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ARIS BPA vs Visio vs iServer 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 August 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of ARIS BPA is 7.5%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of iServer is 1.8%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visio is 12.5%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Visio12.5%
ARIS BPA7.5%
iServer1.8%
Other78.2%
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Tamer Eldamanhouri - PeerSpot reviewer
Empowers teams with robust business process modeling capabilities
They should examine competitor solutions to identify differentiators. One issue related to ARIS BPA is its integration with AI; it has AI features for cloud solutions, yet many in the government sector in Kuwait do not view the cloud as viable. Software AG should focus on developing AI models for ARIS BPA on-premises, particularly in user interfaces, as well as creating predefined business processes for common areas such as HR and finance. This aspect is crucial for adapting to the market's needs and streamlining custom solutions. While they have been helpful regarding pricing, I cannot compare ARIS BPA to other business process modeling tools because I understand some competitors have significantly lower costs than ARIS BPA. To maintain market share, good discounts should be provided to customers.
Antonios Lazanakis - PeerSpot reviewer
Flexible, easy to use, and easy to import data
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization iServer is a very flexible platform for defining your own enterprise architecture model. It is very easy to import data, and we also have good integration with Visual Drawing Tools and SharePoint. The solution is…
Tugrul TASCI - PeerSpot reviewer
We have seen return on investment in the form of time savings but should have more design tools
I am generally using Visio to create some diagrams Visio should implement more complex tools or graphics to facilitate processing and use flexible templates. It should allow users to easily drag and drop some previously created diagrams. The tools supplied or provided are very basic, and there…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Also, the UML parts have been improved very much in the last two years. And it's very powerful now to combine the BPMN and UML parts in the product, because you can make a connection between them, so that you have the right interoperability between them. So if you're doing data modeling, you can use your class diagram and bind that to the BPMN part."
"The solution provides integrations to ServiceNow and other systems, flexibility of connectivity, and reporting."
"ARIS Reporting – Helps download valuable content from the tool in multiple formats."
"Object oriented modeling allows us to trace what's going on with the specified object."
"It helps to maintain a single source of truth regarding the processes followed within an organization."
"This solution has helped us in terms of discovering business processes."
"ARIS BPA has a good directory option, which helps to keep track of all of your metadata, and that's very useful."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The solution is easily modified to suit your needs."
"The most valuable features of iServer are the integration with Microsoft Office and the interface is similar to Microsoft applications making them easy to use."
"iServer is a solution that helps catalog enterprise architect solutions and catalog information."
"Integrating the Microsoft documents to the product and visualization matrix where we can see the end-to-end relationship of the network is of great importance to our company."
"The most valuable feature is its reporting capability. It offers various packages for different types of reports, such as business and project management reporting packs."
"iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management."
"Tech support is very responsive. They solved issues within a prompt response time."
"Architecture modeling software with satisfactory standard features. It's also stable and effective in facilitating communication with others."
"The most valuable feature of Visio is the credential management, endpoint manager, and active directory for Microsoft Azure for our hybrid infrastructure. Additionally, there are plenty of features available."
"The solution makes it very easy to make exciting pictures and designs. Everything is very intuitive and simple to figure out."
"Good interface and good tool configuration."
"I like the way you can hypertext across tabs so you can actually create an interactive that you can export as a website. You can also extend it to a monitoring tool if you really wanted to."
"I like all the features. I go online, and everything pops there. It is in the cloud, and everything is there. Even if there is a crash, everything is still there. I don't lose anything. That's what is the most valuable and likable. It is really a professional solution for designing. The designs look really nice in the PDF."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to draw models quickly."
"What I like the most is the simplicity and ease of usage."
 

