Archi vs Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect
Zero of fourteen models named Archi first on the direct prompt; one named Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect. Archi was named by eleven of the fourteen models and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect by thirteen and Archi carries 14 labels and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect 29, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Archi
accepted challengerNamed in one category this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the enterprise architecture tools page.
By framing
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Archi and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect were named in the same answer twenty-four times, of the 55 answers naming Archi and the 77 naming Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect. In those answers Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect took the first choice four times and Archi twelve.
Every model, every framing
| Model | DirectAR | ParaphraseAR | ComparativeAR | Budget-constrainedAR | Scale-constrainedAR | NegativeAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | AR | | AR | | ||
| GPT-5.4 mini | ||||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | AR | | |||
| Perplexity Sonar | | AR | ||||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | AR | | |||
| Mistral Small | | | ||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | AR | | ||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | AR | ||||
| Kimi K2 | | | AR | |||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | AR | |||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | |||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | AR | ||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | AR |
Sparx Systems Enterprise ArchitectAR first choiceAR named as an alternativeAR argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Archi on the left and Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect on the right.The direct prompt
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect first, Archi not the choice
1 of 14 modelsArchi was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Neither was the first choice, one was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Neither was named
7 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect14%#2 of 12Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect5%#5 of 10Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect2%#9 of 11What the models said about Archi
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“For the most budget-conscious approach, Archi is an excellent starting point due to its simplicity, active community, and zero cost.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · budget prompt · first choice
“If your budget is truly limited, Archi (the free, open‑source ArchiMate editor) is still the best starting point for most companies.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · budget prompt · first choice
“If you need absolutely no cost and can work desktop-based, Archi is the standard starting point.” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Highest Caution/Steepest Learning Curve ... Frequently cited as one of the most problematic” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · hard negative
“Avoid: - Sparx Enterprise Architect if you need business-friendly EA” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“The learning curve is steep with nested menus and features hidden in dialogs... Users report outdated design, poor UI, difficulty understanding and finding required tools, and performance issues” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“It maintains a dominant 18% market share in the defense and aerospace sectors and remains the most cost-effective solution for large-scale deployments” Claude Haiku 4.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
“Choose Sparx EA when you need deep, standards-based architecture modeling, full control of the repository, and the lowest cost at scale” Muse Glimmer 30B · comparative prompt · first choice
“If you want a powerful, cost-effective, on-premise tool with deep modeling, choose Sparx Enterprise Architect.” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.