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Lucidchart vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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

Lucidchart
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Mind Mapping Software (1st), Visual Collaboration Platforms (3rd)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (5th), Business Process Design (8th)
 

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 21.0%, down 24.7% compared to last year.
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, on the other hand, focuses on Enterprise Architecture Management, holds 8.7% mindshare, down 11.3% since last year.
Mind Mapping Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Lucidchart21.0%
Visio17.7%
Xmind13.4%
Other47.9%
Mind Mapping Software
Enterprise Architecture Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect8.7%
SAP PowerDesigner9.0%
erwin Data Modeler8.7%
Other73.6%
Enterprise Architecture Management
 

Featured Reviews

AlexMartin1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at Nestlé
Visual collaboration has improved remote workflows and supports faster shared decisions
The best features Lucidchart offers are that it diagrams processes very well. It allows for project management to help with client timelines. It is also easy to use and create diagrams, especially mermaid diagrams. Collaborating is easy. Out of all those features, collaboration stands out to me the most because it is easy to share with team members to do joint design work. Lucidchart has positively impacted my organization by improving productivity and collaboration. In terms of specifics, collaboration helps us come to conclusions. I notice better throughput as it is easy to use. Improved productivity allows us to express ourselves more quickly.
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

"Lucidchart has positively impacted our organization by enabling us to identify process bottlenecks and architecture issues earlier, which improves our project outcomes and reduces network load."
"Lucidchart is a free application and it is very helpful for documenting processes and workflows."
"Previously, we used to create something in a PowerPoint or Keynote file, but they were just not as collaborative, dynamic, and adaptable as Lucidchart."
"The real-time collaboration among users, so that everyone is accessing and working on the same version of a document, has made it more efficient for multiple users within our organization to review the same mock-up or wireframes simultaneously, and comment on them to enhance or improve them."
"The interface is really good and it is very easy to use."
"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."
"In terms of return on investment with Lucidchart, I would say I have saved time."
"The best features Lucidchart offers are that it is easy to use, the diagrams created are of good quality, and there are a lot of elements available."
"We use it to develop and maintain the Enterprise Conceptual Model, migrated from erwin a couple of years ago."
"It is an EA tool that is approved by Open Group. It is in the tool register of Open Group."
"The ribbon style editor coupled with capability to manage requirements, design and delivery in the same application simplified my life tremendously."
"Depending on what items enter in the computation of ‘return’ the ROI can be estimated from high to very high, with productivity gains measured in either shorter lifecycles or headcounts of personnel required to build effective models."
"The TOGAF ADM model is most valuable, and it is also very cheap as compared to other options in the market."
"The UML modeling, Use Case Modeling, ability to import custom graphics and map to UML objects, document templates and generation."
"It's easy to search within the solution."
"Sparx offers good flexibility."
 

Cons

"Perhaps it already exists, but if there were software to install the solution on a Mac, that would be helpful. I see that it's not in the App Store, so that's something that could be improved."
"When I was using the free version last summer, I don’t remember there being an option to change the look of the arrow."
"It would be nice to have more features that help me visually present information. Since I use it as a canvas, my use case for it is probably very specific. I use it as a way to present information to people visually on a large mind map. So, it would be nice to be able to have more graphical things to clean it up, like a header, banners, or something to help draw attention to certain areas. I would also like more infographic-like features, because I am kind of limited to float chart shapes. This makes the solution a little cumbersome."
"This might already be a feature, but I remember sometimes when we're just all viewing, if you accidentally click, then there's an arrow that pops up, and you have to go back and delete it. A lot of times there are accidental arrows being drawn when really we're just trying to present to each other."
"I would like to have more text boxes to write more comments so I can write a small note below a picture. I would like some flexibility."
"I wish there were a lot more automations. For instance, if I'm using a project management software to list out all my WBS [work breakdown structure] I wish Lucidchart had the functionality where it would take all the numbering and generate a tree diagram. Something like that would help so much, but right now it's still a manual task..."
"Lucid should create some proper documentation and video tutorials to demonstrate the capabilities of the product to new users. It should explain everything that it offers and everything that it can be used for."
"Lucidchart can be improved as it has some limited free plans with certain features unavailable in the free tier."
"The tool is, to some extent, clumsy and in some areas slow (especially on mid or low-performance workstations)."
"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."
"The modeling tool is targeted toward a sophisticated user."
"MS Office integration works only with local .eap repository files, not with our Postgres repository. Half a year ago they promised to fix this bug, but still no improvement."
"Stability is sometimes an issue when it comes up with synchronization errors and does not give any specific message as to the reason behind it."
"My organization didn’t manage to take advantage. It needs a ‘critical mass’ of users and understanding to generate benefit, but here we failed."
"UML analysis needs to improved."
"It would be nice to have it supported on the Linux operating system."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a nominal charge for the paid version of the product. They have a free version available and from what I could see, there was not much difference between it and the pro version."
"At €167 per user per year, the pricing is slightly higher than Visio, but it's worth it."
"I pay $95 a year for it. It seems like a reasonable price."
"The price and licensing are good."
"The pricing is very reasonable, and they have a free trial available that you can play with."
"The price was low enough to make me think that it was fine, I'll go for it. I think it's $80 or so. It's not too expensive."
"The price of this product is a little bit high. It is probably 20% higher than what I expected to pay for such a solution."
"I was using the free version of Lucidchart, which was very helpful."
"They have the price on their site for the enterprise version, and we do receive a small discount."
"The Corporate Edition, or one of the bundles, is the way to go."
"Pricing and licensing is very attractive, simple, and straightforward."
"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."
"There is no license required for this solution."
"In terms of cost, Sparx EA is probably one of the cheapest tools I have ever used."
"Use floating licenses strategically."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise29
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business39
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise58
 

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 ...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lucidchart?
It is cloud-based, so no setup is required. Currently, we are using a free plan.
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 ...
What is your primary use case for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
We are mostly using the ArchiMate language to describe enterprise or solution architecture, along with a bit of use cases. We are producing quite large models, with over 10,000 elements and relatio...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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