LeanIX vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Evolve comparison

Quest Software and SAP LeanIX are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. Quest Software is ranked #11 with an average rating of 9.0, while SAP LeanIX is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.9. Quest Software holds a 2.8% mindshare in AM, compared to SAP LeanIX’s 13.1% mindshare. Additionally, 81% of Quest Software users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SAP LeanIX users who would recommend it.

erwin Evolve

Read 19 erwin Evolve reviews

1,227 Views
883 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

LeanIX

Read 24 LeanIX reviews

5,958 Views
4,707 Comparison Views

95% 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

erwin Evolve

LeanIX

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between erwin Evolve, LeanIX, and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about SAP LeanIX, Sparx Systems, Quest Software and others in Enterprise Architecture Management.

To learn more, read our detailed Enterprise Architecture Management Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

September 2025

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Helped 868,706 peers since 2012

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 October 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of erwin Evolve is 2.8%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LeanIX is 13.1%, down from 15.6% 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 (%)
LeanIX	13.1%
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect	11.3%
erwin Evolve	2.8%
Other	72.8%

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

Asish Sahu

SPM at Infosys

The reverse engineering capabilities are quite useful.

Evolve is primarily focused on the entity's licenses diagrams, but it would be nice if erwin could integrate case development, so that it shows the ER diagram plus certain inputs on the use cases and how the data is used. That deviates somewhat from the overall scope, so maybe they could call it a different product.

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Umit Sengul

Enterprise Architect at E.ON

A platform that facilitates efficient IT architecture management and integration, improving organizational coordination and decision-making

LeanIX is primarily used to create and manage architectural models, link capabilities, activities, and products and generate comprehensive reports. It serves as a central platform for overseeing the IT landscape within EON, a large organization, streamlining operations and enhancing governance…

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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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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"By placing the data and the metadata into a model, which is what the tool does, you gain the abilities for linkages between different objects in the model, linkages that you cannot get on paper or with Visio or PowerPoint. That is a huge discriminator."

"You can use different kinds of diagrams to represent the architecture setting."

"The initial setup was really straightforward and the deployment was done within one day."

"The most valuable features for us are impact analysis, where I can easily visualize the impact of change."

"Evolve is like a tank. You can do whatever you want with the solution, but you need to customize it. I think that it's not very aligned with the framework for enterprise architecture. MEGA is focused on these enterprise architectures, but it's only for that. With Evolve, you can do everything you want with professional services."

"I have not seen capabilities for web-sharing and interaction with the architecture from any other supplier. It's a great capability..."

"I really liked that it mapped out processes and was able to attach the data model to the appropriate process. You could map out the process, then when you got down to a specific couple of data elements, you could attach the table in the database that supported that process. You could connect it with erwin Data Modeler for that."

"The feature that stands out for me is the ease of configuring objects and the screens to show them. It's really easy to add a new type of object in this reference. Creating a new type of object, using it, and evolving it a little bit in terms of what we can document about it are the main features that made us decide to use this provider."

More erwin Evolve pros

"Ease of use is the most valuable feature. From an enterprise architecture perspective, it's not too cumbersome with too many functionalities, yet it has a lot of attributes for the content it covers."

"The most valuable features are that it's user-friendly and the user experience. It's easy to map the fact sheets."

"The solution provides a single window view of business, application, data, and technology views of the IT ecosystem."

"I would rate LeanIX at an 8.5, trending towards nine."

"For the reporting capabilities, LeanIX provides dashboards for different levels, including CXO dashboards. There are plenty of dashboards for reporting."

"I like the tool’s integration and maps."

"The usability is very high. It almost looks like a Facebook for Enterprise architecture, it's pretty nice. It's HTML5 based. The repository is very easy. It has 10 different ways of sorting the objects you have in your architecture repository. Maintaining new data or to add data to your repository is very easy."

