erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs erwin Evolve by Quest comparison

erwin Data Modeler by Quest and erwin Evolve by Quest are both solutions in the Enterprise Architecture Management category. erwin Data Modeler by Quest is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.1, while erwin Evolve by Quest is ranked #11 with an average rating of 9.0. erwin Data Modeler by Quest holds a 10.7% mindshare in AM, compared to erwin Evolve by Quest’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of erwin Data Modeler by Quest users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of erwin Evolve by Quest users who would recommend it.

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Read 39 erwin Data Modeler by Quest reviews

3,925 Views
2,164 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

erwin Evolve by Quest

Read 19 erwin Evolve by Quest reviews

890 Views
559 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

erwin Evolve by Quest

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Erwin Evolve and Erwin Data Modeler by Quest compete in the enterprise architecture and data modeling category. While Erwin Data Modeler is favored for its detailed data modeling capabilities, Erwin Evolve provides comprehensive enterprise architecture functionalities.

Features: Erwin Evolve offers features such as business process modeling and IT governance, enabling companies to manage their enterprise architecture holistically. It supports collaboration across geographically dispersed teams through its web interface and Evolve Designer. Erwin Data Modeler excels in complex database design, integration, and source management. It offers advanced model comparison and reverse engineering capabilities, making it ideal for creating precise data models.

Room for Improvement: Erwin Evolve could enhance its alignment with standard enterprise architecture frameworks and improve user adoption of its web deployment features. Its complexity might overwhelm users unfamiliar with intricate enterprise solutions, requiring simplification for broader usability. Erwin Data Modeler could expand support for non-relational database systems and optimize performance for handling very large data models. Enhancements in collaboration features and user-interface modernization would also be beneficial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Erwin Evolve features a flexible deployment model that adapts to various environments, boasting comprehensive support. Its client/server version offers stability, although there is ongoing development towards a more robust web-only solution. Erwin Data Modeler prides itself on an easy installation process, ensuring integration within existing data environments is seamless. Praise is often given for its intuitive setup and solid customer service focused on data-centric needs.

Pricing and ROI: Erwin Evolve typically demands a higher initial investment but shows potential for substantial ROI through extensive enterprise architecture applications. In contrast, Erwin Data Modeler has lower upfront costs, offering significant returns by enhancing data analysis capabilities. The pricing structures highlight Evolve's expansive application investment versus Data Modeler's focused data utility approach.

To learn more, read our detailed erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

April 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 851,604 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

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

3rd

Ranking in Business Process Design

9th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

erwin Evolve by Quest

Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management

11th

Ranking in Business Process Design

18th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of erwin Data Modeler by Quest is 10.7%, up from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of erwin Evolve by Quest is 2.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

JorgeSanz

Data Governance Senior Advisor at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

Streamline data modeling and automate network changes for increased efficiency

The initial setup depends on the tool if you are using the data model environment. Stopping the server could be complex and require strong expertise. If you have everything set up and configured, Erwin is straightforward. You can deploy it in a few hours. In our case, it took a couple of months to address internal conditions, assign machines, and set up everything for the services. I rate the initial setup a six out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

Read full review

ScottLawson

Director IT Architecture at QAD

Enables us to present data and objects visually, in diagrams, and to make them available via the web. Also enables web-based editing of data.

We tried their collaborative web modeling and we used it with a few people but we tend to not use that piece. We tend to collaborate with the people and then my team of architects draws up the diagram using the modeling tool. We then iterate through those. I would like to use it, but it was a little clunky when they first rolled it out. Overall, it's more about the company having room for improvement. What they need to do is to consolidate more of their products. For example, I was just looking and I couldn't figure out what erwin DT is. It's on the website but it would help if they could put information together and make it more clear as to what products they have and how they work with other things. I hear them talking in the support forums and, when I talk to the representative, they say they're going to do a bunch of stuff but it seems the progress is slow. The changes they need to make are to take their old, legacy product, which we use, and focus a lot on it so they can transform it into a modern cloud tool so that we have fewer little pieces to deal with. They could also fix their security model. It's very confusing to get new people onto the tool and to make sure that your content isn't being exposed to the wrong people.

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

"The solution is good for organizing the data and the scripting part is very powerful. It's easy to create technical scripts for models."

"When you're getting down to the database level, where you're building a design and you're creating DDL out of it, or you're going in the other direction where you're reaching into system catalogs and bringing things back, that starts to really require specialization. Visio isn't going to reverse-engineer that for you. Those features in erwin are valuable."

"It has centralized storage so that a data model can be shared by different teams."

"We use the macros with naming standards patterns, domains, datatypes, and some common attributes. As far as other automations, a feature of the Bulk Editor is mass updates. When it sees something is nonstandard or inaccurate, it will export the better data out. Then, I can easily see which entities and attributes are not inline or standard. I can easily make changes to what was uploaded to the Bulk Editor. When taking on a new project, it can save you about a half a day on a big project across an entire team."

