Drools vs Nected
Drools
kie.apache.orgNected
nected.aiSide by side
| Figure | Drools | Nected |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $399/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 7 |
| Spec score · Business Rules Management Software | 8.0 (#6) | 7.9 (#8) |
| Integrations | Drools rules can be called directly by a BPMN business rule task in jBPM within the same service. | The maker lists database, Excel and API integrations; its documentation names MongoDB, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Redshift, Oracle, Snowflake, REST API and Google Sheets. |
| Rule authoring | Rules can also be expressed through Excel decision tables, rule templates, or a Java executable model API. | The rule engine supports Simple Rules, Decision Tables, Decision Trees, Rule Sets and Rule Chains. |
| Security | The Apache Security Team coordinates handling of Apache project vulnerabilities and encourages private reports before public disclosure. | Nected's security documentation describes SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and ISO 27001 compliance, along with encryption at rest and in transit and role-based access controls. |
| Support | The project lists a users mailing list and Zulip chat as community contact channels. | The listed support ranges from email support on Start-Ups to email and call support on Growth, with dedicated customer success, developer support and custom SLA options on Enterprise. |
Plans
Nected
- Self-Hosted Free TierFree
- Start-Ups$399 a month
- Growth$899 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
- On Self HostedPriced on request
- Private CloudPriced on request
- Public Cloud Free TierPrice not published
In their own words
Drools
Drools is a free, open-source rule engine for building expert systems with forward- and backward-chaining inference. Its DMN engine supports Conformance level 3, covering the features in that standard, and can statically analyze decision tables for gaps and overlaps. For event processing, it reasons over streams using temporal operators, sliding windows, and event expiration. Developers can define rules in DRL text files alongside Java code, or use Excel decision tables, rule templates, or a Java executable model API. Rule units organize rules with typed containers for input data, and Kogito can generate REST endpoints from them. Drools rules can also be called by a BPMN business rule task in jBPM within the same service. Apache KIE states that the DMN engine passes 99.9% of DMN TCK tests as of version 10.2.0. The project is available for API, Linux, and self-hosted use at free. Getting started requires an IDE, JDK 21 or 17, and Maven 3.9 or later. Apache KIE is undergoing incubation and has not yet been fully endorsed by the ASF.
Nected
Nected is a cloud-native AI decisioning platform and rule engine for designing business rules, workflows, and decisions. Its visual authoring supports Simple Rules, Decision Tables, Decision Trees, Rule Sets, and Rule Chains. Workflows can use code, database, and REST API nodes alongside Loop, Delay, and Switch actions. Rules and workflows can be triggered through an API, webhook, or scheduler. Lifecycle tools include versioning, Git sync, rollback, and staging environments. Nected also describes an AI Copilot, AI agents for tasks such as document extraction and classification, and connections to OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Vertex AI, and custom models. Deployment choices include public cloud, private cloud, and self-hosted setups, including on-premises or air-gapped deployment. The public-cloud Free Tier lists 5k monthly invocations; the self-hosted Free Tier lists 1k daily invocations. Start-Ups costs $399 a month and includes 100k monthly invocations; Growth costs $899 a month and includes 1 million monthly invocations. Nected says product, operations, and compliance teams can author rules in its visual editor, with engineering handling integration.