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IDERA ER/Studio vs Sparx Prolaborate 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

IDERA ER/Studio
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Database Development and Management (9th)
Sparx Prolaborate
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
18th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 4.4%, up from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Prolaborate is 0.7%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture 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.
Sastry Dhara - PeerSpot reviewer
Good extensibility, but there should be more cloud capabilities
Its extensibility is most valuable. There should be more cloud capabilities. We worked with this solution for two or three years. There are no stability issues. It is scalable. Their support is good. It was straightforward. I would rate it a seven out of ten. On-premises

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The data modeling and reverse engineering features are most important to us."
"Straightforward setup."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is generating DDL (data definition language)."
"When validating the model, the ability to provide sub-models to developers, and generate a physical model from the logical, makes it easier to review a logical model with stakeholders."
"The data modeling module is important to me because I am a database developer and designer... It's very fast, reliable, up-to-date, so easy to use, smooth."
"Modeling with Data Architect: We can quickly reverse-engineer a database from an existing database or create a model from scratch."
"It's much easier to develop the database structure and change it on the fly, rather than doing it manually in SQL Server itself. That saves time."
"Its extensibility is most valuable."
"It allows us to give a better description of our project than using the written word."
"It is valuable to have diagrams available in real time."
"Sparx Prolaborate is user-friendly, easy to use, and has good documentation."
"What is really powerful in Sparx is the way in which you can model business processes. You can link business processes to organizational objectives. You can also take those business processes and link them to specific product features that you want to deliver."
 

Cons

"The solution is not so strong at creating modeling views and database views."
"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."
"Sometimes our version is a little unstable. But I think this problem occurs because our version is old."
"The only thing I had an issue with was licensing, and the support was very good."
"I cannot evaluate any areas for improvement at this time."
"The solution's reporting could be improved because the report writer is terrible."
"I would like to upload, a database with about 3,000 tables. It takes so much time and, finally, it freezes the whole solution so that I actually cannot work with that environment. For the data warehouse, it's fine because I have 20 or 30 tables. It works fine. But, when I reverse-engineer the database with 3,000 tables, it freezes and it's hard to upload and reverse-engineer such environments in ER/Studio."
"They allow functionalities to be released before the full tests for catching and correcting errors are completed."
"A lot of product teams use a lot of visualizations for mapping out the product roadmap, brainstorming, or understanding the vision of the product, but Sparx is not a great visualization tool. Sparx has to improve the way for visualizing processes, journeys, software designs, etc. It would really benefit the product management teams or even enterprise architects."
"In the next release, there should be more editable objects. We find Sparx Prolaborate very user-friendly, and having more features that are in the Enterprise Architect would be great, such as managing different versions of diagrams."
"There should be more cloud capabilities."
"The solution could offer different sources for design."
"The product is not very user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is bad and ten is good, I would rate the licensing cost as a seven or eight. It's not too expensive for us."
"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."
"Pricing is on point, but do your due diligence - not every developer needs the tool."
"The product is pricey."
"The solution’s pricing is high."
"Pricing is expensive and on the higher-end."
"The price of this product is okay."
"The product is expensive."
"The price of Sparx Prolaborate is good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Real Estate/Law Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 needs improvement with IDERA ER/Studio?
ER/Studio lacks a pure cloud option for deployment. Both Erwin and ER/Studio do not have AI or machine learning features for automation. Offering a comprehensive cloud-based version could enhance i...
What do you like most about Sparx Prolaborate?
It allows us to give a better description of our project than using the written word.
What needs improvement with Sparx Prolaborate?
The product is not very user-friendly. It takes time to learn the concept. The user-friendliness and the learning curve must be improved. It takes quite a lot of time for experienced engineers to use.
What is your primary use case for Sparx Prolaborate?
We use the product primarily for model-based engineering.
 

Also Known As

IDERA ER Studio, ER/Studio, ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition
No data available
 

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
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IDERA ER/Studio vs. Sparx Prolaborate and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.