Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IBM SPSS Statistics vs SAS Enterprise Miner 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 Statistics
Ranking in Data Mining
2nd
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
AI Data Analysis (14th), AI Research (2nd)
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
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Data Mining category, the mindshare of IBM SPSS Statistics is 18.5%, up from 16.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Enterprise Miner is 4.8%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Mining Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM SPSS Statistics18.5%
SAS Enterprise Miner4.8%
Other76.7%
Data Mining
 

Featured Reviews

EzzAbdelfattah - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Professor Of Statistics at a university with 10,001+ employees
Advanced predictive analytics have supported my research and student projects across many methods
The only function I may need to be added or hope to be added to IBM SPSS Statistics is how to treat unstructured data. This mainly exists with IBM SPSS Modeler, but I do not think it is able to treat something like videos and similar content unless you are using languages like Python inside IBM SPSS Modeler or inside IBM SPSS Statistics. For the menu itself, for the selection, it does not exist. Thinking of the future, I believe that the owners of IBM SPSS Statistics should think about improving the package itself to be able to treat unstructured data.
reviewer1352853 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is its robust statistical analysis capabilities."
"The solution has numerous valuable features. We particularly like custom tabs. It's very useful. We end up analyzing a lot of software data, so features related to custom tabs are really helpful."
"The most valuable features are the small learning curve and its ability to hold a lot of data."
"SPSS can handle whatever you throw at it, whether your data set contains 10,000, 100,000, or a million objects. It's like the heavy artillery of analytical tools."
"It offers very good visualization."
"One feature I found very valuable was the analysis of variance (ANOVA)."
"I've found the descriptive statistics and cross-tabs valuable. The very simple correlations and regressions are as well."
"Custom tables and macros: They allow us to create useful reports quickly for a broad audience."
"The most valuable feature is that you can use multiple algorithms for creating models and then you can compare the results between them."
"The solution is able to handle quite large amounts of data beautifully."
"Good data management and analytics."
"The technical support is very good."
"The setup is straightforward. Deployment doesn't take more than 30 minutes."
"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."
"I like the way the product visually shows the data pipeline."
"The most valuable feature is the decision tree creation."
 

Cons

"One of the areas that should be similar to Minitabs is the use of blogs. The Minitabs blog helps users understand the tools and gives lots of practical examples. Following the SPSS manual is cumbersome. It's a good, exhaustive manual, but it's not practical to use. With Minitabs, you can go to the blogs and find specific articles written about various components and it's very helpful. Without blogs, we find SPSS more complicated."
"I feel that when it comes to conducting multiple analyses, there could be more detailed information provided. Currently, the software gives a summary and an overview, but it would be beneficial to have specific details for each product or variable."
"IBM SPSS Statistics does not keep you close to your data like KNIME."
"Better documentation on how to use macros."
"The statistics should be more self-explanatory with detailed automated reports."
"The reports could be better."
"It would be helpful if there was better documentation on how to properly use the solution. A beginner's guide on how to use the various programming functions within the product would be so useful to a lot of people. I found that everything was very confusing at first. Having clear documentation would help alleviate that."
"Each algorithm could be more adaptable to some industry-specific areas, or, in some cases, adapted for maintenance."
"The solution is much more complex than other options."
"The user interface of the solution needs improvement. It needs to be more visual."
"The initial setup is challenging if doing it for the first time."
"The ease of use can be improved. When you are new it seems a bit complex."
"The visualization of the models is not very attractive, so the graphics should be improved."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of the modeler is high and can reduce the utility of the product for those who can not afford to adopt it."
"It's quite expensive, but they do a special deal for universities."
"More affordable training for new staff members."
"The price of IBM SPSS Statistics could improve."
"The price of this solution is a little bit high, which was a problem for my company."
"While the pricing of the product may be higher, the accompanying service and features justify the investment."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"Our licence is on a yearly renewal basis. While pricing is not the primary concern in our evaluation, as products are assessed by whether they can meet our user needs and expertise, the cost can be a limiting factor in the number of licences we procure."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Mining solutions are best for your needs.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Educational Organization
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM SPSS Statistics?
The software offers consistency across multiple research projects helping us with predictive analytics capabilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM SPSS Statistics?
I think the price of the solution is very reasonable. The cost depends; you have the option for subscription or you can purchase the license. Most of our customers are paying every year for a type ...
What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Statistics?
The only function I may need to be added or hope to be added to IBM SPSS Statistics is how to treat unstructured data. This mainly exists with IBM SPSS Modeler, but I do not think it is able to tre...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

SPSS Statistics
Enterprise Miner
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

LDB Group, RightShip, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Capgemini Consulting, TEAC Corporation, Ironside, nViso SA, Razorsight, Si.mobil, University Hospitals of Leicester, CROOZ Inc., GFS Fundraising Solutions, Nedbank Ltd., IDS-TILDA
Generali Hellas, Gitanjali Group, Gloucestershire Constabulary, GS Home Shopping, HealthPartners, IAG New Zealand, iJET, Invacare
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SPSS Statistics vs. SAS Enterprise Miner and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.