BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect comparison

BiZZdesign and Sparx Systems are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. BiZZdesign is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0, while Sparx Systems is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.0. BiZZdesign holds a 5.2% mindshare in AM, compared to Sparx Systems’s 8.6% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of BiZZdesign users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Sparx Systems users who would recommend it.

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Read 19 BiZZdesign HoriZZon reviews

3,019 Views
1,993 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...

Read 99 Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect reviews

7,890 Views
3,393 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect and BiZZdesign HoriZZon compete in the enterprise architecture tools category. BiZZdesign HoriZZon appears to have the upper hand due to its advanced analytical functionalities and user-friendly dashboards.

Features: Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect supports UML 2 diagrams, enabling collaboration with an RDBMS back-end and providing extensibility for various modeling standards. BiZZdesign HoriZZon integrates ArchiMate for enterprise architecture and offers advanced analytical tools that aid strategic planning and complex environment management. It also features dashboards that enhance architectural insights, suitable for business users.

Room for Improvement: Sparx Systems EA could improve usability, visualization, and control over repository security. It faces performance issues in large projects, and users seek better documentation and interface enhancements. BiZZdesign HoriZZon has a steep learning curve, high cost, and complex integration processes. Users encounter challenges with repository management and object queries.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sparx Systems EA offers flexible deployment, including on-premises and hybrid options, and relies heavily on community support for issue resolution. Its customer service is rated favorably but is less frequently used due to the tool's stability. BiZZdesign HoriZZon is primarily cloud-based, supporting collaborative access, but requires more direct vendor interaction due to its complexity, although technical support is well-rated.

Pricing and ROI: Sparx Systems EA is cost-effective, offering competitive pricing with quick ROI realized through increased productivity. Conversely, BiZZdesign HoriZZon is perceived as expensive, impacting its ROI due to high costs, particularly for smaller teams or organizations considering long-term use.

To learn more, read our detailed BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

February 2026

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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

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

6th

Ranking in Business Process Design

10th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

5th

Ranking in Business Process Design

5th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of BiZZdesign HoriZZon is 5.2%, up from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 8.6%, down from 14.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Architecture Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect	8.6%
BiZZdesign HoriZZon	5.2%
Other	86.2%

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

Maamoun Hasuneh

Chief Enterprise Architect at EVC

Architecture repository has strengthened data‑driven decisions and supported risk‑aware planning

BiZZdesign HoriZZon needs to publish its integration scenarios and integration points with other digital transformation tools such as IT service management, risk management, asset management, customer service, and ERP. The company should first build the scenario and define its integration points in business and technology to make customers more confident about having a complete solution. Currently, there is a challenge with the company to offer transparent and documented integration. They offer five integration points at a fixed price, but other things come at additional costs. However, specific information about what those additional items are, what the scenarios entail, what the schemas are, what the workflows include, and what the application integration involves is not provided. The learning portal does not include integration documentation at a high level or in detail. The portal does have comprehensive resources explaining how to make their website, how to create dashboards, and how to publish EA content, which are clear. The high-end tool on the laptop is also explained in detail, covering elements, relations, and everything as standard.

Read full review

Milan Sterba

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.

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

"BiZZdesign HoriZZon is scalable, and I'd give it an eight out of ten for scalability. Our customers are enterprise level companies, but the solution is suitable for small and mid-sized companies as well."

"I used BiZZdesign HoriZZon at two organizations. At Manchester Metropolitan University, I used it with a small team for architectural modeling of the student record system. We modeled teams, process objects, and their interactions with applications. We also used it to model a gradual rollout with plateaus showing migration over time. At the BBC, I used it to model software services for publishing content online. I showed key model views to senior stakeholders using Horizon, allowing them to modify and score applications and services."

"It is very easy to use. I can just click on an application component and find out if we are using this particular component. This provides us flexibility."

"t's a good tool. My colleagues that are making use of it for application, business processes, or data modeling, are very satisfied with it. They find it easy to use. The graphical representation is simple but therefore efficient, so I know that they are planning a very good commencement on the use of these tools."

