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Alteryx vs IBM SPSS Modeler comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Alteryx
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Predictive Analytics (1st), Data Preparation Tools (1st)
IBM SPSS Modeler
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Data Mining (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Data Science Platforms category, the mindshare of Alteryx is 6.1%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM SPSS Modeler is 2.4%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Science Platforms
 

Q&A Highlights

SI
Nov 02, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

Theresa McLaughlin - PeerSpot reviewer
Quick development enables seamless data processing despite occasional support issues
There were times when the product would fail during development without an apparent reason. The support structure changed; initially, we received great support, however, it later became less reliable due to licensing issues and a tiered support system. Licensing negotiations were problematic, affecting our product usage. For instance, our licenses were temporarily lost during negotiations when an agreement couldn't be reached.
PeterHuo - PeerSpot reviewer
Good tool for extracting data from data warehouses, creating streams, and manipulating logic to extract final data
There are performance issues. Extracting data from many combined tables can take hours and occasionally crash the server due to memory leaks. This performance problem bothers people. The performance issue seems to be related to the server. We design streams on the client and submit them to the server, which generates a large SQL statement. There are two potential bottlenecks: one in the server and another in data extraction. I'm unsure about the exact mechanics of data splitting when fetching from the database. When streams become larger, performance bottlenecks may occur in the IBM SPSS Modeler server or the database. Sometimes the server crashes and needs to be restarted to release memory on both sides. I'm not sure exactly where the problem is caused, as I focus on stream design rather than server issues. The problem could be on the IBM SPSS Modeler server and database.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This is a drag-and-drop tool which is easy-to-use and yet can be customized by creating your own components."
"There are a lot of good customization capabilities."
"Good data transformation."
"The solution has a very strong community that is involved in the product. It helps make the usage easier and helps us find answers to our questions."
"Alteryx helps me do a lot of automation. The best thing about Alteryx is that you don't have to repeat the workflow over and over again. Unlike Excel, where you need to write formulas for each new file, Alteryx follows a consistent process. You can schedule and automate the workflow, even if the files change."
"The drag-and-drop features are useful for data scientists who do not like to code because it is already in the system."
"The value add of Alteryx is the agility for making changes, and speed of deployment."
"The analytics are easy​."
"We are creating models and putting them into production much faster than we would if we had just gone with a strict, code-based solution, like R or Python."
"We are using it either for workforce deployment or to improve our operations."
"I think it is the point and drag features that are the most valuable. You can simply click at the windows, and then pull up the functions."
"The most valuable features of the IBM SPSS Modeler are visual programming, you don't have to write any code, and it is easy to use. 90 to 95 percent of the use cases, you don't have to fine-tune anything. If you want to do something deeper, for example, create a better neural network, then you have to go into the features and try to fine-tune them. However, the default selection which is made by the tool, it's very practical and works well."
"It will scale up to anything we need."
"Extremely easy to use, it offers a generous selection of proprietary machine learning algorithms."
"I think the code modeling features are the most valuable and without the need to write a code back with many different possibilities to choose from. And the second one is linked to the activity of the data preparation."
"It makes pretty good use of memory. There are algorithms take a long time to run in R, and somehow they run more efficiently in Modeler."
 

