IBM SPSS Modeler vs MathWorks Matlab comparison

IBM and MathWorks are both solutions in the Data Science Platforms category. IBM is ranked #14 with an average rating of 6.8, while MathWorks is ranked #16 with an average rating of 9.0. IBM holds a 2.5% mindshare in Data Science Platforms, compared to MathWorks’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of MathWorks users who would recommend it.

IBM SPSS Modeler

Read 39 IBM SPSS Modeler reviews

1,583 Views
253 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

MathWorks Matlab

Read 3 MathWorks Matlab reviews

538 Views
171 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM SPSS Modeler

MathWorks Matlab

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

IBM SPSS Modeler and MathWorks Matlab compete in the field of data analysis and predictive analytics. MathWorks Matlab usually has the advantage due to its comprehensive features, despite IBM SPSS Modeler being more competitively priced and supported.

Features: IBM SPSS Modeler is known for its intuitive workflow, ease of data preparation, and advanced statistical capabilities. MathWorks Matlab is recognized for its powerful computational engine, diverse toolboxes for various applications, and strong data visualization strengths. MathWorks Matlab's extensive features provide an edge in versatility and performance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM SPSS Modeler offers a straightforward deployment process and strong customer support, ensuring efficient implementation. MathWorks Matlab, while having a steeper learning curve due to its comprehensive nature, provides extensive resources and support to assist in deployment. The decision may hinge on whether users prioritize expedited deployment or extensive computational capabilities.

Pricing and ROI: IBM SPSS Modeler generally has a lower initial setup cost and provides a solid return on investment for businesses with specific analytical needs. MathWorks Matlab may require a higher initial investment but offers substantial ROI through its extensive functionalities and adaptability across numerous fields. The choice between the two depends on budget flexibility and long-term analytical requirements.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM SPSS Modeler vs. MathWorks Matlab Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM SPSS Modeler vs. MathWorks Matlab

June 2025

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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 SPSS Modeler

Ranking in Data Science Platforms

14th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Mining (4th)

MathWorks Matlab

Ranking in Data Science Platforms

16th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Data Science Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM SPSS Modeler is 2.5%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MathWorks Matlab is 0.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Science Platforms

Featured Reviews

PeterHuo

Application Architect at Canada Border Services Agency

Good tool for extracting data from data warehouses, creating streams, and manipulating logic to extract final data

There are performance issues. Extracting data from many combined tables can take hours and occasionally crash the server due to memory leaks. This performance problem bothers people. The performance issue seems to be related to the server. We design streams on the client and submit them to the server, which generates a large SQL statement. There are two potential bottlenecks: one in the server and another in data extraction. I'm unsure about the exact mechanics of data splitting when fetching from the database. When streams become larger, performance bottlenecks may occur in the IBM SPSS Modeler server or the database. Sometimes the server crashes and needs to be restarted to release memory on both sides. I'm not sure exactly where the problem is caused, as I focus on stream design rather than server issues. The problem could be on the IBM SPSS Modeler server and database.

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Neha Wanjari

Technical Lead at KPIT Technologies

Has Simulink feature which helps with visual representations

The tool's most valuable feature is the Simulink environment. This feature provides an incredible capability to visually represent the system behavior before creating the code. It allows you to see the flow and interactions of the system, which is extremely beneficial for software development. With this visual representation, you can better understand the system's behavior, make necessary adjustments, and ensure maintenance and updates. This capability is why I love working with the product. The solution's UI has greatly supported my development process. I would rate it an eight point five out of ten for its user interface. It's easy to explain how a system works, especially if I've created a model in the Simulink environment. Integrating it with other languages or tools has always benefited my projects. Even though I've only used two languages, it has been advantageous overall.

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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

"So far, the stability has been rock solid."

"In the solution, I like the virtualization of data flow since it shows what goes where, which is mostly the strength of the tool."

"We have been able to do some predictive modeling with it"

"We are creating models and putting them into production much faster than we would if we had just gone with a strict, code-based solution, like R or Python."

"It will scale up to anything we need."

"We have a local representative who specializes in SPSS. He will help us do the PoC."

"Automated modelling, classification, or clustering are very useful."

"Our go live process has been slightly enhanced compared to the previous programmatic process. There is now a faster time to production from the business end."

More IBM SPSS Modeler pros

"The tool's most valuable feature is the Simulink environment. This feature provides an incredible capability to visually represent the system behavior before creating the code. It allows you to see the flow and interactions of the system, which is extremely beneficial for software development. With this visual representation, you can better understand the system's behavior, make necessary adjustments, and ensure maintenance and updates. This capability is why I love working with the product."

"The platform's most valuable feature is its field-specific packages, which make it very easy to use."

"Personally for me, because I do a lot of development, I like that it is easy to test mathematical algorithms with several matrix calculations. It's perfect for that."

Cons

"Dimension reduction should be classified separately."

"I would like better integration into the Weather Company solution. I have raised a couple of concerns about this integration and having more time series capabilities."

