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IBM Rational System Architect vs IDERA ER/Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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 Rational System Architect
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
17th
Average Rating
7.4
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IDERA ER/Studio
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Database Development and Management (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of IBM Rational System Architect is 2.1%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 3.6%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IDERA ER/Studio3.6%
IBM Rational System Architect2.1%
Other94.3%
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

GM
IT/Business Architect at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Lots of valuable features, especially the metamodel customization
In terms of what could be improved, we did not take the whole package with all the modules, and I think that the integration with other platforms like Office could be better. The reverse engineering of the database is already there, but in the next release I would like to see some pilot supplied with the solution in order to address any database.
KP
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Enables large teams to collaborate seamlessly with comprehensive integration and strong versioning support
ER/Studio is excellent for large teams; it scales well to teams of over one hundred plus people. It has strong versioning support and can even integrate with third-party versioning tools like GitHub. It has a rich set of integration options with various products in the market. The tool also supports both logical and physical data modeling, and it has out-of-the-box support for data vault methodologies. ER/Studio allows the enforcement of naming conventions, which is beneficial for maintaining standards within the organization.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have seen ROI with this solution over the years that we have used it."
"The solution is pretty stable."
"There are a lot of features I find valuable, but I think that the metamodel customization is one of the best features that the solution offers."
"The user interface is good. It's both clear and comprehensible. It's easy to work with."
"We have a database design group of about 15 people. The Repository enables multiple people to work on the same model at the same time. We have fully integrated models, so we have one model for the enterprise data warehouse, one model for MDM, with a lot of sub-models in these things. People work on different parts of the model at different times. So the repository enables us to share the models, and keep track of what everybody is working on."
"It's easy to model and has a user-friendly interface. I like the team portal because, once we upload, the entire team can see the model."
"We are able to document the data lineage and data flows of our data from one system to another."
"It was a very good tool at the time since it was complete."
"The tool is simple to use."
"Valuable features include the ability to visually represent what the database tables are going to look like and their relationships. Also, the ability to document the definitions of the tables and the columns that are in a table so that we can communicate what the data is and how it should be used."
"My overall rating for the solution is ten out of ten."
"I like the fact that it has a scripting language that allows you to automate and write your own scripts."
 

Cons

"This solution can be more user-friendly and easier to use, with better dashboards."
"There needs to be more information at the outset about how to use the solution and how to deploy it. The deployment process needs improvement."
"The solution needs to better integrate with other products, like Microsoft."
"The reverse engineering of the database is already there, but in the next release I would like to see some pilot supplied with the solution in order to address any database."
"It isn't easy to compare the thousands of tables in the model against the database. The tool should improve the synchronization within the large organization"
"Tech support is a sticking point with me. I am really disappointed in the tech support. We pay for the Platinum level. It takes hours to get a response."
"The solution could be sped up, as it is a little slow (e.g., when it's doing its database compare)."
"They allow functionalities to be released before the full tests for catching and correcting errors are completed."
"We did have a big issue when we upgraded to the 2016 version. The Team Server portion never did quite install correctly, and/or the database was corrupted, and we never figured it out."
"The visual presentation is a little too colorful and seems that it is dumbed down."
"It would be helpful if they could create a generic JSON database type, as a target database, rather than a specific one like Mongo."
"Whenever there is a new version, there are a lot of release notes on the technical side of it, but I would like to be told why are we doing the upgrade... What I would like to really see is how this benefits us from the business point of view. What are the real benefits that the user gets? I want some kind of way white paper. The release notes describe the technical enhancements but, from the layman's point of view, if someone asks me what are the business benefits of this upgrade, I don't have any documentation to explain it to the business."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The price of this product is okay."
"I use the product's trial version."
"I feel the product's pricing is a good value."
"I am currently using the trial version, but this solution is definitely worth considering for the price point."
"As an individual user, the renewal is a little costly."
"Pricing is expensive and on the higher-end."
"The product is pricey."
"The solution’s pricing is high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Energy/Utilities Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IDERA ER Studio?
In terms of pricing, ER/Studio is slightly more expensive compared to Erwin, by about five to ten percent.
What is your primary use case for IDERA ER Studio?
I have been working with data modeling tools. Personally, I have been working with Erwin for many years now. ER/Studio is something I am currently trying to evaluate for acquiring it for our organi...
What advice do you have for others considering IDERA ER Studio?
I would strongly recommend ER/Studio for large teams. Erwin is a very stable product, but for smaller teams, it's okay. If I had to rate ER/Studio, I would give it nine out of ten because the absen...
 

Also Known As

Rational System Architect
IDERA ER Studio, ER/Studio, ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Wuxi Lake Cloud, Nationwide, ETI, IDS Scheer
Newmont Mining, Entrust, Accolade, TalkTalk, Catalina, Protective Life, NTT Data, dir systèmes, Microsoft; American Express, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Coriant, Fedex, GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo, Prudential, Wells Fargo
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Rational System Architect vs. IDERA ER/Studio and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,371 professionals have used our research since 2012.