ARIS BPA vs ARIS Cloud comparison

ARIS BPA and ARIS Cloud are both solutions in the Business Process Design category. ARIS BPA is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0, while ARIS Cloud is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.0. ARIS BPA holds a 6.7% mindshare in BPD, compared to ARIS Cloud’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of ARIS BPA users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of ARIS Cloud users who would recommend it.

ARIS BPA

Read 69 ARIS BPA reviews

5,300 Views
3,498 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

ARIS Cloud

Read 14 ARIS Cloud reviews

1,824 Views
1,094 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

ARIS BPA

ARIS Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

ARIS BPA and ARIS Cloud compete in the business process modeling and analysis category, with each offering unique strengths. Based on feature comparisons, ARIS BPA appears to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive modeling capabilities and integration features.

Features: ARIS BPA offers robust capabilities for process documentation, simulation, and reporting. Its extensive integration features, including SAP SolMan sync, enhance its functionality. ARIS BPA is also notable for creating and maintaining detailed process blueprints. ARIS Cloud stands out with its user-friendly interface, accessibility across multiple platforms, and ease of collaboration among users and devices.

Room for Improvement: ARIS BPA could improve its user interface, reduce complexity, and enhance documentation. It also faces high costs for customization and integration. ARIS Cloud would benefit from better integration capabilities, improved security measures, and a smoother interface to support seamless collaboration and robust process execution.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ARIS BPA offers multiple deployment options, including on-premises and cloud, providing flexibility but adding complexity. Customer service reviews are mixed, with reliability concerns. ARIS Cloud excels in hybrid and public cloud deployments with scalable options. Its customer service is generally strong, though there is room for more consistent communication.

Pricing and ROI: ARIS BPA is considered expensive, with a complex licensing model that can be challenging for smaller organizations. However, its broad capabilities make it a valued investment. ARIS Cloud offers a simpler licensing model, making it more affordable and appealing to a wider range of enterprises, promising a flexible path to achieving ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed ARIS BPA vs. ARIS Cloud Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA vs. ARIS Cloud

December 2025

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Helped 881,082 peers since 2012

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

ARIS BPA

Ranking in Business Process Design

6th

Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)

10th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

ARIS Cloud

Ranking in Business Process Design

17th

Ranking in Business Process Management (BPM)

33rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of ARIS BPA is 6.7%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ARIS Cloud is 2.4%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
ARIS BPA	6.7%
ARIS Cloud	2.4%
Other	90.9%

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

BeenishMustafa

Consultant at KAFD DMC

Has improved process modeling and analysis while supporting integration with organizational data

The process design in ARIS BPA does help with our operational efficiency. What we are doing is object library management for various kinds of objects that we are using in ARIS BPA during our process modeling. We are using that to do a lot of analysis on how many times a system is being used in how many processes, who are the major stakeholders, and if we enhance one system, how is it going to impact other processes and integrated processes. This is helping us a lot. Everything related to ARIS BPA is helping us with regards to enhanced processes, strengthened controls, identifying risks, assessing process capabilities, and identifying where the gaps are and what kinds of activities within the processes are automated and manual. We are doing a lot of things with regards to the processes as it is at our heart. Processes are one thing and then we have different kinds of things which are related to it, such as SLAs, guidelines, and policy. We are identifying areas of improvement in other documents as well.

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Aimad BATAL

Administrator at a healthcare company with 51-200 employees

Collaboration integrates seamlessly with intuitive user interface for effective process management

ARIS Cloud offers easy query writing for retrieving information and includes a user-friendly Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) part that aids risk managers effectively. The simplicity in drawing dashboards is also appreciated. Their collaboration features function similarly to social media platforms, allowing tagging and subject-specific discussions, all while being intuitive and user-friendly. ARIS Cloud is scalable, evidenced by its use in various organizations as a single source of truth, supported by the UMG database and an open e-learning platform.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We chose ARIS because of its good reputation and familiarity with Software AG Tools."

"I am an advanced user. ARIS BPM is intuitive for me because I know the UML, BPMN, and EPC methodologies implemented in this tool. It is very easy to create processes for restructuring a company with some descriptions."

"The initial setup is easy."

"The most valuable features are business process modeling and reporting."

"you want to do modeling with the old notation form, ours was EPC, you can use the same object in the BPMN because the database is built in a way that you can use both things. So you only have to define it once, and if the notation form is BPMN and those kind of activities, you can use the same EPCs, so there is a connection between them."

