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IBM SPSS Modeler vs IBM Watson Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

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 SPSS Modeler
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Data Mining (4th)
IBM Watson Studio
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
AI Development Platforms (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Data Science Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM SPSS Modeler is 2.5%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Watson Studio is 2.1%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Science Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

PeterHuo - PeerSpot reviewer
Good tool for extracting data from data warehouses, creating streams, and manipulating logic to extract final data
There are performance issues. Extracting data from many combined tables can take hours and occasionally crash the server due to memory leaks. This performance problem bothers people. The performance issue seems to be related to the server. We design streams on the client and submit them to the server, which generates a large SQL statement. There are two potential bottlenecks: one in the server and another in data extraction. I'm unsure about the exact mechanics of data splitting when fetching from the database. When streams become larger, performance bottlenecks may occur in the IBM SPSS Modeler server or the database. Sometimes the server crashes and needs to be restarted to release memory on both sides. I'm not sure exactly where the problem is caused, as I focus on stream design rather than server issues. The problem could be on the IBM SPSS Modeler server and database.
Abilio Duarte - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly robust and well-documented platform that simplifies the complex world of AI
The main challenge lies in visibility and ease of use. Providing training sessions can be immensely helpful in helping users navigate and understand the tool's potential. This approach would empower users to explore and make the most of the tools and technologies at their disposal. Another area where IBM could enhance its offering is by providing more visibility to end users regarding the vast potential that Watson offers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Very good data aggregation."
"Stability is good."
"Extremely easy to use, it offers a generous selection of proprietary machine learning algorithms."
"The visual modeling capability is one of its attractive features."
"It’s definitely scalable, it’s all on the same platform, it’s well integrated. I think the integration is important in terms of scalablility because essentially, having the entire suite helps a lot to scale it"
"It's a very organized product. It's easy to use."
"A lot of jobs that are stuck in Excel due to the huge numbers of rows are tackled pretty quickly."
"IBM was chosen because of usability. It's point and click, whereas the other out-of-the box-solution, or open-source solutions, require full-on programming and a much higher skill level."
"IBM Watson Studio consistently automates across channels."
"For me, the valuable feature of the solution is the one that I used, which was Jupyter notebooks."
"Watson Studio is very stable."
"The system's ability to take a look at data, segment it and then use that data very differently."
"It has greatly improved the performance because it is standardized across the company."
"Stability-wise, it is a great tool."
"The main benefit is the ease of use. We see a lot of engineers in our site and customers that really like the way the tools are able to work with the people."
"The scalability of IBM Watson Studio is great."
 

Cons

"When you are not using the product, such as during the pandemic where we had worldwide lockdowns, you still have to pay for the licensing."
"Regarding visual modeling, it is not the biggest strength of the product, although from what I hear in the latest release it's going to be a lot stronger. That, to me, has always been the biggest flaw in using this. It's very difficult to get good visualization."
"Time Series or forecasting needs to be easier. It is a very important feature, and it should be made easier and more automated to use. For instance, for logistic regression, binary or multinomial is used automatically based on the type of the target variable. I wish they can make Time Series easier to use in a similar way."
"It would be beneficial if the tool would include more well-known machine learning algorithms."
"There are performance issues. Extracting data from many combined tables can take hours and occasionally crash the server due to memory leaks. This performance problem bothers people. The performance issue seems to be related to the server. We design streams on the client and submit them to the server, which generates a large SQL statement. There are two potential bottlenecks: one in the server and another in data extraction. I'm unsure about the exact mechanics of data splitting when fetching from the database."
"I would not rate the technical support very well. The technicians have accents. When you do find someone, it is very hard to get somebody able to answer the technical questions."
"I can say the solution is outdated."
"I think mapping for geographic data would also be a really great thing to be able to use."
"I want IBM's technical support team to provide more specific answers to queries."
"The initial setup was complex."
"Some of the solutions are really good solutions but they can be a little too costly for many."
"IBM Watson Studio, while powerful, lacks user-friendliness. It is not easy to use, particularly for medium or small enterprises or less experienced staff."
"So a better user interface could be very helpful"
"It's sometimes easy to get lost given the number of images the solution opens up when you click on the mouse and the amount of different tabs."
"More features in data virtualization would be helpful. The solution could use an interactive dashboard that could make exploration easier."
"Initially, it was quite complex. For us, it was not only a matter of getting it installed, that was just a start. It was also trying to come up with a standard way of implementing it across the entire organization, which had been a challenge."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Having in mind all four tools from Garner’s top quadrant, the pricing of this tool is competitive and it reflects the quality that it offers."
"It is a huge increase to time savings."
"Its price is okay for a company, but for personal use, it is considered somewhat expensive."
"It got us a good amount of money with quick and efficient modeling."
"It is an expensive product."
"When you are close to end of quarter, IBM and its partners can get you 60% to 70% discounts, so literally wait for the last day of the quarter for the best prices. You may feel like you are getting robbed if you can't receive a good discount."
"This tool, being an IBM product, is pretty expensive."
"The scalability was kind of limited by our ability to get other people licenses, and that was usually more of a financial constraint. It's expensive, but it's a good tool."
"IBM Watson Studio is an expensive solution."
"IBM Watson Studio is a reasonably priced product"
"Watson Studio's pricing is reasonable for what you get."
"The pricing is generally reasonable and straightforward but can vary significantly depending on the specific workloads in use."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Educational Organization
10%
Government
9%
University
9%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM SPSS Modeler?
Compared to other tools, the product works much easier to analyze data without coding.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM SPSS Modeler?
The government has funds and a budget, it's hard to say if it's expensive or cheap. In Canada, they have a yearly budget. They used to encourage people to use the modeler for development. If ten us...
What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Modeler?
There are performance issues. Extracting data from many combined tables can take hours and occasionally crash the server due to memory leaks. This performance problem bothers people. The performanc...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Watson Studio?
IBM Watson Studio is considered rather expensive, with a rating of six or seven. The pricing could be optimized relative to the features and capabilities of the product.
What needs improvement with IBM Watson Studio?
IBM Watson Studio, while powerful, lacks user-friendliness. It is not easy to use, particularly for medium or small enterprises or less experienced staff. Another aspect that requires improvement i...
 

Also Known As

SPSS Modeler
Watson Studio, IBM Data Science Experience, Data Science Experience, DSx
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Reisebªro Idealtours GmbH, MedeAnalytics, Afni, Israel Electric Corporation, Nedbank Ltd., DigitalGlobe, Vodafone Hungary, Aegon Hungary, Bureau Veritas, Brammer Group, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, InSites Consulting, Fortis Turkey
GroupM, Accenture, Fifth Third Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SPSS Modeler vs. IBM Watson Studio and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.