Overview

Bonita BPM is an enterprise platform for building governed process applications and coordinating operations where reliability and oversight matter. Its tools span process design, application development, integrations and the management of work as it moves through a process. Bonita is now presented by Ofelia, headquartered in Paris. Ofelia says the company began in 2009 as Bonitasoft and became Ofelia in 2026.

The product is aimed at organizations with complex, regulated or mission-critical processes. Its stated sectors include banking and insurance, the public sector, healthcare, and aerospace and defense. Teams can deploy Bonita on-premise or in their own infrastructure, including their own cloud, with configurable data residency.

Key features

Process design and application building

Bonita Fabric includes a Process Designer that converts natural-language descriptions into structured BPMN models. For more involved process applications, BPA Studio provides tools for complex rules, integrations and SLA enforcement. A low-code UI Builder supports the creation of forms, dashboards and application views.

Bonita Work Hub is designed for business and IT teams to build process applications using prompts assisted by AI and visual builders, without code. The platform also supports visual workflow building, event triggers, execution observability and human approvals.

AI, integrations and governance

Listed AI capabilities include connectors for OpenAI and Mistral, an AI Agent Orchestrator, and document processing that can extract, classify and structure information. These capabilities sit alongside connectors and APIs for LDAP and Active Directory, CRM platforms, databases, UiPath, REST APIs, ERP systems and Jira.

Bonita Enterprise includes role-based access controls and single sign-on through SAML or OIDC, as well as audit trails and SLA enforcement. Ofelia says it is ISO 27001 certified. The product page describes premium enterprise support with direct access to senior engineers and no tiered support model.

Runtime access and deployment

Bonita provides REST and Java APIs for interacting with its runtime. Its hybrid deployment model includes on-premise and self-hosted options, with data residency configurable to suit an organization's infrastructure needs. The maker also offers desktop downloads for Windows, macOS on Intel, and Linux.

Pricing

Bonita uses a freemium model, with a free plan and a free trial listed. Bonita Free costs 0.00 USD per free and has no time limit or credit-card requirement. It is community-supported and intended for testing and small-scale deployment, with a limit of 150 process instances per month.

Bonita Enterprise has no listed price. Its stated uptime SLA is 99.5%. The available details do not specify the terms or duration of the free trial.

Platforms

Bonita is listed for API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web and Windows. The maker's desktop downloads cover Windows, macOS (Intel) and Linux; self-hosting is available in a customer's own infrastructure, including its own cloud.

Who it's for

Bonita is best suited to organizations that need to coordinate complex processes with governance, integrations and operational oversight. Its stated focus on regulated and mission-critical work makes it relevant to organizations in banking and insurance, public services, healthcare, and aerospace and defense. The Free plan offers a way to test small projects, but its monthly instance cap distinguishes it from the Enterprise plan's stated business focus.

Pros and cons

Pros: Process design, low-code application tools, AI capabilities, integrations, APIs and governance features are brought together in one platform.
Pros: On-premise and self-hosted deployment options, with configurable data residency, support infrastructure-specific requirements.
Pros: The free plan has no time limit and does not require a credit card.
Cons: Bonita Free is limited to 150 process instances per month and is presented for testing and small-scale deployment.
Cons: Bonita Enterprise pricing is not listed, so buyers cannot compare its cost from the available plan details.

Alternatives

For other options in this space, consider Camunda, HEFLO, Open-BPMN, Crismo, ProcessMind, ADONIS, Bizagi Modeler and Flowable. Readers exploring related categories can also browse Process Mapping Software, Workflow Orchestration Software, Business Process Management Software, Form Automation Software, Process Orchestration Software and Workflow Management Software.

Verdict

Bonita brings process modeling, application-building tools, integrations and governance capabilities together for organizations managing demanding operational workflows. Its deployment flexibility and broad runtime access options may suit teams with specific infrastructure requirements. The Free plan provides a no-time-limit starting point for small-scale work, while its 150-instance monthly limit and the unlisted Enterprise price are important considerations for organizations evaluating a larger rollout.

	Bonita	FireStart
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Paid from	Free	€390/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows	api, self-hosted, Web
Free plan	Yes	No

Bonita vs FireStart

Bonita

FireStart