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Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visio vs iServer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of iServer is 1.8%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 10.1%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visio is 12.5%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Visio12.5%
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect10.1%
iServer1.8%
Other75.6%
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Antonios Lazanakis - PeerSpot reviewer
Flexible, easy to use, and easy to import data
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization iServer is a very flexible platform for defining your own enterprise architecture model. It is very easy to import data, and we also have good integration with Visual Drawing Tools and SharePoint. The solution is…
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.
Tugrul TASCI - PeerSpot reviewer
We have seen return on investment in the form of time savings but should have more design tools
I am generally using Visio to create some diagrams Visio should implement more complex tools or graphics to facilitate processing and use flexible templates. It should allow users to easily drag and drop some previously created diagrams. The tools supplied or provided are very basic, and there…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This is a flexible tool compared to some other solutions."
"The product has a valuable customized model."
"Tech support is very responsive. They solved issues within a prompt response time."
"Integrating the Microsoft documents to the product and visualization matrix where we can see the end-to-end relationship of the network is of great importance to our company."
"iServer is a very flexible platform for defining your own enterprise architecture model."
"We like the governance."
"It has helped having data lineage in the business cluster, which is used as control artifacts."
"This flexibility is the most helpful part in the standard version."
"Large variety of profiles and frameworks available out-of-the-box without the need for customization."
"The TOGAF ADM model is most valuable. It is also very cheap as compared to other options in the market."
"The Business Process Modeling or BPM part is the most valuable. Its ability to simulate scenarios is also very useful. It can also create descriptions of the workflows. It has a feature in which if you create some BPMN process, a workflow diagram, and the description inside, you can actually simulate the whole scenario, and you get the description. That's very handy."
"The solution saved a lot of time, about 30%."
"Simplified our task at maintaining architecture information and traceability with requirements."
"The initial setup is easy."
"Modeling is a part of my work, and it has a lot of standard modeling languages. It is quite wide, and a lot is possible in it. We are not programming it ourselves, but if you are into programming and developing software yourself, you can go further and do a lot with Sparx. You can work from the framework and go into the details. With this solution, you get a lot of value at a low cost. It is also quite intuitive in terms of use. I like the use of it."
"The profiles and ready-made templates are an extremely helpful feature. This is one of the biggest features that I find very useful in Sparx."
"The diagramming and swimlane features allow for separating business functions."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to draw models quickly."
"I like to use Visio because it gives me a quick view of the things I had to put in a model for a company. I don't use it as an interface, though."
"The solution makes it very easy to make exciting pictures and designs. Everything is very intuitive and simple to figure out."
"I find the control flow and settings features valuable."
"The most valuable feature is the set of diagramming tools."
"Visio is outstanding because it has features that are useful for project management."
"This is a very straightforward product and I don't think that anything needs to be simplified."
 

