Lucidchart vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect comparison

The compared Lucid Software and Sparx Systems solutions aren't in the same category. Lucid Software is ranked #2 in MMS , with an average rating of 10.0, and holds a 23.1% mindshare in the category. Sparx Systems is ranked #2 in AM , with an average rating of 8.2, and holds a 12.7% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Lucid Software users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Sparx Systems users who would recommend it.

Lucidchart

Read 54 Lucidchart reviews

5,664 Views
736 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...

Read 99 Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect reviews

9,216 Views
3,779 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Lucidchart

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Lucidchart and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Lucid Software, diagrams.net and others in Mind Mapping Software.

To learn more, read our detailed Lucidchart vs. Mindjet MindManager Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Lucidchart vs. Mindjet MindManager

July 2025

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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

Lucidchart

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Mind Mapping Software (2nd), Visual Collaboration Platforms (3rd)

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Architecture Management (2nd), Business Process Design (5th)

Mindshare comparison

Lucidchart and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Lucidchart is designed for Mind Mapping Software and holds a mindshare of 23.1%, up 20.0% compared to last year.
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, on the other hand, focuses on Enterprise Architecture Management, holds 12.7% mindshare, down 17.0% since last year.

Mind Mapping Software

Enterprise Architecture Management

Featured Reviews

MichaelChirinian

Data Engineer at Mindmap

Intuitive, integrates well, and is a great way to change text into visual ideas

I'm not a super user, and there might be a way of doing it that I haven't explored, but I was looking for some specific icons that are just standard icons, and I found the icon library to be very focused on architecture icons. It didn't have as many standard or generic icons. Another thing that somewhat irritated me is the fact that there is a paste function in the menu, but when you right-click and select paste, it tells you that you can't use paste. You must press Command-V or Apple-V to paste. They give you a menu option to paste, but every time you use that, they say, "We don't accept it." On top of that, normally, you'd have an option for paste or paste values, but when you use the paste function, you don't have that capability. So, to copy text from one place, I have to use Command-V to paste it, but if I don't like the format, I've got to go back and do copy style and then paste style on top of that. It is a small detail, but when you're doing diagrams, it is annoying that they don't support paste values. It is a small irk. I'm not penalizing it, and I still think it is a five-star product. In terms of other bigger things, I don't really have any comments or criticism so far.

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Milan Sterba

Senior Enterprise Architect at Deepview S.r.o.

Efficient documentation generation through organized model structure with a good price-performance ratio

Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not easy for even experienced users to find their way without guidance. This is not the most user-friendly solution.

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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

"The sticky notes are among the most valuable features. Also, the fact that it has templates so that I don't have to do things myself, starting from scratch, is very helpful. In addition, it's really easy to use. You can add stuff by clicking, without having to go to the options. You just click on something and the options you can use appear."

"I really like the drag and drop feature because it makes the work easier. It is very easy to use. All the pieces are very good. All the icons and all the fields are available in the left panel. So, I just click, drag, and then edit a piece. When I showed it to my managing director, he was very inspired, and he also got a premium account for himself."

"The most valuable features are the different templates that they have already created, as well as all the different shapes you can use in the process charts because each shape stands for a different element or thing that's being done. It's easy to distinguish between different steps using the already set-out shapes."

"The swimlanes feature is one that I use a lot. I have used swimlane diagrams to create business process flows and I think that it does the job pretty well."

"I've been using Lucidchart for quite simple things, but it's definitely much easier making process maps using Lucidchart than it is using Google Docs for basically everything. It's much simpler in terms of how easy it is to use Lucidchart. The way that you can get the arrows on the flow charts, based on the process mapping, you can drag the arrows from one box to another and it automatically shows you where you can put it. It makes decisions for you in terms of if you have a decision diamond, then the line is automatically a yes or no. This just makes it so much easier."

"Lucidchart is very visual in nature, and it is something that we do use extensively for stakeholder mapping, for example. If you want to build graphs for things like who the decision-makers are in a particular organization, Lucidchart can be used for that."

"One of the features that I really like is the collaboration aspect of it. During the pandemic, it's very important that we're able to collaborate virtually."

"Lucidchart enables me to put down on paper what I was visualizing in my head. It makes it more shareable than only using words."

