Listly by Tim Weilkiens
Vote for your favorite UML modeling tool. There is no "best UML modeling tool". The best tool for project A is another than the best tool for project B. It depends on the different requirements of the projects. This list shows not the best, but the most popular tools if you vote for them. I've added all UML modeling tools I know and a short description taken from the tool vendor web sites. Please let me know if you want to add another one. See http://www.oose.de/uml-tools for a more detailed list.
Source: http://www.oose.de/uml-tools
Visual Paradigm for UML (VP-UML) is a UML design tool and UML CASE tool designed to aid software development. VP-UML supports key industry standards such as Unified Modeling Language (UML), SysML, BPMN, XMI, etc. It offers complete toolset software development teams need for requirements capturing, software planning, test planning, class modeling, data modeling, and etc.
Web: http://www.visual-paradigm.com/product/vpuml/
MetaEdit+ enables companies to radically improve development productivity and quality by generating full code directly from models. First you design the modeling language with MetaEdit+ Workbench and then other developers model with the language in MetaEdit+ Modeler.
Web: http://www.metacase.com
A solid UML 2.4.1 core coupled with an intuitive user interface and efficient, highly scalable repository is the basis for one of the most successful UML tools ever created. 300,000 users worldwide, a vigorous user community, endorsements from major standards bodies, an affordable price point, numerous accolades and a proven record of delivering exceptional results.
12 years of continuous development have seen Enterprise Architect become the pre-eminent cost-effective model driven tool suite for a huge range of industry verticals, government bodies, standards organizations and domains.
Web: www.sparxsystems.eu
Get Free Trial A world-class diagramming platform that lets you display, communicate, and present dynamically. Powerful enough to draw everything from basic flowcharts to complex engineering schematics. Live Object technology dynamically displays linked data. Compatible with MS Visio XML files, making it the premier cross-platform diagramming solution.
Software Ideas Modeler is a lightweight and powerful tool for the creation of UML diagrams and some other diagrams. It supports all 14 types of UML diagrams, BPMN, SysML, JSD, HTA, Mixed Diagram, Data Flow Diagram, Flowchart Diagram, Robustness Diagram, Entity Relationship Diagram, Requirement Diagram, User Interface modeling, CRC Card Diagram, Concurrency Diagram, etc.
Integrated solution, from requirements and business processes right through to application development
Supports open industry standards (BPMN, UML, SysML, SoaML)
Flexible customization using DSLs and profiles
Central model server supports distributed teams
Open architecture and Java/.NET APIs
http://www.mid.de/en/products/innovator-modeling-platform.html
Astah is an exciting new way to navigate your business. Whether you are a large corporation or small start up everyday your business is changing, simple meetings and memos don’t cut it anymore. Collaboration is a constant, and with a growing list of technologies that allow you to instantly communicate ideas to your team, you need a way to let your team instantly understand your ideas.
Web: http://astah.net/
UMLet is a free, open-source UML tool with a simple user interface: draw UML diagrams fast, produce sequence and activity diagrams from plain text, export diagrams to eps, pdf, jpg, svg, and clipboard, share diagrams using Eclipse, and create new, custom UML elements. UMLet runs stand-alone or as Eclipse plug-in on Windows, OS X and Linux.
Web: http://www.umlet.com
MagicDraw is the award-winning business process, architecture, software and system modeling tool with teamwork support. Designed for Business Analysts, Software Analysts, Programmers, QA Engineers, and Documentation Writers, this dynamic and versatile development tool facilitates analysis and design of Object Oriented (OO) systems and databases. It provides the industry's best code engineering mechanism (with full round-trip support for Java, C++, C#, CL (MSIL) and CORBA IDL programming languages), as well as database schema modeling, DDL generation and reverse engineering facilities.
Now Poseidon for UML is based on our Poseidon for DSLs platform. It is a great UML tool with a complete set of diagrams (class, package, use case, state, component, activity and sequence diagrams) and excellent user interface. We provide magnificent improvements in stability, scalability, performance, reliability and customization. We believe this tool has the best user interface in the industry. At the same time, it is an example of what is possible with our DSL platform. UML now is just one of the conceivable DSLs possible with the Poseidon for DSLs platform. A considerable part of the tool is generated from a handfull of models (MDSD). You, as the author of a DSL can simply change these models and by that create your own DSL modeling tool that shares the same user interface and performance characteristics as Poseidon for UML 8.0. Read on for our guiding principles.
