No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

ARIS BPA vs IBM Blueworks Live vs Lucidchart 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

Business Process Design Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ARIS BPA7.2%
Bizagi8.4%
Camunda8.0%
Other76.4%
Business Process Design
Business Process Design Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Blueworks Live2.9%
Bizagi8.4%
Camunda8.0%
Other80.7%
Business Process Design
Mind Mapping Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Lucidchart19.7%
Visio20.4%
Xmind13.9%
Other46.00000000000001%
Mind Mapping Software
 

Featured Reviews

BM
Consultant at KAFD DMC
Has improved process modeling and analysis while supporting integration with organizational data
The process design in ARIS BPA does help with our operational efficiency. What we are doing is object library management for various kinds of objects that we are using in ARIS BPA during our process modeling. We are using that to do a lot of analysis on how many times a system is being used in how many processes, who are the major stakeholders, and if we enhance one system, how is it going to impact other processes and integrated processes. This is helping us a lot. Everything related to ARIS BPA is helping us with regards to enhanced processes, strengthened controls, identifying risks, assessing process capabilities, and identifying where the gaps are and what kinds of activities within the processes are automated and manual. We are doing a lot of things with regards to the processes as it is at our heart. Processes are one thing and then we have different kinds of things which are related to it, such as SLAs, guidelines, and policy. We are identifying areas of improvement in other documents as well.
Nupur Wadhwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
Enables efficient process mapping but requires improvement in maintaining server stability
The pricing of the solution can be quite expensive when compared to competitors, though IBM Blueworks Live stands out from a technical standpoint. IBM Blueworks Live provides clear ROI as it saves both time and money. I have successfully imported Visio flowcharts into both IBM Blueworks Live and ARIS. Both tools handled the imports successfully, though some manual intervention was required because Visio is quite a basic tool. Importing flowcharts into advanced tools such as ARIS and IBM Blueworks Live requires some manual effort. The primary advantage is the ease of use. I have not encountered any features in other tools that I couldn't find in ARIS. This is a major factor because I don't have to switch between tools to find specific features. Using ARIS for the past three years has built confidence and trust in the tool.
AlexMartin1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at Nestlé
Visual collaboration has improved remote workflows and supports faster shared decisions
The best features Lucidchart offers are that it diagrams processes very well. It allows for project management to help with client timelines. It is also easy to use and create diagrams, especially mermaid diagrams. Collaborating is easy. Out of all those features, collaboration stands out to me the most because it is easy to share with team members to do joint design work. Lucidchart has positively impacted my organization by improving productivity and collaboration. In terms of specifics, collaboration helps us come to conclusions. I notice better throughput as it is easy to use. Improved productivity allows us to express ourselves more quickly.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The whole ARIS BPM solution is a bit special, because from the very beginning it was targeted more to Business users and the Management."
"The ease of use is the most valuable, as I have tried a number of BPMN packages and find the user interface of ARIS BPM easier and more intuitive than others, and if your team is knowledgeable on BPMN, it is really pretty easy to figure out on your own because it adheres to the standards extremely well."
"ARIS is probably the most mature product in terms of modeling an enterprise architecture so that it has context."
"If used with clear strategy, it can provide a really powerful tool to analyze the whole Enterprise, from IT, Processes and Organization."
"The capability to integrate all information of the business and to generate simulations of processes. It can analyze the model of operations quickly."
"ARIS BPA covers many or all blueprints and functions that I need."
"Visualizes processes which helps the business see pain points."
"I reviewed ARIS BPA, and I noticed it was recommended by Gartner in 2024."
"Valuable features include real-time modeling and design work, the ability to perform workshops with clients in real-time with the tool, and getting instant output."
"Blueworks has provided us with a steady set of templates to utilize for mapping, and has given us a consistent standardization across the organization to do all our process mapping on one platform."
"The stability is pretty good. It is highly available, which is key. You don't lose your work and can autosave."
"Blueworks Live gives insight into where processes can be more productive, providing that "Ah ha!" moment from a visual perspective and making it easy to tweak, update, and refine processes, which drives continuous improvement and better decisions."
"It has a built-in capability to capture process owners and managers against processes along with other process governance roles."
"IBM Blueworks Live helps improve operational efficiency, especially where requirements are uncertain and clarity is needed, as it helps determine and provide visibility to clients and enables an easy shift to the design phase."
"Business users understand it really well, which means we can then help them automate their business processes."
"The ease of documenting and digitizing the processes was valuable to us."
"Feature and functionality-wise, it is fantastic."
"Lucidchart's capabilities for visualizing and understanding those flows and processes are absolutely excellent."
"My advice would be to be open to another product that, in the end, is just a whole lot more intuitive and easy to adopt and so much more valuable for collaboration."
"If you are looking for a solution that replaces Visio, Lucidchart is indeed the alternative."
"The team could not operate without it."
"Lucidchart is very visual in nature, and it is something that we do use extensively for stakeholder mapping, for example. If you want to build graphs for things like who the decision-makers are in a particular organization, Lucidchart can be used for that."
"Lucidchart is a really effective tool to help illustrate those pictures, to explain very complex technical ideas to other technical people."
"This ability to collaborate efficiently and in parallel has saved us time because it makes the job easier for our colleagues and teammates."
 

