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IDERA ER/Studio vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect 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 (8th)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 4.2%, up from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 13.4%, down from 17.9% 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.
Milan Sterba - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient documentation generation through organized model structure with a good price-performance ratio
Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not easy for even experienced users to find their way without guidance. This is not the most user-friendly solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Developing new dimensional models; for the data we're hosting, dimensional modeling is more useful."
"It does the job."
"It was a very good tool at the time since it was complete."
"We have been able to quickly create models for our enterprise-wide databases, even when some of them are third-party databases."
"We use the solution to create data models which describe our company's data architecture"
"It's easy to model and has a user-friendly interface. I like the team portal because, once we upload, the entire team can see the model."
"The interface is really simple to use and it allows me to pick and choose which tables I want to reverse engineer."
"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."
"Scalable solution for modeling, project sharing, and collaboration. Support for it is good."
"Ability to keep inventory of reusable blocks, and use in different diagrams with views of various templates."
"The installation was very easy."
"Sparx offers good flexibility."
"For the most part, we find that it is remarkable how inexpensive it is."
"The solution is easy to use, supports SysML and UML, and is able to connect to MATLAB. This is very important for us."
"It is a very flexible product. It can do a lot. It is also a reliable product."
"It has led some teams to do better code reviews - to be less focussed on coding conventions (syntax) and more focussed on the semantics because of the abstraction level clear design affords."
 

Cons

"This solution needs more precise documentation."
"They allow functionalities to be released before the full tests for catching and correcting errors are completed."
"The solution's reporting could be improved because the report writer is terrible."
"The visual presentation is a little too colorful and seems that it is dumbed down."
"I cannot evaluate any areas for improvement at this time."
"We would always like to see Repository performance improve, checking in and checking out."
"The solution could be sped up, as it is a little slow (e.g., when it's doing its database compare)."
"What I would like to see improved is the reliability of the releases, releases that are a little less buggy."
"One room for improvement in Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is that it's not very friendly. Another room for improvement in the tool is that it doesn't enable you to import the metadata from a database very easily, so reverse engineering of a database was very difficult. Its database modeling and entity-relationship modeling functions need improvement."
"I would like to see integration with Confluence or any other TRM, and the capability to integrate with the data storage, such as a repository similar to GitHub."
"I have found the solution is lacking options. The general usability needs improvement and more compliance to CML definitions."
"Because its easy to create diagrams one needs to be vigilant on the housekeeping of orphaned fragments - I have written my own scripts to do this, maybe they are available now."
"From a practical point of view, we need speed and reliability for creating a model and doing some really meaningful tasks such as application landscape, refactoring, etc. These are two primary criteria. Sometimes, when you import something, it creates the object duplicates, or it allows you to do something that you're not supposed to do. For example, validation is missing. This could be frustrating because when you work at a high speed, you need to come back and start fixing things that the tool allowed you to go with, which is not quite good. So, there should probably be some internal mechanisms to advise you about what you're doing and what is probably not the best idea."
"The Business Process Modeling or BPM feature can be improved to make it more interactive and user friendly because it is a tool for technical people. My current use is only for business process modeling notation and putting in the icons etc. You need to take them in as a class, which makes things very complex. Because of this complexity, it is not an easy-to-handle solution. Enterprise Architect is not very good for mockups. We cannot create user screens and other similar kinds of stuff, which is bad. For these things, we prefer to use Axure RP and other similar solutions. They should either remove this feature from this product or provide some kind of connectivity with Axure RP so that people can do better mockups of screens and import them. They need to augment and strengthen the BPM feature, which is the main feature. They need to put in some elements like artificial intelligence and augmented reality. They should look into such features because these things are coming up."
"The UI could be improved and made a little bit more presentable."
"The initial setup of the Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect It's very complicated. It's very difficult to start with the right templates because there are many possibilities. The deployment took approximately two days."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of this product is okay."
"It is priced fairly. It's around the same as erwin and other competitors' costs."
"The solution’s pricing is high."
"The product is pricey."
"As an individual user, the renewal is a little costly."
"I am currently using the trial version, but this solution is definitely worth considering for the price point."
"The setup cost may have been around $1500 to $2000."
"Pricing is expensive and on the higher-end."
"We paid 1200 euros as a once-off cost. All add ons and integrations come at an additional cost."
"The license for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is paid yearly, but I don't handle that area. It's good for its price, so I'm rating it a five out of five, but I'm not using it much. I also don't have information regarding additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"The licensing is not as expensive as some of the other data modeling tools such as Erwin."
"They have the price on their site for the enterprise version, and we do receive a small discount."
"It's affordable. The only additional cost that we haven't yet figured out is the floating license. If you buy a floating license, you have to have a license management server, which comes at an additional cost that's not discussed. So, we haven't yet used the floating license. That’s because I haven't had a chance to figure that out."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"It’s the best deal in town, by far."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
10%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

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 do you like most about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
The stability has been good and satisfactory. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
One of the reasons many public sector institutions in the Czech Republic use it is that it provides a very good price-performance ratio. While it might be cumbersome to learn, it still delivers exc...
What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not ...
 

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
OmniLink
Find out what your peers are saying about IDERA ER/Studio vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,579 professionals have used our research since 2012.