BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect comparison

BiZZdesign and Sparx Systems are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. BiZZdesign is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0, while Sparx Systems is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2. BiZZdesign holds a 5.2% mindshare in AM, compared to Sparx Systems’s 11.3% mindshare. Additionally, 78% of BiZZdesign users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Sparx Systems users who would recommend it.

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Read 18 BiZZdesign HoriZZon reviews

2,818 Views
1,719 Comparison Views

78% willing to recommend

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...

Read 99 Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect reviews

8,412 Views
3,449 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect and BiZZdesign HoriZZon compete in the enterprise architecture tools category. BiZZdesign HoriZZon appears to have the upper hand due to its advanced analytical functionalities and user-friendly dashboards.

Features: Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect supports UML 2 diagrams, enabling collaboration with an RDBMS back-end and providing extensibility for various modeling standards. BiZZdesign HoriZZon integrates ArchiMate for enterprise architecture and offers advanced analytical tools that aid strategic planning and complex environment management. It also features dashboards that enhance architectural insights, suitable for business users.

Room for Improvement: Sparx Systems EA could improve usability, visualization, and control over repository security. It faces performance issues in large projects, and users seek better documentation and interface enhancements. BiZZdesign HoriZZon has a steep learning curve, high cost, and complex integration processes. Users encounter challenges with repository management and object queries.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sparx Systems EA offers flexible deployment, including on-premises and hybrid options, and relies heavily on community support for issue resolution. Its customer service is rated favorably but is less frequently used due to the tool's stability. BiZZdesign HoriZZon is primarily cloud-based, supporting collaborative access, but requires more direct vendor interaction due to its complexity, although technical support is well-rated.

Pricing and ROI: Sparx Systems EA is cost-effective, offering competitive pricing with quick ROI realized through increased productivity. Conversely, BiZZdesign HoriZZon is perceived as expensive, impacting its ROI due to high costs, particularly for smaller teams or organizations considering long-term use.

To learn more, read our detailed BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

September 2025

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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:

Categories and Ranking

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

6th

Ranking in Business Process Design

10th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

2nd

Ranking in Business Process Design

5th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of BiZZdesign HoriZZon is 5.2%, up from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 11.3%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Architecture Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect	11.3%
BiZZdesign HoriZZon	5.2%
Other	83.5%

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

BijoyTalukder

Enterprise Architect at Tata Consultancy

Helps to get a clear overview of our enterprise architecture, especially when dealing with multiple departments

One area where BiZZdesign HoriZZon could use some improvement is in its REST APIs. While the platform offers REST APIs, they have limitations when it comes to retrieving and exporting data. Obtaining detailed information at the individual application or component level, including IDs, costs, and deployment-related data, can be challenging through these APIs. This limitation makes it difficult to smoothly export such granular data. I have raised this issue with the BiZZdesign team, and they expressed interest in addressing it, but I'm not aware of the current status of this improvement effort. Nonetheless, improving the usability and flexibility of the REST APIs for data extraction is an area that could enhance the platform's capabilities.

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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.

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

"The feature I find most valuable is that the start times and loading times are short. It takes only a few seconds to load the repository and whenever I want to open diagrams, they are there almost immediately."

"BiZZdesign HoriZZon is scalable, and I'd give it an eight out of ten for scalability. Our customers are enterprise level companies, but the solution is suitable for small and mid-sized companies as well."

"This is one of the best tools, especially because of its collaborative nature. Anyone using it can access previous projects and related data. It's definitely a strong collaborative tool."

"I used BiZZdesign HoriZZon at two organizations. At Manchester Metropolitan University, I used it with a small team for architectural modeling of the student record system. We modeled teams, process objects, and their interactions with applications. We also used it to model a gradual rollout with plateaus showing migration over time. At the BBC, I used it to model software services for publishing content online. I showed key model views to senior stakeholders using Horizon, allowing them to modify and score applications and services."

"The most valuable feature is that it allows you to work with different methods, using the same tool."

"The tool's most valuable feature is that its collaboration part is very good."

"The initial setup of this solution was very straightforward."

"The most valuable features of BiZZdesign HoriZZon, from my experience, include its out-of-the-box connectors, such as integration with ServiceNow, Excel, and SQL databases, making data repository management more efficient."

More BiZZdesign HoriZZon pros

"I like that there is support for software patterns."

"Scalability is not a problem. You can always increase the footprint of what the thing can do because it's so powerful."

"Ability to keep inventory of reusable blocks, and use in different diagrams with views of various templates."

"It is an EA tool that is approved by Open Group. It is in the tool register of Open Group."

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

"It is a very rich tool in terms of the functionality, and the types of diagrams, that you can create in this tool."

"The TOGAF ADM model is most valuable. It is also very cheap as compared to other options in the market."

