IBM SPSS Statistics Reviews

IBM SPSS Statistics

4.5 (639)
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Business intelligence and statistical analysis software

Overall rating

4.5 /5
(639)
Value for Money
4.2/5
Features
4.5/5
Ease of Use
4.0/5
Customer Support
4.1/5
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639 Reviews

Arpine
Arpine
Overall rating
  • Industry: Telecommunications
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Data management and analysis software for newbies and for professionals

Reviewed on 2020/03/18

I have started to use SPSS when I was a student, now I have 10+ years of experience using it....

I have started to use SPSS when I was a student, now I have 10+ years of experience using it. Thanks to its user-friendly interface it is quite easy for the newbies to get started with the software, and after a while be proficient to use the syntax and optimize the time when managing databases and running analysis.

Pros

The software has almost all the tools the analyst or database manager needs to have. The newer versions also support Armenian characters, which is a huge improvement of the database quality, there is no need any more to transcribe tons of questions and responses.
Also, there are tons of tutorials with detailed explanation, also thick books for folks who prefer the old school method. When writing this review, I couldn't assess the support center, and I caught myself thinking that there are plenty of SPSS users out there and once googled some question, eventually many reviews pop up. That is why I have never contacted the support for help.

Cons

When working with large databases, specifically if there are multiple textual columns (non-numeric), the work of the program as well as the computer is obviously slowing down.
Another point is that the missing values should be max 3 or a range plus one value. When creating the variable and defining missing values, one should pay attention and set the values so they won't need to do the re-coding.

Mohammad
Overall rating
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

SPSS Still best statistical application.

Reviewed on 2023/02/13

The greatest application I have worked on in statistics. Indeed nothing compared.

The greatest application I have worked on in statistics. Indeed nothing compared.

Pros

It is very easy to use unlike other applications. It is very specialized in its category and you do not need much time to understand how it works.

Cons

More ideas might be required to reflect dashboards as a result of the analysis. More diagrams maybe needs to be added to the application.

Alternatives Considered

Stata

Reasons for Choosing IBM SPSS Statistics

There are always issues with downloads in Posit.

Reasons for Switching to IBM SPSS Statistics

Stata technical support is weak compared to SPSS. This is what I was told and I am happy I moved to IBM SPSS.
Verified Reviewer
Overall rating
  • Industry: Market Research
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 0.0 /10

Absolutely horrible

Reviewed on 2019/01/18

Absolutely horrible. It runs like a behemoth and can't even merge files without sitting there after...

Absolutely horrible. It runs like a behemoth and can't even merge files without sitting there after you click a button... just sits there. Doesn't tell you it's working, doesn't tell you how long it will take, doesn't give you any indication that it hasn't just frozen. And sometimes it does. I've let it sit for 30 minutes before waiting to merge a file with less than 10,000 variables. What a joke.

Pros

It's supposed to help analyze data, but you don't get to that point... they screw up the basics.

Cons

The programmers can't even get the basics right. Opening, saving, merging data seem to be like way too much for this to handle. Poorly programmed is giving them the benefit of the doubt. Completely runs like a third grader programmed it in his spare time between multiplication table flashcards.

Hilary
Overall rating
  • Industry: Veterinary
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

Analyse your dissertation data with spss

Reviewed on 2019/06/07

Hard to use, but it gets the job done, and you get your results which are reliable and well...

Hard to use, but it gets the job done, and you get your results which are reliable and well tabulated.

Pros

it helped me analyse my survey data when l was writing up my dissertation. its simpler that other statistical tools
I could import and export data easily from excel to spss
l managed to analyse descriptive data and do regressions using a YouTube tutorial.
data analysis doesn't take forever, its quick
it allowed me to edit, when doing school work one always makes errors, and with spss you can redo as many times as you need to.
for basic data interpretetion and analysis spss is the good to go

Cons

its difficult to use, alone you cant unless maybe you are a math and stats guru
sadly it doesn't copy and paste tables and charts neatly to Microsoft word, l had to type again if l wanted the analyse data to be on my word documents and that is a lot of work.

Alternatives Considered

Stata

Reasons for Switching to IBM SPSS Statistics

spss was easier to use for me compared to stata
desmond
Overall rating
  • Industry: Higher Education
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

IBM SPSS TOOL : A great statistical tool for all statisticians and scholars to have

Reviewed on 2022/07/04

Quite satisfactory

Quite satisfactory

Pros

Ease of use and simple navigable interface and great inapp tools that enhance data processing.

