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Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs TIBCO Nimbus Control 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

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Business Process Design
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (2nd)
TIBCO Nimbus Control
Ranking in Business Process Design
22nd
Average Rating
5.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 10.5%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TIBCO Nimbus Control is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Milan Sterba - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
CW
It is overly complicated. It tends to get more engagement from people across the business.
Capturing business processes so they can be used as an operating manual for the business or a quality management system I have used it with clients. It helps them find information when they need to know how to do their jobs effectively. The process mapping approach is ideal for understanding how…

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 of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is the value streams."
"It is an EA tool that is approved by Open Group. It is in the tool register of Open Group."
"The solution saved a lot of time, about 30%."
"It is a handy tool for visual modeling that provides opportunities for analysis, design, and support of models using ArchiMate, UML."
"The solution is easy to use, supports SysML and UML, and is able to connect to MATLAB. This is very important for us."
"This is a useful tool for IT people who need to design their solution architecture."
"Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect was easy to set up and it took just twenty minutes."
"Features good reporting facilities coupled with a concrete database."
"It tends to get more engagement from people across the business."
"It helps clients find information when they need to know how to do their jobs effectively."
 

Cons

"The documentation could be better. Where I work, we speak French and we don't speak English, so we don't have anything in French. It's perfect in English, but we need something in French."
"This solution has some limitations from a business perspective."
"When many users are accessing the system at the same time, Sparx slows down. It can't easily support a large team."
"Its usability needs to be improved. For non-technical users, it is a little difficult to understand how Enterprise Architect works. Users who are not engineers find it difficult to understand how this tool works. This is something they need to work on. They can develop a BPM model to simulate processes."
"They should make the Save button easier to find. A simplified user interface for a lighter user would probably be useful. I am not sure if such an interface is already there."
"When the model is large, it is a bit slow to render."
"The user interface is not so good. It's not easy for someone to use it at first. The product takes some getting used to."
"I would like it to be less of a general tool. Currently, it is not a Swiss army knife that can do everything. It is not specialized for our purposes. We are a civil engineering company. We build things. We work mostly in what is known as Infra world in the Netherlands, which comprises objects such as bridges, locks, and water management. We would like to see more focus on such types of projects. It would be nice if it has more specializations. At the moment, it is very generic, and you have to create everything yourself. Our focus is more on user requirement management, which is currently very basic. I would like to see a lot more functionality in this area. Its basic functions for adding user requirements are perfect, but we need more features. Currently, it has limited possibilities for our requirements. I would also like to see better contract management and have it managed in a certain way."
"This product could probably do with less features rather than more. It is overly complicated. In recent releases, it has become harder to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of cost, Sparx EA is probably one of the cheapest tools I have ever used."
"The pricing for ultimate version is steeply high."
"It is very economical and low cost. You have to pay for a one-time license, and it is active forever."
"It’s the best deal in town, by far."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"It's reasonably priced for large organizations."
"Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is priced well. The price we pay is approximately $20 per month. Other solutions I have found to be much more expensive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Educational Organization
12%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
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Also Known As

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Nimbus Control
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

OmniLink
Air France-KLM, Airbus Helicopters, Alestra, Allianz Ireland, Ausgrid, Avantium, Bank of Montreal, Barclaycard, BNL, BVC (Columbia Stock Exchange), Cameron, Child Support Agency
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Camunda, SAP and others in Business Process Design. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.