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AWS Step Functions vs Pega Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.3
AWS Step Functions reduce development time and costs, enhance scalability and reliability, streamline workflows, and improve ROI.
Sentiment score
7.1
Pega Platform boosts efficiency with quicker solutions, yielding significant ROI through cost savings, revenue increase, and improved customer satisfaction.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
AWS Step Functions support is generally effective, especially for enterprise users, though experiences can vary for smaller organizations.
Sentiment score
6.7
Pega Platform's support is mixed, offering knowledgeable help but facing issues with delays and responsiveness; premium support is costly.
The speed of reply and the content of their responses usually solve the problems that arise.
I use enterprise support, which is excellent, providing responses within fifteen minutes.
The technical support from Pega is very low, rating a one or two out of ten.
I never needed support from the platform standpoint, but if additional features are required, we have regular meetings with the product team for feedback.
Pega's technical support team is very helpful.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
AWS Step Functions is scalable and adaptable, efficiently handling high demand and diverse business needs for various users.
Sentiment score
7.6
Pega Platform offers scalable solutions for complex applications, though optimization and infrastructure are crucial for handling high loads.
They can handle multiple simultaneous requests effectively.
There isn't much need for scalability when creating orchestration in AWS Step Functions, which explains the rating of six.
Currently, big banking providers and insurance providers, even the members for healthcare payers, are using more than millions of operations on a daily or weekly basis.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
AWS Step Functions offers strong stability and reliability, ensuring uptime with contingency plans and integration of third-party services.
Sentiment score
7.6
Pega Platform is stable and resilient for complex tasks, though technical proficiency is needed for optimal performance.
If one zone fails, others handle the demand, ensuring high availability.
I never faced any faults or issues due to its stability with AWS, making it very reliable with no downtime and 100% reliability.
 

Room For Improvement

AWS Step Functions needs better data handling, integration, pricing clarity, and dynamic coding to improve performance and usability.
Pega Platform needs improved UI, better integration, scalable performance, cost-effective licensing, comprehensive docs, and simpler upgrades.
It would benefit from more integration with different applications or services.
With the recent development of AI agents in Pega Platform 24.2, the adoption is not heavy due to regulations around using external LLM by customers, especially regulated customers in BFSS and healthcare.
Pega introduced Constellation, which allows a user to build a more engaging visual experience.
My learning curve in robotics has been challenging.
 

Setup Cost

AWS Step Functions pricing is complex and variable, with mixed reviews on cost-effectiveness and integration benefits.
Pega Platform is costly but offers ROI and value for large industries despite complex licensing and high fees.
Pricing for Step Functions is very cheap.
The cost is average, provided it is configured correctly.
Pega is priced higher than open-source options like Flowable but is suitable for large-scale industries like banking and insurance.
The pricing is expensive, and this is an issue.
From a licensing perspective, it is higher than the competition.
 

Valuable Features

AWS Step Functions simplify pipeline creation with integration, visualization, automation, and advanced workflows, enhancing application development and execution.
Pega Platform offers robust, scalable low-code solutions for seamless integration and digital transformation across diverse industries and frameworks.
Step Functions provide seamless integration with AWS services, which enhances the speed of application development.
It was particularly valuable for its integration capabilities, allowing for execution of scripts and data migration.
AWS Step Functions offers advanced workflows that save time and enhance efficiency by reducing delays and ensuring consistent orchestration among various services.
Management capabilities such as dashboards.
Pega Platform is excellent for enterprise-level solutions with integrations to entire systems, including case management, service orchestration, CRM, decision-making capabilities, digital process automation, and AI-driven functionalities.
 

Categories and Ranking

AWS Step Functions
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Workload Automation (12th)
Pega Platform
Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
Business Rules Management (1st), Process Automation (4th), Rapid Application Development Software (11th), Low-Code Development Platforms (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Business Process Management (BPM) category, the mindshare of AWS Step Functions is 2.1%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pega Platform is 5.6%, down from 6.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Management (BPM)
 

Featured Reviews

Carlos Alberto Marangon - PeerSpot reviewer
Automate complex workflows with seamless AWS integration
Step Functions provide seamless integration with AWS services, which enhances the speed of application development. The JSON app launched recently allows us to define data execution more easily. The Standard Workflows feature includes error replay capabilities, which are crucial for efficient error management. The Amazon State Language (ASL) in JSON format facilitates workflow automation and accelerates the deployment of Step Functions.
reviewer4848291 - PeerSpot reviewer
Pega is a low-code platform that enables organizations to build, automate, and optimize business processes and customer experiences through AI-powered decisioning and workflow automation.
Here are the key areas where Pega Platform could be improved: 1. User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX) Customization Limitations: The UI layer is tightly coupled with the platform, limiting flexibility for custom front-end development. Constellation Architecture: While it improves consistency, it restricts advanced UI customizations compared to older section-based designs. Learning Curve: Non-technical users find the UI unintuitive despite the low-code promise. 2. Integration & Extensibility Limited Out-of-the-Box Integrations: Users report challenges integrating with non-relational databases and legacy systems. Robotics Integration: Pega RPA (formerly OpenSpan) is not seamlessly integrated with BPM, creating silos in automation. 3. AI & Decisioning AI Capabilities Need Maturity: Users expect more advanced, native AI features without relying on external tools. CDH & Decision Hub: While powerful, these components require deep expertise to configure effectively. 4. Cost & Licensing High Licensing Costs: Pega is often seen as expensive, especially for small and mid-sized enterprises. Lack of Flexible Pricing Models: Calls for subscription-based or usage-based pricing to improve accessibility. 5. Performance & Scalability Scalability Concerns: Some users report performance degradation with large user bases or complex workflows. Upgrade Complexity: Platform upgrades can be time-consuming and disruptive if not planned well. 6. Documentation & Community Support Insufficient Learning Resources: Especially for advanced features, documentation is limited and community support is not as strong as competitors. Talent Availability: Finding skilled Pega professionals remains a challenge in many regions. 7. Low-Code/No-Code Experience Not Fully No-Code: Despite branding, some tasks still require technical intervention, and the drag-and-drop interface can be restrictive 2. Conflict Management: Simultaneous development by multiple users can lead to rule conflicts.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Insurance Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon Step Functions?
The integration capability is easy, whereas building state machines is tricky.
What is your primary use case for Amazon Step Functions?
The primary use case was the execution of scripts and data migration related to data lakes. We were using Python and other AWS Step Functions ( /products/aws-step-functions-reviews ).
What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Step Functions?
I would recommend AWS Step Functions to others. Overall, I rate AWS Step Functions an eight out of ten.
Is Pega BPM easy to work with and can beginners utilize this software?
You do need some preparation to be able to use all functions of Pega BPM. However, all users of this platform are in luck as it comes with good documentation and you can learn pretty much everythin...
Have you encountered any issues while using Pega BPM and were you assisted by the company?
My company has been using this tool for years and the only issue we have had, if you can call it that, was while setting it up. When we were setting it up initially, we had some drawbacks and could...
When you consider the features and benefits of Pega BPM, would you say this product is fairly priced?
Pega BPM can be considered overpriced for some; it all depends on the size of your company and the requirements of your customers. Sure, there are products out there that do the things that Pega B...
 

Also Known As

Amazon Step Functions, Step Functions
Pega BPM, Pegasystems, SmartBPM, PegaRULES
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Alpha Apps, The Guardian, SGK, Bigfinite
The State of Maine, ANZ, Coca-Cola, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), ME, New South Wales, OptumRx, Texas Department of Transportation, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Step Functions vs. Pega Platform and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.