Cons

More complex statistical derivation of today academic needs need to be incoporated into the software. E.g KNN statistical analysis etc. Also the frequency in server crash whiles performing some statistical processes should he address

Sourav
Overall rating
  • Industry: Higher Education
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

SPSS is amazingly good for my raw data

Reviewed on 2020/01/09

I am a research scholar and i am doing my PhD. I collect data from the field and it requires...

I am a research scholar and i am doing my PhD. I collect data from the field and it requires processing. since the data is huge, it has to be manageable and understandable insights must be derived from it. SPSS does just that for me.

Pros

ability to process huge amounts of data in short time. easy to use interface.

Cons

no option to search for a specific feature or operation that i want to apply.

maria paula
Overall rating
  • Industry: Medical Practice
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

User friendly

Reviewed on 2023/05/30

I really like this plataform and even with new plataforms, I still keep using it sometimes.

I really like this plataform and even with new plataforms, I still keep using it sometimes.

Pros

It is user friendly even for who is starting to learn statistics

Cons

That you have to repeat all analysis by hand, you cannot change what you did.

Thuffail
Thuffail
Overall rating
  • Industry: Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10

Analyze your data with statistical theories

Reviewed on 2021/10/23

I used SPSS for research projects in Master of Business Administration. In the beginning data...

I used SPSS for research projects in Master of Business Administration. In the beginning data analyzing and learning the use of software was a time consuming process. I understood that this software can also used for organizational data analysis where sufficient data is available. However , the software lacks intelligence to select correct data out of the imported data therefore data cleansing is important.

Pros

Data can be easily imported to the software from data bases and Excel. Once the data is imported the graphical depiction of the data can be used to identify the behavior of data. After understanding the behavior of the data the data can be analyzed using the available statistical models. The most suitable statistical model for the data can be finalized in the process of data analysis. The software has a broad range of statistical models build on linear and regression theories and models. The software is easy to use with an unsophisticated menu driven interface. Anyone with basic mathematical knowledge can use the software for the analysis. An expert in statistics is not needed as data analyzing consists of few simple steps. However , 3- 4 weeks is needed to properly familiarize with the software. Basically four steps can be identified in using this software. First step is importing data , second step is selection of a procedure , third step is selection of a variable for data analyzing and fourth step is generating of results.

Cons

The efficiency of the software decreases when the size of data increases. Therefore, this can be a major drawback when used in the sectors such as health care. SPSS has 2 main windows one depicting data and the other depicting results. Therefore the software is too simple with limited windows. The software is very similar to excel and most of the results obtained in SPSS also can be obtained in excel by complex calculations .This is comparatively expensive compared to the similar software. The data should be cleaned before analysis in order to generate correct results.

Samuel
Samuel
Overall rating
  • Industry: Internet
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

IBM SPSS for fast analysis

Reviewed on 2024/05/23

IBM is good for academic research and analysis.

IBM is good for academic research and analysis.

Pros

Can provide accurate analysis without coding.
There are range of analysis options to choose from.
Light weight.
You can integrate python programming language with IBM SPSS.

Cons

The User Interface is not modern.
Mostly for academic research and analysis.
Cannot embed charts.
Charts are not interractive but static images.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Excel
Michael
Overall rating
  • Industry: Market Research
  • Company size: 5,001–10,000 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

SPSS for Strong Stellar Statistical Analyses that tell Stories

Reviewed on 2024/01/03

Elated with product. Began simply using it for market research and surveys but now will run...

Elated with product. Began simply using it for market research and surveys but now will run through it given its ease of use with all sorts of analyses and data.

Pros

The massiveness and extent of value it can unravel from data in processes that are "easy", intuitive, and "make sense". LOVE using product for complexly designed survey analyses - they are lots of fun

Cons

I like least that not everybody uses the software and thus miss out on these collaborative discovery sessions that leave all participants with a firmer grasp on what data story telling REALLY is

Thomas
Overall rating
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

The ultimate tool for data entry and analysis of large databases!

Reviewed on 2021/03/19

For more than 6 years now, in our missions of baseline studies, market and impact assessments of...

For more than 6 years now, in our missions of baseline studies, market and impact assessments of projects; after some missions of large-scale information collection via paper and/or digital media, we have always opted for the use of IBM SPSS software as a tool for data entry and/or analysis. It is an excellent tool for data entry because it is easy to use when setting up a data entry mask and it is also easy to use by the data entry agents. We also use it regularly for statistical analysis (PCA, AFM, Student's t test, etc.) and sometimes econometric analysis (OLS, Oprobit, Probit, Logit, etc.). Therefore, it is a very useful software for statistical, graphical and sometimes econometric analyses of large databases.