More Lucidchart pros

"The system provides powerful tools for obtaining reports and documentation."

"This is a useful tool for IT people who need to design their solution architecture."

"There are a couple of things. Price is one thing, but we also like the scriptability of it. We got into scripting it and automating tasks with it, and it is super duper easy to do and helpful. The API has improved over the years. We automate everything, and I love the automation aspects of it."

"The TOGAF ADM model is most valuable. It is also very cheap as compared to other options in the market."

"We could capture the process models around 24 countries with all their local variations."

"Scalable solution for modeling, project sharing, and collaboration. Support for it is good."

"Ability to keep inventory of reusable blocks, and use in different diagrams with views of various templates."

"The company has become more efficient and reduced its budget."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pros

Cons

"I am not quite sure what different functionalities it provides as well as the difficulties other people are facing. When I have a better understanding of the solution, I will increase my rating of it. No solution is perfect, so I am sure that I will be facing some problems in the future."

"I would like to have access to more colorful and more vibrant icons."

"In terms of improvement, they should make it very clear, whether it's a single A4 page or two A4 pages, it should be mapped out. Either I don't know how to use it, or it's not there, but having to stick to margins so I can see what's going to be on different pages when I print it or move it to a PDF has been my only challenge so far."

"I'm not sure if this feature is already there, but it would be good if we can import a cloud database in the web version."

"There is a basic function that I struggle with, in the interface, which is having to switch between the editing and navigation modes. A lot of clicks are required when switching between edit and navigation modes and I think that many could potentially be avoided by handling the tasks at the same time."

"I've had an issue is when you create, let's say, a rectangle box. You can write some text in it and give it a name, and, depending on how you shape the size of the box, the text will rearrange itself to fit. That is, except if your box is very, very narrow, but very long, like a long, narrow rectangle in a vertical position. In this case, the text will always go out of the rectangle."

"In terms of improvement, there can be more templates. There are good templates but there could still be more."

"It would be helpful if there were different options available for organizing the folders, such as having a high-level display with pictures."

More Lucidchart cons

"There used to be that feature in ArchiMate Modeling of Enterprise Architect called inherited relationships. Now it's gone."

"One room for improvement in Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is that it's not very friendly. Another room for improvement in the tool is that it doesn't enable you to import the metadata from a database very easily, so reverse engineering of a database was very difficult. Its database modeling and entity-relationship modeling functions need improvement."

"It would be nice to have it supported on the Linux operating system."

"Not visually appealing."

"The database management area was not usable."

"More challenging than other tools to maintain documents and document versions for an architecture board review."

"In general, we now have a problem with Sparx Enterprise Architect because many analysts think it's too complicated to use in a giant environment."

"In a future release, they should improve portfolio planning."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We signed up for the month-to-month and it charged us all at once for the whole year. I believe we signed up for the $7.99 one. I think that was the price."

"Pricing-wise, it is pretty fair. I don't really know what group pricing looks like, but right now, I pay $10 a month for my Lucid subscription. One thing I would say is that I do worry about my bosses being okay with paying $10 a month for every single employee because we would have around 20 people. It makes me a little nervous about whether they are going to pay $200 a month for people to be able to use this software. At the same time, from where I'm sitting, it's totally worth it. We save a thousand dollars from using this software. It's still a no-brainer."

"The price and licensing are good."

"I pay $95 a year for it. It seems like a reasonable price."

"I have a subscription as an individual user for one year, and it is not expensive."

"The pricing is very competitive. It is more cost-effective than some competing products, such as Visio."

"I was using the free version of Lucidchart, which was very helpful."

"The pricing and licensing are fine. It has a lot of features that I prefer over some of the other programs, which is good. Being that it is web-based, I feel that it is acceptable that it's on a monthly pay basis. However, I think I pay on an annual basis, which is fine with me."

More Lucidchart pricing and cost advice

"The Corporate Edition, or one of the bundles, is the way to go."

"The licence has a costly upfront fee which gets you access. You have to pay an annual maintenance fee, which is less."

"Enterprise licensing is competitive. What would be helpful if they load the pricing for consultants, you know, people who are consultants for clients. So the license is fine for end-user organizations. Still, they should consider lowering the license to support this adoption, particularly for people who are consultants like myself."

