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ARIS BPA vs Visio 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
ARIS BPA improves operational resilience, transparency, and stakeholder alignment, offering significant time savings and enhanced management understanding.
Sentiment score
2.0
Visio boosts efficiency, ensuring consistent documentation and faster project timelines, offering substantial time savings and improved document quality.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
ARIS BPA technical support is praised for responsiveness, though improvements in communication and complex issue handling are needed.
Sentiment score
5.5
Most users find Visio documentation sufficient, but experiences vary; some use internal IT or Microsoft’s enterprise support.
The consultants are fine, however, reliance on single experts for modules can be risky.
While I like Microsoft products in general, the main issue is with the licensing options and the problems associated with them.
We generally resolve issues internally within our IT department rather than contacting Microsoft's technical support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
ARIS BPA is scalable and flexible, supporting cloud-based growth across industries despite its cost considerations, accommodating various deployments.
Sentiment score
7.6
Visio's scalability differs, easy integration with Microsoft but struggles with enterprise-level needs and version compatibility challenges.
For user scalability, it is a matter of licenses, while functional scalability is supported and easy to implement.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
ARIS BPA is stable, with challenges in large environments; users appreciate performance improvements and responsive support.
Sentiment score
8.3
Visio is generally stable with improved performance, though complex usage and external factors can occasionally affect stability.
The stability of ARIS BPM is quite strong, rated eight out of ten.
 

Room For Improvement

ARIS BPA is criticized for high costs, complexity, and integration challenges, needing significant training and better user interface.
Visio needs enhancements in template creation, integration, automation, usability, 3D modeling, and export functionality, especially XPDL export.
Software AG could improve this by making the database more open.
Visio should implement more complex tools or graphics to facilitate processing and use flexible templates.
The visual icons and shapes for different vendors like Cisco network could be improved.
 

Setup Cost

ARIS BPA's high cost is justified for large enterprises, offering flexible options and extensive features with negotiable terms.
Visio prices vary by plan; professional versions cost more, but discounts and bundles offer savings for many users.
If asked to rate the price, I would give it around nine points out of ten, indicating it is somewhat expensive.
 

Valuable Features

ARIS BPA features a centralized repository, robust analytics, integration options, customizable methods, and supports notations like BPMN and EPC.
Visio integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office, offering templates, shapes, easy use, and boosts productivity by embedding diagrams in documents.
The maintenance capabilities of ARIS BPM and the strong underlying database are particularly valuable.
Visio was quite useful in Word and PowerPoint, which I miss in draw.io.
Visio allows me to create detailed diagrams that provide value to customers by giving them a clear view of their network and devices.
 

Categories and Ranking

ARIS BPA
Ranking in Business Process Design
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (8th)
Visio
Ranking in Business Process Design
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Mind Mapping Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of ARIS BPA is 7.6%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visio is 12.5%, down from 13.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Cirvesh-Daga - PeerSpot reviewer
Capable of handling a wide range of business processes but presents users complexity with two interfaces (Java application and web interface)
ARIS needs to make a better user interface. The user interface sucks. The problem with ARIS is that they have two interfaces for the same product. You can use either a Java application or a web interface. The web interface doesn't give you access to the same features as the Java application. You have to switch between the two interfaces to get some things done. The web interface is more intuitive, but it lacks the functionality of the Java interface. So I'd give it a six for that reason. The Java interface has more functionality, but it tends to run out of memory and has its own set of problems. So, I'd also give it a six out of ten because of the technology choice. It was really frustrating having two UIs for the same product, with some functionality in one and not in the other. They've got to do something about that.
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…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
I find it difficult to access the database as I want with direct querying. I must write scripts, which requires specific knowledge. Software AG could improve this by making the database more open. ...
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...
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.
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...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

ARIS, ARIS BPM
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.
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 ARIS BPA vs. Visio and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.