Pros

Excellent software for entering questionnaires, coding variables and analyzing primary data. Easy to use and available in several languages (including English and French). Its interface is very attractive and designed.

Cons

The software is much more suited to the analysis of survey data and performs poorly in the specification of econometric models of panel data.

Ingrid
Overall rating
  • Industry: Hospital & Health Care
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

The life saving software for data entry and analysis

Reviewed on 2020/03/16

As an epidemiologist, I work with data in the form of numbers on the daily. SPSS is very reliable...

As an epidemiologist, I work with data in the form of numbers on the daily. SPSS is very reliable and the export feature to excel is absolutely great. It generates graphs and that makes the presentation and interpretation of results easier. I was recently working on blood donation at the level of a central blood bank and SPSS was a life saver, working on a population of 2000 blood donors and being able to provide answers on the epidemiological characteristics of these blood donors in order to develop subsequent strategies for donor retention and recruitement was urgent and in the short deadline i had, SPSS was the only software which helped me reach the given ojectives. This is one out of many cases where SPSS was on point.

Pros

First of all the interface is amazing and you can easily switch from variable view to data view. This makes it easy to keep track of your work and progress and make sure the data you are entering is correct. It is incredibly easy to create a data base and insert your collected data. It is simple and user friendly. In the healthcare domain, we work with so many variables and have very large sample sizes most of the time, and being able to sort cases as well as variables makes this app a game changer compared to previous ones I have come across and used. With basic statistical knowledge it is possible for anyone to carry out statistical operations and as an epidemiologist this is perfect for me as I can analyze my data by myself and move on to interpreting the results.

Cons

I believe this software is heavy and it is always slow to start when opened, it takes quite a while and since it is one I use all the time, I have it installed on all my laptops and it always tends to be slow which can be tiresome especially when you are in a rush to carry out an operation to see the results and quickly interprete. Apart from that the software itself once opened is quick and prompt in its responses.

Mowshori
Overall rating
  • Industry: Education Management
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

IBM SPSS offers a wide range of ways to analysis data for research based project management.

Reviewed on 2022/09/18

It is highly beneficial for our research project data analysis.

It is highly beneficial for our research project data analysis.

Pros

SPSS is a powerful statistical tool with built-in functions that let researchers run a wide range of complex statistical tests for our research project. SPSS is used by researchers because their results are easy to understand. SPSS displays data tables and other information quickly and easily for our research project.
I along with my team members can use this software to access a wide range of statistical models with a lot of flexibility for our research project.

Cons

This program's graphs aren't as good as those in others. Due to its high cost, researchers in developing countries can't use SPSS.
Sometimes, compatibility problems can make things harder for the us.

Dawood
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

The best tool for obtaining accurate and reliable results for statistical analyzes

Reviewed on 2022/03/11

SPSS has helped automate the statistical analysis process, eliminated cumbersome manual calculations...

SPSS has helped automate the statistical analysis process, eliminated cumbersome manual calculations and enabled us to obtain accurate and reliable results.

Pros

SPSS is one of the best statistical analysis tools that I have dealt with, and it gives you accurate results that you can trust. SPSS provides multiple options for importing data, where I can easily import the data I want to analyze from Excel. I like the simple method in which Regression is analyzed and how the independent and dependent variables are entered. I also like how we can simply copy the results tables and send them to MS Word and Excel to complete the reports we are working on.

Cons

It's hard to find unwanted things, it's easy to use and just needs a little practice of the operations you want to perform. The availability of educational materials about all the operations that SPSS performs enables users to gain a greater understanding of the analytics they are working on.

Anthony
Anthony
Overall rating
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Powerful Data Analysis Tool

Reviewed on 2023/01/13

Overall, IBM SPSS Statistics is a solid choice for data analysis, but it's not perfect. You'll need...

Overall, IBM SPSS Statistics is a solid choice for data analysis, but it's not perfect. You'll need to weigh the pros and cons and decide if it's the right fit for you.

Pros

I found IBM SPSS Statistics to be an effective tool for analyzing data. It offers a wide range of statistical techniques and tools that allows me to delve deep into my data and uncover meaningful insights. One of the greatest advantages of this software is its user-friendly interface which makes it easy for me to access the tools and features, even as a new user of data analysis. Additionally, the visualization tools are exceptional, enabling me to create various charts and graphs that help me see patterns and trends in my data.

Cons

Now, there are a couple of downsides I least liked about it. First off, it's not exactly cheap. If you're a small organization or just a single user, you might have to fork over a decent chunk of cash to use it. And it's not the most beginner-friendly thing in the world, so you'll probably need to put in a little bit of time to learn how to use all the features. Plus, it's not open source, so that might be a deal breaker for some folks. And finally, it's not as good as R or Python for super advanced analysis.

