LeanIX vs erwin Data Modeler comparison

Quest Software and SAP LeanIX are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. Quest Software is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.4, while SAP LeanIX is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0. Quest Software holds a 8.3% mindshare in AM, compared to SAP LeanIX’s 10.1% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Quest Software users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of SAP LeanIX users who would recommend it.

erwin Data Modeler

Read 45 erwin Data Modeler reviews

5,210 Views
3,543 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

LeanIX

Read 25 LeanIX reviews

5,459 Views
4,313 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

erwin Data Modeler

LeanIX

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 2025

LeanIX and erwin Data Modeler are well-established in the enterprise architecture and data modeling categories, with LeanIX noted for its integration and reporting strengths, and erwin for its data visualization and modeling. LeanIX's integration versatility and reporting capabilities give it a slight edge in user satisfaction and flexibility.

Features: LeanIX offers exceptional reporting capabilities with extensive JavaScript support, seamless integration with platforms such as ServiceNow and Technopedia, and flexibility that fits both technical and non-technical users. Erwin Data Modeler is valued for its robust data visualization and modeling capabilities, offering comprehensive visualization of data relationships and extensive data manipulation tools. It is particularly suitable for handling large data models with significant customization options.

Room for Improvement: LeanIX could improve by reducing integration costs and expanding its diagramming capabilities. Enhancing its API documentation and advanced customization support are also suggested. Erwin should focus on simplifying its user interface, reducing the complexity associated with licensing and costing, and improving integration capabilities with big data platforms.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: LeanIX offers both cloud and hybrid deployment options, accommodating diverse infrastructure needs yet struggles with slower customer service response times due to SAP constraints. Erwin shines in on-premises deployment through concurrent licensing but faces challenges with its support system, which can complicate resolving complex queries.

Pricing and ROI: LeanIX pricing, contingent on application counts, can rise as enterprises scale, yet it delivers fast ROI through application management optimization and licensing cost savings. Erwin, although perceived as expensive, provides flexible concurrency in licensing, benefiting large teams, and justifies its investment with superior data management tools despite higher initial costs.

To learn more, read our detailed LeanIX vs. erwin Data Modeler Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

LeanIX vs. erwin Data Modeler

December 2025

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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

4.4

erwin Data Modeler enhances productivity with automation, standardization, and efficiency in data management, benefiting organizations with significant time savings.

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.

Anthony Woods

Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

If the modeling is compromised, then the entire structure will be compromised.

reviewer2795649

Senior Data Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Modeler report

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.

SidneyWong

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.

Kalyan Konjeti

Senior Manager - Devops& Cloud (Design, Delivery & Testing) at Anheuser-Busch InBev

For more quotes and insights, download the LeanIX report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

5.9

Erwin Data Modeler offers helpful support with some response delays; users value assistance despite technical and version challenges.

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.

Yang Jiao

Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Quest is committed to keeping the product robust.

Anthony Woods

Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

Erwin Data Modeler requirements function at a standard level.

Khadarvalli Phatan

Data Modeler at Capgemini

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Modeler report

The support includes engagement from Technical Advisable Management, who helps us understand and utilize new product features effectively.

Kalyan Konjeti

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.

NormanGarnett

Managing Director at Global Information Technology Corporation

For support, I'll probably give them a seven.

SidneyWong

General manager of Enterprise Architecture at Metcash Trading

For more quotes and insights, download the LeanIX report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

6.5

Erwin Data Modeler is adaptable, supporting diverse platforms and handling large data volumes efficiently despite minor performance issues.

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.

Anthony Woods

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.

Monisha Sharma

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.

Yang Jiao

Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Modeler report

I've never seen any issues with being able to scale up or scale down the capabilities of the solution at all.

NormanGarnett

Managing Director at Global Information Technology Corporation

For more quotes and insights, download the LeanIX report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

5.9

erwin Data Modeler is evolving, stable, with performance variations, lacks autosave, but features responsive support and frequent updates.

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.

Khadarvalli Phatan

Data Modeler at Capgemini

New versions often introduce enhanced features but may cause model crashes due to memory exhaustion.

Anthony Woods

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.

Yang Jiao

Senior Data Scientist at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Modeler report

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.

NormanGarnett

Managing Director at Global Information Technology Corporation

For more quotes and insights, download the LeanIX report

Room For Improvement

Erwin Data Modeler users seek better big data compatibility, improved UI, and enhanced support for integration, performance, and collaboration.

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.

Alton Thibodeaux

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.

Yang Jiao

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.

Khadarvalli Phatan

Data Modeler at Capgemini

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Modeler report

They should implement their ticketing system natively within the application instead of relying on email.

reviewer2596482

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.

Kalyan Konjeti

Senior Manager - Devops& Cloud (Design, Delivery & Testing) at Anheuser-Busch InBev

The challenge with support was probably the response time.

SidneyWong

General manager of Enterprise Architecture at Metcash Trading

For more quotes and insights, download the LeanIX report

Setup Cost

Erwin Data Modeler is costly but its features and scalability justify the price for large organizations despite regional price differences.

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.

Khadarvalli Phatan

Data Modeler at Capgemini

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Modeler report

It cost me $91,000 a year for 300 applications.

reviewer2596482

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.

Kalyan Konjeti

Senior Manager - Devops& Cloud (Design, Delivery & Testing) at Anheuser-Busch InBev

For more quotes and insights, download the LeanIX report

Valuable Features

Erwin Data Modeler excels in visualizing complex data structures, integrating cloud databases, and enhancing collaboration and data governance.

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.

Asish Sahu

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.

Monisha Sharma

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.

Anthony Woods

Data Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the erwin Data Modeler report

It ensures cost optimization by identifying duplicate applications and stopping unnecessary application onboarding.

