ARIS BPA vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visual Paradigm comparison

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ARIS BPA

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between ARIS BPA, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, and Visual Paradigm based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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To learn more, read our detailed Business Process Design Report (Updated: August 2025).

Business Process Design

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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 Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 10.1%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Paradigm is 5.6%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect	10.1%
ARIS BPA	7.5%
Visual Paradigm	5.6%
Other	76.8%

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

Tamer Eldamanhouri

Software Engineering & Manager at Arab Infromation Management Services

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.

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Milan Sterba

Senior Enterprise Architect at Deepview S.r.o.

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.

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Angie Ibrahim Eissa

Founder & Managing Partner at BBL

A software application designed for software development teams to model business information systems and manage development processes

Setting up Visual Paradigm is easy. There's hardly any configuration needed, unlike some other tools. You just choose your method and diagram type, and you're good to go. As for improvements, integrating project management features with diagrams could be better. Viewing outputs could also be smoother, especially when working with multiple files.Deployment is quick and painless. It practically takes no time at all to set up. And because I also teach at the university, I use Visual Paradigm for my classes and case studies. It's easy to switch between products, and my students have no trouble using it on their own.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Objects can be reused across different BPMNs and processes, so we can design new processes quicker and easier."

"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."

"It has helped me get some ideas across more clearly to my colleagues."

"The most valuable features are business process modeling and reporting."

"The solution provides integrations to ServiceNow and other systems, flexibility of connectivity, and reporting."

"The initial setup is easy."

"Good at controlling the workflow and relevant key processes."

"There is a module designer, that one is very powerful and it creates very good reports."

More ARIS BPA pros

"The platform is stable and reliable."

"This is a useful tool for IT people who need to design their solution architecture."

"Its most valuable feature is the Zachman Framework."

"I have found the Meta Model tuning feature useful as it provides me with an overview of all my work needs."

"We can easily use it with our new customers."

"Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect was easy to set up and it took just twenty minutes."

"It's a very practical solution. You don't need to do an advanced course to start using this tool."

"The features I find most valuable is the ability to create a document and then put it into a OneCare artifact."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pros

"It is easy-to-use and it helps understand its data modeling structure through the intuitive user interface."

"Visual Paradigm allowed me to create UML diagrams efficiently."

"The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features are pricing and functionality."

"Using the Component Diagram, Visual Paradigm helps with design and control, reusing components."

"It is easy and intuitive to use, not excessively rigid, and quite flexible."

"The most valuable feature of the Visual Paradigm that I use is process modeling. Additionally, the solution has a complete set of features."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"I find it very user-friendly for my purposes, which is creating business process models that I can publish as HTML pages. It has worked flawlessly for my project, and my clients are able to utilize it as an internal web portal for their process documentation and other needs."

More Visual Paradigm pros

Cons

"I had this decentralization mission where I had some friendly fights with the consultants of Software AG. My opinion was the business department should be able to publish their processes and do all their evaluation stuff in ARCM themselves. It has to be a one stop shop. I want a one stop shop to go from ARIS BPM to ARIS ARCM, because having everything go through that would be an improvement due to the inputs that we made with Software AG. They will make it possible that the trigger sent from BPM to ARCM will start their object generation."

"The product is difficult to use for someone without prior knowledge of working with it. It requires a certain level of administration training."

"The model graphics can be exported in PDF, but the model is too small to read."

"I find it difficult to access the database as I want with direct querying."

"While the dashboarding solution for integrating all kinds of process-related information from company sources other than ARIS is getting ever better, my personal wish would be to have a module that is more targeted to an Agile implementation of some modeled processes (model–to-execute)."

"I would like to see the reporting aspects improved."

"Its governance tool and integration with ESB and execution engine can be improved. Their partner support can also be improved."

"The reporting and the information query features could do with some improvement."

More ARIS BPA cons

"Their technical support is not good in India. I wrote to them because I had a question, but I never got an answer. So, I just left it behind."

"When the model is large, it is a bit slow to render."

