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Netwrix Data Classification vs erwin Data Modeler 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

erwin Data Modeler
Ranking in Data Governance
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (1st), Business Process Design (6th)
Netwrix Data Classification
Ranking in Data Governance
30th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler is 0.3%. The mindshare of Netwrix Data Classification is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Governance Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
erwin Data Modeler0.3%
Netwrix Data Classification1.4%
Other98.3%
Data Governance
 

Featured Reviews

Sushree Panigrahi - PeerSpot reviewer
Snowflake Data Engineer| Senior PLSQL Developer |Data Modeler|Assitant Vice Pre at Jp Morgan Chase & Co.
Data modeling has transformed regulatory reporting and collaboration across cloud environments
In erwin Data Modeler, areas that have room for improvement include performance improvements. I see that large models sometimes cause it to be slow when opening. Impact analysis can lag as well. Version control is another aspect. If we have developed a current version, it is not integrated with Git where we can easily compare different versions. UI modernization is also something we cannot utilize as it is primarily for development. Additionally, cloud-specific optimizations are needed when it comes to Snowflake or Databricks. When it comes to AI aspects, auto-suggestions for normalization or identifying primary, foreign, or surrogate keys are areas that can be improved.
GF
Isms Manager & Information Systems Security at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Automated data labeling has reduced manual work and supports our privacy compliance needs
We would like to enforce labeling currently in place. If a document is classified as strictly confidential, we want to be able to apply a profile that can cause documents to expire or revoke access anywhere the document is. We need a security feature so that if we have classified a document as strictly confidential and given it to a third party, that document remains strictly confidential. There has to be a way to enforce it and prevent the document from being shared with any other person apart from the person it was sent to. We do not want AI in security products for now, as AI in security products tends to be risky. AI can improve reporting and detection, but it should not execute.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I have worked with erwin Data Modeler for quite some time and familiarity is its most valuable feature."
"It's a safeguard for me because I'm always concerned that somebody is free handing it and will forget a key coming from the parent. The migrating keys are a great feature. Identifying relationships, non-identifying relationships, and being visually right there to understand the differences are great features. erwin is key to being able to visually understand whatever the customer is requesting. They'll give you words on a paper, but once they can actually view it as a picture, it really comes to life. The data comes to life to where they understand exactly what they're asking for."
"It improved the way we were able to manage our models."
"In my previous company, there we had a really large return on investment from using erwin."
"The data lineage feature is very valuable."
"One of the best aspects of the tool is its reverse engineering capability."
"The product lets us import different types of models from various databases."
"The biggest lesson I have learned from erwin is the old cliche, that a picture is worth a thousand words, and when a person asks for a set of tables and they actually see that diagram visually, it really assists in any meeting that you will have."
"Netwrix Data Classification Manager finds the data in a very efficient manner, and the efficacy of the solution is very good."
"It's highly flexible and scalable, offering customers the choice to match their needs and budget."
"There is a massive cost saving; it is easy to use, the reporting is clean, and it is simpler to use than the Microsoft DLP solution, Purview."
 

Cons

"We find erwin DM less valuable creating initial drafts and reverse-engineering databases and there are still a lot of extensions to the scripting language that are not included with the erwin product."
"While I do not have knowledge about pricing for erwin Data Modeler, I think it could improve by having a feature that allows the publishing of models, similar to how Power BI allows for dashboard publishing for different users within an organization, not just data modelers."
"I felt that erwin Data Modeler is a bit of an outdated tool."
"The solution's model mark could be better because it crashes sometimes."
"The erwin ETL functionality has room for improvement when it comes to mapping databases with a classic entity-relationship model to a data warehouse model."
"The only real complaint I have is the time it takes to do a database comparison on a large model. If they could speed that up, that would be the only thing I can think of that needs improvement."
"It has become a pain point to merge the models from individual desktops and get them into a single data model, when multiple data modelers are working on a particular project."
"I would like to see the ability to support more NoSQL platforms more quickly."
"Netwrix Data Classification Manager is very good at network data classification, but it also has to work on endpoint data classification because clients ask for it."
"One of the key issues is its interface and querying capabilities, which can be complex, making it difficult to interpret logs."
"We would like to enforce labeling currently in place. If a document is classified as strictly confidential, we want to be able to apply a profile that can cause documents to expire or revoke access anywhere the document is."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Though the solution is not cheap, it's worth the money."
"The price of erwin Data Modeler is very expensive, in particular for this part of the world."
"This company had bought the license for three years, and it's not an individual license. While you can buy a license for each individual, that would be very expensive. There is something called concurrent licenses where you can purchase licenses in bulk and 15 to 20 people can access the license and model. Concurrent licenses are scalable to the number of users and are proportional to the cost."
"Pricing is very high compared to any other product."
"Price-wise, erwin Data Modeler is okay. You can purchase a single license and it is not very expensive."
"The price should be lower in order to be on the same level as its competitors."
"I wish it wasn't so expensive. I would love to personally buy a copy of my own and have it at home, because the next job that I'm looking at is probably project management and I might not have access to the tool. I would like to keep my ability to use the tool. Therefore, they should probably have a pricing for people like me who want to just use the solution as an independent consultant, trying to get started. $3,000 is a big hit."
"The pricing of the solution is cheap. I rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"The initial pricing might seem reasonable, but costs can quickly escalate when adding components."
"Netwrix Data Classification Manager has an affordable price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Performing Arts
5%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise35
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
I have no idea about the setup cost because I did not buy the license.
What needs improvement with erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
As we all know, AI is taking up a majority of things. I felt that erwin Data Modeler is a bit of an outdated tool. It needs a new look and integrating AI into it would be much better for learning. ...
What is your primary use case for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?
For erwin Data Modeler, the use case was to create a data model for the organization. It articulates how data flows throughout the organization. For example, we have an employee table with two type...
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Also Known As

erwin DM
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

 Premera, America Honda Motors, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Dental Dental Cali, Cigna, Staples
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Netwrix Data Classification vs. erwin Data Modeler and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.