"The most valuable feature would be application portfolio management, which is where they came from, but over time, they have got artificial intelligence. They built up a very good repository. If I identify a system by name, from historical information, oftentimes, they can tell me that this is deployed with this number of CPUs and they can give me a really good profile of the application for me to put it into a change management database with very little effort."

More LeanIX pros

"Sparx has got a range of modeling features, and I am comfortable with all its offering. I've used a lot of tools over the phone. I found EA Spark, probably the most feature rich product all in all compared to other products. The solution is very cost-effective and that is its best feature. It's a very good delivery architecture tool, which also has enterprise architecture capabilities, and it's got full life cycle processes and software development. So for me, it's a pretty comprehensive tool"

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

"There are a lot of features in Enterprise Architect. It allows us to take on a lot of tasks."

"The most valuable feature is the integrated data model, so if I change the name of an item, all models using that object are automatically updated."

"It is a useful tool for modeling and testing automated processes."

"It is a very flexible product. It can do a lot. It is also a reliable product."

"Sparx technical support is good."

"It's easy to search within the solution."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pros

Cons

"The solution needs to focus on allowing for more integrations."

"The solution's integration capabilities with other tools in our system has not been all that well done. We have people who use ARIS, who use System Architect and, of course, Visio. erwin has very limited ways to import and export from those kinds of tools. It's not a very easy thing to do."

"Business process modelling could be improved."

"Add some ability to do conditional Visualization on the models and in reports (some ideas) – maybe as a specialized Theme or Diagram or Display."

"erwin Evolve by Quest could have additional features to manage the architecture of enterprises and businesses."

"It could have had a more streamlined navigation. It seemed that when you went to the explorer panel, there were just so many different ways of doing the work that I could not remember, "How did I do this? How did I get to that point in that model to get back to it?" If I wanted to build a new one, where do I start? It just seemed like there was such a smorgasbord of ways of doing it that it was just overwhelming."

"I would like to see an improvement in the output of the solution."

"Evolve is primarily focused on the entity's licenses diagrams, but it would be nice if erwin could integrate case development, so that it shows the ER diagram plus certain inputs on the use cases and how the data is used. That deviates somewhat from the overall scope, so maybe they could call it a different product."

More erwin Evolve cons

"What would make LeanIX better is more variety in terms of reporting, and more flexibility with its data importing feature."

"Report generation could be more detailed. There are some shortcomings when creating reports. We can't create tag-based reports or go beyond basic technical reports."

"One of the challenges that I've found, even with working with Subway, was that being able to build that out into a detailed solution for a developer or for new process design was one of the challenges, just making that leap."

"They could include a combination of LeanIX and some modeling extensions."

"Improvements in user interface simplicity could be made, particularly with the reporting and filtering capabilities."

"They should improve the out of the box connectors that they provide. They should see if clients are really ready to adapt them."

"The solution uses Gartner's time-based framework for application rationalization. One more thing that you can consider is having some add-on frameworks for the same, not just Gartner."

"Adjustments related to specific organizational requirements are complex."

More LeanIX cons

"I think the product is good. When I'm trying to do something specific for some part of project documentation, it's hard to get it figured out if you don't use it all the time. It's such a massive tool, it's hard to figure out how to dig in and get to the documentation where you have to be to get some idea of what to do. There are not a lot of examples that I'm aware of to be able to do that."

"They should make the Save button easier to find. A simplified user interface for a lighter user would probably be useful. I am not sure if such an interface is already there."

"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."

"The user interface is not so good. It's not easy for someone to use it at first. The product takes some getting used to."

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

"Its usability needs to be improved. For non-technical users, it is a little difficult to understand how Enterprise Architect works. Users who are not engineers find it difficult to understand how this tool works. This is something they need to work on. They can develop a BPM model to simulate processes."

"The window froze for five or ten seconds. You can click and click again and it takes a second to come up. It might have been specific to a version."

"It should be made Windows compatible."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a yearly basis, our licensing costs are 50,000 euro. There are no additional costs because we are on a SaaS model."

