ARIS Architect and Designer vs Visio comparison

Software AG and Microsoft are both solutions in the Business Process Design category. Software AG is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.4, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.0. Software AG holds a 1.1% mindshare in BPD, compared to Microsoft’s 11.8% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of Software AG users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

ARIS Architect and Designer

Read 11 ARIS Architect and Designer reviews

726 Views
719 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Visio

Read 109 Visio reviews

7,025 Views
5,761 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

ARIS Architect and Designer

Visio

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Visio and ARIS Architect and Designer compete in the diagramming and business process management software category. Visio seems to have the upper hand in integration and template variety due to its seamless connection with Microsoft Office. ARIS excels in enterprise architecture with its robust process management tools.

Features: Visio's strengths lie in its vast template library, making quick diagramming tasks feasible for those familiar with Microsoft tools, while offering seamless Office integration. ARIS Architect and Designer is advantageous for advanced process management with comprehensive tools like BPMN 2.0 validation and deeper business analytics.

Room for Improvement: Visio could benefit from expanding support for features like XPDL import/export, pen input on Surface devices, and better layering control. ARIS Architect and Designer should consider simplifying collaboration features, improving import/export flexibility, and enhancing usability in data handling to better adapt to various environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Visio provides deployment flexibility across Private Cloud, Public Cloud, and On-premises platforms, with varied customer service experiences highlighting useful self-help resources but occasional hurdles in real-time support. ARIS Architect and Designer primarily focuses on on-premises deployment, with noted complexities in licensing affecting customer service, yet offering a structured enterprise deployment approach.

Pricing and ROI: Visio's diverse pricing strategies, including a cost-effective Office 365 bundle, make it accessible and supportive of strong ROI by ensuring quick setup and efficient usage. Despite a higher cost, its integration benefits often justify the investment. Conversely, ARIS Architect and Designer's higher licensing expenses might deter potential users, although ROI can be significant in settings maximizing its features, albeit the cost remains a barrier.

To learn more, read our detailed ARIS Architect and Designer vs. Visio Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ARIS Architect and Designer vs. Visio

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 879,259 peers since 2012

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

ARIS Architect and Designer

Ranking in Business Process Design

10th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Visio

Ranking in Business Process Design

2nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

109

Ranking in other categories

Mind Mapping Software (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of ARIS Architect and Designer is 1.1%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visio is 11.8%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Visio	11.8%
ARIS Architect and Designer	1.1%
Other	87.1%

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

BeenishMustafa

Consultant at KAFD DMC

Has raised concerns about pricing while expressing satisfaction with its contribution to optimizing internal processes

Considering the integration capability of the product, it contributes to data-driven decision-making in our case. We see some impact of reporting tools on performance tracking or strategic planning. We do different kinds of analysis in regard to due integration controls, risk, and how we can strengthen the processes and the activities. We use it for various purposes. Regarding the process visualization framework, it helps to improve communication and collaboration in the company in a positive way. Architect is managing all the library management and with regards to the filter management. It's always a positive side that if you want to use anything further, we know that we can reach out to the Architect to add those objects and those attributes. It's really good.

Read full review

NitinSharma

Senior Network Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Created detailed rack and network diagrams that streamline documentation and collaboration

For creating diagrams, I definitely use Visio for HLD, LLD, and traffic flow diagrams. Apart from Visio, I use Jira only if the customer specifically requests it; otherwise, I do not use an in-house version of Jira in my organization. One of the good features of using the Microsoft umbrella product is that if I create a big diagram and then work on the HLD or LLD in Word, I can select everything from Visio and paste it as an image without needing to resize it, which streamlines the process of creating documentation for customers. The main benefits Visio provides me include simplifying processes, saving time on manual work with diagram creation, and delivering a clean architecture, whether it is network architecture or application flow. I have created diagrams for AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-premises data centers, including rack elevation diagrams and organization charts. Modifications can be made easily and reflected immediately, and I can create PNG images to share with the executive team.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Considering the integration capability of the product, it contributes to data-driven decision-making in our case."

"I would rate the solution overall a ten out of ten."

"We use the product for modeling, conducting process checks, doing process flow, running, and analyzing the report."

"The support team is very responsive."

"It is suitable for banks, insurance companies, public administration, etc. The method is very adaptable and can be applied independently of the business."

"One of the standout features for me is its synchronization to a publication server. It makes sharing diagrams and links with non-users easy."

More ARIS Architect and Designer pros

"It is ideal for putting out flowcharts and swim charts. It's really good. It has all the various options to use, particularly depending on what kind of audience you have. It provides you different kinds of options to insert the pictures and explain things."

