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IBM SPSS Statistics vs IBM Watson Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.6
IBM SPSS Statistics provides significant ROI by improving data analysis efficiency, saving time and costs with user-friendly features.
Sentiment score
5.8
IBM Watson Studio boosts efficiency and accuracy, reduces staffing, enhances conversion rates, and offers integration benefits, despite its cost.
The product offers a significant return on investment through its scalability and integration capabilities.
Process Automation Lead at CONDIACTOR
My customers have seen returns on investment through increased efficiency, automated calculations, improved accuracy in pricing, and reduced staffing needs due to the automation.
Director, Channel and Alliances at Akinon
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
IBM SPSS Statistics customer service is generally polite and effective, but some users request better initial technical knowledge.
Sentiment score
6.5
IBM Watson Studio support is praised for responsiveness, but quality varies by plan and community access is limited.
The community access is weak, which limits the ability to engage in discussions and find documentation and examples of similar cases effectively.
Director, Channel and Alliances at Akinon
The support quality depends on the SLA or the contract terms.
Process Automation Lead at CONDIACTOR
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.3
IBM SPSS Statistics efficiently handles moderate data but struggles with large datasets, with mixed opinions on its scalability.
Sentiment score
7.0
IBM Watson Studio is scalable and flexible, supporting diverse needs with high costs but seamless integration and comprehensive features.
Watson Studio is very scalable.
Process Automation Lead at CONDIACTOR
I rate IBM Watson Studio seven out of ten for scalability because while it scales, it requires significant resources to do so, making it expensive compared to some competitors.
Director, Channel and Alliances at Akinon
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
IBM SPSS Statistics is stable and reliable, efficiently handling data with adequate hardware but requires improvement for large databases.
Sentiment score
7.5
IBM Watson Studio is robust and reliable, performing well over time, particularly in private cloud environments, with consistent stability.
Expertise in optimization is necessary to manage such issues effectively.
Director, Channel and Alliances at Akinon
 

Room For Improvement

IBM SPSS needs better visualization, user interface, support, and integration, with modern features, automation, and adaptable algorithms to remain competitive.
IBM Watson Studio users want improved web functionality, modular structure, better navigation, enhanced support, and adaptable pricing for enterprises.
I'm unsure if SPSS has a commercial offering for big servers, unlike KNIME, which does.
Emeritus Professor of Health Services Research at University of South Wales
IBM should work on optimizing the user interface and enhancing the product's accessibility for medium and small enterprises.
Director, Channel and Alliances at Akinon
One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration.
Process Automation Lead at CONDIACTOR
I wish learning IBM Watson Studio could be easier and more gradual, as it is a complex task.
Software Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

IBM SPSS Statistics is a premium-priced solution with extensive features, offset by educational discounts and perceived affordability challenges.
IBM Watson Studio's pricing is seen as reasonable but can be expensive, affecting competitiveness and regional deployments.
IBM Watson Studio is considered rather expensive, with a rating of six or seven.
Director, Channel and Alliances at Akinon
 

Valuable Features

IBM SPSS Statistics combines advanced analytics with a user-friendly interface, handling large datasets and supporting predictive modeling efficiently.
IBM Watson Studio offers automation, AI integration, scalability, and robust data modeling, ideal for large organizations with multi-cloud support.
I mainly used it for cross tabs, correlation, regression, chi-squared tests, and similar analyses often seen in published papers.
Emeritus Professor of Health Services Research at University of South Wales
This capability saves a significant amount of time by automating processes that typically involve manual work, such as data cleaning, feature engineering, and predictive analytics.
Director, Channel and Alliances at Akinon
The best features IBM Watson Studio offers are that it is good for big and complex organizations, it is multi-cloud, it has an on-prem facility, and it also has strong visual tools.
Software Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
It integrates well with other platforms and offers good scalability.
Process Automation Lead at CONDIACTOR
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM SPSS Statistics
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Data Mining (2nd), AI Data Analysis (15th), AI Research (2nd)
IBM Watson Studio
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
AI Development Platforms (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Data Science Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM SPSS Statistics is 4.3%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Watson Studio is 2.2%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Science Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM SPSS Statistics4.3%
IBM Watson Studio2.2%
Other93.5%
Data Science Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Laurence Moseley - PeerSpot reviewer
Emeritus Professor of Health Services Research at University of South Wales
Delivers reliable results for academic research and keeps you close to your data.
SPSS is perfectly adequate if all you want are some results. If you only need the results, you do not require the trail of evidence on how you obtained those results. I mainly used it for cross tabs, correlation, regression, chi-squared tests, and similar analyses often seen in published papers; I used it for my papers as well. For wider uses I find Knime keeps me in touch with my data, however much I transform them.
AA
Director, Channel and Alliances at Akinon
Automated processes improve efficiency while user interface and accessibility need enhancements
IBM Watson Studio, while powerful, lacks user-friendliness. It is not easy to use, particularly for medium or small enterprises or less experienced staff. Another aspect that requires improvement is the complexity involved in computer vision tasks. The integration capabilities have not significantly impacted workflow since there are simpler tools like Alteryx and Nine. The platform is associated with a complicated setup process and demands heavy hardware, making it expensive to scale. IBM should work on optimizing the user interface and enhancing the product's accessibility for medium and small enterprises.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM SPSS Statistics?
The software offers consistency across multiple research projects helping us with predictive analytics capabilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM SPSS Statistics?
I think the price of the solution is very reasonable. The cost depends; you have the option for subscription or you can purchase the license. Most of our customers are paying every year for a type ...
What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Statistics?
I have faced some challenges with IBM SPSS Statistics; you need to know what you're doing because it's not very user-friendly. It's not something a person can come and intuitively work with. The ba...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Watson Studio?
IBM Watson Studio is considered rather expensive, with a rating of six or seven. The pricing could be optimized relative to the features and capabilities of the product.
What needs improvement with IBM Watson Studio?
I think IBM Watson Studio can be improved. I wish learning IBM Watson Studio could be easier and more gradual, as it is a complex task. Also, I think pricing is a bit high.
What is your primary use case for IBM Watson Studio?
My main use case for IBM Watson Studio is the end-to-end ML life cycle. A specific example of a project where I used IBM Watson Studio for the end-to-end machine learning life cycle is that I built...
 

Also Known As

SPSS Statistics
Watson Studio, IBM Data Science Experience, Data Science Experience, DSx
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

LDB Group, RightShip, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Capgemini Consulting, TEAC Corporation, Ironside, nViso SA, Razorsight, Si.mobil, University Hospitals of Leicester, CROOZ Inc., GFS Fundraising Solutions, Nedbank Ltd., IDS-TILDA
GroupM, Accenture, Fifth Third Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SPSS Statistics vs. IBM Watson Studio and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,310 professionals have used our research since 2012.