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LeanIX vs erwin Data Modeler comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 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
4.0
Erwin Data Modeler boosts productivity by automating data modeling, enhancing workflow efficiency, and supporting customization for business needs.
Sentiment score
8.0
LeanIX enhances ROI through efficient data management, cost reduction, and long-term savings, with benefits realized in 6-24 months.
It replaces manual charting in Visio with a structured tool, providing significant return on investment.
Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
In 24 months, after you've deployed the tool and you've got a lot of good validated data, you're probably looking at consolidating and saving your organization ongoing savings that is equatable to how much the tool would cost you on a yearly basis.
General manager of Enterprise Architecture at Metcash Trading
The ROI is seen more on the optimization side and the ability to map applications comprehensively rather than direct cost savings.
Senior Manager - Devops& Cloud (Design, Delivery & Testing) at Anheuser-Busch InBev
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
erwin Data Modeler tech support is praised for helpfulness and responsiveness, though improvements are needed, especially for JSON features.
Sentiment score
6.9
LeanIX support is generally fast and effective, despite occasional delays and variability in staff experience and SAP integration issues.
The quality and speed of their support are excellent; everyone is very helpful, and they can solve problems quickly.
Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Quest is committed to keeping the product robust.
Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Erwin Data Modeler requirements function at a standard level.
Data Modeler at Capgemini
The support includes engagement from Technical Advisable Management, who helps us understand and utilize new product features effectively.
Senior Manager - Devops& Cloud (Design, Delivery & Testing) at Anheuser-Busch InBev
Sometimes the challenges with the first level that you actually speak to, they don't understand the problem.
Managing Director at Global Information Technology Corporation
For support, I'll probably give them a seven.
General manager of Enterprise Architecture at Metcash Trading
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.5
erwin Data Modeler offers scalability across databases, excels with small user groups, but may face performance issues with large expansions.
Sentiment score
8.3
LeanIX is praised for scalability and flexibility, with some performance issues; costs rise but remains user-friendly.
I would rate it probably a nine, making it a leader in data modeling.
Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
erwin Data Modeler had a very good standardization infrastructure and supported a controlled multi-user environment with check-ins and check-outs.
Data Metrics Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Regarding scalability, erwin Data Modeler is performing well; from a few tables to 100 tables, it is working effectively so far.
Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
I've never seen any issues with being able to scale up or scale down the capabilities of the solution at all.
Managing Director at Global Information Technology Corporation
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
5.7
Erwin Data Modeler shows reliability but struggles with large databases, causing crashes and freezes, despite recent stability improvements.
Sentiment score
7.7
LeanIX is praised for reliability and stability, with minor performance issues not impacting overall user satisfaction and functionality.
This lack of an auto-save methodology can be improved so that if a system crash occurs, work can be saved and rework can be avoided.
Data Modeler at Capgemini
New versions often introduce enhanced features but may cause model crashes due to memory exhaustion.
Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Sometimes when I want to open the attribute editor, it stops working and the whole application freezes.
Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
We've had issues where we've had to go back to SAP and ask for help with issues that we've had with core capabilities that were supposed to be there but weren't working.
Managing Director at Global Information Technology Corporation
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek interface modernization, better database compatibility, improved reporting, navigation, and enhanced support for Erwin Data Modeler.
LeanIX users suggest improved features, better integrations, comprehensive support, intuitive interfaces, advanced AI tools, and cost-effective pricing.
The previous version of erwin Data Modeler used to crash unaccountably, but this one hasn't ever crashed on me, so it's been a lot more stable than the previous version that we had.
Data Warehouse Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
There are many features, and I would expect good documentation detailing each feature, including when and how to use it, to be very useful because data modeling is not very popular in the data area and there aren't many educational videos regarding erwin Data Modeler.
Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Erwin Data Modeler could improve in areas such as the interface, as there are features like copy and paste, creating duplicates, and the visualization elements and toolbars which feel quite old.
Data Modeler at Capgemini
They should implement their ticketing system natively within the application instead of relying on email.
Supervisor, Field Operations at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
A default framework would provide a base that organizations can quickly adopt and customize, reducing the time and effort spent on adoption.
Senior Manager - Devops& Cloud (Design, Delivery & Testing) at Anheuser-Busch InBev
The challenge with support was probably the response time.
General manager of Enterprise Architecture at Metcash Trading
 

Setup Cost

erwin Data Modeler is feature-rich but expensive, with variable pricing and suggestions for more flexible licensing to suit diverse markets.
LeanIX pricing varies by usage, with concerns over predictability and scalability; flexibility and planning are highly recommended.
It is more targeted toward an enterprise level since organizations looking to store business information and relationship values may consider the pricing.
Data Modeler at Capgemini
It cost me $91,000 a year for 300 applications.
Supervisor, Field Operations at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Our usage and costs depend on the number of applications, and as the number of applications grows, so does the cost.
Senior Manager - Devops& Cloud (Design, Delivery & Testing) at Anheuser-Busch InBev
 

