IBM Blueworks Live vs Visual Paradigm comparison

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IBM Blueworks Live

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

IBM Blueworks Live and Visual Paradigm compete in the process modeling and diagramming tools category. Visual Paradigm appears to have an advantage with its extensive diagramming capabilities and flexibility in integration.

Features: IBM Blueworks Live excels in real-time process modeling with intuitive collaboration tools and supports BPMN 2.0, providing a central repository for processes. Visual Paradigm offers extensive diagramming across various engineering fields, supporting standards like UML and enabling integration of different models with strong functionality for enterprise architecture, along with a valuable simulation feature for process analysis.

Room for Improvement: IBM Blueworks Live needs enhanced simulation capabilities and more flexible reporting options, while its integration and collaboration features require improvements for handling complex process models. Visual Paradigm should focus on faster visualization of complex models and better integration for process mining. Enhanced documentation and reduced resource consumption would also improve its usability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Blueworks Live is mainly deployed on public cloud and offers responsive support but has limited direct interaction due to user proficiency. Visual Paradigm provides flexible deployment options, including on-premises and hybrid cloud, along with an effective support structure, though performance issues can impact deployment ease in resource-heavy situations.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Blueworks Live offers competitive pricing and varied licensing options, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes, and demonstrates significant ROI through time savings and reduced operating costs. Visual Paradigm provides affordable licenses with free tiers, allowing scalable features, and is preferred for its cost-effectiveness and comprehensive capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Blueworks Live vs. Visual Paradigm Report (Updated: April 2025).

IBM Blueworks Live vs. Visual Paradigm

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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

IBM Blueworks Live

Ranking in Business Process Design

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Visual Paradigm

Ranking in Business Process Design

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of IBM Blueworks Live is 3.6%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Paradigm is 6.3%, down from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

AjarMathur

Global Innovation Director at Ernst & Young

An easily scalable and affordable solution that enables users to document and digitize processes with ease

IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts. There is only one kind of BPMN 2.0 diagram. It is a process diagram. It doesn't have the concept of separate tools, which other products offer. If I had to do a hardcore BPMN 2.0 modeling, the product would have its own reservations. There were features we could not explore from a BPMN 2.0 perspective. Most of the time, people who are shifting from Microsoft Office tools to a digitized way of working still want the reporting capabilities to be strong. Some tools, like ARIS or Signavio, offer customized solutions from the reporting perspective. If I have documented my whole finance process and want to fetch out a complete SOP report in a very customized manner, IBM Blueworks cannot provide it. We have to rely on some other services. So that's one area in which we always struggled, how to really customize the reporting aspects. I understand that we need to keep the tool a little more asset-light. It's very difficult to keep adding many options, but at least a few BPMN 2.0 options were needed. We have been suggesting to IBM that we should have some way of customizing the reporting. At least we should get a custom way of reporting it into different formats like Excel or putting up a logo for one of the clients so that their SAP can be printed that way.

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Angie Ibrahim Eissa

Founder & Managing Partner at BBL

A software application designed for software development teams to model business information systems and manage development processes

Setting up Visual Paradigm is easy. There's hardly any configuration needed, unlike some other tools. You just choose your method and diagram type, and you're good to go. As for improvements, integrating project management features with diagrams could be better. Viewing outputs could also be smoother, especially when working with multiple files.Deployment is quick and painless. It practically takes no time at all to set up. And because I also teach at the university, I use Visual Paradigm for my classes and case studies. It's easy to switch between products, and my students have no trouble using it on their own.

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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

"It enables decisions based upon processes that we do model, and ultimately move forward with."

"It is a stable solution since there has not been any downtime. Everything loads fast."

"The solution is stable. All the refreshes run very well."

"We are you using the product as a process mapping tool and as part of a larger process improvement project. We use it with IBM BPM and IBM ODM. We get an automated workflow solution for our customers, an improved workflow automation."

"For me the most valuable feature is that it's one depository for our bank. So it's not like everybody has their critical processes on SharePoint or on their desktops. Everything is centrally located. It's very intuitive, easy to use. The support that I get from IBM is always great."

"It's very easy, very quick to create a process map. It has templates. The look and feel is very nice. What we want to achieve out of the process map, we can achieve it using Blueworks."

"You can use if from your mobile device or you can be on the desktop. It doesn't matter. You are always connected. It is cloud-based, so you don't have to install anything."

"For me, what I find to be the most valuable is its simplicity and the association with Microsoft Office."

More IBM Blueworks Live pros

"It is easy and intuitive to use, not excessively rigid, and quite flexible."

"I like the fact that this solution is complete."

"I like the structure. I can see the diagrams and everything I created."

"What I like best about Visual Paradigm is its simple GUI, especially since I'm a new user. In my two years of experience with this tool, I didn't find it complex because I was able to learn how to use it via YouTube videos. Visual Paradigm is enough for me. I also find the bridging feature in the tool valuable."

"It is a scalable solution...The initial setup was straightforward."

"Using the Component Diagram, Visual Paradigm helps with design and control, reusing components."

"Visual Paradigm allowed me to create UML diagrams efficiently."

"The pricing model is attractive."

More Visual Paradigm pros

Cons

"In the solution Signavio, they have a customer journey mapping feature that should be added to IBM Blueworks Live. It's valuable to map or document the customer journey to identify the pains and opportunities in this process."

"Sometimes, the tool is automatic, which can complicate it, but once you're accustomed to manipulating it, you can use it very effectively."

"The objects that the solution creates are not unique."

"We haven't yet been able to dabble in case management with Blueworks Live, as it is not yet offered with the product."

"There should be an option to import from and export to Microsoft Visio. Being able to move files back and forth between Blueworks Live and Visio would be good."

"We would like the ability to add additional custom colors. We would like to color additional items to add notes to the blueprint."