"Architecture modeling software with satisfactory standard features. It's also stable and effective in facilitating communication with others."

"The diagrams Visio creates are quite impressive in the sense that we can cooperate with more colleagues in one task and see the flow of the process."

"The ability to visualize a workflow is certainly an advantage over just tracking a process in something like Excel."

"Process modeling is a good feature."

"On the scalability front, the aspect of increasing the number of endpoints is relatively easy to handle."

"It is pretty easy to use if you are looking for this type of solution."

"The diagramming and swimlane features allow for separating business functions."

More Visio pros

Cons

"Even with a formal modeling language, users can still draw freely and make a bit of a mess in your repository. It should also improve usability."

"The product is not flexible."

"The simulation part still has some way to go. It's a good feature, and it's something that other vendors don't have right now, but it can still be improved. Some features are needed in ARIS Architect, so advanced users can do things through drag-and-drop functionality."

"Sometimes we feel that the designer needs more usability. I understand that the web module or the cloud version is much more user-friendly and easier to work on compared to the client that we download."

"Currently, we don't have any metrics to measure the success of ARIS Architect and Designer."

"We face problems when the product's capacity is increased."

"Currently, we don't have any metrics to measure the success of ARIS Architect and Designer."

More ARIS Architect and Designer cons

"The tools panel at the top, et cetera, seems really complicated."

"The price could be better."

"Something that needs to improve, is the interface interaction with other tools."

"Visio could be improved by adding more features. If you look at draw.io, they have more features. Also, if you want to design something for the cloud, Microsoft Azure still isn't enabled, so you need to install the plugin. This prototype is easily available, though."

"The solution should be included in Microsoft Office 365. For some reason, it's not. It should be bundled in with everything else."

"I cannot say anything that needs improvement in Visio; it was quite user-friendly, but I think the organization may have found it costly."

"It's a very large install that uses many gigabytes."

"In terms of features, it could provide more automation to display data flowing through architecture."

More Visio cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Many customers find the licensing configuration confusing. There are many different sub-details in the licensing, making it very difficult for us to understand what we are buying and what we are using with what."

"The product is expensive."

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

"The licenses are very costly. I've seen many people who are hesitant or not able to use ARIS Suite just because of the license cost. Even though they like all the functionalities and understand the value of everything ARIS provides, they aren't able to implement it."

"The product is inexpensive if you already have Microsoft products in your environment. The license encompasses all the required services."

"The solution is expensive. The solution does come bundled in other packages."

"The price of Visio is reasonable."

"The popularity of a product is an indicator of its price. Because of the popularity of Visio, its price is on the higher side. We need better pricing for it."

"You have to purchase a license to use the solution."

"Now we pay about $200, which is maybe $10 per user per month."

"While I don't recall the exact price I do recall that it was quite high."

"The product is expensive, but it is cheaper if you buy it as a part of a bundle or an enterprise-level agreement."

More Visio pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Design solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

10%

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	36
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	61

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ARIS Architect and Designer?

The support team is very responsive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ARIS Architect and Designer?

Currently, we don't have any metrics to measure the success of ARIS Architect and Designer. We would appreciate it if you could share anything with us that we can do to find out the impact.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for ARIS Architect and Designer?

We spoke with you about ARIS Architect and Designer. We already have two architect licenses, I think three architect licenses, and we have, I think, six or seven designer licenses. Architect is bas...

See all answers

How easy is it to migrate process flow charts (modeled using tools like Visio) into Bizagi?

I have been using Bizagi with a major project for a state government agency for about four years now. It is pretty straightforward to load in files that are BPMN 2.0 compliant. The option to load V...

See all answers

What do you like most about Visio?

The diagrams Visio creates are quite impressive in the sense that we can cooperate with more colleagues in one task and see the flow of the process.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visio?

One of the main problems with Visio is its licensing options and associated issues, which lead to discussions about the price with a Microsoft representative. If asked to rate the price, I would gi...