"ARIS Reporting – Helps download valuable content from the tool in multiple formats."

"The capability to integrate all information of the business and to generate simulations of processes. It can analyze the model of operations quickly."

"From an architectural point of view, when you're looking at the business area, you can find all the information you have to use as an architect."

More ARIS BPA pros

"It's very easy to collaborate with. It's very user-friendly"

"Aris Connect opens collaboration opportunities between team members within the organization where they can actually submit change requests, navigate processes, and offer comments. It opens up the potential for BPM within the organization. I didn't see such an angle of a BPM portal with any other products. So I would say that's the best selling feature."

"ARIS Cloud offers easy query writing for retrieving information and includes a user-friendly Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) part that aids risk managers effectively."

"The most valuable feature is GUI; it is very intuitive and easy to use."

"Signavio is more intuitive, allowing users with no prior knowledge to navigate and understand its functionality more readily."

"In terms of UX design, somebody who has not had experience with ARIS will be able to use it very easily."

"In the end, what stands out to me is the ease of using the cloud. I don't see any distinct or unique advantages in business process modeling software compared to other application software. The cloud simplifies operations and removes many operational complexities, which is a significant benefit."

"In terms of using the cloud version, if you're somebody who, like myself, has got a lot of experience and understands measures and notations and things, basically it's unrestricted. You can do so many things. You can do your Archimaze, you can do BPMN. There's lots of stuff you can do in there and if you're a good field person and you cause yourself re-using things or whatever, then it's very nice, it's very easy to use."

More ARIS Cloud pros

Cons

"There are reports available in ARIS and you can modify them a bit if you want something more specific, but it's not that easy to adjust them and make modifications. It would be nice to have some kind of tool to do that, something that is more user-friendly for people who are not too technical, so that they could create reports the way they want them."

"The model graphics can be exported in PDF, but the model is too small to read."

"Migration to the next release is very tricky. You can't do it without support from ARIS or from a software kit. And it takes a lot of time and a lot of money to migrate. My impression is that a lot of companies do not migrate regularly because of that issue."

"ARIS has an internal fully customizable workflow system called APG, which is very good, but it’s targeted mostly at creating workflows related to ARIS content, and not general workflows to support other processes inside a company."

"I would like to see the reporting aspects improved."

"Making it more customizable and easy to learn would be a benefit."

"The governance mechanism could be better, as could automation."

"ARIS BPA’s usability could be improved."

More ARIS BPA cons

"The stability was poor, with frequent outages."

"The support team of ARIS Cloud has certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

"Initial setup is rather complex. You have to find a way to isolate the complexity, and find common ground."

"I would like to see more support for architectural diagrams."

"If you have multiple tiers of approvals into that update of the policy, or the process design itself, it takes ages to prepare those internal flows within the system."

"There is room for improvement in the support."

"The stability was poor due to frequent outages."

"ARIS' flexibility and power add a certain complexity. And if ARIS could be more streamlined, I think customers would have a better handle on what to do with it in the end. So if you're not a tech geek, you might struggle to understand what you should do with it as a customer because it's that powerful."

More ARIS Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a concurrent license system."

"You will never get a fixed price for this product because they will go in and ask you what kind of environment would you like to set up? How many people will you work with? How big is your organization? Today, they have a fixed price to say, "Okay, just to start the business area, buy two licenses for modeling and eight people that can look into the product." They have this kind of fixed price. It's 50,000 Danish Krone. If you divided that by about six, then you get the pricing in dollars. Still, when you are going out, negotiate and find the right price. You will never get a fixed price: "It costs this and, if you take ten of these, seven of these and eight of these, and then it costs this." No, you negotiate every time."

"The product is a bit pricey."

"Prices are high. However, they are worth it if the organization utilizes the tool to its full potential."

"If you can afford it, it's the best so far."

"It is on the higher side."

"This is absolutely not the cheapest solution in the market, but for large companies, the price is fine."

"Usually, our company buys technical support from the Software AG site. We bought the technical support for the first year of usage for ARIS version 6 and 7. So, when we migrated to ARIS version 7, we bought support only for the first year. Then, we didn't use it the next year. Our experience was that we use it only one to three times during the first year. Therefore, there wasn't much value for us to buy this service because we have no problem with using ARIS after the first year."

More ARIS BPA pricing and cost advice

"There is a student version of this solution that can be used for free."