Cons

"They should make improvements as per customer requirements."
"One thing that could be improved is regarding the handling of the content itself. Maybe ARIS could provide a set of best practices, or best processes, so that people do not have to start from scratch."
"The user interface could be more intuitive and better designed."
"ARIS BPA’s usability could be improved."
"I find it difficult to access the database as I want with direct querying."
"I had this decentralization mission where I had some friendly fights with the consultants of Software AG."
"I find it difficult to access the database as I want with direct querying."
"The reporting and the information query features could do with some improvement."
"I wish Blueworks Live had simulations built in, but it doesn't. It also lacks a feature of reporting; ad hoc, drag and drop reporting. A lot of senior people are always asking for reports, and there's no reporting feature within IBM Blueworks."
"The user interface is quite easy at first but process analysts soon run into roadblocks of limited functionality, which is disappointing."
"I can't insert any images. For example, within the process map, if I want to put it in the box or rectangle, or circle. If I have to use one image or icon, that's not possible."
"The user interface is quite easy at first but process analysts soon run into roadblocks of limited functionality, which is disappointing."
"We would like the ability to add additional custom colors. We would like to color additional items to add notes to the blueprint."
"We haven't yet been able to dabble in case management with Blueworks Live, as it is not yet offered with the product."
"Since you require a license per user to access the information it would be nice to have the ability to print the information out in large font for review."
"Some of the import functionality was a bit restrictive, in terms of loading data in from other data sources. Something as simple as Excel, loading data tables from Excel, wasn't great."
"I would like to have more text boxes to write more comments so I can write a small note below a picture. I would like some flexibility."
"I am not quite sure what different functionalities it provides as well as the difficulties other people are facing. When I have a better understanding of the solution, I will increase my rating of it. No solution is perfect, so I am sure that I will be facing some problems in the future."
"It can have more colors or graphics. Currently, it is a little boring."
"In terms of improvement, there can be more templates. There are good templates but there could still be more."
"I would like to have access to more colorful and more vibrant icons."
"I don't know if I will be able to add some animations if I want to. I believe the problem may be the program's process flows but if I want to transfer it into a PPP or any other document, I can only do image transfer."
"There is a premium for the use of certain elements in Lucidchart... It becomes very annoying, especially if you are a first-time user of Lucidchart and you don't have a premium plan. It feels a little too restrictive, in terms of using very basic shapes and icons. It asks you to sign-up for the premium account, which I think shouldn't be the case."
"They should make it more user-friendly. The only option is either to use the existing template with already existing colors and gradients; if you want to do custom colors and gradients, then it's too complicated to use and should be simplified."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be better."
"Prices are high. However, they are worth it if the organization utilizes the tool to its full potential."
"The product is inexpensive."
"It is well worth the investment in the enterprise."
"ARIS is quite expensive."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Usually, our company buys technical support from the Software AG site. We bought the technical support for the first year of usage for ARIS version 6 and 7. So, when we migrated to ARIS version 7, we bought support only for the first year. Then, we didn't use it the next year. Our experience was that we use it only one to three times during the first year. Therefore, there wasn't much value for us to buy this service because we have no problem with using ARIS after the first year."