Cons

"The standard out-of-the-box solutions for modeling are not so good. You have to do some configuration to make it easier and more user-friendly."
"I find it difficult to access the database as I want with direct querying."
"The ​integration between ARIS, webMethods, and project versions needs improvement.​"
"An area where it lacks and can be considered for improvement in the future is if we can somehow automate or learn how we can automate different processes."
"Simulation is one area that is a bit complex."
"There are reports available in ARIS and you can modify them a bit if you want something more specific, but it's not that easy to adjust them and make modifications. It would be nice to have some kind of tool to do that, something that is more user-friendly for people who are not too technical, so that they could create reports the way they want them."
"Since ARIS 9.X was released, the product has not been as robust and responsive as the previous versions​."
"User interface (UI)."
"The performance is slow, which is something that should be improved."
"The product is more expensive than Spark."
"Requirements management needs to be improved."
"There are other solutions out there that have a better user interface."
"Enhancing integration options with ERP or ITSM-related solutions for triggering automated requests for process definitions, changes, and tracking them in the iServer."
"iServer is a solid tool. Occasionally, we needed to contact the vendor to clarify details such as porting issues, missing components, and model specifics."
"iServer should invest in enhancing the capabilities of the embedded drawing tool, draw.io."
"Cannot see which activities are control activities."
"I can't speak to any missing features. It's been fine so far."
"Visio should implement more complex tools or graphics to facilitate processing and use flexible templates. The tools supplied or provided are very basic, and there are not enough tools for design."
"It is not flexible in terms of functions and modeling deliverables. When you speak of processes, the program has to describe the activities and the deliverables. You have to tell your robots how to deal with and input something, and you should have something more flexible from this point of view."
"Occasionally, the automation feature that helps you easily add the "next step" goes crazy and it will move a bunch of stuff."
"There are too many features."
"Visio requires a lot of memory, and it is not good for a small design."
"The solution is pretty expensive."
"The simulation is an area that requires improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"​It is on the higher side."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Pricing is a bit on the higher side."
"The price could be better."
"ARIS Express​ is free."
"The setup cost and pricing depend on the license (Modeler, Viewer, Administrator)."
"The pricing and licensing costs are available on their website. They will assign a relationship manager to assist if you show further interest in their products."
"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."
"The product has a moderate pricing."
"The solution is cheaper than its competitors."
"They offer annual subscriptions for developing countries, which are not affordable for small or medium businesses."
"The price of iServer is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"Aim for the exact number of people who shall define/review approve and view the processes, as it will impact the cost."
"It's about 13K to set up and 9K for the license for three months. I think it's about 20K a year, but we haven't firmed up on pricing yet because the price depends on how long we commit to the solution."
"My organization has paid for the solution. However, I have used it personally without payment. There is a free option available."
"I give the cost of Visio a five out of ten."
"It's cheaper than other solutions."
"The solution could be less expensive."
"We have an enterprise license. I'm not sure what the cost is."
"Visio is a pricey tool. It's a five out of ten, cost-wise. It would be great if it had a pay-per-use licensing model because my company uses it sparingly."
"I don't have any issue with the pricing. It has a subscription-based model, and the subscription is done on a yearly basis. Of course, we need internal approvals in place."
"The cost of the software is reasonably priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Government
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise47
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise61
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ARIS BPA?
The most valuable features of ARIS BPA are its flexibility and reporting.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS BPA?
Pricing for ARIS BPA is average, not cheap or expensive. It's cost-effective and worth the money we pay.
What needs improvement with ARIS BPA?
ARIS BPA needs to be more accurate when generating documents. While it covers many blueprints and functions that I ne...
What do you like most about iServer?
iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management.
What needs improvement with iServer?
iServer should invest in enhancing the capabilities of the embedded drawing tool, draw.io. draw.io is a drawing tool ...
What is your primary use case for iServer?
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization.
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 st...
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 a...
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 t...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

ARIS, ARIS BPM
No data available
Microsoft Visio
 

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.
Barclays, Cathay Pacific, Deloitte, British Gas, MasterCard
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Camunda, SAP and others in Business Process Design. Updated: August 2025.
866,286 professionals have used our research since 2012.