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Visual Paradigm vs iServer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 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

iServer
Ranking in Business Process Design
16th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (8th)
Visual Paradigm
Ranking in Business Process Design
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of iServer is 2.4%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Paradigm is 4.8%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Visual Paradigm4.8%
iServer2.4%
Other92.8%
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Antonios Lazanakis - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior IT Solution Architect at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Flexible, easy to use, and easy to import data
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization iServer is a very flexible platform for defining your own enterprise architecture model. It is very easy to import data, and we also have good integration with Visual Drawing Tools and SharePoint. The solution is…
reviewer2097357 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a aerospace/defense firm with 10,001+ employees
Innovation in diagramming has streamlined complex UML tasks
Visual Paradigm allowed me to create UML diagrams efficiently. The tool was smarter than other tools in terms of remembering the connections between components on the screen. For example, in other drawing programs, if I moved a box, I had to move the arrow, but Visual Paradigm handled those tasks automatically. This made it much quicker than using other tools like Visio or MagicDoor.

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 features of iServer are the integration with Microsoft Office and the interface is similar to Microsoft applications making them easy to use."
"Integrating the Microsoft documents to the product and visualization matrix where we can see the end-to-end relationship of the network is of great importance to our company."
"It has helped having data lineage in the business cluster, which is used as control artifacts."
"We like the governance."
"iServer is a very flexible platform for defining your own enterprise architecture model."
"This flexibility is the most helpful part in the standard version."
"iServer is a solution that helps catalog enterprise architect solutions and catalog information."
"I have to think less with this solution. It's simple."
"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."
"I like the fact that this solution is complete."
"The Visual Paradigm business process forms for designing we good. There was not a lot of configuration for the process diagram."
"The application is easy to use and provides informative diagrams."
"The most valuable feature of the Visual Paradigm that I use is process modeling. Additionally, the solution has a complete set of features."
"The solution is the best application for data modeling. It helps to architect business processes. Its best features are pricing and functionality."
"Some of the most valuable features of this process modeling tool are process simulation and process animation."
 

Cons

"Enhancing integration options with ERP or ITSM-related solutions for triggering automated requests for process definitions, changes, and tracking them in the iServer."
"iServer should invest in enhancing the capabilities of the embedded drawing tool, draw.io."
"The product is more expensive than Spark."
"The performance is slow, which is something that should be improved."
"The migration tool needs to be included in the main package, and not as a separate license."
"The modelling needs improvement, specifically forecasting capabilities and scenarios."
"More visualization techniques and ways to report the data might be helpful."
"It definitely needs help to improve the visual aspect of the solution."
"Visual Paradigm's initial deployment was difficult since we did it for the first time. It is challenging to learn to use the product."
"It's still early for me to comment since I've only been using it for two months, but the responsiveness when diagramming needs to be improved."
"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 solution could be more compatible with other products in the future."
"Visual Paradigm can improve by having better process mining tools and model integration."
"There is a certain inherent complexity when creating UML diagrams."
"The solution can be heavy on resource usage."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is cheaper than its competitors."
"They offer annual subscriptions for developing countries, which are not affordable for small or medium businesses."
"Aim for the exact number of people who shall define/review approve and view the processes, as it will impact the cost."
"It's about 13K to set up and 9K for the license for three months. I think it's about 20K a year, but we haven't firmed up on pricing yet because the price depends on how long we commit to the solution."
"The product has a moderate pricing."
"The price of iServer is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"Visual Paradigm costs $99 per license. I chose the cheapest option from the pricing list."
"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."
"You can use Paradigm on a subscription basis and you can choose from different tiers of subscription."
"Visual Paradigm's pricing is not expensive."
"I rate Visual Paradigm's pricing a five out of ten."
"You can move between the tiers from month to month so you are not restricted to one pricing model."
"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."
"Pricing for Visual Paradigm is a four out of five for me. I'm happy with its pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Educational Organization
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iServer?
iServer should invest in enhancing the capabilities of the embedded drawing tool, draw.io. draw.io is a drawing tool used to draw architectural diagrams, flow diagrams, etc. It is an alternative to...
What is your primary use case for iServer?
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization.
What advice do you have for others considering iServer?
I would recommend the solution to other users. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
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.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Barclays, Cathay Pacific, Deloitte, British Gas, MasterCard
Adobe, Apple, at&t, Caterpillar, Intel, NASA, Nokia, Toyota
Find out what your peers are saying about Visual Paradigm vs. iServer and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.