# Enterprise architecture tools: what AI models recommend, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "enterprise architecture tool" and as "application portfolio management tool", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Added to the October 2026 Edition on October 4, 2026; its answers are read by the distilled judge (ai-indexes-judge-qwen3-14b-run3), not the claude-opus-5 judge of the earlier categories. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/operations/enterprise-architecture-tools/

**Standing:** SAP LeanIX leads with 25% of first choices; verdict contested. 57 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| # | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SAP LeanIX | 25% | 15% | 33 |
| 2 | Ardoq | 18% | 15% | 47 |
| 3 | LeanIX | 16% | 25% | 20 |
| 4 | Archi | 11% | 0% | 14 |
| 5 | Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect | 5% | 17% | 29 |
| 6 | Bizzdesign Horizzon | 2% | 21% | 29 |
| 7 | Avolution ABACUS | 0% | 0% | 12 |
| 8 | OrbusInfinity | 0% | 0% | 10 |
| 9 | MEGA HOPEX | 0% | 42% | 12 |
| 10 | Sparx Enterprise Architect | 0% | 54% | 13 |

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Ardoq, LeanIX; alternatives Archi, Bizzdesign Horizzon
- GPT-5.4 mini: SAP LeanIX; alternatives Bizzdesign Horizzon, Orbus Software, Sparx Systems
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: SAP LeanIX; alternatives Ardoq, Orbus Software, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect
- Perplexity Sonar: LeanIX; alternatives Ardoq, Sparx Enterprise Architect
- Grok 4.1 Fast: SAP LeanIX; alternatives Ardoq, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect
- Mistral Small: Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect; alternatives Ardoq, iServer365
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: SAP LeanIX; alternatives Ardoq, Bizzdesign Horizzon, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect
- Llama 4 Maverick: Sparx
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: LeanIX; alternatives Ardoq, Bizzdesign Horizzon, Sparx Systems
- Kimi K2: SAP LeanIX; alternatives Ardoq, Avolution ABACUS, Bizzdesign Enterprise Studio, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: SAP LeanIX; alternatives Ardoq, Bizzdesign Horizzon, Sparx Enterprise Architect
- MiniMax M2.5: Ardoq, SAP LeanIX; alternatives Essential Cloud, Sparx Enterprise Architect
- GPT-6 Luna: SAP LeanIX; alternatives Ardoq, OrbusInfinity
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Ardoq; alternatives Bizzdesign Horizzon, SAP LeanIX, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

## Sources the answers cite

76 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- superblocks.com: 36 answers, 36 citations
- erstudio.com: 35 answers, 35 citations
- ardoq.com: 34 answers, 41 citations
- gartner.com: 28 answers, 35 citations
- cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com: 28 answers, 28 citations
- leanix.net: 27 answers, 37 citations
- ciopages.com: 27 answers, 27 citations
- itechguides.com: 25 answers, 28 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://superblocks.com/blog/enterprise-architecture-tools (36 answers)
- https://erstudio.com/blog/enterprise-architecture-tools (35 answers)
- https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/tools/10-best-enterprise-arch/131705694 (28 answers)
- https://ciopages.com/buyer-guides/enterprise-architecture-tool (27 answers)
- https://capstera.com/knowledge-hub/articles/enterprise-architecture-tools-guide (23 answers)
- https://catio.tech/blog/enterprise-architecture-tools (23 answers)
- https://thectoclub.com/tools/best-enterprise-architecture-software (21 answers)
- https://ardoq.com/knowledge-hub/enterprise-architecture-tool (20 answers)
- https://gartner.com/reviews/market/enterprise-architecture-tools (20 answers)
- https://research.oz.spotlightar.com/reports/magic-quadrant-enterprise-architecture-tools-2024/leaders (20 answers)

## Warned against

- Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect: 5 of 29 labels negative. "Highest Caution/Steepest Learning Curve ... Frequently cited as one of the most problematic" (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt)
- Ardoq: 7 of 47 labels negative. "Avoid high-end tools like LeanIX, Bizzdesign, or Ardoq" (Grok 4.1 Fast, budget prompt)
- Sparx Enterprise Architect: 7 of 13 labels negative. "On‑premise, decade‑old EA suites (e.g., older versions of Sparx Enterprise Architect, early‑era ER/Studio, legacy IBM Rational tools)" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- Excel: 4 of 4 labels negative. "stitch together an internal "repository" using Excel, SharePoint lists, and Power BI ... avoid building a manual repository" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.