Cons

"It definitely needs help to improve the visual aspect of the solution."
"The one issue is that if you want to import predefined work, you need to put the licensing model in. So if you wanted to import work that was done before, you then need to buy a separate product for that."
"The modelling needs improvement, specifically forecasting capabilities and scenarios."
"There can be some performance issues using the solution that should be improved. When you make modifications modify to files there are embedded data within that can take a while to process."
"We could allocate permissions to use only specific components to the users rather than the entire instance."
"The migration tool needs to be included in the main package, and not as a separate license."
"iServer is a solid tool. Occasionally, we needed to contact the vendor to clarify details such as porting issues, missing components, and model specifics."
"Enhancing integration options with ERP or ITSM-related solutions for triggering automated requests for process definitions, changes, and tracking them in the iServer."
"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."
"There used to be that feature in ArchiMate Modeling of Enterprise Architect called inherited relationships. Now it's gone."
"Weak in regards to data modelling. No logical or physical modelling or migration from conceptual to physical."
"It would be great if we could decrease the use of different parts of the Toolbox."
"For data modeling, it is not very mature when comparing with other data modeling tools."
"The documentation needs a bit of improvement. What I find is that when I'm trying to do something specific for some part of a project, in terms of documentation, it's kind of hard to get at figuring out if you don't use it all the time."
"The product could be improved in terms of its ease of use and documentation. While it offers a lot of functionality, it can be difficult to grasp how to utilize these features effectively."
"I would like the system to more "intellectually" build a scheme, place icons, and connect lines on the schemes."
"Visio can be more user-friendly."
"In terms of features, it could provide more automation to display data flowing through architecture."
"Sometimes, there is a little bit of a learning curve with it, especially while doing complex network diagrams and getting the lines to snap the way you want them and not overlap or be confusing. It would be great if there was a built-in tutorial. It is not that you can't YouTube, but it would be nice if they gave you some free training. I've been using it forever, but every now and then, I got to do something complicated with it and I wonder how do I do that again. Maybe they do have such information, and I don't know. I have not done research on it because a bunch of people work for me, and some of them are better at it than I am, so I just ask them to do this for me."
"There are a lot of patches that sometimes change how one version will interact compared to another."
"Its support team could be well-equipped with the required information."
"Microsoft should include Visio as part of their Office 365 offering."
"I would like to see Visio become some kind of enterprise architecture, which it is not."
"It should be easier to transition into a new version without having to spend so much time in just one area."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They offer annual subscriptions for developing countries, which are not affordable for small or medium businesses."
"The product has a moderate pricing."
"It's about 13K to set up and 9K for the license for three months. I think it's about 20K a year, but we haven't firmed up on pricing yet because the price depends on how long we commit to the solution."
"The price of iServer is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"Aim for the exact number of people who shall define/review approve and view the processes, as it will impact the cost."
"The solution is cheaper than its competitors."
"The pricing for ultimate version is steeply high."
"It's reasonably priced for large organizations."
"They have the price on their site for the enterprise version, and we do receive a small discount."
"I think our license costs roughly $1,000 a year, but I could be wrong."
"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."
"Enterprise licensing is competitive. What would be helpful if they load the pricing for consultants, you know, people who are consultants for clients. So the license is fine for end-user organizations. Still, they should consider lowering the license to support this adoption, particularly for people who are consultants like myself."
"Pricing and licensing is very attractive, simple, and straightforward."
"Use floating licenses strategically."
"I pay for the license and it is very expensive. If you're only going to use this tool from time to time, you can save money by just using the available online tools. But if you plan on using it heavily, then it's worth it to invest."
"You can purchase a corporate license for more users to use the solution. We have purchased a stand-alone license and which could be cheaper."
"I know you can pick it up in retail for under a thousand per person. You can also pick it up for cheaper than that. Microsoft has about 7,000 licensing models, and you get certain percentages off specific licensing. If you're a partner, you get specific numbers of licenses with the partnership price."
"Now we pay about $200, which is maybe $10 per user per month."
"The price is reasonable for individual use but for an organization, the costs is high."
"Our license for Visio is including with the Office 365 subscription."
"I rate the price of Visio a six out of ten."
"The pricing of Visio is much better. It has a free version of the cheapest functionality which is enough for us."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Government
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise58
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise61
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iServer?
iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management.
What needs improvement with iServer?
iServer should invest in enhancing the capabilities of the embedded drawing tool, draw.io. draw.io is a drawing tool ...
What is your primary use case for iServer?
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization.
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...
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 stra...
How easy is it to migrate process flow charts (modeled using tools like Visio) into Bizagi?
I have been using Bizagi with a major project for a state government agency for about four years now. It is pretty st...
What do you like most about Visio?
The diagrams Visio creates are quite impressive in the sense that we can cooperate with more colleagues in one task a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visio?
One of the main problems with Visio is its licensing options and associated issues, which lead to discussions about t...
 

Also Known As

No data available
No data available
Microsoft Visio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Barclays, Cathay Pacific, Deloitte, British Gas, MasterCard
OmniLink
Thomas College, Hamburg Port Authority, Portigon AG, Conseil G_n_ral du d_partement des Hautes-Alpes, AAA Auto a. s., Commonwealth Financial Network, ICA, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Camunda, SAP and others in Business Process Design. Updated: August 2025.
866,286 professionals have used our research since 2012.