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Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visual Paradigm comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 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
5th
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
8th
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 September 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 9.5%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Paradigm is 5.3%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect9.5%
Visual Paradigm5.3%
Other85.2%
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

"I like Sparx's BPM features and the way it lets you create the diagram."
"The solution allows us to quickly present designs and concepts to customers and get their feedback, thereby moving the project forward step by step."
"Ability to model and create view under same roof."
"The most valuable feature of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is the value streams."
"Modeling is a part of my work, and it has a lot of standard modeling languages. It is quite wide, and a lot is possible in it. We are not programming it ourselves, but if you are into programming and developing software yourself, you can go further and do a lot with Sparx. You can work from the framework and go into the details. With this solution, you get a lot of value at a low cost. It is also quite intuitive in terms of use. I like the use of it."
"It is a useful tool for modeling and testing automated processes."
"The installation was very easy."
"Scalability is not a problem. You can always increase the footprint of what the thing can do because it's so powerful."
"The solution is stable. It hasn't crashed, stopped or caused any issues in any way."
"The solution is very user-friendly. It's easy to just open it and start working."
"What I like best about Visual Paradigm is its simple GUI, especially since I'm a new user. In my two years of experience with this tool, I didn't find it complex because I was able to learn how to use it via YouTube videos. Visual Paradigm is enough for me. I also find the bridging feature in the tool valuable."
"Using the Component Diagram, Visual Paradigm helps with design and control, reusing components."
"Some of the most valuable features of this process modeling tool are process simulation and process animation."
"It is a scalable solution since it can be used at an individual level as well as for enterprise-sized businesses."
"The Visual Paradigm business process forms for designing we good. There was not a lot of configuration for the process diagram."
"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."
 

Cons

"The integration could be improved."
"The window froze for five or ten seconds. You can click and click again and it takes a second to come up. It might have been specific to a version."
"Greater OMG UML and XMI compliance"
"This solution is quite complex to use. It would be nice if the learning curve wasn't so steep."
"Its best features are not intuitive or easy to learn. Most companies I have worked with, when I see what they are doing with it , are not using more than 5% of what they could and should be doing with it."
"There should be a MATLAB-specific toolbox added to the solution with better compatibility. The connections currently are good but in the future, it needs a huge improvement."
"The reporting needs improvement."
"It really did not work for logical modeling. The look is very old-fashioned. You can't make the diagrams easy on the eye, so we ended up drawing them again in Visio anyhow."
"The product can always get better as the industry changes."
"I would like to see the ability to easily export to groupware, such as Atlassian Confluence."
"There is a certain inherent complexity when creating UML diagrams."
"There are some connectivity issues that crop up rarely when used with SQL Server."
"The user interface is not easy to navigate, so it should be made easier."
"Visual Paradigm can improve by having better process mining tools and model integration."
"There is room for improvement in the licensing model. I would suggest implementing country-specific pricing, as many other products in India do. This would make Visual Paradigm more affordable and accessible."
"I was looking to generate code from the diagrams, but it was not totally clear how to do it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license for this solution. When comparing this solution to others it is priced well."
"It's reasonably priced for large organizations."
"Licenses are pretty low cost compared to, for example, ARIS."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"Its price is very good for the value that you get with it."
"Use floating licenses strategically."
"Pricing and licensing are suitable even for small companies."
"There is no license required for this solution."
"Compared to other solutions such as IBM Rational which is expensive, This solution is priced low."
"I rate Visual Paradigm's pricing a five out of ten."
"Visual Paradigm's pricing is not expensive."
"You can move between the tiers from month to month so you are not restricted to one pricing model."
"The pricing of Visual Paradigm is very appropriate and affordable. There are no hidden costs involved."
"Over the years I've seen an increase in price, and it makes it difficult for a single person company, like me, to decide whether to extend the license."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Educational Organization
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise58
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
 

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: September 2025.
867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.