See all answers

Comparisons

ARIS Cloud vs ARIS Architect and Designer

Compared 33% of the time

Camunda vs ARIS Architect and Designer

Compared 23% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs ARIS Architect and Designer

Compared 16% of the time

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs ARIS Architect and Designer

Compared 16% of the time

More ARIS Architect and Designer Competitors

Bizagi vs Visio

Compared 29% of the time

Lucidchart vs Visio

Compared 9% of the time

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs Visio

Compared 9% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visio

Compared 8% of the time

Visual Paradigm vs Visio

Compared 6% of the time

More Visio Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ARIS Architect and Designer

December 2025

Download ARIS Architect and Designer product report

Buyer's Guide

Visio

December 2025

Download Visio product report

Also Known As

ARIS Architect & Designer, ARIS Architect, ARIS Designer

Microsoft Visio

Overview

ARIS is the market-leading solution for professional business process management and modeling. Whether you want to document the "as-is" state of your operations for quality or certification reasons or design the "to-be" in terms of continuous improvement in your transformation program, ARIS is the best choice for establishing a single source of truth regarding all process excellence topics in your organization. It is for any organization looking to digitally transform their business, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution. ARIS helps you to make the most out of your processes with Process Mining, Risk & Compliance Management, RPA and much more.

What makes the difference?

The most comprehensive platform for process excellence in the market
Easy to use
Covers business & IT architecture from all angles
Full flexibility and >100 diagram types
Customer-driven development based on best practices
Strong partner ecosystem

ARIS is the market-leading solution for any organization and ideally suited to digitally transform the organization, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution.

Software AG

Visio is an innovative collaborative solution that enables users to quickly visualize data-connected business process flows with a host of integrated intuitive features that bring the power of Microsoft 365 to Visio. Visio allows users to easily create professional diagrams, graphs, and other visual data, easily anywhere, anytime, and with anyone. Users are able to confidently and easily transform data into creative powerful visuals. Visio provides dozens of easy-to-use templates along with thousands of customizable colorful shapes that bring a user's best ideas to life. Visio is available for all Microsoft 365 commercial users and is available on desktop and Web applications.

Visio Features

Visio can easily create visual data for today’s business needs. Some of its most useful visual data include:

Flowcharts: Users can easily bring business concepts to fruition with Visio’s robust flowchart features. Visio provides a huge library of shapes, stencils, and templates to transform numbers and data into impactful, easy-to-understand business stories.
Organizational charts: Visio makes it easy to design articulate org charts to better visualize team, reporting, and hierarchy structures. Users are then able to seamlessly share the charts with stakeholders, teams, and employees.
Network diagrams: Users are able to creatively display how a system design processes function and visually illustrate how devices and networks interact with each other using a variety of network shapes, templates, and connector tools.
Brainstorming: Visio makes brainstorming simple and actionable with a wide range of templates designed specifically for interpreting problems and mapping out solutions, including fishbone and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) diagrams.
Floor plans: Users can design ergonomic workspaces, retail store layouts, new homes, and more with accurate, scalable templates and tools to help them better visualize function, flow, and overall aesthetic appeal.
Accessible: Visio is able to integrate with a wide variety of accessibility tools, such as Narrator, Accessibility Checker, and high-contrast support, to ensure Visio diagrams are available to your entire team.

Reviews from Real Users

“Visio has improved my workflow by making it easy to create charts, diagrams, and essential illustrations to use in my client reports and proposals. It has saved me a lot of time I would otherwise spend creating visuals for clients manually.” - Michael B., Principal Consultant at Lexington Consulting

“I use it for diagramming networks, racks, data centers, data flow applications, etc. It is a useful tool to map data flows, network objects, and computer science technology and to show to clients. It does what I need it to do. It's a tool I've used the longest, so I know it the best, and that's probably the claim to fame.” - Greg S., Director of Solution Architecture at Winslow Technology Group

“We use Visio for architecture modeling. We also use it to facilitate communication with other people. The feature I like most about Visio is that it acts as a facilitator of communication, as it displays information in a way that's easier to understand.” - Guy M., IT/Business Architect at a financial services firm

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Tesco, Weifu, Airbus, Siemens, Proximus, Alicorp, Sekerbank, Bancor, Philips,Sky, Emirates NBD, Dubai Municipality, Suva, U.S. Army, Australia Post, Westfalen Weser Energie - ARIS serves customers across all industries and of every size worldwide. Companies trust ARIS as the market leader for process excellence with more than 30 years of experience in the market, 10 million users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.

Thomas College, Hamburg Port Authority, Portigon AG, Conseil G_n_ral du d_partement des Hautes-Alpes, AAA Auto a. s., Commonwealth Financial Network, ICA, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company

Buyer's Guide

ARIS Architect and Designer vs. Visio

December 2025

Free Report: ARIS Architect and Designer vs. Visio

Find out what your peers are saying about ARIS Architect and Designer vs. Visio and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our ARIS Architect and Designer vs. Visio report.

See our list of best Business Process Design vendors.

We monitor all Business Process Design reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.