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IDERA ER/Studio vs Quest Spotlight comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 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

IDERA ER/Studio
Ranking in Database Development and Management
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (8th)
Quest Spotlight
Ranking in Database Development and Management
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 3.0%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest Spotlight is 6.8%, down from 8.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Development and Management
 

Featured Reviews

Aaron Cutshall - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for data modeling and has a scripting language to write your own scripts
The solution has streamlined our data modeling processes quite a bit. It's a central focus in our data modeling and data cataloging efforts. The tool's reverse engineering capability to bring in existing database structures and create models from them has benefitted our data architecture needs. With the tool's data dictionary capability, we're able to maintain consistency in our models, name use, and actual data domains. The solution's reverse engineering helps with understanding legacy databases. In fact, I've been asked to reverse-engineer several more legacy databases so that we can have them modeled and cataloged. The solution is deployed on the cloud server, but it’s only within our network. The solution has a lot of capabilities. I like the fact that it has a scripting language that allows you to automate and write your own scripts. I think that's been a big bonus for us. I highly recommend the solution because of its capability for logical models, where you can put your business definitions and logic. While less expensive, some other tools can't do that. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Seha R - PeerSpot reviewer
Good tool for the design and development of public APIs
The software does not support webhooks. It doesn't support advanced versions of APIs. The tool also doesn't support advanced versions of specifications. The change that we do in one part of the model is not reflected throughout the specification. There are also some mutations in the clones. I am not able to do a local source control with the product as well.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"ER/Studio is excellent for large teams; it scales well to teams of over one hundred plus people."
"One of the valuable features is inheritance when joining tables. When setting up RI and domains and rules, ER/Studio does a lot of the grunt, boilerplate code that would otherwise have to be hand-coded."
"It was a very good tool at the time since it was complete."
"The most valuable features are... those that enable me to represent the database to the development community and the business users."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is generating DDL (data definition language)."
"I would 100% recommend the product."
"We have been able to quickly create models for our enterprise-wide databases, even when some of them are third-party databases."
"Its dashboards are most valuable. The drill-down of the dashboards is useful."
"The tool is a SaaS product where I just need to type a URL and start with the design process. I can integrate all elements of source control like GitHub, GitLab, etc. The tool also supports authentication-related provisions like SSH."
"Spotlight provides valuable features such as the ability to get alerted and drill down to a very granular level to find out where actual problems are coming from."
"I consider the solution very scalable."
"Spotlight provides valuable features such as the ability to get alerted and drill down to a very granular level to find out where actual problems are coming from."
 

Cons

"The number of options can be overwhelming at times. That is not necessarily a bad thing but for a newbie, it can be daunting."
"This solution needs more precise documentation."
"The screens are a bit outdated. They could use a new look and feel."
"I cannot evaluate any areas for improvement at this time."
"One limitation I have found in ER/Studio is that when you want to make some changes to the table definitions, you have to go item by item. You cannot do it globally. Another issue concerns defining the foreign keys between the different tables. It is a little more tedious in the ER/Studio than in ERrwin. With ERwin it is direct."
"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."
"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."
"One improvement could be the inclusion of suggestions for missing indexes or better analysis of how indexes are utilized and how execution plans are used, similar to what other products offer."
"One improvement could be the inclusion of suggestions for missing indexes or better analysis of how indexes are utilized and how execution plans are used, similar to what other products offer."
"The software does not support webhooks. It doesn't support advanced versions of APIs. The tool also doesn't support advanced versions of specifications. The change that we do in one part of the model is not reflected throughout the specification. There are also some mutations in the clones. I am not able to do a local source control with the product as well."
"Some customizations of the dashboard, such as having backup reports, would be useful."
"There's no reporting with this tool, and there really should be. They should add that into future releases."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of this product is okay."
"Pricing is expensive and on the higher-end."
"The solution’s pricing is high."
"As an individual user, the renewal is a little costly."
"At my previous company using ER/Studio, a database compare took four hours before using the product and 15 minutes after using the product."
"The product is pricey."
"The setup cost may have been around $1500 to $2000."
"The process of licensing could be much simpler, from our experience."
"The tool is cloud-based. It is priced well."
"Its cost was somewhere in the middle."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
10%
Energy/Utilities Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Healthcare Company
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What needs improvement with Quest Spotlight?
One improvement could be the inclusion of suggestions for missing indexes or better analysis of how indexes are utilized and how execution plans are used, similar to what other products offer.
What is your primary use case for Quest Spotlight?
I primarily use Spotlight for on-the-spot troubleshooting and alerting to see if there are any issues. The drill-down features allow me to pinpoint problems, whether they are indexing, long-running...
What advice do you have for others considering Quest Spotlight?
I would rate Spotlight probably an nine out of ten. My advice would be to consider its cost-effectiveness and ease of use in smaller environments.
 

Also Known As

IDERA ER Studio, ER/Studio, ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition
Dell Spotlight
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Jenkon
Find out what your peers are saying about IDERA ER/Studio vs. Quest Spotlight and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.