Kalyan Konjeti

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.

NormanGarnett

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.

SidneyWong

General manager of Enterprise Architecture at Metcash Trading

For more quotes and insights, download the LeanIX report

Categories and Ranking

erwin Data Modeler

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

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

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
Product	Market Share (%)
LeanIX	10.1%
erwin Data Modeler	8.3%
Other	81.6%

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

reviewer2795649

Senior Data Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Data modeling has enabled end-to-end designs and has improved collaboration between teams

Areas of erwin Data Modeler that I think could be improved or enhanced include a few things. I have not worked in erwin for the past four to five years, but based on my 20 years of career experience, I worked with erwin one or two years on an earlier project and currently am working with it again. Based on my overall 20 years of career experience, I have worked with erwin modeling for four to five years. I am not a master of the tool, but I cannot identify significant flaws. The price should be reduced. That could be one area of improvement. Additionally, the licensing system could be enhanced. In our current project, there are five licenses within the business. If anyone is moving to erwin, the other person cannot enter the erwin solution. There should be a message indicating that five persons are involved in erwin, and you cannot use it at that time. However, that is a minor issue.

Read full review

NormanGarnett

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.

Read full review

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

18%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	34

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	13

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...

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What needs improvement with erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

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...

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What is your primary use case for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

I work for CVS with a pretty big database as a data modeler on the PBMs, the Caremark PBM side, which is the Pharmacy Benefits Manager. There's a retail side too for all the stores, but our data wa...

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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...

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What do you like most about LeanIX?

The ability to import data and generate reports from it. That's where its power lies.

See all answers

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.

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Comparisons

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Data Modeler

Compared 39% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Data Modeler

Compared 12% of the time

Lucidchart vs erwin Data Modeler

Compared 7% of the time

Visio vs erwin Data Modeler

Compared 6% of the time

AWS Well-Architected Tool vs erwin Data Modeler

Compared 3% of the time

More erwin Data Modeler Competitors

ServiceNow vs LeanIX

Compared 18% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs LeanIX

Compared 11% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs LeanIX

Compared 7% of the time

iServer vs LeanIX

Compared 6% of the time

Planview Portfolios vs LeanIX

Compared 2% of the time

More LeanIX Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Modeler

January 2026

Download erwin Data Modeler product report

Buyer's Guide

LeanIX

January 2026

Download LeanIX product report

Also Known As

erwin DM

No data available

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Quest Software

SAP LeanIX

Overview

Erwin Data Modeler provides an effective approach to visualizing and managing data models. It assists in creating, reversing, and synchronizing data models with ease, supporting logical and physical transitions while enhancing understanding across teams.

Erwin Data Modeler is a comprehensive tool designed for professional database management. It offers capabilities to organize and enforce standards, automating script generation with robust reverse engineering and DDL output. Users can manage complex data environments, capitalize on integration with data intelligence, and maintain large-scale databases smoothly. Despite its strengths, improvements in multi-language support, database integration, and reporting features are needed. Users benefit from extensive support for conceptual, logical, and physical database modeling, enhancing architectural design and data governance for platforms like SQL Server, Oracle, and Teradata.

What are the key features of Erwin Data Modeler?

Visual Representation: Facilitates clear visualization of data models, aiding comprehension.
Versioning and Editing: Enhance usability with versioning and bulk editing capabilities.
Reverse Engineering: Offers powerful tools for reverse engineering and DDL generation.
Integration: Aligns with data intelligence to streamline database management.
Naming Standards: Enforces consistency with automated script creation.

What benefits should users consider in Erwin Data Modeler reviews?

Collaboration: Promotes team understanding and collaboration through visual tools.
Automation: Reduces manual effort through automated processes and integration.
Scalability: Handles large database management efficiently, crucial for enterprise settings.
Data Governance: Facilitates effective data governance with structured modeling.

Erwin Data Modeler finds application in industries focused on robust data management, implementing it for enterprise data warehouses, business domain models, and operational systems. It supports architectural design and governance, aligning with business applications demanding precise data representation and visualization.

Quest Software

SAP LeanIX provides enterprise architecture solutions that modernize IT and transform businesses, integrating AI-enriched, SaaS tools to enhance architecture visualization and evolution.

Embracing a comprehensive approach, SAP LeanIX supports organizations globally with tools that foster IT landscape optimization and forward-looking architecture creation. It offers solutions for real-time IT overviews, risk management, and architectural planning. These capabilities ensure that enterprises have the flexibility and insights needed to maximize their business impact and align their IT strategies with their organizational goals. SAP LeanIX is recognized for its ease of use, flexible reporting, and the ability to seamlessly integrate various data sources.

What features define SAP LeanIX?

Flexible Reporting: Enables personalized data views.
Ease of Use: A user-friendly interface similar to social networks.
Integration Capabilities: Extensive out-of-the-box options.
Real-Time Feedback: Facilitates instant data integration.
Application Portfolio Management: Comprehensive IT analysis.
Seamless ServiceNow Integration: Smooth data flow integration.

What benefits and ROI can users expect from SAP LeanIX?

Data Management: Efficient data capture and tagging.
Cost Optimization: Streamlines operations cost-effectively.
Dashboard Presentation: Enhances strategic decision-making.
Business Alignment: Aligns technology with business strategies.
Educational Resources: Provides valuable learning materials.

SAP LeanIX is implemented across industries to enhance enterprise architecture, application portfolio management, and business capability mapping. Its use extends into cloud governance, data flow analysis, and integration architecture, allowing multiple organizations to improve operational visibility and strategic planning. It also enables cataloging systems and app rationalization while linking capabilities for improved lifecycle management.

SAP LeanIX

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,...

Buyer's Guide

LeanIX vs. erwin Data Modeler

December 2025

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