"Some of the import functionality was a bit restrictive, in terms of loading data in from other data sources. Something as simple as Excel, loading data tables from Excel, wasn't great. And vice-versa. Some of the export and import functionality with something like Visio - which, I know it's a slightly different tool - but being able to work seamlessly with those other tool sets would've been quite useful. I know it was something that was in the pipeline to be looked at. So that would be useful."

"The font size is really, really small and it's really not useful to print out process models because you cannot read what's written in different boxes. This makes it necessary for people to have access to the tool. We view licenses to see how the printing or output is. It's not very good."

More IBM Blueworks Live cons

"For me, what needs improvement in Visual Paradigm is the limited features included in the $99 license, which is the cheapest option. If more features could be included in the cheapest licensing package, Visual Paradigm would be better, especially for businesses that have a limited budget for buying software."

"The solution's technical support can be improved and accessible for our company location since Visual Paradigm follows a remote support model with some challenges."

"I was looking to generate code from the diagrams, but it was not totally clear how to do it."

"It's still early for me to comment since I've only been using it for two months, but the responsiveness when diagramming needs to be improved."

"The product can always get better as the industry changes."

"There are some connectivity issues that crop up rarely when used with SQL Server."

"In terms of room for improvement in Visual Paradigm, I tried looking for one. I'm pleased with the tool, but it would be great if you could integrate Visual Paradigm with more tools. For example, when moving from Visual Paradigm to another tool, such as Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, the process could be improved a bit. Still, I wonder if it's not limited by the standards Visual Paradigm follows, such as XMI files. It could be connected to limitations related to the standards rather than a tool limitation. When you move projects from Visual Paradigm into Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect via XMI files, you lose all your notes from the elements, so this is an area for improvement in Visual Paradigm. TOGAF support is an additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of Visual Paradigm. I'd also like the tool to have ArchiMate support. If both TOGAF and ArchiMate could be supported in Visual Paradigm and made part of a lower level of licensing or cheaper licensing models, that would be best for me."

"The solution is not user-friendly. It uses a lot of memory and CPU. You have to have a good computer to use it."

More Visual Paradigm cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price wise, IBM Blueworks Live is in the middle range, and I would give it a five out of ten."

"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."

"Based on the licenses purchased, from a footprint perspective, you can have as many people as you want. You have multiple different categories of licenses to keep the cost low."

"Making it less expensive would be good."

"The solution is very, very cost-effective."

"The solution is not very expensive."

"We are seeing ROI from this solution. The solution has saved us time."

"There are editor licenses that are around 50 euros per month, and contributor licenses that are around 30 euros per month."

"This product is fairly cheap, but if you want more complex features, e.g. integration with other products, it does require an additional cost."

"Visual Paradigm's pricing is not expensive."

"Visual Paradigm has two models available. One of them is the educational edition, and another is the business edition. For my personal usage, I use the educational version mostly. In a project, my customers have to purchase a license."

"Compared to other solutions such as IBM Rational which is expensive, This solution is priced low."

"Pricing for Visual Paradigm is a four out of five for me. I'm happy with its pricing."

"You can move between the tiers from month to month so you are not restricted to one pricing model."

"I rate Visual Paradigm's pricing a five out of ten."

"In terms of pricing, I find Visual Paradigm's subscription services reasonable, especially for the modern and standard editions. However, the premium products can be a bit pricey, especially considering our location in the Middle East. Currently, paying around a hundred dollars per user translates to almost six hundred Egyptian pounds, which can add up. For enterprise licensing, I think the perpetual license option could be more affordable. If it were cheaper, say around five hundred dollars, I would have invested in multiple perpetual licenses long ago. Sometimes, to manage costs, we share accounts among team members or switch access on and off for certain members who aren't actively working on projects. As for additional costs, there are charges for cloud services, which I'm considering because I've already exceeded the free capacity."

More Visual Paradigm pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

11%

Educational Organization

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Blueworks Live?

The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put any lines or arrows in a decision point in IBM Blueworks Live; it's very automatic.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Blueworks Live?

The solution costs around 600-700 dollars/year, which is quite affordable.

What needs improvement with IBM Blueworks Live?

Sometimes, the tool is automatic, which can complicate it, but once you're accustomed to manipulating it, you can use it very effectively.

What do you like most about Visual Paradigm?

The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features are pricing and functionality.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visual Paradigm?

I purchased Visual Paradigm on my own, and it was competitively priced, so I was fine with the pricing.

What needs improvement with Visual Paradigm?

The product can always get better as the industry changes, however, I didn't necessarily feel it was lacking for what I did with it.

Visio vs IBM Blueworks Live

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Compared 11% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 36% of the time

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Compared 17% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

IBM Blueworks Live

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Download Visual Paradigm product report

Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint

No data available

Overview

IBM Blueworks Live is a cloud-based business process modeling tool that helps you discover, map and document your processes. It is easy to use, allowing you to learn and perform business process modeling in minutes.

With Blueworks Live you can:

Simplify business process modeling
Quickly build business processes in a straightforward, cloud-based interface designed for both IT and business users.

Improve process efficiency and accuracy
A central process repository eliminates version control and consistency issues by providing users real-time access to process workflows.

Enhance cross-team collaboration
A shared team workspace engages all business process owners, encouraging cross-team participation and continuous process improvement.

IBM

Visual Paradigm is a UML tool. The tool is designed for a wide range of users including software engineers, system analysts, business analysts and system architects, or for anyone who is interested in reliably building large-scale software systems using an object-oriented approach. In addition, Visual Paradigm supports the latest standards of UML notation.

Sample Customers

Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council

Adobe, Apple, at&t, Caterpillar, Intel, NASA, Nokia, Toyota

IBM Blueworks Live vs. Visual Paradigm