"The most valuable features of BiZZdesign HoriZZon, from my experience, include its out-of-the-box connectors, such as integration with ServiceNow, Excel, and SQL databases, making data repository management more efficient."

"This is one of the best tools, especially because of its collaborative nature. Anyone using it can access previous projects and related data. It's definitely a strong collaborative tool."

"The most valuable feature is that it allows you to work with different methods, using the same tool."

"The initial setup of this solution was very straightforward."

More BiZZdesign HoriZZon pros

"Its ability to reference and link to components from any diagram."

"Large variety of profiles and frameworks available out-of-the-box without the need for customization."

"The product offers very good support for all mainstream modeling notations and architectural frameworks."

"We use it to develop and maintain the Enterprise Conceptual Model, migrated from erwin a couple of years ago."

"It is a very flexible product. It can do a lot. It is also a reliable product."

"Customizable and tailored to the environment. Several template frameworks are provided."

"I like that there is support for software patterns."

"This is a useful tool for IT people who need to design their solution architecture."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pros

Cons

"We tested it, and we had support from BiZZdesign, including patches, but it just didn't do what we wanted."

"BiZZdesign HoriZZon's technical support has presented challenges, as extra fees are required and the process is not straightforward."

"There is room for improvement in making it more seamless between the modeling and the analysis pieces. Sometimes you have to do some work in the backend to ensure that the HoriZZon portal really gets all of the information the way you want it. They are working on the seamlessness between what they call Enterprise Studio and HoriZZon."

"Scalability is a bit of a problem for BiZZdesign. There is always a possibility it will failover."

"There could be simpler modelling."

"The repository of duplicate objects is bad."

"It should be more open to integrating with other existing tools. Although there has been progress in the past."

"Integration definitely needs improvement. There are some restrictions. We've seen that it doesn't integrate with everything we might expect."

More BiZZdesign HoriZZon 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."

"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."

"They should make the Save button easier to find. A simplified user interface for a lighter user would probably be useful. I am not sure if such an interface is already there."

"This solution has some limitations from a business perspective."

"Inconsistent UI elements must be tidied up with the toolbox gaps removed."

"It can be improved in the area of shared documentation. The idea is that the architecture tool can call back to an enterprise asset, pull that information, and link that as a sub-artifact."

"The Portfolio Management features can be added in the next release. As it helps you to manage more portfolio of projects and architectures of cost projects on a portfolio level. This would be an important feature in the next release."

"In general, we now have a problem with Sparx Enterprise Architect because many analysts think it's too complicated to use in a giant environment."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"First and foremost within the scope of improvement for the solution would be the cost. It's very costly..."

"I haven't found any issues with the scalability and licensing parts that are access-related."

"We were customers and bought licenses from them. We used their remote instance initially but upgraded to the on-device version due to lag. For pricing, we paid about 2200 pounds a year per seat for the client installation at an educational rate. I'm not sure about commercial rates. I managed to get a free copy at BBC since it was for evaluation purposes."

"In terms of this particular product usage, my clients currently only use per-user licenses."

"If one is very cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as a seven out of ten."

"The price is reasonable."

"[The] Orbus... pricing model was based on every single functionality having a price. The pricing was comparable but if we wanted to scale, it would have ended up being a lot more expensive. BiZZdesign gave us one price with all of the functionality, and we could scale as much as we needed."

"The pricing model is slightly on the high side and could be more competitive for long-term partnerships."

"We had a yearly license."

"Pricing and licensing is very attractive, simple, and straightforward."

"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."

"It is cheaper than other solutions. Its cost is around $686 per year. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"We paid 1200 euros as a once-off cost. All add ons and integrations come at an additional cost."

"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."

"In terms of cost, Sparx EA is probably one of the cheapest tools I have ever used."

"I use my own license. So, I just bought the professional version, which costs $800 or something like that. In the company where I am working, we have floating licenses. They are probably more expensive. Its licensing is affordable, but we are talking about a large organization, and there could be modelers or viewers of the models. We don't know how much that would cost us."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

21%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	38
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	58

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BiZZdesign HoriZZon?