Web: http://www.gentleware.com/new-poseidon-for-uml-8-0.htm
Metamill is a solid, simple and powerful UML 2.3 modeling software, perfect for creative visual design and advanced code engineering
Web: http://www.metamill.com
IBM Rational Rhapsody Designer for Systems Engineers is a model-based systems engineering (MBSE) environment using the industry-standard Systems Modeling Language (SysML) and Unified Modeling Language (UML)
ArgoUML is the leading open source UML modeling tool and includes support for all standard UML 1.4 diagrams. It runs on any Java platform and is available in ten languages.
Web: http://argouml.tigris.org
The Modelio environment provides integrated support for all the latest major modeling or methodology standards. With their easy and practical extension mechanisms, open source codebase, and support for teamwork, Modeliosoft Solutions are the toolkit of choice for enterprise modeling.
Web: http://www.modeliosoft.com/
Model-driven development with objectiF and UML means a quicker start for your entire team compliance with your architecture standards Choose from specialized editions for NET-Development in C#, Development in Java and Development in C#, C++ and Java.
Web: http://www.microtool.de/en/objectif-model-driven-development/
Papyrus provides an Eclipse-based, integrated, and user-consumable environment for editing UML and related modeling languages such as SysML and MARTE (and other EMF-based languages). Papyrus provides diagram editors for UML 2, SysML, and others, and the glue required for integrating these editors with other MBD and MDSD tools.
SAP Sybase PowerDesigner is the industry-leading business process / data modeling software and metadata management solution for data architecture, information architecture and enterprise architecture.
Web: http://www.mypowerdesigner.com/
UML Lab offers software developers a complete and reliable adjustment of source code and diagrams. For the first time, software architects and developers can make use of the benefits of both worlds: fully flexible modeling and programming.
Web: http://www.uml-lab.com/
UML Designer is the easiest UML2 tool to make nice-looking diagrams. It's integrated into Eclipse, opensource, and supports all the diagrams of UML2 standard.
As it is based on Sirius, it provides an easy way to combine UML with domain specific modelling. You can extend the provided diagram definitions and seamlessly work on both UML and DSL models at the same time.
Native Delphi and C# Visual modeling and Refactoring tool based on UML™ 2 technology.
Delphi 4-7, 2007-2010 and XE-XE3 and Visual Studio 2003-2012 integration.
Instant Code generation. Reverse engineering (code import) and instant visualization.
Design and restructure code. Deploy design patterns and apply Built-in Refactorings.
Web: http://www.modelmakertools.com
StarUML is an open source project to develop a fast, flexible, extensible, full-featured, and freely-available UML 2.0/MDA platform running on the Win32 platform. The goal of the StarUML project is building a software modeling tool and platform that's a compelling replacement for commercial UML tools, such as Rational Rose, Together, and so on.
MDA (Model Driven Architecture) is a new technology introduced by the Object Management Group (OMG). To get the advantages of MDA, a software modeling tool should support many customization variables. StarUML supports MDA, and provides numerous customization variables.
Altova UModel® 2013 is the starting point for successful software development. Visually design application models in UML and generate Java, C#, or Visual Basic .NET code and project documentation. Or, reverse engineer existing programs into UML 2 diagrams, then fine tune your designs and complete the round trip by regenerating code. UModel is the UML tool that makes visual software design practical for any project.
Web: http://www.altova.com/umodel.html
AnyLogic is the only simulation tool that supports all the most common simulation methodologies in place today: System Dynamics, Process-centric (AKA Discrete Event), and Agent Basedmodeling.
Web: http://www.anylogic.com
EclipseUML architecture is composed of a live MOF to UML synchronization. Traditional UML Eclipse tools require 4 different stages which add unnecessary complexity. A sophisticated UMLproject developed with EclipseUML requires only a few hours before being able to produce advanced Java code, whereas over 3 months would be needed to produce beginner level java code using Eclipse modeling set of open source plugins. The new revolutionary Omondo architecture is built on the top of MOF and uses Ecore as opposed to traditional tools which use transformation layers.
Web: http://www.ejb3.org/
Real Time Developer Studio is based on recognized international standards and combines them to provide a consistent and flawless solution dedicated to real time and embedded systems.
Web: http://www.pragmadev.com/product/modeling.html
Tim is a member of the executive board of the German consulting company oose, an MBSE coach, and an active member of the OMG and INCOSE community. He has written sections of the initial SysML specification and is still active in the ongoing work on SysML v1 and SysML v2.
As a coach, he has advised a lot of companies in different domains. His insights into their challenges are one source of his experience that he shares.