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IBM Blueworks Live vs Visio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.5
IBM Blueworks Live enhances productivity, reduces costs, and is preferred for its simplicity in business process management over competitors.
Sentiment score
1.3
Visio streamlines documentation, enhancing efficiency and reducing delivery timelines, offering significant ROI within three to four years.
IBM Blueworks Live seems very easy to use compared to similar products on the market.
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.3
IBM Blueworks Live support is responsive and competent, with quick resolutions and high user satisfaction, despite occasional delays.
Sentiment score
6.4
Most Visio users avoid direct support, preferring documentation and online resources, though premium support users find it helpful.
Support deserves a rating of nine out of ten.
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
I would rate their support a nine or even 9.5, recognizing that their support system is robust and cooperative.
Senior Network Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
While I like Microsoft products in general, the main issue is with the licensing options and the problems associated with them.
IT Professor at Sakarya University
We neglected the document from Microsoft and started deep diving and finally found the solution ourselves.
Chief Executive Officer at Easy Touch
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
IBM Blueworks Live is scalable and adaptable, though performance and cost challenges arise with increased user numbers.
Sentiment score
7.2
Visio is manageable for organizations but faces challenges with scalability, compatibility, and broader deployment due to desktop constraints.
IBM Blueworks Live is easily scalable, but it can be expensive to scale and there may be some limitations.
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.7
IBM Blueworks Live is praised for its reliable cloud version but may experience latency and glitches with connectivity issues.
Sentiment score
8.3
Visio is mostly stable, with improved recent versions, though complex tasks or hardware limits may cause occasional issues.
For the on-premise version, there aren't speed challenges, but sometimes the server goes down, preventing work.
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Blueworks Live struggles with orchestration, lacks simulation and reporting features, and has limited compliance and deployment options.
Visio users encounter challenges with templates, integration, performance, costs, and licensing, seeking better functionality and user experience.
Normal business users or consultants cannot perform the installation as it requires extensive technical knowledge.
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
I would prefer an on-premises solution for IBM Blueworks Live, and this could be a recommendation.
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
Licensing cost is one of the major points for improvement since it is quite high for personal use.
Senior Network Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Visio should implement more complex tools or graphics to facilitate processing and use flexible templates.
IT Professor at Sakarya University
I think people don't use Visio too much, but if the price becomes lower, it would be used widely.
Chief Executive Officer at Easy Touch
 

Setup Cost

IBM Blueworks Live offers flexible, affordable pricing with scalable enterprise options, including minimal licensing costs and free subscriptions.
Enterprise buyers must navigate varied Visio pricing, with options like cloud subscriptions offering cost efficiency through integration and discounts.
If asked to rate the price, I would give it around nine points out of ten, indicating it is somewhat expensive.
IT Professor at Sakarya University
 

Valuable Features

IBM Blueworks Live enhances efficiency with real-time modeling, BPMN compliance, intuitive collaboration, and excellent customer service for cloud-based access.
Visio enhances productivity with seamless Microsoft integration, diverse templates, and user-friendly features for creating professional diagrams.
IBM Blueworks Live provides clear ROI as it saves both time and money.
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
IBM Blueworks Live helps improve operational efficiency, especially where requirements are uncertain and clarity is needed.
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
The main benefits Visio provides me include simplifying processes, saving time on manual work with diagram creation, and delivering a clean architecture, whether it is network architecture or application flow.
Senior Network Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
When you use this template, you find directly the related buttons. It saves time and effort.
Chief Executive Officer at Easy Touch
Visio was quite useful in Word and PowerPoint, which I miss in draw.io.
Senior Program Manager at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Blueworks Live
Ranking in Business Process Design
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Visio
Ranking in Business Process Design
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
109
Ranking in other categories
Mind Mapping Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of IBM Blueworks Live is 3.1%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visio is 11.3%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Visio11.3%
IBM Blueworks Live3.1%
Other85.6%
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Nupur Wadhwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant 2 at Protiviti
Enables efficient process mapping but requires improvement in maintaining server stability
The pricing of the solution can be quite expensive when compared to competitors, though IBM Blueworks Live stands out from a technical standpoint. IBM Blueworks Live provides clear ROI as it saves both time and money. I have successfully imported Visio flowcharts into both IBM Blueworks Live and ARIS. Both tools handled the imports successfully, though some manual intervention was required because Visio is quite a basic tool. Importing flowcharts into advanced tools such as ARIS and IBM Blueworks Live requires some manual effort. The primary advantage is the ease of use. I have not encountered any features in other tools that I couldn't find in ARIS. This is a major factor because I don't have to switch between tools to find specific features. Using ARIS for the past three years has built confidence and trust in the tool.
NitinSharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Created detailed rack and network diagrams that streamline documentation and collaboration
For creating diagrams, I definitely use Visio for HLD, LLD, and traffic flow diagrams. Apart from Visio, I use Jira only if the customer specifically requests it; otherwise, I do not use an in-house version of Jira in my organization. One of the good features of using the Microsoft umbrella product is that if I create a big diagram and then work on the HLD or LLD in Word, I can select everything from Visio and paste it as an image without needing to resize it, which streamlines the process of creating documentation for customers. The main benefits Visio provides me include simplifying processes, saving time on manual work with diagram creation, and delivering a clean architecture, whether it is network architecture or application flow. I have created diagrams for AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-premises data centers, including rack elevation diagrams and organization charts. Modifications can be made easily and reflected immediately, and I can create PNG images to share with the executive team.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business36
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise61
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Blueworks Live?
The solution is easy to operate. Also, there is an automatic mode to make the business flow. You don't have to put any lines or arrows in a decision point in IBM Blueworks Live; it's very automatic.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Blueworks Live?
I do not have exposure to IBM Blueworks Live pricing since this is managed by other personnel who handle the financial aspects of licenses.
What needs improvement with IBM Blueworks Live?
I do not use Security Identity Governance and Intelligence, as it is not implemented here. I would prefer an on-premises solution for IBM Blueworks Live, and this could be a recommendation. Regardi...
How easy is it to migrate process flow charts (modeled using tools like Visio) into Bizagi?
I have been using Bizagi with a major project for a state government agency for about four years now. It is pretty straightforward to load in files that are BPMN 2.0 compliant. The option to load V...
What do you like most about Visio?
The diagrams Visio creates are quite impressive in the sense that we can cooperate with more colleagues in one task and see the flow of the process.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visio?
One of the main problems with Visio is its licensing options and associated issues, which lead to discussions about the price with a Microsoft representative. If asked to rate the price, I would gi...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint
Microsoft Visio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council
Thomas College, Hamburg Port Authority, Portigon AG, Conseil G_n_ral du d_partement des Hautes-Alpes, AAA Auto a. s., Commonwealth Financial Network, ICA, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Blueworks Live vs. Visio and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.