Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visual Paradigm comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Business Process Design
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (2nd)
Visual Paradigm
Ranking in Business Process Design
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 10.9%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Paradigm is 6.4%, down from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Milan Sterba - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient documentation generation through organized model structure with a good price-performance ratio
Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not easy for even experienced users to find their way without guidance. This is not the most user-friendly solution.
Angie Ibrahim Eissa - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Large variety of profiles and frameworks available out-of-the-box without the need for customization."
"Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect supports multiple modeling languages like ArchiMate for database design, software lifecycle visualization, and team management."
"Sparx technical support is good."
"It is a very rich tool in terms of the functionality, and the types of diagrams, that you can create in this tool."
"Scalable solution for modeling, project sharing, and collaboration. Support for it is good."
"It is an EA tool that is approved by Open Group. It is in the tool register of Open Group."
"The solution allows us to quickly present designs and concepts to customers and get their feedback, thereby moving the project forward step by step."
"Artifact templates are most valuable."
"I like the structure. I can see the diagrams and everything I created."
"Visual Paradigm allowed me to create UML diagrams efficiently."
"I like the fact that this solution is complete."
"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."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"It is easy-to-use and it helps understand its data modeling structure through the intuitive user interface."
"Visual Paradigm is simple and easy to use."
"The pricing model is attractive."
 

Cons

"The templates for documentation should be enhanced to include complex documents such as template RFP, or Non functional requirements template."
"No way to implement data integrity and referential integrity constraints."
"The UI could be improved and made a little bit more presentable."
"I think that collaboration can be better."
"Insufficient control of metadata and standards."
"Inconsistent UI elements must be tidied up with the toolbox gaps removed."
"The solution needs to offer better support for the mobile-based system. Right now, it's not working."
"The database management area was not usable."
"The product can always get better as the industry changes."
"Takes up a lot of resources."
"I would like to see the ability to easily export to groupware, such as Atlassian Confluence."
"I was looking to generate code from the diagrams, but it was not totally clear how to do it."
"The solution's technical support can be improved and accessible for our company location since Visual Paradigm follows a remote support model with some challenges."
"In terms of room for improvement in Visual Paradigm, I tried looking for one. I'm pleased with the tool, but it would be great if you could integrate Visual Paradigm with more tools. For example, when moving from Visual Paradigm to another tool, such as Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, the process could be improved a bit. Still, I wonder if it's not limited by the standards Visual Paradigm follows, such as XMI files. It could be connected to limitations related to the standards rather than a tool limitation. When you move projects from Visual Paradigm into Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect via XMI files, you lose all your notes from the elements, so this is an area for improvement in Visual Paradigm. TOGAF support is an additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of Visual Paradigm. I'd also like the tool to have ArchiMate support. If both TOGAF and ArchiMate could be supported in Visual Paradigm and made part of a lower level of licensing or cheaper licensing models, that would be best for me."
"Visual Paradigm's initial deployment was difficult since we did it for the first time. It is challenging to learn to use the product."
"There are some connectivity issues that crop up rarely when used with SQL Server."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is quite expensive."
"It is very economical and low cost. You have to pay for a one-time license, and it is active forever."
"They have the price on their site for the enterprise version, and we do receive a small discount."
"The license I use is on-premise. We haven't gone to the cloud where we have to pay monthly or something like that. Sparx is cheaper than most similar tools."
"There is a license for this solution. When comparing this solution to others it is priced well."
"We had a yearly license."
"Pricing and licensing are suitable even for small companies."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"Visual Paradigm costs $99 per license. I chose the cheapest option from the pricing list."
"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."
"This product is fairly cheap, but if you want more complex features, e.g. integration with other products, it does require an additional cost."
"Compared to other solutions such as IBM Rational which is expensive, This solution is priced low."
"You can move between the tiers from month to month so you are not restricted to one pricing model."
"Visual Paradigm's pricing is not expensive."
"Pricing for Visual Paradigm is a four out of five for me. I'm happy with its pricing."
"I rate the pricing a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Design solutions are best for your needs.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
The stability has been good and satisfactory. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
One of the reasons many public sector institutions in the Czech Republic use it is that it provides a very good price-performance ratio. While it might be cumbersome to learn, it still delivers exc...
What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not ...
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.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

OmniLink
Adobe, Apple, at&t, Caterpillar, Intel, NASA, Nokia, Toyota
Find out what your peers are saying about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. Visual Paradigm and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.