Verified Reviewer
Overall rating
  • Industry: Research
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

SPSS for digital mental health research

Reviewed on 2018/11/22

I am the Principal Investigator of a NIMH funded study that aims to test the efficacy of digital...

I am the Principal Investigator of a NIMH funded study that aims to test the efficacy of digital platforms in delivering cognitive training software to people with psychotic illnesses. Our serves store enormous amounts of data and we leverage the processing ability of SPSS to customize multiple data analysis pipelines. I've used SPSS for almost 10 years now and I must admit that it continues to represent an indispensable tool in my research.

Pros

SPSS Is the milestone of our data analysis pipeline. The software has been increasingly more user friendly release after release, the graphical interface is more intuitive, and the customization options have improved. SPSS syntax is easy to learn, implement, and teach to students in the lab.

Cons

Some advanced statistical functions require syntax that isn't available through the menu options. I find myself sending syntax to colleagues and students in order to accelerate collaborative analytical projects

Rashid
Rashid
Overall rating
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Wonderful Analytics tool !

Reviewed on 2018/07/31

Great analytical and visualization tool!

Great analytical and visualization tool!

Pros

Extremely user friendly, you can conduct analysis with or without code, from simple linear regressions to complex neural networks can simply be done with the click of a button through the drop down media.

Useful tutorials that help newcomers to the software! This is especially helpful if you have not used the software before.

Versatility, this software can open almost any type of data file and output a myriad of files, for example you can open excel, spss files and output graphs as jpeg or png file formats.

Cons

Menus are very clunky and not visually appealing.

Some advanced metrics for analysis are not easily accessible, these include SVM, decision trees etc.

Extremely expensive! I am not sure how much a full liscence cost but it is worth the cost!

Esther
Esther
Overall rating
  • Industry: Information Services
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

Excellent Statistics Program, But Showing Its Age

Reviewed on 2019/12/22

Overall, among statistics programs, SPSS is by far the easiest to use in my experience. It offers...

Overall, among statistics programs, SPSS is by far the easiest to use in my experience. It offers an extensive set of statistical tests, can import data from multiple outside programs, and walks you through many of the set up steps for the more-advanced statistical tests. However, the interface, while easy to use, is showing its age and isn't always the most pleasant. Additionally, it will often experience freezes when importing data, to the point that the external program needs to be restarted in order to finish the import. If you can get past these relatively minor concerns, however, SPSS is for many users the best option for performing statistical tests, and its cost can be tailored to your individual needs.

Pros

Easy-to-use interface, comprehensive feature set, works with a wide variety of data sources, multiple purchase options for individualized needs

Cons

Often slows down when dealing with large datasets, has a tendency to freeze for long periods of time when importing data, not all statistical tests offered by the software are well-documented or well-designed

Alternatives Considered

SAS-STAT Software

Reasons for Switching to IBM SPSS Statistics

Better cost and subscription options
Pedro
Pedro
Overall rating
  • Industry: Research
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

The best Statistical Software for Social Sciences

Reviewed on 2019/04/29

Without this software, writing articles would be more time-consuming. Data analysis is much easier...

Without this software, writing articles would be more time-consuming. Data analysis is much easier with SPSS, even if you don't organize your database earlier.

Pros

After a quick cleanup of data with other software, SPSS can import data from multiple file types, and create any variables we desire. It's easy to make quick analysis, deep correlations, rescale variables, create regressions, everything you need to analyze data a create impact research.

Cons

A little information about the software is needed. It's very intuitive, but because it offers many tools (correlation, regression, ...), if you just need a quick analysis (median, mode, and average kind of things) it's not the simplest software. But for those who really need data analysis, it simplifies and accelerates analysis.

Dominik
Overall rating
  • Industry: Religious Institutions
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

SPSS - the standard tool for statistics

Reviewed on 2023/01/07

Pros

Anyone who deals with statistics and data analysis cannot get around SPSS. Even newcomers can quickly get to grips with SPSS after a short familiarization period thanks to the graphical and guided interface. Data sets are quickly read in. The scope of SPSS really leaves hardly anything to be desired. A program for "home use", but also for professional and complex data analysis.

Cons

Unfortunately, SPSS can only be purchased through a monthly or annual payment plan. A single user license is unfortunately not available. For a non-profit organization or student needs it is very expensive. If the university does not have a license, one will have to resort to cheaper, opensource alternatives (like R).

