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ARIS Architect and Designer vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 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

ARIS Architect and Designer
Ranking in Business Process Design
15th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Business Process Design
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of ARIS Architect and Designer is 0.9%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 11.5%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

MohamedSalah13 - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution is stable and has a responsive support team, but it is not flexible, and exporting data is difficult
I am not satisfied with the solution. The product is not flexible. There are some issues in exporting the data. It is very hard. Importing from other formats is also very hard. Once we work with ARIS, we are stuck with it. We cannot switch to a different solution because migration is very hard. Also, the UI is not the best. The tool must allow users to export data into different formats, especially common ones. Sometimes, we need to export it to Word files.
Milan Sterba - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient documentation generation through organized model structure with a good price-performance ratio
Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not easy for even experienced users to find their way without guidance. This is not the most user-friendly solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is suitable for banks, insurance companies, public administration, etc. The method is very adaptable and can be applied independently of the business."
"It's really fast. It's much faster compared to Enterprise Architect."
"One of the most valuable features is how user-friendly ARIS is, compared to other BPM tools. This tool has very diverse types of assets available. ARIS also has a lot of customizable options, different model types, object types, a number of attributes, and a lot of customization is possible. In comparison, Signavio is very limited in terms of model types and object types. So these customizations ARIS offers are really valuable to any client who wants to create a BPM repository."
"The most important feature is ARIS's ability to turn a process design into data to analyze anything you want. For example, we have some analysis reports in ARIS that can guide us when we want to change a system. It shows us how this change will affect all of the organization's processes."
"One of the standout features for me is its synchronization to a publication server. It makes sharing diagrams and links with non-users easy."
"We use the product for modeling, conducting process checks, doing process flow, running, and analyzing the report."
"The user interface is easy to work with."
"The support team is very responsive."
"We use it to develop and maintain the Enterprise Conceptual Model, migrated from erwin a couple of years ago."
"Scalability is not a problem. You can always increase the footprint of what the thing can do because it's so powerful."
"It is simple to build the first model for the solution."
"Ability to keep inventory of reusable blocks, and use in different diagrams with views of various templates."
"The profiles and ready-made templates are an extremely helpful feature. This is one of the biggest features that I find very useful in Sparx."
"We use it to develop and maintain the Enterprise Conceptual Model, migrated from erwin a couple of years ago."
"It is an EA tool that is approved by Open Group. It is in the tool register of Open Group."
"Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect supports multiple modeling languages like ArchiMate for database design, software lifecycle visualization, and team management."
 

Cons

"We face problems when the product's capacity is increased."
"Sometimes, it's not easy to convince customers to use this methodology because it's a bit rigid."
"Even with a formal modeling language, users can still draw freely and make a bit of a mess in your repository. It should also improve usability."
"The product is not flexible."
"The support team takes a long time to respond to our queries."
"The simulation part still has some way to go. It's a good feature, and it's something that other vendors don't have right now, but it can still be improved. Some features are needed in ARIS Architect, so advanced users can do things through drag-and-drop functionality."
"You can have a collaboration feature, but it's necessary to have ARIS Connect which is a separate, costly product."
"This product could be improved by lowering the licensing cost. More organizations could use ARIS if they slashed the licensing costs even a little bit."
"The UI could be improved and made a little bit more presentable."
"When the model is large, it is a bit slow to render."
"The templates for documentation should be enhanced to include complex documents such as template RFP, or Non functional requirements template."
"It could be more user-friendly. The tools could be more simple to use. It's a very complex solution. Because I am a business analyst, I use these tools to manage requirements, and I make models in UML, BPMN, and ArchiMate, and it's complex. In the next release, I would like to see more integrations."
"When many users are accessing the system at the same time, Sparx slows down. It can't easily support a large team."
"Weak in regards to data modelling. No logical or physical modelling or migration from conceptual to physical."
"The initial setup of the Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect It's very complicated. It's very difficult to start with the right templates because there are many possibilities. The deployment took approximately two days."
"What should be improved are the integration capabilities of the solution with Bizagi."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licenses are very costly. I've seen many people who are hesitant or not able to use ARIS Suite just because of the license cost. Even though they like all the functionalities and understand the value of everything ARIS provides, they aren't able to implement it."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"The product is expensive."
"Many customers find the licensing configuration confusing. There are many different sub-details in the licensing, making it very difficult for us to understand what we are buying and what we are using with what."
"Licenses are pretty low cost compared to, for example, ARIS."
"This product has a paid license, with a yearly subscription option."
"It is cheaper than other solutions. Its cost is around $686 per year. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"Pricing and licensing is very attractive, simple, and straightforward."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"Enterprise licensing is competitive. What would be helpful if they load the pricing for consultants, you know, people who are consultants for clients. So the license is fine for end-user organizations. Still, they should consider lowering the license to support this adoption, particularly for people who are consultants like myself."
"There is a license for this solution. When comparing this solution to others it is priced well."
"The license for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is paid yearly, but I don't handle that area. It's good for its price, so I'm rating it a five out of five, but I'm not using it much. I also don't have information regarding additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Insurance Company
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
17%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with ARIS Architect and Designer?
At this moment, we are moving all of these features to the web, which makes it easier to use in a browser. It can be improved because Architect and Designer are the core models of the suite, where ...
What is your primary use case for ARIS Architect and Designer?
ARIS Architect is like a nuclear product in the suite. Users have the Designer and the administration module as well. But in the future, maybe in two years, we are going to have everything on the w...
What do you like most about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
The stability has been good and satisfactory. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
One of the reasons many public sector institutions in the Czech Republic use it is that it provides a very good price-performance ratio. While it might be cumbersome to learn, it still delivers exc...
What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not ...
 

Also Known As

ARIS Architect & Designer, ARIS Architect, ARIS Designer
No data available
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tesco, Weifu, Airbus, Siemens, Proximus, Alicorp, Sekerbank, Bancor, Philips,Sky, Emirates NBD, Dubai Municipality, Suva, U.S. Army, Australia Post, Westfalen Weser Energie - ARIS serves customers across all industries and of every size worldwide. Companies trust ARIS as the market leader for process excellence with more than 30 years of experience in the market, 10 million users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.
OmniLink
Find out what your peers are saying about ARIS Architect and Designer vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.