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IBM SPSS Modeler vs KNIME comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 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

IBM SPSS Modeler
Ranking in Data Mining
4th
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
KNIME
Ranking in Data Mining
1st
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Data Mining category, the mindshare of IBM SPSS Modeler is 17.0%, up from 16.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KNIME is 25.5%, down from 26.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Mining
 

Q&A Highlights

EzzAbdelfattah - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 30, 2019
 

Featured Reviews

PeterHuo - PeerSpot reviewer
Good tool for extracting data from data warehouses, creating streams, and manipulating logic to extract final data
There are performance issues. Extracting data from many combined tables can take hours and occasionally crash the server due to memory leaks. This performance problem bothers people. The performance issue seems to be related to the server. We design streams on the client and submit them to the server, which generates a large SQL statement. There are two potential bottlenecks: one in the server and another in data extraction. I'm unsure about the exact mechanics of data splitting when fetching from the database. When streams become larger, performance bottlenecks may occur in the IBM SPSS Modeler server or the database. Sometimes the server crashes and needs to be restarted to release memory on both sides. I'm not sure exactly where the problem is caused, as I focus on stream design rather than server issues. The problem could be on the IBM SPSS Modeler server and database.
Shyam_Sridhar - PeerSpot reviewer
Good for data analysis to model prediction and application but data load limitations
KNIME is very easy to handle and use. Anyone can use it, and it's easy to learn. You don't need a specific class. They're very good at model prediction. It has got everything. From data analysis to model prediction and application, it's very good. I only use the free community edition, not the enterprise one. I feel KNIME is really good. I haven't tried any other tool or platform yet, but KNIME is pretty good. The workflow is great. You drag and drop, and then you have the data explorer and charts that give results. The execution is also good – it's easy to identify where your model has gone wrong. It shows you the exact point of error within the workflow, so you don't have to execute the entire workflow to find it. For example, if your workflow has ten steps and the error is in the sixth step, it will show you the error at that step. You don't have to worry about the first five steps. The Data Explorer is very good, and the charts are great too. The accuracy charts for different models, like decision tree, K3, Naive Bayes, are all very good. KNIME is great at reporting, whether it's structured or unstructured data. These are all very good features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Compared to other tools, the product works much easier to analyze data without coding."
"It gives you a GUI interface, which is a lot more user-friendly and easier to use compared to writing R scripts or Python."
"We are creating models and putting them into production much faster than we would if we had just gone with a strict, code-based solution, like R or Python."
"A lot of jobs that are stuck in Excel due to the huge numbers of rows are tackled pretty quickly."
"It handles large data better than the previous system that we were using, which was basically Excel and Access. We serve upwards of 300,000 parts over a 150 regions and we need to crunch a lot of numbers."
"The most valuable features of the IBM SPSS Modeler are visual programming, you don't have to write any code, and it is easy to use. 90 to 95 percent of the use cases, you don't have to fine-tune anything. If you want to do something deeper, for example, create a better neural network, then you have to go into the features and try to fine-tune them. However, the default selection which is made by the tool, it's very practical and works well."
"We use analytics with the visual modeling capability to leverage productivity improvements."
"We have full control of the data handling process."
"One of the greatest advantages of KNIME is that it can be used by those without any coding experience. those with no coding background can use it."
"I was able to apply basic algorithms through just dragging and dropping."
"It allows for a user-friendly approach where you can simply drag and drop elements to create your model, which is a convenient and effective idea."
"KNIME is more intuitive and easier to use, which is the principal advantage."
"It is possible to configure the system to effectively manage memory and space requirements."
"Key features include: very easy-to-use visual interface; Help functions and clear explanations of the functionalities and the used algorithms; Data Wrangling and data manipulation functionalities are certainly sufficient, as well as the looping possibilities which help you to automate parts of the analysis."
"The solution allows for sharing model designs and model operations with other data analysts."
"The visual workflow tools for custom and complex tasks always beat raw coding languages with the agility, speed to deliver, and ease of subsequent changes."
 

