Sparx EA Licensing Guide: User Types, Concurrent vs Named, Team Sizing
Sparx EA has three main client editions — Professional, Corporate, and Ultimate — plus separate licences for Pro Cloud Server, EA GraphLink, and Kernaro. Licences are either Named (assigned to one person) or Concurrent (a shared pool drawn from as users connect). Most enterprise teams use Concurrent licences because they allow a larger user population to share a smaller pool of active connections. Sparx Systems sells all licences directly — Sparx Services does not sell licences. What Sparx Services does is calculate the bill of materials your deployment requires and advise on your purchase. This guide explains what each licence type covers, how to calculate how many you need, and what to budget for the full stack.
Key Takeaways
- Three EA client editions: Professional, Corporate, Ultimate — each adds capability
- Named licences are assigned to one person; Concurrent licences are a shared pool
- Concurrent licences are typically more economical for enterprise teams where not all users are active simultaneously
- Pro Cloud Server requires separate licences from EA client licences
- EA GraphLink and Kernaro are purchased via Sparx Systems — Sparx Services provides the bill of materials
- Sparx Services does not sell licences; clients purchase direct from Sparx Systems
Sparx EA Client Editions
Professional Edition
Professional is the entry-level Sparx EA edition and covers the core modelling capability most architects need: UML, ArchiMate 3.0 (via MDG), BPMN, SysML, entity relationship diagrams, and database modelling. Professional includes the Sparx EA client, the standard MDG profiles, and basic report generation.
Who it suits: Individual architects and small teams who need strong modelling capability without enterprise integration features.
What it lacks: Model comparison and merge (important for team workflows), team review and version management features, and some of the advanced scripting and code engineering capabilities in higher editions.
Corporate Edition
Corporate adds the collaboration and governance features that matter for enterprise EA practice. Key additions over Professional include: baseline and compare (model version comparison), project transfer, advanced security, team library, and enhanced import/export capability.
Who it suits: EA teams doing serious governance work — model review, baseline management, and multi-architect collaboration on the same domain.
Most common choice for enterprise EA practices building a structured architecture discipline.
Ultimate Edition
Ultimate adds simulation, executable model support, advanced systems engineering (SysML, UPDM), and the full scope of Sparx EA’s technical capability including advanced scripting, MDG Technology author tools, and the requirements management extensions.
Who it suits: Enterprise architecture practices operating at the intersection of EA and systems engineering, defence and complex systems organisations, or teams doing formal model-based systems engineering (MBSE) alongside traditional EA.
Note on MDG Technology authoring: Creating custom MDG Technology profiles (for bespoke metamodels or domain-specific notations) requires Ultimate Edition. If your practice plans to develop custom MDG profiles — common in regulated industries or where Kernaro’s metamodel extensions are in use — Ultimate Edition for the architects doing that work is necessary.
Named vs Concurrent Licences
Named Licences
A Named licence is assigned to a specific individual. That person is the only user of that licence. Named licences are simple to administer — one licence, one user, always available to that user regardless of how many other people are connected.
Best for: Architects who use Sparx EA as their primary tool every working day, where maximum availability is the priority and no sharing is needed.
Downside: If you purchase 10 Named licences for 10 architects, all 10 licence slots are consumed even when only 3 architects are actively working. You are paying for peak capacity at all times.
Concurrent Licences
A Concurrent (floating) licence is part of a shared pool. When an architect opens Sparx EA and connects to the repository, they draw a licence from the pool. When they close the application, the licence returns to the pool. The number of Concurrent licences you purchase is the maximum number of architects who can use Sparx EA simultaneously — not the total number of people in the system.
How the pool works in practice: If you have 20 architects who use Sparx EA but peak simultaneous usage is typically 12, a pool of 14 Concurrent licences (with a small buffer) covers your practice at lower cost than 20 Named licences.
Administered via: Pro Cloud Server manages the Concurrent licence pool. PCS checks licences in and out as architects connect and disconnect. This is one of the reasons PCS is required for Concurrent licence deployments.
Best for: Enterprise teams where not all architects are active simultaneously — which is most enterprise EA teams. Concurrent licences are the standard choice for teams of 10 or more.
How Many Licences Do You Need?
EA Client Licences
The rule of thumb for Concurrent licence sizing:
| Team Size (Total EA Practitioners) | Recommended Concurrent Pool |
|---|---|
| 5–10 architects | 60–70% of total (e.g., 6–7 for a team of 10) |
| 10–25 architects | 50–60% of total (e.g., 12–15 for a team of 25) |
| 25–50 architects | 40–50% of total (e.g., 15–25 for a team of 50) |
| 50+ architects | Requires usage analysis — Sparx Services can advise |
These are rules of thumb. Actual simultaneous usage depends on working patterns, time zones (distributed teams across time zones have lower simultaneous peaks), and whether part-time EA contributors are included in the count.
For Named licences: the count is simply the number of individuals who need access. No pooling calculation is required.
Occasional Access
Business stakeholders, programme managers, and reviewers who need occasional read-only access to the repository do not require EA client licences if they use WebEA (the browser-based interface included with Pro Cloud Server). WebEA access is covered by the PCS licence, not by individual EA client licences.
