IBM Blueworks Live vs Visual Paradigm comparison

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IBM Blueworks Live

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

IBM Blueworks Live and Visual Paradigm compete in the process modeling and diagramming tools category. Visual Paradigm appears to have an advantage with its extensive diagramming capabilities and flexibility in integration.

Features: IBM Blueworks Live excels in real-time process modeling with intuitive collaboration tools and supports BPMN 2.0, providing a central repository for processes. Visual Paradigm offers extensive diagramming across various engineering fields, supporting standards like UML and enabling integration of different models with strong functionality for enterprise architecture, along with a valuable simulation feature for process analysis.

Room for Improvement: IBM Blueworks Live needs enhanced simulation capabilities and more flexible reporting options, while its integration and collaboration features require improvements for handling complex process models. Visual Paradigm should focus on faster visualization of complex models and better integration for process mining. Enhanced documentation and reduced resource consumption would also improve its usability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Blueworks Live is mainly deployed on public cloud and offers responsive support but has limited direct interaction due to user proficiency. Visual Paradigm provides flexible deployment options, including on-premises and hybrid cloud, along with an effective support structure, though performance issues can impact deployment ease in resource-heavy situations.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Blueworks Live offers competitive pricing and varied licensing options, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes, and demonstrates significant ROI through time savings and reduced operating costs. Visual Paradigm provides affordable licenses with free tiers, allowing scalable features, and is preferred for its cost-effectiveness and comprehensive capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Blueworks Live vs. Visual Paradigm Report (Updated: March 2025).

IBM Blueworks Live vs. Visual Paradigm

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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

IBM Blueworks Live

Ranking in Business Process Design

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Visual Paradigm

Ranking in Business Process Design

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of IBM Blueworks Live is 3.6%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Paradigm is 6.4%, down from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

AjarMathur

Global Innovation Director at Ernst & Young

An easily scalable and affordable solution that enables users to document and digitize processes with ease

IBM Blueworks is BPMN 2.0 compliant, but it does not adapt to the overarching BPMN 2.0 concepts. There is only one kind of BPMN 2.0 diagram. It is a process diagram. It doesn't have the concept of separate tools, which other products offer. If I had to do a hardcore BPMN 2.0 modeling, the product would have its own reservations. There were features we could not explore from a BPMN 2.0 perspective. Most of the time, people who are shifting from Microsoft Office tools to a digitized way of working still want the reporting capabilities to be strong. Some tools, like ARIS or Signavio, offer customized solutions from the reporting perspective. If I have documented my whole finance process and want to fetch out a complete SOP report in a very customized manner, IBM Blueworks cannot provide it. We have to rely on some other services. So that's one area in which we always struggled, how to really customize the reporting aspects. I understand that we need to keep the tool a little more asset-light. It's very difficult to keep adding many options, but at least a few BPMN 2.0 options were needed. We have been suggesting to IBM that we should have some way of customizing the reporting. At least we should get a custom way of reporting it into different formats like Excel or putting up a logo for one of the clients so that their SAP can be printed that way.

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Angie Ibrahim Eissa

Founder & Managing Partner at BBL

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.

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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 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."

"I like the two-tiered approach, that is, discover and then drill down to the main steps. You can right click and attach risk, policies, and much more. It is a user-friendly solution."

"The ease of documenting and digitizing the processes was valuable to us."

"You can use if from your mobile device or you can be on the desktop. It doesn't matter. You are always connected. It is cloud-based, so you don't have to install anything."

"IBM Blueworks Live is cloud-based and provides easy access to all your processes in one place."

"It is a stable solution since there has not been any downtime. Everything loads fast."

"Valuable features include real-time modeling and design work, the ability to perform workshops with clients in real-time with the tool, and getting instant output."

"It has the ability to document in different formats. It is not tied to a specific model. You can look at it from different angles and see the intuitive nature of it. It always generates a valid diagram. You cannot create something that is not BPMN compliant."

More IBM Blueworks Live pros

"Visual Paradigm allowed me to create UML diagrams efficiently."

"I like the structure. I can see the diagrams and everything I created."

"Visual Paradigm is simple and easy to use."

"What I found most valuable in Visual Paradigm is diagramming. I had a great user experience as diagramming in the tool is easy and convenient, even for complex diagrams or models. Visual Paradigm is the perfect tool for me, and I prefer it over Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect. Visual Paradigm is better for collaboration if you consider, for example, versioning, so this is another valuable tool feature that's simple and embedded in the solution. In Visual Paradigm, it's also easy to set up the project with team members and collaborate, and it's also a pro of the tool."

"The pricing model is attractive."

"Visual Paradigm is simple and easy to use."

"The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features are pricing and functionality."

"Visual Paradigm allowed me to create UML diagrams efficiently."

More Visual Paradigm pros

Cons

"In the Blue Works Live software boxes and lines are automatically placed by the programme and can't be easily manipulated."

"The ability to create a very structured rule. With the capability that we have right now, Blueworks Live is more process focused. We should be able to enhance it to include a lot more of decisions as well."