"The cloud deployment is not more expensive. In the cloud, you pay for what you use, and there's no need for maintaining infrastructure or additional personnel, making it cost-effective. On-premises deployment, on the other hand, involves infrastructure costs and maintenance expenses."

"The licensing model of ARIS Cloud is leaner and more beneficial to the customer. The new license model is great. With the on-premise, you needed to subscribe to many more types of licenses. Now there are licensed bundles available on the cloud."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

19%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	32
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	47

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ARIS BPA?

The most valuable features of ARIS BPA are its flexibility and reporting.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS BPA?

It is a bit expensive regarding ARIS BPA. However, ARIS BPA does save a lot of effort because this is one tool which can be used for multiple purposes and the viewers have the capability to perform...

See all answers

What needs improvement with ARIS BPA?

We are not using any what-if scenario features in ARIS BPA. Currently, we are not using the performance monitoring and compliance checks features in ARIS BPA. We have plans to use them, but current...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS Cloud?

The price of ARIS Cloud is relatively high and not every firm can afford it, especially if the company is not mature enough to require such extensive process modeling and optimization.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ARIS Cloud?

It would be beneficial for ARIS Cloud to add more customization options, such as having a landing page. Improving the importation script from Microsoft Visio ( /products/visio-reviews ) would also ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for ARIS Cloud?

I am currently working with both ARIS Cloud ( /products/aris-cloud-reviews ) and MEGA HOPEX ( /products/mega-hopex-reviews ), having switched from ARIS BPM ( /products/aris-bpa-reviews ) to MEGA HO...

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Comparisons

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs ARIS BPA

Compared 19% of the time

Camunda vs ARIS BPA

Compared 8% of the time

ADONIS vs ARIS BPA

Compared 7% of the time

Bizagi vs ARIS BPA

Compared 6% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs ARIS BPA

Compared 5% of the time

More ARIS BPA Competitors

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs ARIS Cloud

Compared 11% of the time

IBM Blueworks Live vs ARIS Cloud

Compared 10% of the time

Salesforce Platform vs ARIS Cloud

Compared 8% of the time

Visio vs ARIS Cloud

Compared 7% of the time

iServer vs ARIS Cloud

Compared 7% of the time

More ARIS Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA

January 2026

Download ARIS BPA product report

Buyer's Guide

ARIS Cloud

January 2026

Download ARIS Cloud product report

Also Known As

ARIS, ARIS BPM

Process Live, ARIS Simulation, ARIS Aware, ARIS Connect

Overview

ARIS is the market-leading solution for professional business process management and modeling. Whether you want to document the "as-is" state of your operations for quality or certification reasons or design the "to-be" in terms of continuous improvement in your transformation program, ARIS is the best choice for establishing a single source of truth regarding all process excellence topics in your organization. It is for any organization looking to digitally transform their business, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution. ARIS helps you to make the most out of your processes with Process Mining, Risk & Compliance Management, RPA and much more.

What makes the difference?

The most comprehensive platform for process excellence in the market
Easy to use
Covers business & IT architecture from all angles
Full flexibility and >100 diagram types
Customer-driven development based on best practices
Strong partner ecosystem

ARIS is the market-leading solution for any organization and ideally suited to digitally transform the organization, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution.

Software AG

What makes the difference?

The most comprehensive platform for process excellence in the market

Easy to use

Covers business & IT architecture from all angles

Full flexibility and >100 diagram types

Customer-driven development based on best practices

Strong partner ecosystem

Software AG

Sample Customers

Tesco, Weifu, Airbus, Siemens, Proximus, Alicorp, Sekerbank, Bancor, Philips,Sky, Emirates NBD, Dubai Municipality, Suva, U.S. Army, Australia Post, Westfalen Weser Energie - ARIS serves customers across all industries and of every size worldwide. Companies trust ARIS as the market leader for process excellence with more than 30 years of experience in the market, 10 million users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.

Tesco, Weifu, Airbus, Siemens, Proximus, Alicorp, Sekerbank, Bancor, Philips,Sky, Emirates NBD, Dubai Municipality, Suva, U.S. Army, Australia Post, Westfalen Weser Energie - ARIS serves customers across all industries and of every size worldwide. Companies trust ARIS as the market leader for process excellence with more than 30 years of experience in the market and 10 million users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.

Buyer's Guide

ARIS BPA vs. ARIS Cloud

December 2025

Free Report: ARIS BPA vs. ARIS Cloud

Find out what your peers are saying about ARIS BPA vs. ARIS Cloud and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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