"One of the best aspects of the tool is its reverse engineering capability."

"What has been useful, I have been able to reverse engineer our existing data models to document explicitly referential integrity relationships, primary/foreign keys in the model, and create ERDs that are subject area-based which our clients can use when working with our databases. The reality is that our databases are not explicitly documented in the DDL with primary/foreign key relationships. You can't look at the DDL and explicitly understand the primary/foreign key relationships that exist between our tables, so the referential integrity is not easily understood. erwin has allowed me to explicitly document that and create ERDs. This has made it easier for our clients to consume our databases for their own purposes."

"The most valuable features are the ability to reverse engineer and do model comparison. With the reverse engineering, I can understand the databases from third-party products. With the model comparison, I can track the differences between two versions of the same database."

"We can create mappings in erwin and possibly data dictionaries."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pros

"One of the most valuable features is the website that sits on top of the database. There's a database of objects and how they are related, and you can make views and diagrams and visual elements out of that information on the website. The website is the part that is called Evolve and we use the Evolve Designer and publish the website out to our employees. They can click around and navigate and search, etc."

"I really liked that it mapped out processes and was able to attach the data model to the appropriate process. You could map out the process, then when you got down to a specific couple of data elements, you could attach the table in the database that supported that process. You could connect it with erwin Data Modeler for that."

"You can use different kinds of diagrams to represent the architecture setting."

"We can efficiently deploy business models into the databases and generate SQL scripts."

"The ability to share and collaborate on the solution is its most valuable feature."

"There is a model behind it. It's really nice that the Evolve front-end, as it builds a website, keeps those relationships in mind. You can even go to a procedure and see all the applications that are related to it. Then you can go into that application and see all the standard operating procedures that that application is a part of. It's just very connected."

"The initial setup was really straightforward and the deployment was done within one day."

"Forward and reverse engineering were valuable features."

More erwin Evolve by Quest pros

Cons

"The erwin ETL functionality has room for improvement when it comes to mapping databases with a classic entity-relationship model to a data warehouse model."

"I still use Visio for conceptual modeling, and that's mainly because it is easier to change things, and you can relax some of the rules. DM's eventual target is a database, which means you actually have to dot all the Is and cross all the Ts, but in a conceptual model, you don't often know what you're working with. So, that's probably a constraint with erwin. They have made it a lot easier, and they've done a lot, but there is probably still room for improvement in terms of the ease of presentation back to the business. I'm comparing it with something like Visio where you can change colors on a box, change the text color and that sort of stuff, and change the lines. Such things are a whole lot easier in Visio, but once you get a theme organized in erwin, you can apply that theme to all of the objects. So, it becomes easier, but you do have to set up that theme."

"The solution's model mark could be better because it crashes sometimes."

"I am not so happy with its speed. Sometimes, it can have problems with connections."

"We can only get licenses through partners."

"In terms of new features, it would be great to have a cloud base. We should be able to put it on the cloud for better collaboration and data models sharing."

"The interface must be improved."

"This is a very complex product."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest cons

"Add some ability to do conditional Visualization on the models and in reports (some ideas) – maybe as a specialized Theme or Diagram or Display."

"erwin Evolve by Quest could have additional features to manage the architecture of enterprises and businesses."

"It could have had a more streamlined navigation. It seemed that when you went to the explorer panel, there were just so many different ways of doing the work that I could not remember, "How did I do this? How did I get to that point in that model to get back to it?" If I wanted to build a new one, where do I start? It just seemed like there was such a smorgasbord of ways of doing it that it was just overwhelming."

"The solution's integration capabilities with other tools in our system has not been all that well done. We have people who use ARIS, who use System Architect and, of course, Visio. erwin has very limited ways to import and export from those kinds of tools. It's not a very easy thing to do."

"What they need to do is to consolidate more of their products. For example, I was just looking and I couldn't figure out what erwin DT is. It's on the website but it would help if they could put information together and make it more clear as to what products they have and how they work with other things."

"They need to develop Evolve's user experience. For example, MEGA has a useful client view that helps with impact analysis. MEGA provides information about the processes, services, infrastructure, and portfolio of applications in one central view. It lets you see the periphery and relationships among components. This view is impressive, and Evolve doesn't have it."

"The solution needs to focus on allowing for more integrations."

"The way that we are using it for application management, we have several KPIs. We want to follow and monitor them regarding a number of solutions. We cannot calculate this today. We would like real-time calculations along with the KPIs in order to improve the user experience. We would like the tool to be able to display this, not only as signals, but as charts."

More erwin Evolve by Quest cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"erwin Data Modeler by Quest is an expensive solution."

