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IBM SPSS Statistics vs SAS Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 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 SPSS Statistics
Ranking in Data Mining
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Data Science Platforms (8th)
SAS Analytics
Ranking in Data Mining
5th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Data Mining category, the mindshare of IBM SPSS Statistics is 15.9%, up from 13.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Analytics is 7.3%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Mining
 

Featured Reviews

Laurence Moseley - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
AltanAtabarut - PeerSpot reviewer
Good interactive reports and dashboards but expensive to run
You need to constantly jump from data prep to visualization, then back to data for fixing quality, enriching, and visualizing again. Then you start modeling and need to switch back and forth again. Eventually, you have to democratize the results so that anyone can look and interactively question the underlying insights. For all of these purposes - data to BI or data to AI to BI - it is never a linear one way relationship; it's rather a closed loop for continuous analysis monitoring and sharing. If used this way, SAS Visual analytics can enable continuous improvement and innovation in a corporation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I've found the descriptive statistics and cross-tabs valuable. The very simple correlations and regressions are as well."
"One feature I found very valuable was the analysis of variance (ANOVA)."
"The most valuable features mainly include factor analysis, correlation analysis, and geographic analysis."
"Most of the product features are good but I particularly like the linear regression analysis."
"The features that I have found most valuable are the Bayesian statistics and descriptive statistics."
"SPSS is quite robust and quicker in terms of providing you the output."
"The learning curve to using this product is not steep. The program is appropriate for those who do not have a lot of background in programming, yet have to perform basic statistical analysis."
"The solution has numerous valuable features. We particularly like custom tabs. It's very useful. We end up analyzing a lot of software data, so features related to custom tabs are really helpful."
"I use SAS daily to analyze data, produce reports, and other outputs."
"I like that it is quickly embedding interactive reports and dashboards into a website, Outlook Mail, or even a mobile app."
"The technical support is okay."
"SAS Business Intelligence is well-suited for our large corporation. We have demand for scalable and reliable insights into information which is housed in our large systems."
"It has improved the level of efficacy and validity of our reports."
"Modeling ones and figures, such as PROC LIFETEST, PROC LOGISTICS, PROC GPLOT. PROC FREQ and PROC MEANS, are also among the valuable features."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to handle large data sets."
"They have provided virtually everything we have needed to accomplish our task, as well as continuously improving our accuracy."
 

Cons

"There is a learning curve; it's not very steep, but there is one."
"In some cases, the product takes time to load a large dataset. They could improve this particular area."
"I recently moved away from SPSS and started using KNIME since it is particularly easier for students."
"I would like SPSS to improve its integration with other data-filing IBM tools. I also think its duration with data, utilization, and graphics could be better."
"In developing countries, it would be beneficial to provide certain features to users at no cost initially, while also customizing pricing options."
"Perhaps in terms of visualization. It's not really easy to do some data visualization, just simple, descriptive analysis in SPSS. I think that could be an area for improvement."
"I know that SPSS is a statistical tool but it should also include a little bit of analytical behavior. You can call it augmented analysis or predictive analysis. The bottom line is it should have more graphical and analytical capabilities."
"The statistics should be more self-explanatory with detailed automated reports."
"They could enhance the AI capabilities of the product."
"One of the things that can be simplified is self-service analytics, especially for a citizen developer or a citizen data scientist."
"I would like to see their interface to R added to either Base SAS or SAS Analytics."
"​Support at universities used to be limited, but I hear this is changing.​"
"Once a SAS figure is produced one would like to modify things, such as titles, legends, and incorporate risk sets as a footer on the plots."
"This solution should be made more user-friendly."
"The training for SAS Business Intelligence is often difficult to arrange. It is often cancelled due to not enough people being enrolled."
"The graphing and visualization features could be enhanced, in my opinion. I would especially stress improving the visualization capabilities."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We think that IBM SPSS is expensive for this function."
"While the pricing of the product may be higher, the accompanying service and features justify the investment."
"SPSS is an expensive piece of software because it's incredibly complex and has been refined over decades, but I would say it's fairly priced."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"More affordable training for new staff members."
"If it requires lot of data processing, maybe switching to IBM SPSS Clementine would be better for the buyer."
"Our licence is on a yearly renewal basis. While pricing is not the primary concern in our evaluation, as products are assessed by whether they can meet our user needs and expertise, the cost can be a limiting factor in the number of licences we procure."
"It's quite expensive, but they do a special deal for universities."
"I rate the product’s pricing a one out of ten."
"Our licensing covers the usage for around 50 data analysts."
"​The cost for SAS Business Intelligence can prove to be a little prohibitive.​"
"​Setup costs were quite reasonable."
"SAS is very expensive."
"I think that the cost-benefit ratio is okay."
"Prices were comparable with alternative solutions."
"It is relatively expensive. It is not an easy software to afford."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
10%
Insurance Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
SPSS is horrendously expensiver. On a laptop Knime is free of charge (Windows, Mac, Linux)
What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Statistics?
Better guidance both in producing programs and interpreting their output.
What do you like most about SAS Analytics?
I like that it is quickly embedding interactive reports and dashboards into a website, Outlook Mail, or even a mobile app.
What needs improvement with SAS Analytics?
SAS Analytics could improve in areas such as handling stress tests and workloads, as well as predicting financial movements, specifically profit and loss movements.
What is your primary use case for SAS Analytics?
I use SAS Analytics ( /products/sas-analytics-reviews ) in my work to analyze data, such as selecting credits for traditional securitization. Recently, I used SAS Analytics ( /products/sas-analytic...
 

Also Known As

SPSS Statistics
No data available
 

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
Aegon, Alberta Parks, Amway China, Axel Springer, Bank of America, Belgium Special Tax, CAP Index, CareSource, CBE Group, Cemig, Center for Responsible Lending, CESCE, Ceska sporitelna, Chantecler, Chico's, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, CIGNA Thailand, City of Wiesbaden, Germany, Confused.com, Creditreform, Des Moines Area Community College, Deutsche Lufthansa, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, DIRECTV, Dow Chemical Company, Dow Chemical Company, Dun & Bradstreet, EDF Energy, Electrabel GDF SUEZ, ERGO Insurance Group, Erste Bank Croatia, Farmers Mutual Group, Finnair, Florida Department of Corrections, Geneia, Generali Hellas, Genting Malaysia Berhad, Grameenphone, Grandi Salumifici Italiani, HealthPartners, Highmark, Hong Kong Efficiency Unit, HP, Hyundai Securities, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family ServicesInc Research, ING-DiBa, Institut Pertanian Bogor, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), IOM, Kelley Blue Book, Lenovo, Lillebaelt Hospital, Los Angeles County, Maspex Wadowice Group, National Bank of Greece, New Zealand Ministry of Health, New Zealand Ministry of Social Development, Nippon Paper, NMIMS, North Carolina Department of Transportation, North Carolina Office of Information Technology Services, Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC), Oberweis Dairy, ODEC, Ohio Mutual Insurance Group, Oklahoma State University, OneBeacon, Orange Business Services, Orange County Child Support Services, Organic, Orlando Magic, OTP Bank, Plano Independent School District, Project Odyssey, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, RSA Canada, SCAD, Scotiabank, Singapore National Library Board, Sobeys Inc., SRA International, Staples, Statistics Estonia, Swisscom, SymphonyIRI Group, Telecom Italia, Telef‹nica O2, Town of Cary, Transitions Optical, TrueCar, Turkcell Superonline, UniCredit Bank Serbia, University of Alabama, University of Missouri, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SPSS Statistics vs. SAS Analytics and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.