"Some of the import functionality was a bit restrictive, in terms of loading data in from other data sources. Something as simple as Excel, loading data tables from Excel, wasn't great. And vice-versa. Some of the export and import functionality with something like Visio - which, I know it's a slightly different tool - but being able to work seamlessly with those other tool sets would've been quite useful. I know it was something that was in the pipeline to be looked at. So that would be useful."

"I can't insert any images. For example, within the process map, if I want to put it in the box or rectangle, or circle. If I have to use one image or icon, that's not possible."

"The initial setup is neither straightforward nor complex however you do need to know what you are doing."

"I would like to see integration with ERP systems. This would help us to simulate the process and see where the problems are. Though IBM Blueworks Live is a good tool for documenting, it is not good for simulating."

"The font size is really, really small and it's really not useful to print out process models because you cannot read what's written in different boxes. This makes it necessary for people to have access to the tool. We view licenses to see how the printing or output is. It's not very good."

"The solution is a very basic discovery product so it doesn't have that much modeling capability. This can be improved."

More IBM Blueworks Live cons

"I was looking to generate code from the diagrams, but it was not totally clear how to do 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."

"There are some connectivity issues that crop up rarely when used with SQL Server."

"The product's versioning capability needs improvement."

"For me, what needs improvement in Visual Paradigm is the limited features included in the $99 license, which is the cheapest option. If more features could be included in the cheapest licensing package, Visual Paradigm would be better, especially for businesses that have a limited budget for buying software."

"Visual Paradigm could improve many aspects. The performance could be better because it can be low. When we have large and complicated models, it has a low speed and many bugs. Sometimes the solution stops and you have to restart Microsoft Windows on your PC. The larger database modeling cannot be done properly, I have to use another solution called SAP PowerDesigner."

"The user interface is not easy to navigate, so it should be made easier."

"I would like to see something for visualizing innovation work maps."

More Visual Paradigm cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price wise, IBM Blueworks Live is in the middle range, and I would give it a five out of ten."

"Making it less expensive would be good."

"Based on the licenses purchased, from a footprint perspective, you can have as many people as you want. You have multiple different categories of licenses to keep the cost low."

"They have a free subscription model that gives a lot of power to the users."

"There are editor licenses that are around 50 euros per month, and contributor licenses that are around 30 euros per month."

"We are seeing ROI from this solution. The solution has saved us time."

"The solution is very, very cost-effective."

"The solution is not very expensive."

"Over the years I've seen an increase in price, and it makes it difficult for a single person company, like me, to decide whether to extend the license."

"In terms of pricing, I find Visual Paradigm's subscription services reasonable, especially for the modern and standard editions. However, the premium products can be a bit pricey, especially considering our location in the Middle East. Currently, paying around a hundred dollars per user translates to almost six hundred Egyptian pounds, which can add up. For enterprise licensing, I think the perpetual license option could be more affordable. If it were cheaper, say around five hundred dollars, I would have invested in multiple perpetual licenses long ago. Sometimes, to manage costs, we share accounts among team members or switch access on and off for certain members who aren't actively working on projects. As for additional costs, there are charges for cloud services, which I'm considering because I've already exceeded the free capacity."

"I rate the pricing a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"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."

"Visual Paradigm's pricing is not expensive."

"Pricing for Visual Paradigm is a four out of five for me. I'm happy with its pricing."

"This product is fairly cheap, but if you want more complex features, e.g. integration with other products, it does require an additional cost."

"I rate Visual Paradigm's pricing a five out of ten."

More Visual Paradigm pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

11%

Educational Organization

11%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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?

The solution costs around 600-700 dollars/year, which is quite affordable.

What needs improvement with IBM Blueworks Live?

Sometimes, the tool is automatic, which can complicate it, but once you're accustomed to manipulating it, you can use it very effectively.

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.

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Product Reports

IBM Blueworks Live

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Also Known As

IBM Lombardi Blueprint

No data available

Overview

IBM Blueworks Live is a cloud-based business process modeling tool that helps you discover, map and document your processes. It is easy to use, allowing you to learn and perform business process modeling in minutes.

With Blueworks Live you can:

Simplify business process modeling
Quickly build business processes in a straightforward, cloud-based interface designed for both IT and business users.

Improve process efficiency and accuracy
A central process repository eliminates version control and consistency issues by providing users real-time access to process workflows.

Enhance cross-team collaboration
A shared team workspace engages all business process owners, encouraging cross-team participation and continuous process improvement.

IBM

Visual Paradigm is a UML tool. The tool is designed for a wide range of users including software engineers, system analysts, business analysts and system architects, or for anyone who is interested in reliably building large-scale software systems using an object-oriented approach. In addition, Visual Paradigm supports the latest standards of UML notation.

Sample Customers

Cloudsoft Corp. Ltd., Bayer, S¾SS, Essex County Council

Adobe, Apple, at&t, Caterpillar, Intel, NASA, Nokia, Toyota

IBM Blueworks Live vs. Visual Paradigm