"The system provides powerful tools for obtaining reports and documentation."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement in making it more seamless between the modeling and the analysis pieces. Sometimes you have to do some work in the backend to ensure that the HoriZZon portal really gets all of the information the way you want it. They are working on the seamlessness between what they call Enterprise Studio and HoriZZon."

"There could be simpler modelling."

"There's room for improvement. When I finished using it over a year ago, I discussed implementing C4 notation with BiZZdesign HoriZZon.They've likely done this now, but I haven't seen it. Setting up interactive views for stakeholders to score services was a bit difficult."

"This tool is something of a beast - it takes a long time to learn, and it isn't possible for casual users and most architects. Unless a person spends 500 or 1,000 hours on the tool or does very concentrated sessions using all its functionalities, it's very difficult to master."

"It lacks capabilities with regard to infrastructure modeling."

"Integration definitely needs improvement. There are some restrictions. We've seen that it doesn't integrate with everything we might expect."

"The automatic data collection and interface need improvement."

"In HoriZZon, there are different matrices. In some of the cases, there is an option to aggregate them, but in other cases, we have not done this, e.g., to see the proper costs. For example, if I have 10 different matrices, then I need to create an aggregate view out of those 10 matrices somewhere. That is where we have been struggling a bit. We have a counterpart from the HoriZZon product team with whom we have bi-weekly discussions. We have suggested to him that this can be improved."

More BiZZdesign HoriZZon cons

"The elements of the modeling sets can have better customization and visual representation. It would be great to have a mobile version."

"There should be a MATLAB-specific toolbox added to the solution with better compatibility. The connections currently are good but in the future, it needs a huge improvement."

"Inconsistent UI elements must be tidied up with the toolbox gaps removed."

"The templates for documentation should be enhanced to include complex documents such as template RFP, or Non functional requirements template."

"In a future release, they should improve portfolio planning."

"I would like to see integration with Confluence or any other TRM, and the capability to integrate with the data storage, such as a repository similar to GitHub."

"When many users are accessing the system at the same time, Sparx slows down. It can't easily support a large team."

"The areas of improvement should be focused on utility service such as producing better graphics, perhaps having a wider image library set and producing better models for working directly with customers."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"[The] Orbus... pricing model was based on every single functionality having a price. The pricing was comparable but if we wanted to scale, it would have ended up being a lot more expensive. BiZZdesign gave us one price with all of the functionality, and we could scale as much as we needed."

"In terms of this particular product usage, my clients currently only use per-user licenses."

"First and foremost within the scope of improvement for the solution would be the cost. It's very costly..."

"The pricing model is slightly on the high side and could be more competitive for long-term partnerships."

"I haven't found any issues with the scalability and licensing parts that are access-related."

"We were customers and bought licenses from them. We used their remote instance initially but upgraded to the on-device version due to lag. For pricing, we paid about 2200 pounds a year per seat for the client installation at an educational rate. I'm not sure about commercial rates. I managed to get a free copy at BBC since it was for evaluation purposes."

"The price is reasonable."

"If one is very cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as a seven out of ten."

"Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is priced well. The price we pay is approximately $20 per month. Other solutions I have found to be much more expensive."

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

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

"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."

"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."

"It’s the best deal in town, by far."

"Licenses are pretty low cost compared to, for example, ARIS."

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

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

22%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Energy/Utilities Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	10

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

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BiZZdesign HoriZZon?

This is one of the best tools, especially because of its collaborative nature. Anyone using it can access previous projects and related data. It's definitely a strong collaborative tool.

See all answers

What needs improvement with BiZZdesign HoriZZon?

There is room for improvement in BiZZdesign HoriZZon. It's quite robust and has good online forums where people discuss it, though maybe the interface can improve, but I don't want to criticize it ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for BiZZdesign HoriZZon?

The typical use case with BiZZdesign HoriZZon is basically for enterprise architecture and also for business process modeling.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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-performance ratio. While it might be cumbersome to learn, it still delivers exc...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

October 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

September 2025

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect report

Download Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect product report

Also Known As

HoriZZon

No data available

Overview

Make smarter decisions and optimize outcomes by unifying all your strategy, capabilities, operating models and change portfolios in a single platform.

With all the data about your business in one place you can see the big picture and make properly informed strategic decisions to drive growth. Bizzdesign Horizzon brings together strategy, IT architecture, operating models, data, capabilities, change portfolios and ideas into a single, intuitive collaborative business design platform. Real-time visibility of key metrics and trends allows you to take action more quickly. Accelerating the speed and accuracy of your operations now – and into the future.

Core Platform Capabilities:

Multi-discipline collaboration
Data Integration
Advanced analytics
Models and Roadmaps
Governance & Security
Business Insight Graph

BiZZdesign

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

Sample Customers

T-Mobile, Shell, HSBC, Erasmus University, VIVAT Insurance

OmniLink

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

September 2025

Free Report: BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

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