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ACL Analytics vs MetricStream vs RSA Archer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of ACL Analytics is 3.0%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MetricStream is 4.6%, up from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Archer is 12.8%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
RSA Archer12.8%
ACL Analytics3.0%
MetricStream4.6%
Other79.6%
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

John Erian - PeerSpot reviewer
Identifyies fraud efficiently through automated report analysis
I believe the formulas and scripting language in ACL Analytics need development to be easier for me to use. I want to see more robotic reports generated automatically, rather than relying heavily on scripting. It would also be beneficial if ACL Analytics included features similar to Tableau for data presentation.
AP
Reasonably priced, stable, with out of the box deployment, and has good local support
They have now reworked it. The interface is mobile-friendly and it is getting a good response from our customers. It's a very good feature that the product offers. It is also available as a cloud option, which is getting a lot of interest from customers who are looking into the GRCC. It is very useful, especially in the solution platform. It has good features and good functionality, and our customers feel there is a lot of merit in that. I think that the portal is constantly improving. They do their own enhancements very often. They keep doing those enhancements from their site itself.
IMRAN ALMARZOOQI - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates compliance management effectively but needs improved interface and dashboards
The tool basically automates whatever processes you already have, so I cannot specify improvements in that regard. However, my main issue with Archer is the graphics. The graphics have always been lacking. I always need to depend on another tool to read information from Archer to have better dashboards. It is like using Linux, and it has a Linux mindset and interface. I want to use Archer for top management and CEOs, but it looks too technical, and the dashboards are not really friendly. They are bulky, like opening an old Nintendo system from nineteen-ninety. The management agrees that Archer lacks in terms of presentation and dashboarding. It is complex, not user-friendly, and bulky. The interface just looks old.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I recommend ACL Analytics because it makes work easier and is user-friendly."
"We apply different methods, such as sampling, data manipulation, and sorting. I'm fond of the scripting feature, which automates routine tasks and saves time. It also offers data insights."
"It is very flexible and has hundreds of functions."
"I rate ACL Analytics nine out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of ACL Analytics is its powerful data control capabilities."
"It improved my organization using ​an automated audit revision with scripts."
"I did not have any problems with the stability of ACL Analytics."
"I like the fact that in the duplicate section, I can find matches, and I can find situations where certain cells or certain cell points match, but there's a difference as well between two different records."
"Key features are usability and ease of configuration. It allows us to have all the information in a single place and provide real-time indicators and information for our executives."
"The interface is mobile-friendly and it is getting a good response from our customers."
"The Advance Workflow feature simplifies things."
"The most valuable features of RSA Archer are the asset management, risk management, and vendor management."
"The solution has improved my organization by having everything combined to a single platform."
"Archer has simplified our security audits. It's made it easier to raise and trigger questionnaires to customers."
"This solution helped us with the centralization of our governance data, so we could house all of our controls in one place. We could use that central repository of all our controls to build our risk management strategy and our policy and governance. So we could use controls as a central library and build policy, and then build risk management around it."
"RSA Archer has reduced the time and effort required for meetings."
"The integrated data model of a one-to-many/many-to-one relationship is quite useful."
"It has the best workload management features."
 

Cons

"I believe the formulas and scripting language in ACL Analytics need development to be easier for me to use."
"The product's pricing has increased over the years."
"We have an issue with the hard coding of passwords in ACL Analytics. You do not have an interface where you can enter a password and then it can be encrypted when you enter it."
"Currently, the platform is not very comfortable for users coming from a non-technical or non-coding background."
"The visualization capabilities in ACL Analytics need more variety and features."
"The ease of use could be better."
"It would be beneficial if the software could improve its capabilities when extracting data from databases, particularly for those who may not be familiar with SQL queries."
"A person must have someone teach them how to use ACL Analytics as a common person cannot use it independently."
"We would like to have more dashboards and reports, such as geographical and trend reports in the next version. Also, an improvement in the mobile version would be helpful."
"I would like to see out-of-the-box integration with more security, it would be helpful."
"The interface just looks old."
"Performance could be improved."
"The solution as a whole could be simplified."
"The product is expensive."
"In a future release, there should be an option to upload the main data."
"There should be built-in integration mechanisms, for example, for organizations switching from platforms like ServiceNow to Archer, instead of custom integrations for each client."
"It would be nice if RSA Archer featured more customization. When customers are updating, they should be notified whether certain updates are optional. The install screen should not proceed to the next page unless we make some selections about which updates we want to install."
"I would like to have the ability to build and maintain an inventory of personal data processing activities and assets utilizing a purpose-built taxonomy and data structure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing for me as an individual seems a lot. For our organization, the price is okay. It's about $6,000 a year. I don't know of any additional costs."
"The price of $5,000 is high, and transferring money from one country to another, particularly in dollars, is challenging due to high exchange rates. Although we managed to purchase it then, the lack of a single license option and the high cost were issues."
"They are flexible in terms of customers' needs."
"I am not sure about other companies, but it's quite expensive."
"The license is costly for the solution, but the remaining set up and maintenance is quite cheaper."
"At the higher end of the price scale, but provides better, more accessible functionality and customization than cheaper products."
"The price of the solution is very affordable."
"As I am a developer and responsible for providing production support, I do not have personal knowledge of the pricing. However, my colleagues claim that it is very expensive in comparison with other tools."
"The solution's price should be reduced. You only have to pay the license and there are no additional fees."
"RSA Archer's price is justifiable and not as expensive, compared to ServiceNow. I have heard that the licensing for ServiceNow is much more expensive. I'm unaware whether there are any additional costs after licensing fees."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Insurance Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
27%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ACL Analytics?
The tool's most valuable feature is its ability to import files from other software packages. Its reporting and visua...
What needs improvement with ACL Analytics?
We have an issue with the hard coding of passwords in ACL Analytics. You do not have an interface where you can enter...
What are the main differences between RSA Archer, MetricStream and IBM OpenPages?
RSA Archer, IBM OpenPages and MetricStream are the top GRC software solutions in the market today. Out of the 3, IBM ...
What do you like most about RSA Archer?
It has various valuable features. For example, showing us if a control aligns with specific standards or frameworks h...
What needs improvement with RSA Archer?
While it provides benefits in terms of security, the pricing is a bit higher than customers typically expect. It woul...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
Regarding the compliance, risk, and governance tools, I am comfortable discussing the tools in the GRC category. The ...
 

Also Known As

ACL
No data available
Archer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Essar Group, Dean Foods, Lafarge North America, Austrian Ministry of Finance
Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, ACCO Brands Corporation, AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, AIB International, Associated Banc-Corp, BAE Systems, Barclaycard, Dell Inc, DIRECTV, Energizer, Fresenius Kabi, Hasbro, Goodyear, HudsonCity Savings Bank, Infigen Energy, Kaydon, Leroy Merlin, Mountry Financial Corp., Nicholas Piramal, Pepco, Pfizer, Societe Generale, Whitney Bank
T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
Find out what your peers are saying about RSA, OneTrust, Diligent and others in GRC. Updated: September 2025.
868,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.