Valuable Features

Erwin Data Modeler streamlines data lineage, database visualization, collaboration, and synchronization, enhancing efficiency with bulk editing and templates.
LeanIX provides customizable reporting, user-friendly interfaces, cost optimization, and seamless integration for both technical and business users.
One of the key aspects of data governance is defining the data dictionary and clearly identifying which data is accessible by whom and what is not accessible, particularly regarding PII-related data.
SPM at Infosys
The way the data is organized and you have a visual of that organization helps a great deal in terms of trying to remember what you did and trying to retrieve the information.
Data Metrics Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
One of the best aspects of the tool is its reverse engineering capability.
Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
It ensures cost optimization by identifying duplicate applications and stopping unnecessary application onboarding.
Senior Manager - Devops& Cloud (Design, Delivery & Testing) at Anheuser-Busch InBev
Being able to do the lineage all the way through so that each one of those you can pull them out into their component parts to determine exactly which areas you need to resolve, fix, plan, or build a strategy around.
Managing Director at Global Information Technology Corporation
When you align it or map it to your business capabilities, this is how you identify duplication of technologies in your business.
General manager of Enterprise Architecture at Metcash Trading
 

Categories and Ranking

erwin Data Modeler
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (8th), Data Governance (15th)
LeanIX
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler is 8.3%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LeanIX is 10.1%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
LeanIX10.1%
erwin Data Modeler8.3%
Other81.6%
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

Alton Thibodeaux - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Warehouse Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Data modeling has supported secure migration from legacy platforms to cloud analytics
I write code and I write code accessing erwin Data Modeler's API, the Application Programming Interface, so that I can use Excel to update erwin Data Modeler and then get those updates and put them back into spreadsheets. The only thing I wish is that their API documentation was a little bit clearer and that it had better examples of successful code. To me, examples are worth a hundred pages of reference documentation. Just give me an example of how you use it, and that really helps. I know that's a nitpicking thing, but I wish their API documentation had a lot more examples of code that actually worked to do the things that they're talking about. As far as erwin Data Modeler itself goes, when we have a lot of tables, I have some erwin Data Modeler files that have thousands of tables in them, up to 3,000 or 4,000 tables. When erwin Data Modeler files start getting that big, it takes a really long time, I'd say a minute or more, to open the file. Whenever I'm working in it, sometimes there are operations that also take a long time, so as erwin Data Modeler files get larger, the response time really slows down. An irritation is that every now and then, when I'm working and usually when I have multiple erwin Data Modeler files open at the same time, I get a glitch where a lot of the text fields get solid black, the first eight characters of column names might be blacked out with a rectangle. All I have to do is close erwin Data Modeler, shut it down, and bring it back up, and then everything is fine. It doesn't happen all the time, only occasionally, maybe once or twice a week, and those are the only two things I can say. The previous version of erwin Data Modeler used to crash unaccountably, but this one hasn't ever crashed on me, so it's been a lot more stable than the previous version that we had.
NG
Managing Director at Global Information Technology Corporation
Building Strategic Enterprise Architecture Journeys with Comprehensive Process Mapping and Risk Management
They will continue to improve LeanIX. I'm actually supposed to be at the SAP Sapphire this year. There are a couple of recommendations I know some of my colleagues have made. For me, I have not looked into additional recommendations for LeanIX because I've been held in really just utilizing it for the purposes it has. One of the things that I know I've had is being able to build it into decent process flows for changes. While LeanIX does have the capability, one of the challenges that I've found, even with working with Subway, was that being able to build that out into a detailed solution for a developer or for new process design was one of the challenges, just making that leap. But there's enough information that comes out of LeanIX to be utilized, and that would be one of the areas I would suggest.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise33
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
Regarding pricing, I am unsure what the exact price is for erwin Data Modeler, but I believe it is not useful for an individual. It is more targeted toward an enterprise level since organizations l...
What needs improvement with erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
For the review, I would assign an eight because it has its own limitations. It has a very steep learning curve, limited support for NoSQL or streaming systems, and potentially a high licensing cost...
What is your primary use case for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
I used erwin Data Modeler for approximately two to three years on a project. I used erwin Data Modeler for multi-level data modeling, conducting conceptual, logical, and physical data modeling with...
Any experience with Strategic Project Portfolio Management Solutions?
Hi @Cheryl Joseph ​Looking at the crossover between Project and Portfolio management with EA, then Planview could be a good choice. If looking at Portfolio Management from an EA perspective then Le...
What do you like most about LeanIX?
The ability to import data and generate reports from it. That's where its power lies.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for LeanIX?
My experience with pricing is not directly known, as it was handled by others, but it is subscription-based. The tool was part of the RISE license in a previous project.
 

Also Known As

erwin DM
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

 Premera, America Honda Motors, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Dental Dental Cali, Cigna, Staples
Bosch Rexroth, NSW Department of Education, Yamaha Motor Corporation, Tetra Pak, Deutsche Bahn, Flynn, SKF AB, NTT Group, Travis Perkins, SEEK, Haworth, Asahi Beverages, MediaMarktSaturn, KAO USA, Ørsted, The Mark Anthony Group of Companies, AmTrust, Banco Itaú Unibanco, SHL Medical,...
Find out what your peers are saying about LeanIX vs. erwin Data Modeler and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.