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IDERA ER/Studio vs PTC Windchill comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

IDERA ER/Studio
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Database Development and Management (8th)
PTC Windchill
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
19th
Average Rating
6.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Engineering Process (1st), PLM Tools (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of IDERA ER/Studio is 3.7%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PTC Windchill is 0.9%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IDERA ER/Studio3.7%
PTC Windchill0.9%
Other95.4%
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

Aaron Cutshall - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for data modeling and has a scripting language to write your own scripts
The solution has streamlined our data modeling processes quite a bit. It's a central focus in our data modeling and data cataloging efforts. The tool's reverse engineering capability to bring in existing database structures and create models from them has benefitted our data architecture needs. With the tool's data dictionary capability, we're able to maintain consistency in our models, name use, and actual data domains. The solution's reverse engineering helps with understanding legacy databases. In fact, I've been asked to reverse-engineer several more legacy databases so that we can have them modeled and cataloged. The solution is deployed on the cloud server, but it’s only within our network. The solution has a lot of capabilities. I like the fact that it has a scripting language that allows you to automate and write your own scripts. I think that's been a big bonus for us. I highly recommend the solution because of its capability for logical models, where you can put your business definitions and logic. While less expensive, some other tools can't do that. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
CW
Effective lifecycle management improves with strong version control and deep integration needs
There is room for improvement in implementing features fully. The user interface is inconsistent and outdated. It appears that different departments or locations have implemented features differently, leading to inconsistency. There is a significant need for improved integration, particularly using OSLC for connecting with other tools like SAP ERP or ALM tools. The version control, while consistent, lacks flexibility regarding changes in CAD data and requires manual intervention for BOM management analysis.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"ER/Studio is excellent for large teams; it scales well to teams of over one hundred plus people."
"We have been able to quickly create models for our enterprise-wide databases, even when some of them are third-party databases."
"I set up this tool and found it to be very simple."
"We use the solution to create data models which describe our company's data architecture"
"The data modeling module is important to me because I am a database developer and designer... It's very fast, reliable, up-to-date, so easy to use, smooth."
"It's much easier to develop the database structure and change it on the fly, rather than doing it manually in SQL Server itself. That saves time."
"The interface is really simple to use and it allows me to pick and choose which tables I want to reverse engineer."
"This application does a lot of things, as do competitor products, but the main reason to go with this product was the ability to create many automations, where we can improve our work and our process."
"The version control maintains consistent versions, which is beneficial."
"The strong point of Windchill is its close connection between the CAD structure and the bill of materials structure."
"I like how the product integrates with other technical solutions."
 

Cons

"when there are some links to the external databases, if this database is not structured it is not uploaded. It gives me errors and I cannot see the view that was created on this structure and I cannot change those views, even manually. It skips the views. I have to ignore those views. I cannot re-upload them because it gives me an error."
"What I would like to see improved is the reliability of the releases, releases that are a little less buggy."
"The screens are a bit outdated. They could use a new look and feel."
"What needs the most improvement are semantic lineage and usability."
"We did have a big issue when we upgraded to the 2016 version. The Team Server portion never did quite install correctly, and/or the database was corrupted, and we never figured it out."
"It isn't easy to compare the thousands of tables in the model against the database. The tool should improve the synchronization within the large organization"
"I cannot evaluate any areas for improvement at this time."
"Sometimes our version is a little unstable. But I think this problem occurs because our version is old."
"I would not recommend doing business with PTC regardless of the product."
"Some parts of the system are exclusive, so we can't work with them."
"There is room for improvement in implementing features fully."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The process of licensing could be much simpler, from our experience."
"As an individual user, the renewal is a little costly."
"The price of this product is okay."
"The solution’s pricing is high."
"The setup cost may have been around $1500 to $2000."
"The product is pricey."
"Pricing is expensive and on the higher-end."
"At my previous company using ER/Studio, a database compare took four hours before using the product and 15 minutes after using the product."
"I rate PTC Windchill's pricing a seven out of ten since it is pricey."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Energy/Utilities Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
29%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise25
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IDERA ER Studio?
In terms of pricing, ER/Studio is slightly more expensive compared to Erwin, by about five to ten percent.
What is your primary use case for IDERA ER Studio?
I have been working with data modeling tools. Personally, I have been working with Erwin for many years now. ER/Studio is something I am currently trying to evaluate for acquiring it for our organi...
What advice do you have for others considering IDERA ER Studio?
I would strongly recommend ER/Studio for large teams. Erwin is a very stable product, but for smaller teams, it's okay. If I had to rate ER/Studio, I would give it nine out of ten because the absen...
What do you like most about PTC Windchill?
I like how the product integrates with other technical solutions.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PTC Windchill?
I rate PTC Windchill's pricing a seven out of ten since it is pricey. The costs are fixed, and there are no additional costs.
What needs improvement with PTC Windchill?
There is room for improvement in implementing features fully. The user interface is inconsistent and outdated. It appears that different departments or locations have implemented features different...
 

Also Known As

IDERA ER Studio, ER/Studio, ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition
Windchill, Atego Artisan Studio, Integrity Modeler, Intralink
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Newmont Mining, Entrust, Accolade, TalkTalk, Catalina, Protective Life, NTT Data, dir systèmes, Microsoft; American Express, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Coriant, Fedex, GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo, Prudential, Wells Fargo
Bose, Valliant Group
Find out what your peers are saying about IDERA ER/Studio vs. PTC Windchill and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.