Cons

"In the database, it should be more functional and connect to more big data, especially using IPI."
"They can provide some pre-built tools for predictive analytics instead of us having to build all the tools. It should also be improved from the visualization aspect. It should have better visualization capabilities. There are tools out there that have better visualization capabilities, which Alteryx is lacking currently."
"There are a few imputation techniques which they really need to include."
"The gallery could improve in Alteryx. Additionally, if there was a Conditional Join feature it would be beneficial. Since I do not have this feature I have to use Python scripts."
"There is currently no cloud solution and this would be valuable for many clients."
"What they're struggling with is it's not as mature as Tableau in the user management area. It was tougher to manage the server part of it right away, especially since the user base has grown."
"The pricing seems high for my current needs. However, considering the benefits, it is easier to justify to management for broader company usage."
"The server is too expensive for what you get and it really a designer desktop on a server."
"It would be helpful if SPSS supported open-source features, for example, embedding R or Python scripts in SPSS Modeler."
"I think mapping for geographic data would also be a really great thing to be able to use."
"Time Series or forecasting needs to be easier. It is a very important feature, and it should be made easier and more automated to use. For instance, for logistic regression, binary or multinomial is used automatically based on the type of the target variable. I wish they can make Time Series easier to use in a similar way."
"Regarding visual modeling, it is not the biggest strength of the product, although from what I hear in the latest release it's going to be a lot stronger. That, to me, has always been the biggest flaw in using this. It's very difficult to get good visualization."
"I can say the solution is outdated."
"Formula writing is not straightforward for an Excel user. Totally new set of functions, which takes time to learn and teach."
"​Initial setup of the software was complex, because of our own problems within the government."
"I understand that it takes some time to incorporate some of the new algorithms that have come out in the last few months, in the literature. For example, there is an algorithm based on how ants search for food. And there are some algorithms that have now been developed to complement rules. So that's one of the things that we need to have incorporated into it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is $5000 per year per production license."
"It's probably on the pricey side, but they provide some really useful ways to grow and test."
"​Very transparent.​"
"The price for Alteryx Designer is reasonable but the price for Alteryx Server for universal collaborations is too expensive."
"The cost of the solution could be reduced."
"We use the free version of the solution. There are enterprise licenses available. It cost approximately $5,000 annually. It is an expensive solution and there are additional features that cost more money."
"If one is a high price, and ten is a low price, I rate the tool's price as a one. The tool is expensive."
"The license price of the solution is expensive."
"It is an expensive product."
"Having in mind all four tools from Garner’s top quadrant, the pricing of this tool is competitive and it reflects the quality that it offers."
"Its price is okay for a company, but for personal use, it is considered somewhat expensive."
"I am using the free version of IBM SPSS Modeler, it is the educational edition version."
"This tool, being an IBM product, is pretty expensive."
"$5,000 annually."
"It is a huge increase to time savings."
"The scalability was kind of limited by our ability to get other people licenses, and that was usually more of a financial constraint. It's expensive, but it's a good tool."
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Answers from the Community

SI
Nov 2, 2020
Nov 2, 2020
There are some important differences between both products. So probably, the first question I'll ask you is "for what use case are you evaluating these products?" Of course, there are some general differences, starting with the T.C.O. and functionalities. Alteryx is a code-free and code-friendly platform that allows you to tackle the whole cycle of your data, starting on the consumption from a...
2 out of 5 answers
AB
Nov 11, 2019
One of the differences is that with Alteryx you can use it as an ETL and analytics tool. Please connect with me directly if you want to know more.
MR
Nov 11, 2019
I am unfamiliar with the IBM SPSS Modeler but use KNIME and Alteryx for different projects. Alteryx is an excellent, very easy to get started with and get to results data cleansing, ETL, analytics, geospatial modeling, predictive analytics. I build reusable macros in Alteryx, use flexible inputs for what-if modeling, feed information to Power BI or Tableau. It seems price competitive against SPSS.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Educational Organization
11%
University
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is the Biggest Difference Between Alteryx and IBM SPSS Modeler?
One of the differences is that with Alteryx you can use it as an ETL and analytics tool. Please connect with me directly if you want to know more.
What is the Biggest Difference Between Alteryx and IBM SPSS Modeler?
Alteryx is an extremely easy and flexible data tool, flexible in terms of drag and drop toolset and also has python, R integrations if your team requires this. It can handle over 2 billion rows of...
What is the Biggest Difference Between Alteryx and IBM SPSS Modeler?
I am not familiar with IBM SPSS Modeler, therefore, I cannot compare these two products. Regarding Alteryx I can say the following: - An excellent desktop tool for Data Prep and analytics. - Featu...
What do you like most about IBM SPSS Modeler?
Compared to other tools, the product works much easier to analyze data without coding.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM SPSS Modeler?
The government has funds and a budget, it's hard to say if it's expensive or cheap. In Canada, they have a yearly budget. They used to encourage people to use the modeler for development. If ten us...
What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Modeler?
There are performance issues. Extracting data from many combined tables can take hours and occasionally crash the server due to memory leaks. This performance problem bothers people. The performanc...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
SPSS Modeler
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AnalyticsIq Inc., belk, BloominBrands Inc., Cardinalhealth, Cineplex, Dairy Queen
Reisebªro Idealtours GmbH, MedeAnalytics, Afni, Israel Electric Corporation, Nedbank Ltd., DigitalGlobe, Vodafone Hungary, Aegon Hungary, Bureau Veritas, Brammer Group, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, InSites Consulting, Fortis Turkey
Find out what your peers are saying about Alteryx vs. IBM SPSS Modeler and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.