"Regarding visual modeling, it is not the biggest strength of the product, although from what I hear in the latest release it's going to be a lot stronger. That, to me, has always been the biggest flaw in using this. It's very difficult to get good visualization."

"The forecasting could be a bit easier."

"Expensive to deploy solutions. You need to buy an extra deployment unit."

"It would be good if IBM added help resources to the interface."

"It would be helpful if SPSS supported open-source features, for example, embedding R or Python scripts in SPSS Modeler."

"When I used it in the office, back in the day, we did have some stability issues. Sometimes it just randomly crashed and we couldn't get good feedback. But when I use it for my own stuff now I don't have any problems."

More IBM SPSS Modeler cons

"To make use of the GPU, you have to have an Nvidia card. What I would want it to do is to run in Next Generation with Intel or AMD, and not just with Nvidia."

"In the area of improvement, sometimes there are issues with the speed of MathWorks Matlab, particularly in the Simulink environment. The tool's latest versions can be slow to open, taking significant time to load. Additionally, saving data and integrating models can also be time-consuming processes."

"One area where the product could improve is in the ease of learning."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The scalability was kind of limited by our ability to get other people licenses, and that was usually more of a financial constraint. It's expensive, but it's a good tool."

"The government has funds and a budget, it's hard to say if it's expensive or cheap. In Canada, they have a yearly budget. They used to encourage people to use the modeler for development. If ten users use the server with ten licenses, it runs faster. But if forty users use the same appliance, everything slows down. People then think it's not easy to do things and prefer using remote tools like Python to extract data from the database. It's not about being expensive or cheap, but about people's knowledge and experience in how to do the work."

"It got us a good amount of money with quick and efficient modeling."

"When you are close to end of quarter, IBM and its partners can get you 60% to 70% discounts, so literally wait for the last day of the quarter for the best prices. You may feel like you are getting robbed if you can't receive a good discount."

"$5,000 annually."

"If you are in a university and the license is free then you can use the tool without any charges, which is good."

"I am using the free version of IBM SPSS Modeler, it is the educational edition version."

"It is a huge increase to time savings."

More IBM SPSS Modeler pricing and cost advice

"We have a single user license. Support and add-ons are an extra fee."

"The pricing for the software itself is reasonable, and I didn't encounter any additional costs beyond the initial purchase or license."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Educational Organization

10%

Government

University

Computer Software Company

10%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM SPSS Modeler?

Compared to other tools, the product works much easier to analyze data without coding.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM SPSS Modeler?

The government has funds and a budget, it's hard to say if it's expensive or cheap. In Canada, they have a yearly budget. They used to encourage people to use the modeler for development. If ten us...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Modeler?

See all answers

What do you like most about MathWorks Matlab?

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MathWorks Matlab?

The pricing for the software itself is reasonable, and I didn't encounter any additional costs beyond the initial purchase or license.

See all answers

What needs improvement with MathWorks Matlab?

One area where the product could improve is in the ease of learning. The syntax can be challenging for first-time programmers or those unfamiliar with specialized languages. Also, while the communi...

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Comparisons

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Compared 21% of the time

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Compared 16% of the time

Altair RapidMiner vs IBM SPSS Modeler

Compared 8% of the time

Alteryx vs IBM SPSS Modeler

Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 22% of the time

Anaconda vs MathWorks Matlab

Compared 22% of the time

KNIME vs MathWorks Matlab

Compared 15% of the time

Dataiku vs MathWorks Matlab

Compared 15% of the time

SAS Enterprise Miner vs MathWorks Matlab

Compared 14% of the time

More MathWorks Matlab Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM SPSS Modeler

June 2025

Download IBM SPSS Modeler product report

Buyer's Guide

Data Science Platforms

June 2025

Download MathWorks Matlab product report

Also Known As

SPSS Modeler

No data available

Overview

IBM SPSS Modeler is an extensive predictive analytics platform that is designed to bring predictive intelligence to decisions made by individuals, groups, systems and the enterprise. By providing a range of advanced algorithms and techniques that include text analytics, entity analytics, decision management and optimization, SPSS Modeler can help you consistently make the right decisions from the desktop or within operational systems.

Buy
https://www.ibm.com/products/spss-modeler/pricing

Sign up for the trial
https://www.ibm.com/account/reg/us-en/signup?formid=urx-19947

IBM

Information not available

MathWorks

Sample Customers

Reisebªro Idealtours GmbH, MedeAnalytics, Afni, Israel Electric Corporation, Nedbank Ltd., DigitalGlobe, Vodafone Hungary, Aegon Hungary, Bureau Veritas, Brammer Group, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, InSites Consulting, Fortis Turkey

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Buyer's Guide

IBM SPSS Modeler vs. MathWorks Matlab

June 2025

Free Report: IBM SPSS Modeler vs. MathWorks Matlab

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SPSS Modeler vs. MathWorks Matlab and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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