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Lucidchart vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visual Paradigm comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

Mind Mapping Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Lucidchart18.1%
Visio18.7%
Xmind14.3%
Other48.900000000000006%
Mind Mapping Software
Enterprise Architecture Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect8.6%
SAP PowerDesigner8.6%
erwin Data Modeler8.4%
Other74.4%
Enterprise Architecture Management
Business Process Design Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Visual Paradigm3.6%
Bizagi7.7%
Camunda7.1%
Other81.6%
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

AlexMartin1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at Nestlé
Visual collaboration has improved remote workflows and supports faster shared decisions
The best features Lucidchart offers are that it diagrams processes very well. It allows for project management to help with client timelines. It is also easy to use and create diagrams, especially mermaid diagrams. Collaborating is easy. Out of all those features, collaboration stands out to me the most because it is easy to share with team members to do joint design work. Lucidchart has positively impacted my organization by improving productivity and collaboration. In terms of specifics, collaboration helps us come to conclusions. I notice better throughput as it is easy to use. Improved productivity allows us to express ourselves more quickly.
Milan Sterba - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Enterprise Architect at Deepview S.r.o.
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.
reviewer2097357 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a aerospace/defense firm with 10,001+ employees
Innovation in diagramming has streamlined complex UML tasks
Visual Paradigm allowed me to create UML diagrams efficiently. The tool was smarter than other tools in terms of remembering the connections between components on the screen. For example, in other drawing programs, if I moved a box, I had to move the arrow, but Visual Paradigm handled those tasks automatically. This made it much quicker than using other tools like Visio or MagicDoor.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It does everything I need it to do."
"The team could not operate without it."
"Creating flowcharts and documentation is easy to do and the results are very nice."
"Lucidchart is a really effective tool to help illustrate those pictures, to explain very complex technical ideas to other technical people."
"I've been using Lucidchart for quite simple things, but it's definitely much easier making process maps using Lucidchart than it is using Google Docs for basically everything. It's much simpler in terms of how easy it is to use Lucidchart. The way that you can get the arrows on the flow charts, based on the process mapping, you can drag the arrows from one box to another and it automatically shows you where you can put it. It makes decisions for you in terms of if you have a decision diamond, then the line is automatically a yes or no. This just makes it so much easier."
"The ability for people to look at the diagram rather than reading through written documents saved time, and as a result, money."
"Visually it is the best application that I've used."
"When it comes to documenting things like processes, systems, and new teams, I'd give it an eight or nine out of ten. It's very high because it's fairly intuitive, there's a low learning curve, and it's easy to get immediate output. You can get results very quickly without a lot of direct effort. You don't usually take a week-long series of training. You don't need to go through a lot of hoops to make it work."
"The installation was very easy."
"With this solution, you get a lot of value at a low cost."
"The company has become more efficient and reduced its budget."
"Ability to model and create view under same roof."
"Simplified our task at maintaining architecture information and traceability with requirements."
"When I confronted the developer team that I plan to switch from JIRA to EA, they were not really happy, but now, after a short while, they love it because they immediately see changes, have access to all the diagrams (ERDs, Sequence Diagrams etc.), always have the big picture, and wherever they are, they can simply right-click an element, click "Find in Diagrams" and see this element in context."
"It's a very practical solution; you don't need to do an advanced course to start using this tool and it offers great intricacy so you can really do many kinds of models."
"The nature of this product did not justify an ROI but given a typical fully burdened rate for employee time, the sub-$1000 price tag is quickly recovered."
"I guess the most valuable feature is that I find it easy-to-use and understand its data modeling structure and user interface."
"I like the fact that this solution is complete."
"The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features are pricing and functionality."
"Some of the most valuable features of this process modeling tool are process simulation and process animation."
"The solution allows for different models to be integrated together, for example, if you have a chart or more than four organization charts, then you can use the concepts in your BPM and model, or your BPM and model can be linked to visual models or use cases."
"I find it very user-friendly for my purposes, which is creating business process models that I can publish as HTML pages. It has worked flawlessly for my project, and my clients are able to utilize it as an internal web portal for their process documentation and other needs."
"It is a scalable solution...The initial setup was straightforward."
"It is a scalable solution since it can be used at an individual level as well as for enterprise-sized businesses."
 

