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IBM DOORS vs Inflectra SpiraTest comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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 DOORS
Ranking in Application Requirements Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Inflectra SpiraTest
Ranking in Application Requirements Management
11th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Test Management Tools (23rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Requirements Management category, the mindshare of IBM DOORS is 30.6%, down from 34.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Inflectra SpiraTest is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Requirements Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM DOORS30.6%
Inflectra SpiraTest1.0%
Other68.4%
Application Requirements Management
 

Featured Reviews

UweSeufert - PeerSpot reviewer
Old but capable of storing, organizing, and exchanging requirements
I use IBM DOORS because my customer wants it for managing their requirements IBM DOORS is a tool from the 20th century. It is very old but capable of storing, organizing, and exchanging requirements. It helps to manage requirements efficiently, which significantly improves the way requirements…
Jason Lopez - PeerSpot reviewer
Intuitive enough and easy to learn, but in terms of folder organization, it could be better
Inflectra SpiraTest is the new kid on the block compared to Jira and Azure. Still, when I started exploring the tool, I realized that it was no different from other tools I've used in the past, but it all boils down to adaptability because the features would always be more or less the same. I found Inflectra SpiraTest intuitive enough. It's also easy to learn, so this is what I like about it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the way we can simply link requirements with one another and with test descriptions and then automatically produce reports that are required to show compliance to our customers. It is a combination of requirements management and reporting that I like, but I really have very little to do with the reporting part of it. I don't know how easy or hard it is to create those reports."
"I like being able to sort and categorize the requirements and the exporting functions."
"The most valuable feature for me is the ability to enter data into one table, or context, and link it across modules."
"Starting to use the solution is pretty straightforward. There isn't too much of a learning curve."
"Very customizable and can be as powerful as you want it to be."
"Makes good work of prioritizing and planning product delivery."
"Rational DOORS' most valuable feature is that you can write any kind of requirement you want."
"This product can help improve how your organization proceeds through solution development."
"The reporting functionality helps vendors and technical resources identify bugs and issues that need to be addressed. The simple dashboard-style home page makes training end-user testers simple and straightforward. The actual testing UI is VERY straightforward and very intuitive for the end-users that test the system since very often we pull from business and operational users to help test new systems."
"Inflectra SpiraTest has a lot of functionality, which is good."
"The ability to reuse test cases already used across projects is the most valuable feature of this solution. We don't need to create new ones."
"The user-friendly features are the most valuable. For example, migration of requirements and migration of test cases and the creation of traceability. You have various reports that you need. The plug-ins that are available to connect with the other tools."
"I found Inflectra SpiraTest intuitive enough. It's also easy to learn, so this is what I like about it."
"We were able to add a step-by-step procedure for someone to follow to assist in testing."
"The features of this product most valuable to me were the test case management and the visual status, by which it was displayed."
 

Cons

"Enhancing security measures, particularly when handling multiple projects simultaneously, would be beneficial to prevent data loss within DOORS."
"They need to provide users with information on what options would be best for their setup."
"It is complicated sometimes, such as the logic about updating, moving from one server version to another, and the communication between restricted and non-restricted servers."
"It used to be very clunky."
"I would like to see them improve in agile management the Scrum/Kanban Board to work with overseas team members."
"The low performance of the solution is probably because it is quite an old tool."
"It would be nice if it could be scaled-down so that it could be installed and implemented without much learning or training."
"The solution should be more compatible with thin clients"
"The user interface is slightly complicated and not very consistent. It could be more user friendly."
"Two areas that can stand improvement: integration with third party products and making it more intuitive."
"It should develop integration with JIRA. We have some complexities which caused us not to decide to integrate it with our JIRA, like synchronous data."
"The UI for managing test cases, test sets, test runs could be a little more integrated, currently, these feel disjointed at times and confusing. Also, the test steps page needs to display the test steps closer to the top of the UI so as to not have to scroll down to find."
"The folder organization in Inflectra SpiraTest could be better, though I cannot comment whether that is structure-related. Most of what I need would probably be in the tool, but as a test manager, I need to be able to create dashboards and reports easily."
"Being able to add scripting for testing can and does save a lot of time. When you are able to just ‘run’ a test case rather than manually add it and run it."
"Migrating is not very easy. It depends on the organization, how efficient and effective the decision-making process is. The plug-ins should be easier and more integrated rather than the user trying to integrate the tools which are more popular, like Jira et al."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost is too high."
"IBM is a bit too expensive in terms of pricing. Customers are paying a lot for the license, and the price is quite high for this kind of environment. It is quite high as compared to what we can get today with other solutions."
"We have to pay for a license. I think it's a one-time payment as my company hasn't notified me about more charges. I don't think it's expensive for large corporations, but it will be costly for an average person."
"Pricing can vary depending on the size of the organization and how contracts are negotiated."
"The licensing costs for the product are quite high."
"I am not sure why it is so expensive, but one license will cost approximately $15,000 in US dollars."
"IBM DOORS is available at a reasonable price"
"It is expensive to onboard additional users."
"The pricing was excellent. I would recommend the enterprise solution."
"I Googled the pricing for Inflectra SpiraTest, and it's about $4,000 annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
26%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Marketing Services Firm
10%
Performing Arts
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise36
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Rational DOORS?
The traceability matrix in DOORS improved our project outcomes. It helps ensure coverage of requirements at different levels, from user requirements to software requirements to test requirements.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Rational DOORS?
Over the years, the first version cost something around 5800 euros.
What needs improvement with IBM Rational DOORS?
Compared to today, DOORS' competitors also excel in this discipline. Yet the price is too high. It's often not as generic as it used to be. IBM promised to find a way for a generic format that allo...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Rational DOORS
SpiraTest, Spira
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Infosys, Chevrolet Volt
- Morningstar - Deutsch Bank - Sopra Group - Booz Allen & Hamilton - UBS - US Government
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM DOORS vs. Inflectra SpiraTest and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.