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IDERA ER/Studio vs Sparx Prolaborate comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 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

IDERA ER/Studio
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Database Development and Management (9th)
Sparx Prolaborate
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
18th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 4.3%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Prolaborate is 0.7%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

Aaron Cutshall - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for data modeling and has a scripting language to write your own scripts
The solution has streamlined our data modeling processes quite a bit. It's a central focus in our data modeling and data cataloging efforts. The tool's reverse engineering capability to bring in existing database structures and create models from them has benefitted our data architecture needs. With the tool's data dictionary capability, we're able to maintain consistency in our models, name use, and actual data domains. The solution's reverse engineering helps with understanding legacy databases. In fact, I've been asked to reverse-engineer several more legacy databases so that we can have them modeled and cataloged. The solution is deployed on the cloud server, but it’s only within our network. The solution has a lot of capabilities. I like the fact that it has a scripting language that allows you to automate and write your own scripts. I think that's been a big bonus for us. I highly recommend the solution because of its capability for logical models, where you can put your business definitions and logic. While less expensive, some other tools can't do that. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Sastry Dhara - PeerSpot reviewer
Good extensibility, but there should be more cloud capabilities
Its extensibility is most valuable. There should be more cloud capabilities. We worked with this solution for two or three years. There are no stability issues. It is scalable. Their support is good. It was straightforward. I would rate it a seven out of ten. On-premises

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It does the job."
"We have been able to quickly create models for our enterprise-wide databases, even when some of them are third-party databases."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is generating DDL (data definition language)."
"I like the fact that it has a scripting language that allows you to automate and write your own scripts."
"This application does a lot of things, as do competitor products, but the main reason to go with this product was the ability to create many automations, where we can improve our work and our process."
"We are able to document the data lineage and data flows of our data from one system to another."
"It's easy to model and has a user-friendly interface. I like the team portal because, once we upload, the entire team can see the model."
"The interface is really simple to use and it allows me to pick and choose which tables I want to reverse engineer."
"It allows us to give a better description of our project than using the written word."
"What is really powerful in Sparx is the way in which you can model business processes. You can link business processes to organizational objectives. You can also take those business processes and link them to specific product features that you want to deliver."
"Its extensibility is most valuable."
"Sparx Prolaborate is user-friendly, easy to use, and has good documentation."
"It is valuable to have diagrams available in real time."
 

Cons

"The visual presentation is a little too colorful and seems that it is dumbed down."
"When building the relationships there should be a little more flexibility."
"One limitation I have found in ER/Studio is that when you want to make some changes to the table definitions, you have to go item by item. You cannot do it globally. Another issue concerns defining the foreign keys between the different tables. It is a little more tedious in the ER/Studio than in ERrwin. With ERwin it is direct."
"They allow functionalities to be released before the full tests for catching and correcting errors are completed."
"There was no specific mention of areas needing improvement."
"It would be helpful if they could create a generic JSON database type, as a target database, rather than a specific one like Mongo."
"It isn't easy to compare the thousands of tables in the model against the database. The tool should improve the synchronization within the large organization"
"We would always like to see Repository performance improve, checking in and checking out."
"A lot of product teams use a lot of visualizations for mapping out the product roadmap, brainstorming, or understanding the vision of the product, but Sparx is not a great visualization tool. Sparx has to improve the way for visualizing processes, journeys, software designs, etc. It would really benefit the product management teams or even enterprise architects."
"There should be more cloud capabilities."
"The solution could offer different sources for design."
"The product is not very user-friendly."
"In the next release, there should be more editable objects. We find Sparx Prolaborate very user-friendly, and having more features that are in the Enterprise Architect would be great, such as managing different versions of diagrams."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is priced fairly. It's around the same as erwin and other competitors' costs."
"I feel the product's pricing is a good value."
"The product is pricey."
"I use the product's trial version."
"At my previous company using ER/Studio, a database compare took four hours before using the product and 15 minutes after using the product."
"As an individual user, the renewal is a little costly."
"Pricing is expensive and on the higher-end."
"The setup cost may have been around $1500 to $2000."
"The product is expensive."
"The price of Sparx Prolaborate is good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Government
17%
Computer Software Company
10%
Real Estate/Law Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IDERA ER/Studio?
In terms of pricing, ER/Studio is slightly more expensive compared to Erwin, by about five to ten percent.
What needs improvement with IDERA ER/Studio?
ER/Studio lacks a pure cloud option for deployment. Both Erwin and ER/Studio do not have AI or machine learning features for automation. Offering a comprehensive cloud-based version could enhance i...
What do you like most about Sparx Prolaborate?
It allows us to give a better description of our project than using the written word.
What needs improvement with Sparx Prolaborate?
The product is not very user-friendly. It takes time to learn the concept. The user-friendliness and the learning curve must be improved. It takes quite a lot of time for experienced engineers to use.
What is your primary use case for Sparx Prolaborate?
We use the product primarily for model-based engineering.
 

Also Known As

IDERA ER Studio, ER/Studio, ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Newmont Mining, Entrust, Accolade, TalkTalk, Catalina, Protective Life, NTT Data, dir systèmes, Microsoft; American Express, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Coriant, Fedex, GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo, Prudential, Wells Fargo
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IDERA ER/Studio vs. Sparx Prolaborate and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,207 professionals have used our research since 2012.