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SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect 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

SAP Enterprise Architecture...
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
22nd
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Enterprise Architecture Management
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Design (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Enterprise Architecture Management category, the mindshare of SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer is 1.5%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 8.2%, down from 14.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Architecture Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect8.2%
SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer1.5%
Other90.3%
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

Artur Chyziewicz - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Owner at Edusolution s.c.
Great training available with traceability a key feature
I use this solution to model enterprise software architecture. We are customers of SAP and an educational organization in Poland.  Traceability is a fantastic feature.  They should upgrade the algorithm. The solution currently has an old algorithm and there are now free tools on the market that…
Milan Sterba - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Traceability is a fantastic feature."
"Traceability is a fantastic feature."
"For the most part, we find that it is remarkable how inexpensive it is."
"It's a very practical solution; you don't need to do an advanced course to start using this tool and it offers great intricacy so you can really do many kinds of models."
"It supports multiple modeling languages like ArchiMate for database design, software lifecycle visualization, and team management."
"It is a very rich tool in terms of the functionality, and the types of diagrams, that you can create in this tool."
"The business process management of Sparx is valuable."
"Support for different modeling standards in one package allows to have one tool for many roles."
"Modelling and project-actual-state document generation is, as always, the most critical need of every project, and due to the presenting concept and impact analysis, this is a good tool."
"The features I find most valuable is the ability to create a document and then put it into a OneCare artifact."
 

Cons

"The solution currently has an old algorithm and there are now free tools on the market that offer better options for drawing algorithms."
"The algorithm is outdated and should be upgraded."
"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."
"For data modeling, it is not very mature when comparing with other data modeling tools."
"Look and feel."
"There were scalability issues. The HTML generation with very large models, over 4000 diagrams, can be problematic."
"For data modeling, it is not very mature when comparing with other data modeling tools."
"The UI is a little bit outdated. It should be more fresh and clean."
"Sparx EA has limited visualization capabilities compared to leaders in this segment."
"The only stability concern I encountered was it not recognising that my laptop has limited resources especially as diagram complexity increases."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The license for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is paid yearly, but I don't handle that area. It's good for its price, so I'm rating it a five out of five, but I'm not using it much. I also don't have information regarding additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees."
"We have an annual license, and it's very affordable."
"The licensing is not as expensive as some of the other data modeling tools such as Erwin."
"They have the price on their site for the enterprise version, and we do receive a small discount."
"The license I use is on-premise. We haven't gone to the cloud where we have to pay monthly or something like that. Sparx is cheaper than most similar tools."
"It's affordable. The only additional cost that we haven't yet figured out is the floating license. If you buy a floating license, you have to have a license management server, which comes at an additional cost that's not discussed. So, we haven't yet used the floating license. That’s because I haven't had a chance to figure that out."
"We paid 1200 euros as a once-off cost. All add ons and integrations come at an additional cost."
"The licence has a costly upfront fee which gets you access. You have to pay an annual maintenance fee, which is less."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise58
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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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.
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...
What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
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 ...
 

Also Known As

SAP EA Designer
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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Find out what your peers are saying about Quest Software, SAP LeanIX, SAP and others in Enterprise Architecture Management. Updated: March 2026.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.