IBM Blueworks Live vs Visual Paradigm comparison

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IBM Blueworks Live

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

IBM Blueworks Live and Visual Paradigm compete in the process modeling and diagramming tools category. Visual Paradigm appears to have an advantage with its extensive diagramming capabilities and flexibility in integration.

Features: IBM Blueworks Live excels in real-time process modeling with intuitive collaboration tools and supports BPMN 2.0, providing a central repository for processes. Visual Paradigm offers extensive diagramming across various engineering fields, supporting standards like UML and enabling integration of different models with strong functionality for enterprise architecture, along with a valuable simulation feature for process analysis.

Room for Improvement: IBM Blueworks Live needs enhanced simulation capabilities and more flexible reporting options, while its integration and collaboration features require improvements for handling complex process models. Visual Paradigm should focus on faster visualization of complex models and better integration for process mining. Enhanced documentation and reduced resource consumption would also improve its usability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Blueworks Live is mainly deployed on public cloud and offers responsive support but has limited direct interaction due to user proficiency. Visual Paradigm provides flexible deployment options, including on-premises and hybrid cloud, along with an effective support structure, though performance issues can impact deployment ease in resource-heavy situations.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Blueworks Live offers competitive pricing and varied licensing options, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes, and demonstrates significant ROI through time savings and reduced operating costs. Visual Paradigm provides affordable licenses with free tiers, allowing scalable features, and is preferred for its cost-effectiveness and comprehensive capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Blueworks Live vs. Visual Paradigm Report (Updated: March 2025).

IBM Blueworks Live vs. Visual Paradigm

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Helped 842,466 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

IBM Blueworks Live

Ranking in Business Process Design

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Visual Paradigm

Ranking in Business Process Design

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of IBM Blueworks Live is 3.5%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Paradigm is 6.5%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

AjarMathur

Global Innovation Director at Ernst & Young

An easily scalable and affordable solution that enables users to document and digitize processes with ease

IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts. There is only one kind of BPMN 2.0 diagram. It is a process diagram. It doesn't have the concept of separate tools, which other products offer. If I had to do a hardcore BPMN 2.0 modeling, the product would have its own reservations. There were features we could not explore from a BPMN 2.0 perspective. Most of the time, people who are shifting from Microsoft Office tools to a digitized way of working still want the reporting capabilities to be strong. Some tools, like ARIS or Signavio, offer customized solutions from the reporting perspective. If I have documented my whole finance process and want to fetch out a complete SOP report in a very customized manner, IBM Blueworks cannot provide it. We have to rely on some other services. So that's one area in which we always struggled, how to really customize the reporting aspects. I understand that we need to keep the tool a little more asset-light. It's very difficult to keep adding many options, but at least a few BPMN 2.0 options were needed. We have been suggesting to IBM that we should have some way of customizing the reporting. At least we should get a custom way of reporting it into different formats like Excel or putting up a logo for one of the clients so that their SAP can be printed that way.

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Angie Ibrahim Eissa

Founder & Managing Partner at BBL

A software application designed for software development teams to model business information systems and manage development processes

Setting up Visual Paradigm is easy. There's hardly any configuration needed, unlike some other tools. You just choose your method and diagram type, and you're good to go. As for improvements, integrating project management features with diagrams could be better. Viewing outputs could also be smoother, especially when working with multiple files.Deployment is quick and painless. It practically takes no time at all to set up. And because I also teach at the university, I use Visual Paradigm for my classes and case studies. It's easy to switch between products, and my students have no trouble using it on their own.

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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

"It is a stable solution since there has not been any downtime. Everything loads fast."

"Valuable features include real-time modeling and design work, the ability to perform workshops with clients in real-time with the tool, and getting instant output."

"The licenses are transferrable between different users."

"It has a built-in capability to capture process owners and managers against processes along with other process governance roles."

"For me the most valuable feature is that it's one depository for our bank. So it's not like everybody has their critical processes on SharePoint or on their desktops. Everything is centrally located. It's very intuitive, easy to use. The support that I get from IBM is always great."

"This solution is good at utilizing standards rules for connectivity."

"You can use if from your mobile device or you can be on the desktop. It doesn't matter. You are always connected. It is cloud-based, so you don't have to install anything."

"In terms of the collaboration features, from the point of discovery, it was useful to go to load up the policies and the rule sets that the client had. And in terms of exploring options and being able to model a variety of different processes, that was incredibly useful as well."

More IBM Blueworks Live pros

"The most valuable feature of Visual Paradigm is the ability to design form flows, add libraries, create organizational charts, and connect them all together."

"Visual Paradigm is super user-friendly, especially for new team members. I always have them start with it because the interface is so simple to pick up. They usually spend about six months to a year using only Visual Paradigm before moving on to other tools. We also use the cloud repository for collaborative work, but I've had some trouble with code reviewing and limitations. Sometimes, customers even request the source file or exported XML because it's easier for them to access and review."

"I like the structure. I can see the diagrams and everything I created."

"What I found most valuable in Visual Paradigm is diagramming. I had a great user experience as diagramming in the tool is easy and convenient, even for complex diagrams or models. Visual Paradigm is the perfect tool for me, and I prefer it over Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect. Visual Paradigm is better for collaboration if you consider, for example, versioning, so this is another valuable tool feature that's simple and embedded in the solution. In Visual Paradigm, it's also easy to set up the project with team members and collaborate, and it's also a pro of the tool."