Cons

"Lucidchart can be improved as it has some limited free plans with certain features unavailable in the free tier."
"It would be nice to be able to import not just contacts from Salesforce but also leads. In the beginning, when I was still learning the ropes and my way around it, I couldn't find such an option. There might be an option, but I just don't know about it."
"Lucid should create some proper documentation and video tutorials to demonstrate the capabilities of the product to new users. It should explain everything that it offers and everything that it can be used for."
"The flowcharting feature would be improved if it had some kind of prediction capability that helped to create the diagrams, such as the ability to automatically join components with my database."
"They should continue to bring in more shapes. For example, I saw something cool the other day that was a timeline and in between each step, there was a circle. I thought that that was very clean and that's something that I could see myself using. Lucidchart could come up with more visualizations. I'm not a designer so I would like to have more visuals. That would make my job easier because it would make my job much more professional looking but without having to be a designer myself."
"In terms of the UI aspect of Lucidchart, I see that most of the features are available on the left pane, which has the basic diagrams and shapes."
"Anytime I need to print, I have to re-download/export."
"There is a premium for the use of certain elements in Lucidchart... It becomes very annoying, especially if you are a first-time user of Lucidchart and you don't have a premium plan. It feels a little too restrictive, in terms of using very basic shapes and icons. It asks you to sign-up for the premium account, which I think shouldn't be the case."
"The stability and performance of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect could still be improved. Setup for it is also slightly complicated and could be improved."
"We would like to see improvements in the documentation generator: templates, styles, and content."
"They should make the Save button easier to find."
"The tutorials are a little thin for doing this, and I could find no examples that were provided for ideas."
"Look and feel."
"There were scalability issues. The HTML generation with very large models, over 4000 diagrams, can be problematic."
"In a database-server deployment there are performance/locking issues when multiple users make changes simultaneously."
"Enterprise Architect is not very good for mockups."
"For me, what needs improvement in Visual Paradigm is the limited features included in the $99 license, which is the cheapest option. If more features could be included in the cheapest licensing package, Visual Paradigm would be better, especially for businesses that have a limited budget for buying software."
"The solution can improve by updating the user interface, and graphics."
"Online support is very lacking and appears to be an entre' for paid support."
"The other thing that needs improvement is pricing."
"It's still early for me to comment since I've only been using it for two months, but the responsiveness when diagramming needs to be improved."
"I was looking to generate code from the diagrams, but it was not totally clear how to do it."
"In terms of room for improvement in Visual Paradigm, I tried looking for one. I'm pleased with the tool, but it would be great if you could integrate Visual Paradigm with more tools. For example, when moving from Visual Paradigm to another tool, such as Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, the process could be improved a bit. Still, I wonder if it's not limited by the standards Visual Paradigm follows, such as XMI files. It could be connected to limitations related to the standards rather than a tool limitation. When you move projects from Visual Paradigm into Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect via XMI files, you lose all your notes from the elements, so this is an area for improvement in Visual Paradigm. TOGAF support is an additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of Visual Paradigm. I'd also like the tool to have ArchiMate support. If both TOGAF and ArchiMate could be supported in Visual Paradigm and made part of a lower level of licensing or cheaper licensing models, that would be best for me."
"The speed of redrawing elements and links in complex models - when you need to move part or all of the diagram across the diagram, the tool has a slow response when redrawing objects."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I had a quick glimpse of it. It was about 100 Canadian Dollars a year for just me. I don't know if there are any additional costs."
"Its pricing is very affordable and reasonable for the features that it provides. I am using its basic plan, and for my usage, it is perfectly reasonable. It suits perfectly."
"I pay $95 a year for it. It seems like a reasonable price."
"The pricing is very reasonable, and they have a free trial available that you can play with."
"We chose Lucid based on the price comparison between it and draw.io... Lucidchart was about 15 percent cheaper per user... I was surprised to learn that it came with a separate subscription model and was not included in my existing Lucidchart subscription."
"The licensing is pretty cost-effective but I haven't considered it on an enterprise level."
"I have a subscription as an individual user for one year, and it is not expensive."
"Lucidchart's pricing model is not excessive, as compared to similar products. It is pretty much in line with everyone else."
"Licenses are pretty low cost compared to, for example, ARIS."
"The pricing for ultimate version is steeply high."
"The license I use is on-premise. We haven't gone to the cloud where we have to pay monthly or something like that. Sparx is cheaper than most similar tools."
"We had a yearly license."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"It is cheaper than other solutions. Its cost is around $686 per year. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"We have an annual license, and it's very affordable."
"The pricing of Visual Paradigm is very appropriate and affordable. There are no hidden costs involved."
"This is an open-sourced solution, it is free to use."
"Over the years I've seen an increase in price, and it makes it difficult for a single person company, like me, to decide whether to extend the license."
"I rate Visual Paradigm's pricing a five out of ten."
"You can move between the tiers from month to month so you are not restricted to one pricing model."
"You can use Paradigm on a subscription basis and you can choose from different tiers of subscription."
"This product is fairly cheap, but if you want more complex features, e.g. integration with other products, it does require an additional cost."
"Visual Paradigm's pricing is not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Construction Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise29
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business39
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise58
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

LucidChart vs LucidSpark for brainstorming sessions over Zoom
Hi @Krista Thompson ​ - Yes, LucidSpark is a much more nimble and, in some ways, user-friendly tool than LucidChart. ...
Do you recommend Lucidchart?
I definitely recommend Lucidchart. I feel it is one of the top visual collaboration platforms that’s available on the...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lucidchart?
It is cloud-based, so no setup is required. Currently, we are using a free plan.
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...
What is your primary use case for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
We are mostly using the ArchiMate language to describe enterprise or solution architecture, along with a bit of use c...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visual Paradigm?
I purchased Visual Paradigm on my own, and it was competitively priced, so I was fine with the pricing.
What needs improvement with Visual Paradigm?
The product can always get better as the industry changes, however, I didn't necessarily feel it was lacking for what...
What is your primary use case for Visual Paradigm?
I needed to create UML diagrams and to perform a significant amount of diagramming work.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Salesforce, Adobe, Whirlpool, Uber, Wal Mart, Pearson, Twitch, Riot Games, Western Union, Trimble, Starbucks
OmniLink
Adobe, Apple, at&t, Caterpillar, Intel, NASA, Nokia, Toyota