IBM SPSS Modeler vs SAS Enterprise Miner comparison

IBM and SAS are both solutions in the Data Mining category. IBM is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.5, while SAS is ranked #7. IBM holds a 20.6% mindshare in DM, compared to SAS’s 5.1% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of SAS users who would recommend it.

IBM SPSS Modeler

Read 40 IBM SPSS Modeler reviews

2,258 Views
1,106 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

SAS Enterprise Miner

Read 13 SAS Enterprise Miner reviews

833 Views
325 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

IBM SPSS Modeler

SAS Enterprise Miner

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

SAS Enterprise Miner and IBM SPSS Modeler are key players in predictive analytics. IBM SPSS Modeler gains an edge with its extensive feature set and intuitive use, whereas SAS Enterprise Miner excels in data management.

Features: SAS Enterprise Miner features robust data handling, intricate data preparation, and integration with SAS programming for enhanced flexibility. IBM SPSS Modeler offers intuitive visual modeling, an extensive algorithm library, and easy integration with third-party tools like Python and R for streamlined tasks.

Room for Improvement: SAS Enterprise Miner could enhance its response time in customer support, improve its initial setup complexity, and expand its cloud capabilities. IBM SPSS Modeler can improve on its heavy initial investment requirement, refine its model customization features, and further develop its visual modeling strength compared to standalone visualization tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAS Enterprise Miner offers flexible deployment options, both on-premises and cloud-based, with generally reliable customer support. IBM SPSS Modeler provides streamlined cloud integration and proactive customer service that is well-received by users.

Pricing and ROI: SAS Enterprise Miner demands a substantial initial investment yet promises high ROI for large-scale projects. IBM SPSS Modeler, while also costly, often delivers faster ROI due to its user-friendly implementation and operational versatility. Pricing structures should be considered based on specific business needs.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM SPSS Modeler vs. SAS Enterprise Miner Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM SPSS Modeler vs. SAS Enterprise Miner

September 2025

Download the complete report

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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 SPSS Modeler

Ranking in Data Mining

3rd

Ranking in Data Science Platforms

16th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SAS Enterprise Miner

Ranking in Data Mining

7th

Ranking in Data Science Platforms

24th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Data Mining category, the mindshare of IBM SPSS Modeler is 20.6%, up from 16.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Enterprise Miner is 5.1%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Mining Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM SPSS Modeler	20.6%
SAS Enterprise Miner	5.1%
Other	74.3%

Data Mining

Featured Reviews

PeterHuo

Application Architect at Canada Border Services Agency

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.

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reviewer1352853

Executive Head of analytics at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees

A stable product that is easy to deploy and can be used for structured and unstructured data mining

We use the solution for predictive analytics to do structured and unstructured data mining I like the way the product visually shows the data pipeline. The product must provide better integration with cloud-native technologies. I have been using the solution for 20 years. The product is very…

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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

"Extremely easy to use, it offers a generous selection of proprietary machine learning algorithms."

"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."

"Automation is great and this product is very organized."

"The most valuable features of the IBM SPSS Modeler are visual programming, you don't have to write any code, and it is easy to use. 90 to 95 percent of the use cases, you don't have to fine-tune anything. If you want to do something deeper, for example, create a better neural network, then you have to go into the features and try to fine-tune them. However, the default selection which is made by the tool, it's very practical and works well."

"It works fine. I have not had any stability issues; it is always up."

"We have been able to do some predictive modeling with it"

"It will scale up to anything we need."

"It scales. I have not run into any challenges where it will not perform."

More IBM SPSS Modeler pros

"Good data management and analytics."

"The most valuable feature is that you can use multiple algorithms for creating models and then you can compare the results between them."

"The technical support is very good."

"I found the ease of use of the solution the most valuable. Additionally, other valuable features include: the user interface, power to extract data, compatibility with other technologies (specifically with PS400), and automation of several tasks."

"Most of the features, especially on the data analysis tool pack, are really good. The way they do clustering and output is great. You can do fairly elaborate outputs. The results, the ensembles, all of these, are fantastic."