"ARIS BPA is too costly from a licensing perspective."
"Price wise, IBM Blueworks Live is in the middle range, and I would give it a five out of ten."
"The solution is not very expensive."
"Based on the licenses purchased, from a footprint perspective, you can have as many people as you want. You have multiple different categories of licenses to keep the cost low."
"The solution is very, very cost-effective."
"There are editor licenses that are around 50 euros per month, and contributor licenses that are around 30 euros per month."
"Making it less expensive would be good."
"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."
"We are seeing ROI from this solution. The solution has saved us time."
"Its pricing is very affordable and reasonable for the features that it provides. I am using its basic plan, and for my usage, it is perfectly reasonable. It suits perfectly."
"Lucidchart's pricing model is not excessive, as compared to similar products. It is pretty much in line with everyone else."
"The price of this product is a little bit high. It is probably 20% higher than what I expected to pay for such a solution."
"I have only used the trial version and have not yet paid for it, or explored the pricing options."
"I was using the free version of Lucidchart, which was very helpful."
"We chose Lucid based on the price comparison between it and draw.io... Lucidchart was about 15 percent cheaper per user... I was surprised to learn that it came with a separate subscription model and was not included in my existing Lucidchart subscription."
"The price was low enough to make me think that it was fine, I'll go for it. I think it's $80 or so. It's not too expensive."
"We signed up for the month-to-month and it charged us all at once for the whole year. I believe we signed up for the $7.99 one. I think that was the price."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Process Design solutions are best for your needs.
896,387 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise47
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise29
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS BPA?
It is a bit expensive regarding ARIS BPA. However, ARIS BPA does save a lot of effort because this is one tool which ...
What needs improvement with ARIS BPA?
We are not using any what-if scenario features in ARIS BPA. Currently, we are not using the performance monitoring an...
What is your primary use case for ARIS BPA?
ARIS BPA is being used for process modeling, and we are planning to upgrade and enhance it for process mining and oth...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Blueworks Live?
I do not have exposure to IBM Blueworks Live pricing since this is managed by other personnel who handle the financia...
What needs improvement with IBM Blueworks Live?
I do not use Security Identity Governance and Intelligence, as it is not implemented here. I would prefer an on-premi...
What is your primary use case for IBM Blueworks Live?
IBM Blueworks Live and security management are my primary products within the IBM suite. I particularly work on autom...
LucidChart vs LucidSpark for brainstorming sessions over Zoom
Hi @Krista Thompson ​ - Yes, LucidSpark is a much more nimble and, in some ways, user-friendly tool than LucidChart. ...
Do you recommend Lucidchart?
I definitely recommend Lucidchart. I feel it is one of the top visual collaboration platforms that’s available on the...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lucidchart?
It is cloud-based, so no setup is required. Currently, we are using a free plan.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

ARIS, ARIS BPM
IBM Lombardi Blueprint
No data available
 

Overview

 

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.
Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council
Google, Salesforce, Adobe, Whirlpool, Uber, Wal Mart, Pearson, Twitch, Riot Games, Western Union, Trimble, Starbucks
Find out what your peers are saying about Camunda, Bizagi, Microsoft and others in Business Process Design. Updated: May 2026.
896,387 professionals have used our research since 2012.