"I don't specifically know what we're paying now. About three years ago, in another organization, I have this memory of 6,000 AUD a seat or something like that, but I am not sure. In the mid-2000s, it was something like 1,200 AUD a seat. I get the impression that there was a price jump when it was spun off from CA as a separate company, which is understandable, but it could sometimes be a barrier in some organizations picking it up. I haven't talked to erwin people yet, but I'm going to suggest to them that they could perhaps think of having an entry-level product that is priced a bit lower, and then, you can buy the extra suite."

"An issue right now would be that erwin doesn't have a freely available browser (that I am aware of) for people who are not data modelers or data engineers that a consumer could use to look at the data models and play with it. This would not be to make any changes, but just to visually look at what exists. There are other products out there which do have end user browsers available and allow them to access data models via the data modeling tool."

"erwin has this option where you pay a one-time fee and you have the license for six years, which makes sense because I don't upgrade my database engine every other year. I have an application that depends on it. This is something weird about PowerDesigner. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee."

"The pricing of the solution is cheap. I rate the pricing a five out of ten."

"Pricing is very high compared to any other product."

"The tool is expensive."

"erwin is expensive compared to other solutions. We are paying almost $6,000 per seat a month."

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest pricing and cost advice

"I estimate that we pay between $40,000 and $50,000 a year for the solution, not including the upfront costs to buy things the first time."

"I think erwin is quite expensive. I have difficulty selling the portal, in fact."

"The cost is something like $15,000, per license. But I haven't looked at those numbers in three years. It was over $100,000 to initially set everything up and get it all configured."

"Yearly, our cost is €100,000."

"The licensing enables you to differentiate between people who edit the content and the people who consume it. We are able to keep the licensing costs down by keeping the "contributor" licenses to a minimum, and we then just roll out the content in a read-only version for the rest of our users."

"On a yearly basis, our licensing costs are 50,000 euro. There are no additional costs because we are on a SaaS model."

"Unless you are a one person shop – always go with the Workgroup edition and Concurrent licensing."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise Architecture Management solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

18%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Government

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

Forward engineering, DDL generation, reverse engineering, and reporting are the most valuable features of the solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

The product is expensive. I rate the product’s pricing a nine out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with erwin Data Modeler by Quest?

As a documenting tool, it's solid, though its reporting could be more robust. The reporting mechanisms could be more intuitive regarding report creation. It can generate reports in CSV files, displ...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering erwin Evolve?

I rate erwin Evolve by Quest a nine out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about erwin Evolve by Quest?

We can efficiently deploy business models into the databases and generate SQL scripts.

See all answers

What needs improvement with erwin Evolve by Quest?

erwin Evolve by Quest could have additional features to manage the architecture of enterprises and businesses.

See all answers

Comparisons

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 32% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 19% of the time

Lucidchart vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 14% of the time

Visio vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 8% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Data Modeler by Quest

Compared 7% of the time

More erwin Data Modeler by Quest Competitors

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 26% of the time

LeanIX vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 20% of the time

SAP PowerDesigner vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 12% of the time

ARIS BPA vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 9% of the time

IDERA ER/Studio vs erwin Evolve by Quest

Compared 9% of the time

More erwin Evolve by Quest Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Modeler by Quest

May 2025

Download erwin Data Modeler by Quest product report

Buyer's Guide

erwin Evolve by Quest

May 2025

Download erwin Evolve by Quest product report

Also Known As

erwin DM

erwin EA, erwin Business Process, erwin Enterprise Architecture

Overview

erwin pioneered data modeling, and erwin Data Modeler (erwin DM) remains trusted, award-winning software for data modeling and database design, automating complex and time-consuming tasks. Use it to discover and document any data from anywhere for consistency, clarity and artifact reuse across large-scale data integration, master data management, metadata management, Big Data, business intelligence and analytics initiatives – all while supporting data governance and intelligence efforts.

erwin by Quest

erwin is used by more than 50,000 professionals in 60+ countries to get big results from their enterprise data initiatives. erwin is the #1 choice in virtually every industry, from government and healthcare to retail and finance.

erwin Modeling provides a collaborative environment to manage enterprise data through an intuitive, graphical interface. With a centralized view of key data definitions, you can leverage information as a strategic asset and more efficiently manage your data resources to save time and money.

erwin by Quest

Sample Customers

Premera, America Honda Motors, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Dental Dental Cali, Cigna, Staples

AT&T, Bank of America, Chevron, Duke University, ESPN, Fidelity, GE, JP Morgan Chase, KPMG, McGraw Hill, NASA, Pfizer, Royal Bank of Scotland, Teradata, Union Pacific, Vodafone, Wells Fargo.

Buyer's Guide

erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

April 2025

Free Report: erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest

Find out what your peers are saying about erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our erwin Data Modeler by Quest vs. erwin Evolve by Quest report.

See our list of best Enterprise Architecture Management vendors and best Business Process Design vendors.

We monitor all Enterprise Architecture Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.