Cons

"I understand that it takes some time to incorporate some of the new algorithms that have come out in the last few months, in the literature. For example, there is an algorithm based on how ants search for food. And there are some algorithms that have now been developed to complement rules. So that's one of the things that we need to have incorporated into it."
"There are performance issues. Extracting data from many combined tables can take hours and occasionally crash the server due to memory leaks. This performance problem bothers people. The performance issue seems to be related to the server. We design streams on the client and submit them to the server, which generates a large SQL statement. There are two potential bottlenecks: one in the server and another in data extraction. I'm unsure about the exact mechanics of data splitting when fetching from the database."
"The product does not have a search function for tags."
"It is very good, but slow. The slowness may be because we have not finalized all the background information in SPSS. It still needs some tweaking."
"The biggest issue with the visual modeling capability is that we can't extract the SQL code under the hood."
"I think mapping for geographic data would also be a really great thing to be able to use."
"Customer support is hard to contact."
"I would like see more programming languages added, like MATLAB. That would be better."
"Compared to the other data tools on the market, the user interface can be improved."
"The solution is inconvenient when it comes to wrangling data that includes multiple steps or features because each step or feature requires its own icon."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"KNIME needs to provide more documentation and training materials, including webinars or online seminars."
"From the point of view of the interface, they can do a little bit better."
"The license is quite expensive for us."
"KNIME could improve when it comes to large data markets."
"There should be better documentation and the steps should be easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It got us a good amount of money with quick and efficient modeling."
"Having in mind all four tools from Garner’s top quadrant, the pricing of this tool is competitive and it reflects the quality that it offers."
"This tool, being an IBM product, is pretty expensive."
"The scalability was kind of limited by our ability to get other people licenses, and that was usually more of a financial constraint. It's expensive, but it's a good tool."
"It is an expensive product."
"It is a huge increase to time savings."
"When you are close to end of quarter, IBM and its partners can get you 60% to 70% discounts, so literally wait for the last day of the quarter for the best prices. You may feel like you are getting robbed if you can't receive a good discount."
"I am using the free version of IBM SPSS Modeler, it is the educational edition version."
"KNIME is an open-source tool, so it's free to use."
"Scaling to the on-premises version requires a licensing fee per user that is a bit expensive in comparison to R, Python, and SAS."
"KNIME offers a free version"
"There is a Community Edition and paid versions available."
"It is expensive to procure the license."
"While there are certain limitations in functionality, you can still utilize it efficiently free of charge."
"For beginners, the free desktop version is very attractive, but the full server version can be more expensive. I have only used the free version and it offers a fair pricing system. I have been promoting it to others without any compensation or request from the company, simply because I am enthusiastic about it. I am not aware of the pricing for the server version, but it seems to be widely used."
"We're using the free academic license just locally. I went for KNIME because they have a free academic license."
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Answers from the Community

EzzAbdelfattah - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 30, 2019
Dec 30, 2019
The main difference lies in the community that has KNIME because the additional modules serve a multitude of different jobs from image processing, management of ssh file systems to chemical molecule calculations.
2 out of 4 answers
ZW
Dec 27, 2019
KNIME. It free, open-source, and you can plug in Java, Python, R, and Matlab. The community is awesome.
JP
Dec 28, 2019
The main difference lies in the community that has KNIME because the additional modules serve a multitude of different jobs from image processing, management of ssh file systems to chemical molecule calculations.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
9%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM SPSS Modeler?
Compared to other tools, the product works much easier to analyze data without coding.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM SPSS Modeler?
The government has funds and a budget, it's hard to say if it's expensive or cheap. In Canada, they have a yearly budget. They used to encourage people to use the modeler for development. If ten us...
What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Modeler?
There are performance issues. Extracting data from many combined tables can take hours and occasionally crash the server due to memory leaks. This performance problem bothers people. The performanc...
What do you like most about KNIME?
Since KNIME is a no-code platform, it is easy to work with.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KNIME?
I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with KNIME?
For graphics, the interface is a little confusing. So, this is a point that could be improved.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

SPSS Modeler
KNIME Analytics Platform
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Reisebªro Idealtours GmbH, MedeAnalytics, Afni, Israel Electric Corporation, Nedbank Ltd., DigitalGlobe, Vodafone Hungary, Aegon Hungary, Bureau Veritas, Brammer Group, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, InSites Consulting, Fortis Turkey
Infocom Corporation, Dymatrix Consulting Group, Soluzione Informatiche, MMI Agency, Estanislao Training and Solutions, Vialis AG
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SPSS Modeler vs. KNIME and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.