Pro Cloud Server Licences
PCS licences are purchased separately from EA client licences. They cover the right to operate the Pro Cloud Server software and are based on:
- PCS edition: PCS has its own tiering (Floating, Token, etc.) with different capability levels
- Number of models/repositories hosted: PCS licences may define the number of concurrent repository connections it will serve
PCS licences do not replace EA client licences — both are required. EA client licences are what architects use to access Sparx EA. PCS licences are what entitle your organisation to run the PCS server that brokers those connections.
Sparx Services calculates the PCS licence requirement as part of the Deploy bill of materials, based on the planned concurrent user count and repository architecture.
EA GraphLink Licensing
EA GraphLink — Sparx Services’ AI and BI connectivity layer — is purchased separately. EA GraphLink licences are priced based on the deployment model (cloud, on-premise) and the scale of connectivity required.
Sparx Services manages the EA GraphLink licence calculation as part of Deploy scoping. Because EA GraphLink is a Sparx Services product, we advise on the licence structure and configuration. The purchase is handled through Sparx Systems via Sparx Services.
Kernaro Licensing
Kernaro (AI Hub and Kernaro Assist) provides the AI augmentation layer for Sparx EA — including the stakeholder communication layer and AI-assisted architecture querying. Kernaro licensing is sold through Sparx Systems and is scoped based on the number of users requiring AI access.
Two Kernaro products are relevant for most deployments:
Kernaro AI Hub — the core AI connectivity and orchestration layer. Connects the EA repository to AI models and enables MCP-based AI agent integration.
Kernaro Assist — the natural-language architecture querying interface. Allows architects and stakeholders to ask questions of the repository in plain language and receive structured answers from the underlying model.
Sparx Services includes Kernaro licence sizing as part of the Deploy bill of materials where Kernaro is in scope.
Building the Full Licence Bill of Materials
A complete licence bill of materials for a typical enterprise EA deployment includes:
- Sparx EA client licences — edition (Professional / Corporate / Ultimate) and count (Named or Concurrent pool size)
- Pro Cloud Server licence — edition and concurrent connection capacity
- EA GraphLink licence — if AI/BI connectivity is in scope
- Kernaro AI Hub — if AI orchestration is in scope
- Kernaro Assist — if natural-language querying is in scope
Sparx Services produces this bill of materials as part of the Deploy engagement scoping process. The bill of materials is provided as a recommendation document — your organisation purchases directly from Sparx Systems, referencing the BOM.
Sparx Services does not receive commissions or margin on licence sales. Our interest is in your deployment being correctly licensed so the EA practice functions as intended.
FAQ
What is the difference between Sparx EA Corporate and Ultimate editions? Corporate adds collaboration and governance features over Professional — baseline management, model comparison, advanced security, and team library. Ultimate adds simulation, advanced systems engineering (SysML, UPDM), and MDG Technology authoring capability. For most enterprise EA practices focused on ArchiMate-based architecture governance, Corporate is the right edition. Ultimate is needed when the practice includes MBSE, custom MDG profile development, or formal simulation.
Can we mix Named and Concurrent licences in the same deployment? Yes. A common configuration is Named licences for lead architects and frequent users (who need guaranteed availability) and Concurrent licences for a wider pool of occasional users and contributors. PCS manages both licence types simultaneously. Sparx Services can advise on the right mix for your team’s usage patterns.
What happens when the Concurrent licence pool is fully occupied? When all Concurrent licences are in use, additional architects who attempt to connect will receive an error indicating that no licences are available. They can wait and retry when a licence is returned. This is why the pool should be sized with an appropriate buffer above the typical simultaneous peak — not sized exactly at the average.
Does every person who views architecture in WebEA need a Sparx EA licence? No. WebEA provides read-only browser access to repository content and is included in the PCS licence. Business stakeholders, reviewers, and programme managers who only need to view diagrams and read documentation in WebEA do not require EA client licences. Only architects who create, edit, or manage repository content in the Sparx EA client need client licences.
How much do Sparx EA licences cost? Sparx Systems publishes pricing on their website, and pricing varies by edition, licence type, volume, and region. We recommend checking current pricing directly with Sparx Systems or requesting a quote. As a rule of thumb: budget meaningfully per architect per year when factoring licence cost into your EA practice investment. EA GraphLink and Kernaro add to this base cost.
How does Sparx Services help with licensing if you don’t sell licences? Sparx Services’ role is to calculate what you need, not to process the transaction. In a Deploy engagement, we document the complete bill of materials — EA client licences, PCS licences, EA GraphLink, and Kernaro — with the specific edition, quantity, and licence type for each component. Your organisation takes that BOM to Sparx Systems to purchase. This removes the risk of under-licensing (which causes access problems) or over-licensing (which wastes budget).
Need Help Calculating Your Sparx EA Licence Requirements?
Sparx Services Deploy includes a complete licence bill of materials as part of the engagement scoping. We calculate exactly what you need — EA client licences, PCS, EA GraphLink, and Kernaro — and you purchase direct from Sparx Systems with confidence.