"The cost is something like $15,000, per license. But I haven't looked at those numbers in three years. It was over $100,000 to initially set everything up and get it all configured."

"The licensing enables you to differentiate between people who edit the content and the people who consume it. We are able to keep the licensing costs down by keeping the "contributor" licenses to a minimum, and we then just roll out the content in a read-only version for the rest of our users."

"Yearly, our cost is €100,000."

"Unless you are a one person shop – always go with the Workgroup edition and Concurrent licensing."

"I think erwin is quite expensive. I have difficulty selling the portal, in fact."

"I estimate that we pay between $40,000 and $50,000 a year for the solution, not including the upfront costs to buy things the first time."

"The solution's pricing is based on a licensing model that is competitive and in line with other products."

"As the tool is cloud-based, its cost is more affordable."

"It cost me $91,000 a year for 300 applications. For any enterprise, 300 applications are minimal, as many have well over 1,000 applications."

"There is a sweet spot of where they need to be on pricing right now. They could go up a little bit in pricing, but it has to do with the cost savings, and it has to do with the practitioners using it. I use it where I get cost savings and I can justify it, but they probably have the ability to flex a 10% up channel on their sales on that. So, they could increase their settle price, not their offering price, when they sell. They can probably hold that up a little bit higher than it is because there are cost savings that we can drive from it."

"The tool needs to include more flexible licensing options. We do not use the tool all the time. So pricing should be considered only when we use the tool."

"LeanIX uses application-based account licensing, where the cost is multiplied by the number of applications in the software implementation."

"The pricing is very good. We definitely get good value for the money."

"I would rate the pricing a one out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"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."

"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."

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

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

"It's reasonably priced for large organizations."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"We had a yearly license."

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

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Government

10%

Performing Arts

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

12%

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	2
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	12

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

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering erwin Evolve?

I rate erwin Evolve by Quest a nine out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about erwin Evolve by Quest?

We can efficiently deploy business models into the databases and generate SQL scripts.

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What needs improvement with erwin Evolve by Quest?

erwin Evolve by Quest could have additional features to manage the architecture of enterprises and businesses.

See all answers

Any experience with Strategic Project Portfolio Management Solutions?

Hi @Cheryl Joseph Looking at the crossover between Project and Portfolio management with EA, then Planview could be ...

See all answers

What do you like most about LeanIX?

The ability to import data and generate reports from it. That's where its power lies.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for LeanIX?

LeanIX pricing ranges from moderate to high. Our usage and costs depend on the number of applications, and as the num...

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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...

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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...

See all answers

Comparisons

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Evolve

Compared 14% of the time

Bonita vs erwin Evolve

Compared 13% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Evolve

Compared 11% of the time

Avolution ABACUS vs erwin Evolve

Compared 10% of the time

ARIS BPA vs erwin Evolve

Compared 9% of the time

More erwin Evolve Competitors

ServiceNow vs LeanIX

Compared 21% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs LeanIX

Compared 8% of the time

SAP PowerDesigner vs LeanIX

Compared 7% of the time

iServer vs LeanIX

Compared 7% of the time

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs LeanIX

Compared 6% of the time

More LeanIX Competitors

Visual Paradigm vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 15% of the time

No Magic MagicDraw vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 9% of the time

Visio vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 9% of the time

Lucidchart vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 8% of the time

SAP PowerDesigner vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 4% of the time

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

erwin Evolve

September 2025

Download erwin Evolve product report

Buyer's Guide

LeanIX

September 2025

Download LeanIX product report

Buyer's Guide

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

September 2025

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect report

Download Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect product report

Also Known As

erwin EA, erwin Business Process, erwin Enterprise Architecture

No data available

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Quest Software

SAP LeanIX

Demo not available

Sparx Systems

Overview

erwin Evolve provides comprehensive graphical support for handling large data models. It offers features such as metadata access, version control, and model comparison, enhancing operational reports and system analytics through its collaborative web-driven design.

erwin Evolve facilitates reverse engineering and database integration, fostering collaboration and process exploration through its web interface. Customizable and easy to configure, it supports workflow configuration and architectural modeling. Users can utilize its capabilities for developing industry models, managing transformation programs, and presenting standard operating procedures. Despite its strengths, there are demands for improved integration, enhanced UML support, and a more modern user experience. Users also express challenges with legacy system updates and call for better connectors and collaborative features.

