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FME vs SAS Viya Platform 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

FME
Ranking in Data Integration
31st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAS Viya Platform
Ranking in Data Integration
46th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Data Quality (21st), Data Governance (30th), Data Management Platforms (DMP) (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of FME is 1.1%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Viya Platform is 0.3%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
FME1.1%
SAS Viya Platform0.3%
Other98.6%
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

Gert Booysen - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Solutions Leader at GE Vernova
Extensive format support and reliable integration enhance data management while new pricing model requires reassessment
I haven't had any input or requirements from any customers that are not currently covered, so I don't have any additional needs that were identified or raised to me. Regarding pricing, with the model changes that they've implemented a while back, it actually made it more expensive to use, especially on the server side. They changed the licensing model, and that made customers think it is overpriced. Some customers were actually looking at alternatives. Pricing with the model changes was perceived negatively. I work primarily with enterprise customers, Vodacom, Eskom, so it's tier-one customers. For small customers, this solution is a bit too expensive. They don't really use it and just do direct integration on smaller implementations. This is basically used by tier-one customers. FME is still able to save time and money for clients. It's still a good investment. Regarding similar products to FME, GE developed a product called Data Fabric. That is a real-time operational integration platform, Data Fabric Network Connect, which is a GE Grid OS product. It is actually more expensive than FME, but the purpose is different as it's operational. The vendor in this case is GE, and it's a company that we bought that used to be called Greenbird. In current use scenarios, FME is still leading compared to Data Fabric. The GE product has a different application.
KK
Assistant Manager Data Analytics (WFM) at Johari Digital Healthcare Limited
Modern analytics has transformed large data into faster insights and streamlined reporting
There are some areas of improvement I would mention regarding SAS Viya Platform. New users may find it complex initially, as its learning curve can be steep. Understanding CAS and different components is very challenging for a new user. The cost is also quite high; SAS Viya Platform via SaaS can be expensive compared to some open-source or other cloud alternatives. There are also some limitations in Visual Analytics. While it is easy to use, it could be more flexible compared to Power BI or Tableau. These are the main improvement areas where SAS Viya Platform should focus. I would add some additional pointers about needed improvements in SAS Viya Platform. Regarding customer support, it is good, but the response time for complex issues can sometimes be slower than expected. The documentation and learning resources are not very beginner-friendly, making it challenging for beginners to navigate. Regarding integration, it could be smoother with Databricks, Snowflake, and Power BI, but it is more complex than it should be. Since updates are automatic, users are sometimes not fully aware of changes or new features that are being updated, as compared to Power BI, which publishes updates on its website. SAS Viya Platform should work on these aspects.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"FME's features that I have found most valuable are that it has a very friendly user interface, you don't need to use a lot of code, it has a lot of connectors and few forms, and it has a strong facial aspect that can do a lot of facial analysis."
"The most valuable feature of FME is the graphical user interface."
"The most valuable feature of FME is the graphical user interface. There is nothing better. It is very easy to debug because you can see all steps where there are failures. Overall the software is easy to optimize a process."
"From my reseller perspective, the best features in FME are the ease of operation and the fact that it works."
"All spatial features are unrivaled, and the possibility to execute them based on a scheduled trigger, manual, e-mail, Websocket, tweet, file/directory change or virtually any trigger is most valuable."
"We make minor subtle changes to the workbenches to improve it. We can share the workbenches. We don't have to use GitHub or anything else."
"It has standard plug-ins available for different data sources."
"FME is spatially aware and understands how to deal with the conversion of spatial objects and their attributes."
"Since starting to work with SAS Viya Platform, the positive impact we have seen includes improvements in distributing data sets for better analytics and machine learning."
"In my experience, the best feature of SAS Viya Platform is that it is very quick in doing the analysis, does the job very quickly and very well without any issues, and I was able to do multiple analyses at the same time."
"Eliminating the need for separate visualization tools has greatly affected my team's workflow because it is just one integrated tool, one integrated platform."
"Using SAS Viya Platform allows my organization to conduct advanced statistical tests, present data in better ways with efficient and good graphical representation, and this helps my company grow more."
"SAS Viya Platform is a very advanced platform at the current time, and I recommend using SAS Viya Platform for all data visualization, data analysis, and statistical analysis."
"SAS Viya Platform is a great tool for our data analytics purpose, particularly how data profiling stands out compared to other tools impressed me."
"SAS Viya Platform has positively impacted my organization by saving time compared to when we were using SAS 9.4, as we can now work on two to three projects simultaneously within one hour, which is a significant improvement."
"Using SAS Viya Platform, I saw approximately a thirty to forty percent reduction in data processing time due to CAS in-memory computing, and I also reduced manual reporting efforts by approximately forty to fifty percent through automation and self-service dashboards, which definitely saved resources for my organization."
 

