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Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visual Paradigm comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 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
7th
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 November 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 8.8%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Paradigm is 5.1%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect8.8%
Visual Paradigm5.1%
Other86.1%
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

"The features I find most valuable is the ability to create a document and then put it into a OneCare artifact."
"It's a very practical solution. You don't need to do an advanced course to start using this tool."
"The advantages of Enterprise are that it's cheaper and much more practical than MagicDraw."
"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."
"Sparx offers good flexibility."
"It is simple to build the first model for the solution."
"The platform is stable and reliable."
"The system provides powerful tools for obtaining reports and documentation."
"It is a scalable solution since it can be used at an individual level as well as for enterprise-sized businesses."
"Some of the most valuable features of this process modeling tool are process simulation and process animation."
"Visual Paradigm is simple and easy to use."
"The pricing model is attractive."
"The initial setup is extremely straightforward."
"The solution is stable. It hasn't crashed, stopped or caused any issues in any way."
"Visual Paradigm allowed me to create UML diagrams efficiently."
"Using the Component Diagram, Visual Paradigm helps with design and control, reusing components."
 

Cons

"I would like it to be less of a general tool. Currently, it is not a Swiss army knife that can do everything. It is not specialized for our purposes. We are a civil engineering company. We build things. We work mostly in what is known as Infra world in the Netherlands, which comprises objects such as bridges, locks, and water management. We would like to see more focus on such types of projects. It would be nice if it has more specializations. At the moment, it is very generic, and you have to create everything yourself. Our focus is more on user requirement management, which is currently very basic. I would like to see a lot more functionality in this area. Its basic functions for adding user requirements are perfect, but we need more features. Currently, it has limited possibilities for our requirements. I would also like to see better contract management and have it managed in a certain way."
"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."
"It would be great if we could decrease the use of different parts of the Toolbox."
"More challenging than other tools to maintain documents and document versions for an architecture board review."
"In a future release, they should improve portfolio planning."
"When collaborating with other people, it needs to be more user-friendly."
"If you just want to create some diagrams with shapes and arrows, then use Visio."
"Greater OMG UML and XMI compliance"
"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."
"I would like to see something for visualizing innovation work maps."
"Visual Paradigm is heavier and has more complexity than one of its competitors, e.g. Lucidchart. It could have been better if it was more simplified."
"The solution's technical support can be improved and accessible for our company location since Visual Paradigm follows a remote support model with some challenges."
"Visual Paradigm can improve by having better process mining tools and model integration."
"The solution is not user-friendly. It uses a lot of memory and CPU. You have to have a good computer to use it."
"Visual Paradigm's initial deployment was difficult since we did it for the first time. It is challenging to learn to use the product."
"The user interface is not easy to navigate, so it should be made easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think our license costs roughly $1,000 a year, but I could be wrong."
"Use floating licenses strategically."
"It is cheaper than other solutions. Its cost is around $686 per year. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"Licenses are pretty low cost compared to, for example, ARIS."
"There is no license required for this solution."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"We had a yearly license."
"The Corporate Edition, or one of the bundles, is the way to go."
"Pricing for Visual Paradigm is a four out of five for me. I'm happy with its pricing."
"Compared to other solutions such as IBM Rational which is expensive, This solution is priced low."
"I rate the pricing a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"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 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."
"The pricing of Visual Paradigm is very appropriate and affordable. There are no hidden costs involved."
"Visual Paradigm costs $99 per license. I chose the cheapest option from the pricing list."
"I rate Visual Paradigm's pricing a five out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Educational Organization
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise58
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
 

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: November 2025.
873,085 professionals have used our research since 2012.