"It is very economical and low cost. You have to pay for a one-time license, and it is active forever."

"The pricing for ultimate version is steeply high."

"In terms of cost, Sparx EA is probably one of the cheapest tools I have ever used."

"It is cheap."

"The pricing is reasonable."

More Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Mind Mapping Software solutions are best for your needs.

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865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

LucidChart vs LucidSpark for brainstorming sessions over Zoom

Hi @Krista Thompson - Yes, LucidSpark is a much more nimble and, in some ways, user-friendly tool than LucidChart. LucidSpark is designed to do a better job managing multiple users participating ...

See all answers

Do you recommend Lucidchart?

I definitely recommend Lucidchart. I feel it is one of the top visual collaboration platforms that’s available on the market. Out of all the solutions I have tried, it is by far the best for diagra...

See all answers

What do you like most about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

The stability has been good and satisfactory. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

One of the reasons many public sector institutions in the Czech Republic use it is that it provides a very good price-performance ratio. While it might be cumbersome to learn, it still delivers exc...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 16% of the time

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Bizagi vs Lucidchart

Compared 8% of the time

Visual Paradigm vs Lucidchart

Compared 8% of the time

erwin Data Modeler vs Lucidchart

Compared 7% of the time

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Visual Paradigm vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 14% of the time

Visio vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 10% of the time

No Magic MagicDraw vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 9% of the time

LeanIX vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 8% of the time

SAP PowerDesigner vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Lucidchart

August 2025

Download Lucidchart product report

Buyer's Guide

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

July 2025

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect report

Download Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect product report

Overview

Our online diagram application makes it easy to sketch and share professional flowchart diagrams. From brainstorming to project management, we support all of your communication needs. That’s why millions of users choose Lucidchart.

Lucid Software

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is an enterprise solution that helps streamline, accelerate, and integrate software, system, and business development. With this intuitive modeling and design solution, enterprises can stay in control of their workplaces, enable collaboration, support their teams and colleagues, and manage complex projects. Software architects, business analysts, project managers, developers, support staff, and testers can unite under a single repository. Through numerous view points and potential sub-systems, users are offered a unified view in a complex environment.

With Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, users are also offered a shared model option which can be accessed quickly and securely by in-office and remote team members through the Enterprise Architect’s Pro Cloud Server. Building a coherent, verifiable model can be done by connecting and integrating a variety of behavioral and structural information in visual form. As a result, Enterprise Architect offers high performance, flexibility, and the ability to model, manage, and trace every stage of the business development and modeling process.

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect Features

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect assists in creating a unified and accessible vision in business development by offering a flexible platform with a unique set of rich features. These features include:

Test and debug - Streamline software development and visualize software with the simulation process. Users can test and confirm correct behavior, set and oversee test points, and debug and examine software.

Track tasks - Track, prioritize, and assign individual and group tasks to assist in the model’s development. Users can visually monitor their progress through the Gantt chart.

Open standards - Users can visualize and analyze running software with integrated custom tools. They can also run advanced simulations, team-based repositories, testing tools, and version control. In addition, the solution supports enterprise architecture frameworks such as UPDM and TOGAF.

Simulation - Create and debug embedded solutions by simulating behaviors and state models. Users can specify events, triggers, constraints, and more. Users can also specify extensive and complex structural systems and create custom domain-specific solutions.

Reviews from Real Users

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect merges high-end tools, online availability, a dedication to open standards, and accessible pricing so enterprises can stay in control of their workplaces, whether remote or in-office. Users particularly like the architectural frameworks and the scalability.

Marc L., a principal architecture enterprise solution adviser at Cronomagic Canada, notes, "The product offers very good support for all mainstream modeling notations and architectural frameworks."

An enterprise architect at a manufacturing company writes, "Scalable solution for modeling, project sharing, and collaboration. Support for it is good."

Sparx Systems

Sample Customers

Google, Salesforce, Adobe, Whirlpool, Uber, Wal Mart, Pearson, Twitch, Riot Games, Western Union, Trimble, Starbucks

OmniLink

We monitor all Mind Mapping Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.