Cons

"We are looking at the possibility of using Glue instead of FME, using the native AWS product."
"FME's price needs improvement for the African market."
"FME can improve the geographical transformation. I've had some problems with the geographical transformations, but it's probably mostly because I'm not the most skilled geographer in-house."
"The one thing that always appears in the community is the ability to make really easy loops to loop through data efficiently. That needs to be added at some point."
"Improvements could be made to mapping presentations."
"To get a higher rating, it would have to improve the price and the associated scalability. These are the main issues."
"FME is a great tool, but I don't know if we can scale it up since the prices are high and we would need to convince the decision makers to provide more budget."
"FME can improve the geographical transformation. I've had some problems with the geographical transformations, but it's probably mostly because I'm not the most skilled geographer in-house. The solution requires some in-depth knowledge to perform some functions."
"I have one complaint about SAS Viya Platform: it offers so many options in each application that someone new who is not familiar with SAS functionality might have trouble, as the learning curve can be very hard for a new learner."
"I sometimes experienced downtime with SAS Viya Platform, but the SAS support team helped."
"I rate it a nine because for a fresher, the platform might not be entirely intuitive."
"On the SAS compute server, the platform sometimes gets stuck or lags, which could be improved in SAS Viya Platform."
"The cost is also quite high; SAS Viya Platform via SaaS can be expensive compared to some open-source or other cloud alternatives."
"SAS Viya Platform has a bit of a learning curve. It was not easy to start with."
"I think SAS Viya Platform could be improved as it is a little bit limited; for instance, you have to purchase specific features such as charts and quality control, so it is not a full analytics product."
"I would advise others looking into using SAS Viya Platform to go ahead if their budget allows."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We used the standard licensing for our use of FME. The cost was approximately €15,000 annually. We always welcome less expensive solutions, if the solution could be less expensive it would be helpful."
"FME Server used to cost £10,000; now it can cost over £100,000."
"The product's price is reasonable."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
28%
Energy/Utilities Company
13%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Construction Company
31%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with FME?
I haven't had any input or requirements from any customers that are not currently covered, so I don't have any additional needs that were identified or raised to me. Regarding pricing, with the mod...
What is your primary use case for FME?
The use cases for FME are mainly integration to the GE Smallworld product. GE Smallworld is a GE product, and we are using it to integrate with other third-party products into GE Smallworld and ADM...
What advice do you have for others considering FME?
The overall rating for FME is eight out of ten, and I prefer the feedback to be anonymous. My job title is Senior Solutions Architect.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAS Viya Platform?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for SAS Viya Platform was smooth. I did not have any hiccups, and I do not have a say on the pricing.
What needs improvement with SAS Viya Platform?
There are some areas of improvement I would mention regarding SAS Viya Platform. New users may find it complex initially, as its learning curve can be steep. Understanding CAS and different compone...
What is your primary use case for SAS Viya Platform?
My main use cases are data analytics, reporting, and data transformation. It helps in handling large data sets efficiently using CAS, which is an in-memory processing engine. My primary use case is...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Shell, US Department of Commerce, PG&E, BC Hydro, City of Vancouver, Enel, Iowa DoT, San Antonio Water System
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about FME vs. SAS Viya Platform and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.