What are the key features of erwin Evolve?

Graphical Support for Large Data Models: Provides visualization capabilities for complex data structures.
Metadata Access via API: Allows integration and management of metadata across platforms.
Version Control and Model Comparison: Enhances tracking and analysis of model changes.
Collaborative Web Interface: Facilitates teamwork and process exploration remotely.
Architectural Modeling: Supports the design and configuration of enterprise architecture.

What are the benefits and ROI of using erwin Evolve?

Customization and Ease of Configuration: Reduces setup time and adapts to specific organizational workflows.
Enhanced Accessibility and Mobile Usability: Offers access to critical information on the go.
Operational Reports Creation: Generates insights and facilitates informed decision-making.
System Analytics Handling: Provides robust tools for analyzing system performance and integration.

Data-driven organizations in sectors like finance and healthcare implement erwin Evolve for data warehousing, enterprise architecture, and business process modeling. They leverage its capabilities for cataloging architectural elements, linking to CMDBs, analyzing system interfaces, and describing business processes. Utilization extends to IT solution registration, business capability planning, and strategic modeling, with frequent deployments on cloud platforms to support transformation initiatives.

Quest Software

SAP LeanIX provides enterprise architecture solutions that modernize IT and transform businesses, integrating AI-enriched, SaaS tools to enhance architecture visualization and evolution.

Embracing a comprehensive approach, SAP LeanIX supports organizations globally with tools that foster IT landscape optimization and forward-looking architecture creation. It offers solutions for real-time IT overviews, risk management, and architectural planning. These capabilities ensure that enterprises have the flexibility and insights needed to maximize their business impact and align their IT strategies with their organizational goals. SAP LeanIX is recognized for its ease of use, flexible reporting, and the ability to seamlessly integrate various data sources.

What features define SAP LeanIX?

Flexible Reporting: Enables personalized data views.
Ease of Use: A user-friendly interface similar to social networks.
Integration Capabilities: Extensive out-of-the-box options.
Real-Time Feedback: Facilitates instant data integration.
Application Portfolio Management: Comprehensive IT analysis.
Seamless ServiceNow Integration: Smooth data flow integration.

What benefits and ROI can users expect from SAP LeanIX?

Data Management: Efficient data capture and tagging.
Cost Optimization: Streamlines operations cost-effectively.
Dashboard Presentation: Enhances strategic decision-making.
Business Alignment: Aligns technology with business strategies.
Educational Resources: Provides valuable learning materials.

SAP LeanIX is implemented across industries to enhance enterprise architecture, application portfolio management, and business capability mapping. Its use extends into cloud governance, data flow analysis, and integration architecture, allowing multiple organizations to improve operational visibility and strategic planning. It also enables cataloging systems and app rationalization while linking capabilities for improved lifecycle management.

SAP LeanIX

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

AT&T, Bank of America, Chevron, Duke University, ESPN, Fidelity, GE, JP Morgan Chase, KPMG, McGraw Hill, NASA, Pfizer, Royal Bank of Scotland, Teradata, Union Pacific, Vodafone, Wells Fargo.

Bosch Rexroth, NSW Department of Education, Yamaha Motor Corporation, Tetra Pak, Deutsche Bahn, Flynn, SKF AB, NTT Group, Travis Perkins, SEEK, Haworth, Asahi Beverages, MediaMarktSaturn, KAO USA, Ørsted, The Mark Anthony Group of Companies, AmTrust, Banco Itaú Unibanco, SHL Medical,...

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Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Architecture Management

September 2025

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