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Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visual Paradigm comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 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

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Business Process Design
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (2nd)
Visual Paradigm
Ranking in Business Process Design
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 10.5%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Paradigm is 6.3%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Angie Ibrahim Eissa - PeerSpot reviewer
A software application designed for software development teams to model business information systems and manage development processes
Setting up Visual Paradigm is easy. There's hardly any configuration needed, unlike some other tools. You just choose your method and diagram type, and you're good to go. As for improvements, integrating project management features with diagrams could be better. Viewing outputs could also be smoother, especially when working with multiple files.Deployment is quick and painless. It practically takes no time at all to set up. And because I also teach at the university, I use Visual Paradigm for my classes and case studies. It's easy to switch between products, and my students have no trouble using it on their own.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like Sparx's BPM features and the way it lets you create the diagram."
"It is a very flexible product. It can do a lot. It is also a reliable product."
"The most valuable feature is the integrated data model, so if I change the name of an item, all models using that object are automatically updated."
"The solution is easy to use, supports SysML and UML, and is able to connect to MATLAB. This is very important for us."
"The solution allows us to quickly present designs and concepts to customers and get their feedback, thereby moving the project forward step by step."
"I have found the Meta Model tuning feature useful as it provides me with an overview of all my work needs."
"Automated document generation is a real time saver, no more cut and paste, no more keeping track of which diagrams are in which reports, no more last minute update panics. Just click a mouse and you've got an up to date report."
"The installation was very easy."
"Visual Paradigm is simple and easy to use."
"It is easy-to-use and it helps understand its data modeling structure through the intuitive user interface."
"The solution is very user-friendly. It's easy to just open it and start working."
"The solution is stable. It hasn't crashed, stopped or caused any issues in any way."
"I like the structure. I can see the diagrams and everything I created."
"The initial setup is extremely straightforward."
"Visual Paradigm allowed me to create UML diagrams efficiently."
"It is easy and intuitive to use, not excessively rigid, and quite flexible."
 

Cons

"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."
"Sparx can be a bit slow. If you are trying to design software architecture, sometimes we run into issues and need to refresh."
"The database management area was not usable."
"It really did not work for logical modeling. The look is very old-fashioned. You can't make the diagrams easy on the eye, so we ended up drawing them again in Visio anyhow."
"The UI is a little bit outdated. It should be more fresh and clean."
"The UI could be improved and made a little bit more presentable."
"I would like the system to more "intellectually" build a scheme, place icons, and connect lines on the schemes."
"The window froze for five or ten seconds. You can click and click again and it takes a second to come up. It might have been specific to a version."
"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."
"There is room for improvement in the licensing model. I would suggest implementing country-specific pricing, as many other products in India do. This would make Visual Paradigm more affordable and accessible."
"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."
"Visual Paradigm is much better now. But each project has its own challenges, which is why I'm exploring different tools for my new projects. For instance, designing reports can be tough, especially with the costly intervention of professional services from vendors."
"There are some connectivity issues that crop up rarely when used with SQL Server."
"The solution can be heavy on resource usage."
"The product's versioning capability needs improvement."
"The product can always get better as the industry changes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"It is very economical and low cost. You have to pay for a one-time license, and it is active forever."
"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."
"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."
"In terms of cost, Sparx EA is probably one of the cheapest tools I have ever used."
"They have the price on their site for the enterprise version, and we do receive a small discount."
"Pricing and licensing are suitable even for small companies."
"Visual Paradigm costs $99 per license. I chose the cheapest option from the pricing list."
"Visual Paradigm's pricing is not expensive."
"Visual Paradigm has two models available. One of them is the educational edition, and another is the business edition. For my personal usage, I use the educational version mostly. In a project, my customers have to purchase a license."
"Pricing for Visual Paradigm is a four out of five for me. I'm happy with its pricing."
"In terms of pricing, I find Visual Paradigm's subscription services reasonable, especially for the modern and standard editions. However, the premium products can be a bit pricey, especially considering our location in the Middle East. Currently, paying around a hundred dollars per user translates to almost six hundred Egyptian pounds, which can add up. For enterprise licensing, I think the perpetual license option could be more affordable. If it were cheaper, say around five hundred dollars, I would have invested in multiple perpetual licenses long ago. Sometimes, to manage costs, we share accounts among team members or switch access on and off for certain members who aren't actively working on projects. As for additional costs, there are charges for cloud services, which I'm considering because I've already exceeded the free capacity."
"You can use Paradigm on a subscription basis and you can choose from different tiers of subscription."
"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 the pricing a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
What do you like most about Visual Paradigm?
The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features are pricing and functionality.
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 I did with it.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

OmniLink
Adobe, Apple, at&t, Caterpillar, Intel, NASA, Nokia, Toyota
Find out what your peers are saying about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. Visual Paradigm and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.