
| Camunda Modeler | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ○ | – | – |
| GBTEC Process Design | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | – |
| iGrafx | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – |
| Lucidchart | ✓ | – | – | – | ✓ | – | ○ |
| Microsoft Visio | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – | ○ |
| Nintex Process Manager | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ○ |
| SAP Signavio Process Modeler | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ○ |
✓ stated on the vendor's own pages · ○ stated partly or with a condition, per the vendor · – not stated on the pages read · as of 3 Nov 2026; patchley from its own pages
Where patchley fits
Upstream of the modelling tool, with a file hand-over
patchley is a vendor like the ones above, so read this part as its own description of itself. It sits before the modelling tool: the process is captured from a conversation, a meeting or a document, agreed as a BPMN 2.0 diagram with the people who run it, analysed per step, and then handed over as files.
When to use which
Different jobs, not better or worse
The useful question is which job is in front of you.
You already govern hundreds of models
A repository with versions, approvals, publishing and architecture links is what these products are built for. If that repository exists, the question is only how new processes get into it.
The process is still in people's heads
Nothing to import yet: the knowledge sits with the team lead and the people who run the process. patchley captures it from the conversation and hands over a BPMN 2.0 file that the repository can take.
Capture here, keep there
The usual combination: capture and analyse in patchley, export BPMN 2.0 XML, import into the repository. What survives the import depends on the receiving tool and should be tried out with one file first.
Classic tools are where models live; patchley is how a process gets out of the room and into a file they can read.
As of 3 Nov 2026. Vendor facts from the vendors’ own pages.