SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest comparison

erwin by Quest and SAP are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. erwin by Quest is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.1, while SAP is ranked #25. erwin by Quest holds a 10.9% mindshare in AM, compared to SAP’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of erwin by Quest users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SAP users who would recommend it.

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Read 39 erwin Data Modeler by Quest reviews

4,005 Views
2,219 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

SAP Enterprise Architecture...

Read 1 SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer review

282 Views
174 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

SAP Enterprise Architecture...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between erwin Data Modeler by Quest and SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about SAP LeanIX, Sparx Systems, erwin by Quest and others in Enterprise Architecture Management.

To learn more, read our detailed Enterprise Architecture Management Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

March 2025

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Helped 845,040 peers since 2012

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

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

3rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Design (9th)

SAP Enterprise Architecture...

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

25th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler by Quest is 10.9%, up from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer is 0.8%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

JorgeSanz

Data Governance Senior Advisor at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

Streamline data modeling and automate network changes for increased efficiency

The initial setup depends on the tool if you are using the data model environment. Stopping the server could be complex and require strong expertise. If you have everything set up and configured, Erwin is straightforward. You can deploy it in a few hours. In our case, it took a couple of months to address internal conditions, assign machines, and set up everything for the services. I rate the initial setup a six out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

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Artur Chyziewicz

Co-Owner at Edusolution s.c.

Great training available with traceability a key feature

I use this solution to model enterprise software architecture. We are customers of SAP and an educational organization in Poland. Traceability is a fantastic feature. They should upgrade the algorithm. The solution currently has an old algorithm and there are now free tools on the market that…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Drag-and-drop data modeling and reverse engineering out of databases are the most valuable features of erwin Data Modeler by Quest."

"The ability to collaborate between different members across the organization is the most valuable feature. It gives us the ability to work on the same model, regardless of where we are physically."

"The solution's ability to compare and synchronize data sources with data models is fantastic. We use it for that on a regular basis to make sure that changes haven't been made to the database outside of the modeling process. I can take existing databases and reverse engineer them and understand their structure within 15 minutes. If I didn't have Data Modeler it would take hours. It increases our productivity and helps in understanding our legacy application."

"The most valuable features are being able to visualize the data in the diagrams and transform those diagrams into physical database deployments. These features help, specifically, to integrate the data. When the source data is accumulated and modeled, the target model is in erwin and it helps resolve the data integration patterns that are required to map the data to accommodate a model."

"Forward engineering, DDL generation, reverse engineering, and reporting are the most valuable features of the solution."

"There is absolutely no problem with the stability."

"I have worked with erwin Data Modeler for quite some time and familiarity is its most valuable feature."

"One of the best aspects of the tool is its reverse engineering capability."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pros

"Traceability is a fantastic feature."

Cons

"This is a very complex product."

"I find the UI very clunky and very difficult to use. If I add columns to a table the whole workflow could be so much easier. I get frustrated using it. I've tried other tools. I've tried to get off of erwin a few times. I always come back to it because every tool has its own set of problems, and it seems like if I have to pick my poison, I stay with erwin. But so many things that are clunky with it."

"It would be nice to have it on the Linux platform, not just Windows. If they can support Linux, there would be a huge market for it."

"I still use Visio for conceptual modeling, and that's mainly because it is easier to change things, and you can relax some of the rules. DM's eventual target is a database, which means you actually have to dot all the Is and cross all the Ts, but in a conceptual model, you don't often know what you're working with. So, that's probably a constraint with erwin. They have made it a lot easier, and they've done a lot, but there is probably still room for improvement in terms of the ease of presentation back to the business. I'm comparing it with something like Visio where you can change colors on a box, change the text color and that sort of stuff, and change the lines. Such things are a whole lot easier in Visio, but once you get a theme organized in erwin, you can apply that theme to all of the objects. So, it becomes easier, but you do have to set up that theme."

"The solution's model mark could be better because it crashes sometimes."

"In terms of improvements, support could have been better in terms of installation, especially of workgroups. We struggled quite a bit to get it up and running. Collaboration could have been better from an installation perspective, but it is trivial as compared to what we use it for. Other than that, I don't have much feedback. It works pretty well, and the fact that we've been using it for more than a decade shows that it is quite solid."

"The erwin ETL functionality has room for improvement when it comes to mapping databases with a classic entity-relationship model to a data warehouse model."

"In terms of new features, it would be great to have a cloud base. We should be able to put it on the cloud for better collaboration and data models sharing."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest cons

"The algorithm is outdated and should be upgraded."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Likewise, the solution is a little pricey."

"The tool is expensive."

"We've continued to use the product for many years and compared it with others on the market. The pricing is reasonable considering what the solution offers and what we pay. There are cheaper tools, but they may not be as robust and easy to use, so it's worth the money."

"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"The price should be lower in order to be on the same level as its competitors."

"erwin Data Modeler by Quest is an expensive solution."

"The solution is expensive."

"There is either a one-year or three-year license. It is not a pay-as-you-go license like a SaaS solution. It’s more of a traditional licensing. They are a little bit on the pricier side."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

University

11%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

Forward engineering, DDL generation, reverse engineering, and reporting are the most valuable features of the solution.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

The product is expensive. I rate the product’s pricing a nine out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

As a documenting tool, it's solid, though its reporting could be more robust. The reporting mechanisms could be more intuitive regarding report creation. It can generate reports in CSV files, displ...

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Comparisons

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 31% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 18% of the time

Lucidchart vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 15% of the time

Visio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 8% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 7% of the time

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest Competitors

SAP PowerDesigner vs SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer

Compared 47% of the time

LeanIX vs SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer

Compared 29% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer

Compared 24% of the time

More SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

March 2025

SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer report

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Also Known As

erwin DM

SAP EA Designer

Overview

erwin pioneered data modeling, and erwin Data Modeler (erwin DM) remains trusted, award-winning software for data modeling and database design, automating complex and time-consuming tasks. Use it to discover and document any data from anywhere for consistency, clarity and artifact reuse across large-scale data integration, master data management, metadata management, Big Data, business intelligence and analytics initiatives – all while supporting data governance and intelligence efforts.

erwin by Quest

The SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer Web application is a user-friendly, collaborative tool for creating and maintaining a complete landscape architecture that is easy to capture and understand visually. People in a wide variety of roles can readily use it, so all necessary stake-holders can participate directly in the planning and design of the architecture. You can manage change by providing effective governance of your architecture changes and calculating their costs and benefits, so that you can keep implementation efficient and cost-effective. Through robust traceability in this multirole, intuitive, collaborative environment, you gain the insight to support compliance at the outset and throughout architecture change cycles.

SAP

Sample Customers

Premera, America Honda Motors, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Dental Dental Cali, Cigna, Staples

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

March 2025

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