"Sparx can be a bit slow. If you are trying to design software architecture, sometimes we run into issues and need to refresh."

"Weak in regards to data modelling. No logical or physical modelling or migration from conceptual to physical."

"The stability and performance of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect could still be improved. Setup for it is also slightly complicated and could be improved."

"This solution should have better ease of use for the uninitiated."

"The UI is a little bit outdated. It should be more fresh and clean."

"It would be nice to have it supported on the Linux operating system."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect cons

"The solution can improve by updating the user interface, and graphics."

"Visual Paradigm's initial deployment was difficult since we did it for the first time. It is challenging to learn to use the product."

"Visual Paradigm is much better now. But each project has its own challenges, which is why I'm exploring different tools for my new projects. For instance, designing reports can be tough, especially with the costly intervention of professional services from vendors."

"I was looking to generate code from the diagrams, but it was not totally clear how to do it."

"There are some connectivity issues that crop up rarely when used with SQL Server."

"Visual Paradigm is heavier and has more complexity than one of its competitors, e.g. Lucidchart. It could have been better if it was more simplified."

"Visual Paradigm could improve many aspects. The performance could be better because it can be low. When we have large and complicated models, it has a low speed and many bugs. Sometimes the solution stops and you have to restart Microsoft Windows on your PC. The larger database modeling cannot be done properly, I have to use another solution called SAP PowerDesigner."

"The product can always get better as the industry changes."

More Visual Paradigm cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Prices are high. However, they are worth it if the organization utilizes the tool to its full potential."

"ARIS has different licensing mechanisms for different modules, but they are perpetual licenses. So you pay once."

"The setup cost and pricing depend on the license (Modeler, Viewer, Administrator)."

"The price could be better."

"I would recommend the product to only enterprise companies because of the pricing."

"Pricing is a bit on the higher side."

"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 is expensive."

More ARIS BPA pricing and cost advice

"It's affordable. The only additional cost that we haven't yet figured out is the floating license. If you buy a floating license, you have to have a license management server, which comes at an additional cost that's not discussed. So, we haven't yet used the floating license. That’s because I haven't had a chance to figure that out."

"We paid 1200 euros as a once-off cost. All add ons and integrations come at an additional cost."

"There is a license for this solution. When comparing this solution to others it is priced well."

"Enterprise licensing is competitive. What would be helpful if they load the pricing for consultants, you know, people who are consultants for clients. So the license is fine for end-user organizations. Still, they should consider lowering the license to support this adoption, particularly for people who are consultants like myself."

"The Corporate Edition, or one of the bundles, is the way to go."

"I use my own license. So, I just bought the professional version, which costs $800 or something like that. In the company where I am working, we have floating licenses. They are probably more expensive. Its licensing is affordable, but we are talking about a large organization, and there could be modelers or viewers of the models. We don't know how much that would cost us."

"In terms of cost, Sparx EA is probably one of the cheapest tools I have ever used."

"They have the price on their site for the enterprise version, and we do receive a small discount."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pricing and cost advice

"You can move between the tiers from month to month so you are not restricted to one pricing model."

"Visual Paradigm has two models available. One of them is the educational edition, and another is the business edition. For my personal usage, I use the educational version mostly. In a project, my customers have to purchase a license."

"Visual Paradigm's pricing is not expensive."

"You can use Paradigm on a subscription basis and you can choose from different tiers of subscription."

"I rate the pricing a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"I rate Visual Paradigm's pricing a five out of ten."

"In terms of pricing, I find Visual Paradigm's subscription services reasonable, especially for the modern and standard editions. However, the premium products can be a bit pricey, especially considering our location in the Middle East. Currently, paying around a hundred dollars per user translates to almost six hundred Egyptian pounds, which can add up. For enterprise licensing, I think the perpetual license option could be more affordable. If it were cheaper, say around five hundred dollars, I would have invested in multiple perpetual licenses long ago. Sometimes, to manage costs, we share accounts among team members or switch access on and off for certain members who aren't actively working on projects. As for additional costs, there are charges for cloud services, which I'm considering because I've already exceeded the free capacity."

