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Alfabet Enterprise Architecture Management vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect 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

Alfabet Enterprise Architec...
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
13th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of Alfabet Enterprise Architecture Management is 2.5%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 13.6%, down from 18.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

AlanJackson - PeerSpot reviewer
Great taxonomy support but raw business processing should be upgraded
Alfabet is not just a technology tool, it's also a business tool. And if a decision's made without the business involved, then Alfabet will not be in a position to deliver anything more than support for enterprise architect drawings and solutions drawings. It has to be the business. If you do that, it works well. If you don't and I've had the experience where they haven't evolved a business, then it just becomes a tech tool that the business doesn't care about. The stigma of having an environment that was so delayed in the maintenance caused lots of finger-pointing within the organization of who was right and who was wrong. It took a considerable period of time to move people past that point to actually look at it as a business tool supported by the technology team. I rate the solution seven out of 10.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of this solution are its customizability, and flexibility in the configuration."
"The initial setup was straightforward. It takes two to three days to set up the environment. One person was able to handle the implementation."
"The taxonomy support across all the phases is the most advantageous feature."
"Provides a single repository for all architecture work."
"Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect supports multiple modeling languages like ArchiMate for database design, software lifecycle visualization, and team management."
"The best thing about the tool is that its database is open."
"The advantages of Enterprise are that it's cheaper and much more practical than MagicDraw."
"Ability to maintain cross-references for all models in all levels - great tractability."
"Sparx technical support is good."
"I like Sparx's BPM features and the way it lets you create the diagram."
"I like that there is support for software patterns."
 

Cons

"The product is not great at implementing security frameworks across an end-to-end supply chain."
"The user experience, the layout and the different technologies behind the presentations are a bit old. These need to be updated. They should focus on web development. It's simply not supporting the current user experience guidelines."
"We would like to see the visualization of assets, as well as artificial intelligence techniques to assist us in making our decisions."
"I would like it to be less of a general tool. Currently, it is not a Swiss army knife that can do everything. It is not specialized for our purposes. We are a civil engineering company. We build things. We work mostly in what is known as Infra world in the Netherlands, which comprises objects such as bridges, locks, and water management. We would like to see more focus on such types of projects. It would be nice if it has more specializations. At the moment, it is very generic, and you have to create everything yourself. Our focus is more on user requirement management, which is currently very basic. I would like to see a lot more functionality in this area. Its basic functions for adding user requirements are perfect, but we need more features. Currently, it has limited possibilities for our requirements. I would also like to see better contract management and have it managed in a certain way."
"Inconsistent UI elements must be tidied up with the toolbox gaps removed."
"Sparx can be a bit slow. If you are trying to design software architecture, sometimes we run into issues and need to refresh."
"The solution needs to offer better support for the mobile-based system. Right now, it's not working."
"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."
"The elements of the modeling sets can have better customization and visual representation. It would be great to have a mobile version."
"In general, we now have a problem with Sparx Enterprise Architect because many analysts think it's too complicated to use in a giant environment."
"The database management area was not usable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The license for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is paid yearly, but I don't handle that area. It's good for its price, so I'm rating it a five out of five, but I'm not using it much. I also don't have information regarding additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees."
"The pricing for ultimate version is steeply high."
"Its price is very good for the value that you get with it."
"It is very economical and low cost. You have to pay for a one-time license, and it is active forever."
"We have an annual license, and it's very affordable."
"It’s the best deal in town, by far."
"They have the price on their site for the enterprise version, and we do receive a small discount."
"Pricing and licensing are suitable even for small companies."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
Insurance Company
8%
Educational Organization
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Alfabet Enterprise Architecture Management?
The taxonomy support across all the phases is the most advantageous feature.
What needs improvement with Alfabet Enterprise Architecture Management?
The ability for Alfabet to acknowledge use cases that are specifically business-based and not technology-based and better integrate those process designs across the spectrum could be improved. The ...
What is your primary use case for Alfabet Enterprise Architecture Management?
I work for a systems integrator and we are end users. Organizations using this product are enterprise-size, our largest customer has 30,000 users. One customer had use cases built on sourcing raw m...
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 ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Metro Bank, Credit Suisse
OmniLink
Find out what your peers are saying about Alfabet Enterprise Architecture Management vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.