Wassim
Overall rating
  • Industry: Computer Networking
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

IBM SPSS: Data Analysis and Management for Graduate Research

Reviewed on 2023/07/17

IBM SPSS is the leading data analysis software. It was really a major support in our graduate...

IBM SPSS is the leading data analysis software. It was really a major support in our graduate research in the fields of big data algorithms and cloud computing.

Pros

I have used SPSS to carry data analysis and reporting for my security and cloud computing research to support the different statistical analysis and management for my simulations. I like the variable support in SPSS that gives a better data view of the samples in one Spreadsheet. The variable creation process is highly automated that makes the deployment of the statistical model much more facilitated. Moreover, the variable configuration process is very intuitive and resembles basic relational entities in RDBMSes. By the way, I integrated SPSS with prominent RDBMSes such as Oracle and MySQL.

Cons

The main limitation that occurred is the performance degradation when loading large data sets. Though, this wasn't easily replicated, we believe that the size of the data set could be the main factor resulting in the lags we experienced. The SPSS learning curve is steep and it requires a lot of training to make the user acquainted to use it effectively.

PRINCE
Overall rating
  • Industry: Accounting
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Academic research help

Reviewed on 2019/08/24

A useful tool for complex calculations , Various calculations can be extracted from this application...

A useful tool for complex calculations , Various calculations can be extracted from this application.

Pros

At the University of Zimbabwe we have found a reliable solution in the SPSS application for the various researches that is carried out in different faculties. I used the app on my undergraduate research project and my MBA research which produced the best results . Free videos are available online on how to use SPSS and there you dont have to pay to be taught on how to use it

Cons

It took me some time to carefully study and understand how to use the SPSS, and therefore it might took someone some time to understand the different function on the app

Max
Overall rating
  • Industry: Education Management
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

Researcher's opinion about SPSS

Reviewed on 2023/04/18

Since my training, I have used other software packages (JASP, R, Stata), and although I would...

Since my training, I have used other software packages (JASP, R, Stata), and although I would mostly pick those over SPSS, I would still heartily recommend this software package to others. Especially to people who are less experienced with statistical reporting.

Pros

I learnt statistics using SPSS, and for that it will always be a product that has personal significance for me. It is very user friendly and the UI and ribbon, although dated, allows inexperienced users to quickly understand and navigate its functionality. For simple statistical operations, SPSS is great.

Cons

For statisticians who are more experienced, SPSS will likely feel sluggish. It does not have the kind of customisation that other packages or programming languages have, e.g. R, and it can feel slow.

George Rex
George Rex
Overall rating
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 6.0 /10

The Most Advanced and Sophisticated Statistical Package

Reviewed on 2019/09/25

I started using SPSS back in 2008 to analyse data samples for my friend's first degree project. The...

I started using SPSS back in 2008 to analyse data samples for my friend's first degree project. The version 15 back then that I used was not compatible with my windows vista operating system, but because of the hype and how the product was talked about, I had to find a way around to make that version work on my system. We used a hotfix by the way, so it worked. But I was able to get a good data analysis from a software product which I never thought was possible; something my professor only taught me how to do by hand.

Pros

IBM SPSS is a very popular tool, for that there are loads of available tutorials (both free and paid) to get you started and also pull you out of a usage problem whenever you get stuck. So, its a very strong product with a useful array of learning tools online. I also love the cloud solution (SPSS app on fly) such that you can do your analysis while on the go.

Cons

The software really requires a lot of time to learn and understand its features. It is also very resource consuming and it is somewhat expensive to purchase, even with the available student offer.

Katherine
Katherine
Overall rating
  • Industry: Higher Education
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 2.0 /10

Open source options are better and free

Reviewed on 2023/01/14

Pros

SPSS has been around for a very long time, so it's what a whole lot of researchers are most comfortable using, including usually myself, in spite of my criticism of it. It has most of the statistical tests that one needs for my area of research. Things usually work and the GUI interface is accessible to people. But there is also a script output, so one doesn't need to waste time pointing and clicking constantly. These are great features.

Cons

SPSS has been slow to adopt Bayesian testing and I hear that aspect still needs a lot of work. The outputs for any tests are typically quite difficult to read. The visualizations are quite poor / unattractive and not particularly easy to customize. I never publish SPSS-made graphs. Every person I know will use another software program to make data visualizations. SPSS costs money, and there are other open source options out there that are just as good or better. R has been open source for quite some time and has better and more customizable visualizations. It doesn't have a GUI interface, which is a pro of SPSS. But then there are programs like JASP that have GUI interfaces AND Bayesian functions AND scripting and they're free. So it's hard to justify SPSS.