"Over the years I've seen an increase in price, and it makes it difficult for a single person company, like me, to decide whether to extend the license."

More Visual Paradigm pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	32
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	47

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	38
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	58

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	7

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 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...

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 stra...

What do you like most about Visual Paradigm?

The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features a...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visual Paradigm?

I purchased Visual Paradigm on my own, and it was competitively priced, so I was fine with the pricing.

What needs improvement with Visual Paradigm?

The product can always get better as the industry changes, however, I didn't necessarily feel it was lacking for what...

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs ARIS BPA

Comparisons

Compared 23% of the time

ADONIS vs ARIS BPA

Compared 9% of the time

Camunda vs ARIS BPA

Compared 8% of the time

Bizagi vs ARIS BPA

Compared 6% of the time

Pega Platform vs ARIS BPA

Compared 4% of the time

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Visio vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 10% of the time

No Magic MagicDraw vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 9% of the time

LeanIX vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 8% of the time

Lucidchart vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 8% of the time

erwin Data Modeler vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 3% of the time

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Competitors

Visio vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 19% of the time

Lucidchart vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 16% of the time

Bizagi vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 7% of the time

Camunda vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 5% of the time

erwin Data Modeler vs Visual Paradigm

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

ARIS BPA

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Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Download Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect product report

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect report

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Also Known As

ARIS, ARIS BPM

No data available

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

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is an enterprise solution that helps streamline, accelerate, and integrate software, system, and business development. With this intuitive modeling and design solution, enterprises can stay in control of their workplaces, enable collaboration, support their teams and colleagues, and manage complex projects. Software architects, business analysts, project managers, developers, support staff, and testers can unite under a single repository. Through numerous view points and potential sub-systems, users are offered a unified view in a complex environment.

With Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, users are also offered a shared model option which can be accessed quickly and securely by in-office and remote team members through the Enterprise Architect’s Pro Cloud Server. Building a coherent, verifiable model can be done by connecting and integrating a variety of behavioral and structural information in visual form. As a result, Enterprise Architect offers high performance, flexibility, and the ability to model, manage, and trace every stage of the business development and modeling process.

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Features

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect assists in creating a unified and accessible vision in business development by offering a flexible platform with a unique set of rich features. These features include:

Test and debug - Streamline software development and visualize software with the simulation process. Users can test and confirm correct behavior, set and oversee test points, and debug and examine software.

Track tasks - Track, prioritize, and assign individual and group tasks to assist in the model’s development. Users can visually monitor their progress through the Gantt chart.

Open standards - Users can visualize and analyze running software with integrated custom tools. They can also run advanced simulations, team-based repositories, testing tools, and version control. In addition, the solution supports enterprise architecture frameworks such as UPDM and TOGAF.

Simulation - Create and debug embedded solutions by simulating behaviors and state models. Users can specify events, triggers, constraints, and more. Users can also specify extensive and complex structural systems and create custom domain-specific solutions.

Reviews from Real Users

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect merges high-end tools, online availability, a dedication to open standards, and accessible pricing so enterprises can stay in control of their workplaces, whether remote or in-office. Users particularly like the architectural frameworks and the scalability.

Marc L., a principal architecture enterprise solution adviser at Cronomagic Canada, notes, "The product offers very good support for all mainstream modeling notations and architectural frameworks."

An enterprise architect at a manufacturing company writes, "Scalable solution for modeling, project sharing, and collaboration. Support for it is good."

Sparx Systems

Visual Paradigm is a UML tool. The tool is designed for a wide range of users including software engineers, system analysts, business analysts and system architects, or for anyone who is interested in reliably building large-scale software systems using an object-oriented approach. In addition, Visual Paradigm supports the latest standards of UML notation.

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.

OmniLink

Adobe, Apple, at&t, Caterpillar, Intel, NASA, Nokia, Toyota

Business Process Design