This is one of the best tools, especially because of its collaborative nature. Anyone using it can access previous projects and related data. It's definitely a strong collaborative tool.

See all answers

What needs improvement with BiZZdesign HoriZZon?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for BiZZdesign HoriZZon?

BiZZdesign HoriZZon is primarily used as a repository for Enterprise Architecture and is also utilized in broad portfolio management including project management and other applications, but the mai...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 13% of the time

MEGA HOPEX vs BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Compared 12% of the time

OrbusInfinity vs BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Compared 9% of the time

LeanIX vs BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Compared 8% of the time

ARIS BPA vs BiZZdesign HoriZZon

Compared 5% of the time

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Visual Paradigm vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 12% of the time

No Magic MagicDraw vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 7% of the time

Visio vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 7% of the time

Lucidchart vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 7% of the time

Bizagi vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon

February 2026

Download BiZZdesign HoriZZon product report

Buyer's Guide

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

January 2026

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect report

Download Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect product report

Also Known As

HoriZZon

No data available

Overview

Make smarter decisions and optimize outcomes by unifying all your strategy, capabilities, operating models and change portfolios in a single platform.

With all the data about your business in one place you can see the big picture and make properly informed strategic decisions to drive growth. Bizzdesign Horizzon brings together strategy, IT architecture, operating models, data, capabilities, change portfolios and ideas into a single, intuitive collaborative business design platform. Real-time visibility of key metrics and trends allows you to take action more quickly. Accelerating the speed and accuracy of your operations now – and into the future.

Core Platform Capabilities:

Multi-discipline collaboration
Data Integration
Advanced analytics
Models and Roadmaps
Governance & Security
Business Insight Graph

BiZZdesign

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is an enterprise solution that helps streamline, accelerate, and integrate software, system, and business development. With this intuitive modeling and design solution, enterprises can stay in control of their workplaces, enable collaboration, support their teams and colleagues, and manage complex projects. Software architects, business analysts, project managers, developers, support staff, and testers can unite under a single repository. Through numerous view points and potential sub-systems, users are offered a unified view in a complex environment.

With Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, users are also offered a shared model option which can be accessed quickly and securely by in-office and remote team members through the Enterprise Architect’s Pro Cloud Server. Building a coherent, verifiable model can be done by connecting and integrating a variety of behavioral and structural information in visual form. As a result, Enterprise Architect offers high performance, flexibility, and the ability to model, manage, and trace every stage of the business development and modeling process.

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Features

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect assists in creating a unified and accessible vision in business development by offering a flexible platform with a unique set of rich features. These features include:

Test and debug - Streamline software development and visualize software with the simulation process. Users can test and confirm correct behavior, set and oversee test points, and debug and examine software.

Track tasks - Track, prioritize, and assign individual and group tasks to assist in the model’s development. Users can visually monitor their progress through the Gantt chart.

Open standards - Users can visualize and analyze running software with integrated custom tools. They can also run advanced simulations, team-based repositories, testing tools, and version control. In addition, the solution supports enterprise architecture frameworks such as UPDM and TOGAF.

Simulation - Create and debug embedded solutions by simulating behaviors and state models. Users can specify events, triggers, constraints, and more. Users can also specify extensive and complex structural systems and create custom domain-specific solutions.

Reviews from Real Users

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect merges high-end tools, online availability, a dedication to open standards, and accessible pricing so enterprises can stay in control of their workplaces, whether remote or in-office. Users particularly like the architectural frameworks and the scalability.

Marc L., a principal architecture enterprise solution adviser at Cronomagic Canada, notes, "The product offers very good support for all mainstream modeling notations and architectural frameworks."

An enterprise architect at a manufacturing company writes, "Scalable solution for modeling, project sharing, and collaboration. Support for it is good."

Sparx Systems

Sample Customers

T-Mobile, Shell, HSBC, Erasmus University, VIVAT Insurance

OmniLink

Buyer's Guide

BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

February 2026

Free Report: BiZZdesign HoriZZon vs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

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