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IDERA ER/Studio vs Toad Data Modeler 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 (7th)
Toad Data Modeler
Ranking in Database Development and Management
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 3.1%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Toad Data Modeler is 3.8%, up from 2.8% 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.
JamesBlack - PeerSpot reviewer
A scalable and stable product that is easy to deploy and provides excellent features
The Oracle side of things was very popular. The admin features for Oracle were great. It would be a really good thing if we had a similar functionality to SQL Server. The product is not too bad with maintenance. MySQL would be better than Toad. I always recommend the product to others. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It does the job."
"The most valuable features are... those that enable me to represent the database to the development community and the business users."
"I set up this tool and found it to be very simple."
"ER/Studio is excellent for large teams; it scales well to teams of over one hundred plus people."
"Modeling with Data Architect: We can quickly reverse-engineer a database from an existing database or create a model from scratch."
"The most important features are logical and physical models that we can compare and develop. Also, the Data Dictionary can be created out of your studio. Finally, database schemas help understand the logic that's behind the scene, behind the SQL tables. Especially when there are a lot of them, the schemas help everyone understand the business processes."
"This application does a lot of things, as do competitor products, but the main reason to go with this product was the ability to create many automations, where we can improve our work and our process."
"I like the fact that it has a scripting language that allows you to automate and write your own scripts."
"I found all features valuable and necessary in Toad Data Modeler, particularly how good the solution is for modeling, database schema generation, and database re-engineering. I also found Toad Data Modeler straightforward to use."
"The feature I really like is the graphical part, especially the control of the relationships."
"It is not feasible for small businesses. It is not used in a small company."
"Auto-complete is the best feature of the solution."
 

Cons

"It would be helpful if they could create a generic JSON database type, as a target database, rather than a specific one like Mongo."
"When building the relationships there should be a little more flexibility."
"I cannot evaluate any areas for improvement at this time."
"The model diagram because very clumsy when you save it on the team server and the models are very big."
"What I would like to see improved is the reliability of the releases, releases that are a little less buggy."
"What needs the most improvement are semantic lineage and usability."
"We did have a big issue when we upgraded to the 2016 version. The Team Server portion never did quite install correctly, and/or the database was corrupted, and we never figured it out."
"when there are some links to the external databases, if this database is not structured it is not uploaded. It gives me errors and I cannot see the view that was created on this structure and I cannot change those views, even manually. It skips the views. I have to ignore those views. I cannot re-upload them because it gives me an error."
"What could be improved in Toad Data Modeler is stability and the complex setup."
"When updating a model after generating a schema, if only a few tables are imported, the tool assumes you want to delete the rest, which is cumbersome."
"The product should provide better debugging features."
"It is not feasible for small businesses. It is not used in a small company."
"Many users don't know how to add licensing to Toad, or where it is shown, so they could make that easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is on point, but do your due diligence - not every developer needs the tool."
"I use the product's trial version."
"The product is pricey."
"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 expensive and on the higher-end."
"I feel the product's pricing is a good value."
"I am currently using the trial version, but this solution is definitely worth considering for the price point."
"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."
"Though I'm not involved in the licensing for Toad Data Modeler, I believe it's per user and not cheap."
"Price-wise, the lesser it is, the better it is for me, especially in Egypt. I think that the licensing cost ranges from 1,000 to 9,000. Also, it includes maintenance and support for a year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software 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 Toad Data Modeler?
Auto-complete is the best feature of the solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Toad Data Modeler?
Considering its functionality, I would rate its pricing as a seven out of ten. It could be cheaper yet is still pretty good.
What needs improvement with Toad Data Modeler?
1) When updating a model after generating a schema, if only a few tables are imported, the tool assumes you want to delete the rest. If you have a large model, you repeatedly have to clarify that y...
 

Also Known As

IDERA ER Studio, ER/Studio, ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition
Toad
 

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
Zions Bancorporation
Find out what your peers are saying about IDERA ER/Studio vs. Toad Data Modeler and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.