"I like the fact that this solution is complete."

"The solution is stable. It hasn't crashed, stopped or caused any issues in any way."

"I find it very user-friendly for my purposes, which is creating business process models that I can publish as HTML pages. It has worked flawlessly for my project, and my clients are able to utilize it as an internal web portal for their process documentation and other needs."

"It is a scalable solution since it can be used at an individual level as well as for enterprise-sized businesses."

More Visual Paradigm pros

Cons

"The APIs are great, except the normal business user doesn't know how to create APIs. So it's hard because IBM comes to us as the business users and tell us to create reporting with APIs, except we don't know that, so we have to turn around and flip it to our IT people."

"IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts."

"The objects that the solution creates are not unique."

"The initial setup is neither straightforward nor complex however you do need to know what you are doing."

"I would like to see integration with ERP systems. This would help us to simulate the process and see where the problems are. Though IBM Blueworks Live is a good tool for documenting, it is not good for simulating."

"I wish Blueworks Live had simulations built in, but it doesn't. It also lacks a feature of reporting; ad hoc, drag and drop reporting. A lot of senior people are always asking for reports, and there's no reporting feature within IBM Blueworks."

"The solution is a very basic discovery product so it doesn't have that much modeling capability. This can be improved."

"In the Blue Works Live software boxes and lines are automatically placed by the programme and can't be easily manipulated."

More IBM Blueworks Live cons

"The user interface is not easy to navigate, so it should be made easier."

"The product can always get better as the industry changes."

"It's still early for me to comment since I've only been using it for two months, but the responsiveness when diagramming needs to be improved."

"The solution could be more compatible with other products in the future."

"From time to time, we experience some troubles when we work as teams."

"More flexibility when choosing the type of diagram would be nice."

"The solution can be heavy on resource usage."

"I would like to see something for visualizing innovation work maps."

More Visual Paradigm cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are seeing ROI from this solution. The solution has saved us time."

"The solution is not very expensive."

"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."

"The solution is very, very cost-effective."

"Making it less expensive would be good."

"There are editor licenses that are around 50 euros per month, and contributor licenses that are around 30 euros per month."

"Based on the licenses purchased, from a footprint perspective, you can have as many people as you want. You have multiple different categories of licenses to keep the cost low."

"Price wise, IBM Blueworks Live is in the middle range, and I would give it a five out of ten."

"Visual Paradigm costs $99 per license. I chose the cheapest option from the pricing list."

"This product is fairly cheap, but if you want more complex features, e.g. integration with other products, it does require an additional cost."

"In terms of pricing, I find Visual Paradigm's subscription services reasonable, especially for the modern and standard editions. However, the premium products can be a bit pricey, especially considering our location in the Middle East. Currently, paying around a hundred dollars per user translates to almost six hundred Egyptian pounds, which can add up. For enterprise licensing, I think the perpetual license option could be more affordable. If it were cheaper, say around five hundred dollars, I would have invested in multiple perpetual licenses long ago. Sometimes, to manage costs, we share accounts among team members or switch access on and off for certain members who aren't actively working on projects. As for additional costs, there are charges for cloud services, which I'm considering because I've already exceeded the free capacity."

"I rate Visual Paradigm's pricing a five out of ten."

"You can use Paradigm on a subscription basis and you can choose from different tiers of subscription."

"This is an open-sourced solution, it is free to use."

"Compared to other solutions such as IBM Rational which is expensive, This solution is priced low."

"Visual Paradigm has two models available. One of them is the educational edition, and another is the business edition. For my personal usage, I use the educational version mostly. In a project, my customers have to purchase a license."

More Visual Paradigm pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

11%

Educational Organization

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Blueworks Live?

The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put any lines or arrows in a decision point in IBM Blueworks Live; it's very automatic.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Blueworks Live?

The solution costs around 600-700 dollars/year, which is quite affordable.

What needs improvement with IBM Blueworks Live?

Sometimes, the tool is automatic, which can complicate it, but once you're accustomed to manipulating it, you can use it very effectively.

What do you like most about Visual Paradigm?

The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features are pricing and functionality.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visual Paradigm?

I purchased Visual Paradigm on my own, and it was competitively priced, so I was fine with the pricing.

What needs improvement with Visual Paradigm?

The product can always get better as the industry changes, however, I didn't necessarily feel it was lacking for what I did with it.

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Product Reports

IBM Blueworks Live

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Download Visual Paradigm product report

Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint

No data available

Overview

IBM Blueworks Live is a cloud-based business process modeling tool that helps you discover, map and document your processes. It is easy to use, allowing you to learn and perform business process modeling in minutes.

With Blueworks Live you can:

Simplify business process modeling
Quickly build business processes in a straightforward, cloud-based interface designed for both IT and business users.

Improve process efficiency and accuracy
A central process repository eliminates version control and consistency issues by providing users real-time access to process workflows.

Enhance cross-team collaboration
A shared team workspace engages all business process owners, encouraging cross-team participation and continuous process improvement.

IBM

Visual Paradigm is a UML tool. The tool is designed for a wide range of users including software engineers, system analysts, business analysts and system architects, or for anyone who is interested in reliably building large-scale software systems using an object-oriented approach. In addition, Visual Paradigm supports the latest standards of UML notation.

Sample Customers

Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council

Adobe, Apple, at&t, Caterpillar, Intel, NASA, Nokia, Toyota

IBM Blueworks Live vs. Visual Paradigm