"The setup is straightforward. Deployment doesn't take more than 30 minutes."

"I like the way the product visually shows the data pipeline."

"The solution is able to handle quite large amounts of data beautifully."

More SAS Enterprise Miner pros

Cons

"Expensive to deploy solutions. You need to buy an extra deployment unit."

"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."

"If IBM could add some of the popular models into the SPSS for further analysis, like popular regression models, I think that would be a helpful improvement."

"The integration with sources and visualisation needs some improvement. The scalability needs improvement."

"It is very good, but slow. The slowness may be because we have not finalized all the background information in SPSS. It still needs some tweaking."

"It would be good if IBM added help resources to the interface."

"We have run into a few problems doing some entity matching/analytics."

"The product does not have a search function for tags."

More IBM SPSS Modeler cons

"The product must provide better integration with cloud-native technologies."

"The solution is very stable, but we do have some problems with discrepancies involving SAS not matching with the latest Java versions. It's not stable in cases where SAS tries to run on a different version because SAS doesn't connect with the latest Java update. Once a month we need to restart systems from scratch."

"The solution needs an easier interface for the user. The user experience isn't so easy for our clients."

"The initial setup is challenging if doing it for the first time."

"Virtualization could be much better."

"While I don't personally need tutorials, I can't say that it wouldn't be helpful for others to have some to help them navigate and operate the system."

"Technical support could be improved."

"The ease of use can be improved. When you are new it seems a bit complex."

More SAS Enterprise Miner cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a huge increase to time savings."

"This tool, being an IBM product, is pretty expensive."

"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."

"If you are in a university and the license is free then you can use the tool without any charges, which is good."

"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 users use the server with ten licenses, it runs faster. But if forty users use the same appliance, everything slows down. People then think it's not easy to do things and prefer using remote tools like Python to extract data from the database. It's not about being expensive or cheap, but about people's knowledge and experience in how to do the work."

"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."

"Its price is okay for a company, but for personal use, it is considered somewhat expensive."

"$5,000 annually."

More IBM SPSS Modeler pricing and cost advice

"The solution is expensive for an individual, but for an enterprise/institution (purchasing bulk licenses), it is not a high price for the use that will come from it."

"This solution is for large corporations because not everybody can afford it."

"The solution must improve its licensing models."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Educational Organization

11%

Government

10%

University

Financial Services Firm

28%

Educational Organization

12%

University

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	32

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	7

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Modeler?

The customer comes to you and says they want to deploy it and make a production out of this, which is very difficult and expensive with IBM SPSS Modeler. With MATLAB, there is no problem. I have a ...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM SPSS Modeler

September 2025

Download IBM SPSS Modeler product report

Buyer's Guide

Data Mining

August 2025

Download SAS Enterprise Miner product report

Also Known As

SPSS Modeler

Enterprise Miner

Overview

IBM SPSS Modeler is an extensive predictive analytics platform that is designed to bring predictive intelligence to decisions made by individuals, groups, systems and the enterprise. By providing a range of advanced algorithms and techniques that include text analytics, entity analytics, decision management and optimization, SPSS Modeler can help you consistently make the right decisions from the desktop or within operational systems.

Buy
https://www.ibm.com/products/spss-modeler/pricing

Sign up for the trial
https://www.ibm.com/account/reg/us-en/signup?formid=urx-19947

IBM

SAS Enterprise Miner is a solution to create accurate predictive and descriptive models on large volumes of data across different sources in the organization. SAS Enterprise Miner offers many features and functionalities for the business analysts to model their data. Some of the business applications are for detecting fraud, minimizing risk, resource demands, reducing asset downtime, campaigns and reduce customer attrition.

SAS

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

Generali Hellas, Gitanjali Group, Gloucestershire Constabulary, GS Home Shopping, HealthPartners, IAG New Zealand, iJET, Invacare

Buyer's Guide

IBM SPSS Modeler vs. SAS Enterprise Miner

September 2025

Free Report: IBM SPSS Modeler vs. SAS Enterprise Miner

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SPSS Modeler vs. SAS Enterprise Miner and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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