Neural Designer

Neural Designer is a commercial desktop application for building and deploying neural network models without writing code or assembling block diagrams.

Reviewed by 7wData

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Publisher review

Neural Designer is a commercial desktop application for building and deploying neural network models without writing code or assembling block diagrams. It targets data scientists and business analysts in banking, energy, environment, healthcare, industry, and retail who need a graphical, no-code interface for approximation, classification, forecasting, and text classification tasks. The software is programmed in C++ for efficient memory management and supports both CPU and GPU acceleration.

It is offered by Neural Designer SL, a private company headquartered in Spain, and is sold via annual subscription starting at $2,495 per year. The product includes customized training sessions with company experts and ongoing technical support for machine learning and software usage. It holds a 4.2 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot based on 677 reviews, and is listed on Gartner Peer Insights, Software Advice, and Capterra.

Neural Designer is positioned as a high-performance alternative to open-source platforms like TensorFlow and PyTorch, claiming the lowest energy consumption and largest data capacity among machine learning platforms. Its graphical interface eliminates the need for coding, allowing users to construct models, visualize results instantly, and integrate with other tools. The software offers optimized algorithms for approximation, classification, forecasting, and text classification, and includes extensive tutorials and solved examples.

It handles large datasets through superior memory management, and its CPU and GPU optimization speeds up calculations. The platform provides flexible licensing options and commercial support, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes. However, it is costly for smaller businesses compared to other platforms, offers limited customization and flexibility relative to KNIME, has less advanced machine learning capabilities than RapidMiner, and does not offer a free trial.

Its primary competitors are KNIME Analytics Platform and RapidMiner, both of which provide more open-ended, code-integrated workflows. Neural Designer's strength lies in its focus on neural networks with a no-code interface, high performance, and low energy consumption, but it sacrifices the breadth of algorithms and customization found in its rivals. The honest trade-off is that users gain ease of use and speed at the expense of algorithmic variety and deep customization.

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How it works

  1. No-code neural network building

    Build and deploy neural network models using a graphical interface without writing code or creating block diagrams.

  2. Advanced ML algorithms

    Supports approximation, classification, forecasting, and text classification using optimized neural network algorithms.

  3. High-performance computing

    Programmed in C++ with CPU and GPU optimization for faster calculations and excellent memory management for large datasets.

  4. Customized training sessions

    All products include personalized training sessions with company experts and ongoing technical support for machine learning.

  5. Low energy consumption

    Claims the lowest energy consumption among machine learning platforms, reducing costs during model training.

  6. Large data capacity

    Supports the largest data capacity among machine learning platforms, enabling work with very large datasets.

  7. Sector-specific solutions

    Provides specialized solutions for banking, energy, environment, healthcare, industry, and retail sectors.

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

  • User-friendly no-code interface eliminates the need for programming, enabling non-developers to build neural network models.
  • Achieves the lowest energy consumption among machine learning platforms, saving money during model training.
  • Supports the largest data capacity among machine learning platforms, allowing users to import and process very large datasets.
  • Includes extensive tutorials, solved examples, and customized training sessions with experts for rapid onboarding.

Trade-offs

  • Annual subscription starting at $2,495 is costly for smaller businesses compared to free or lower-cost alternatives like KNIME.
  • Offers limited customization and flexibility compared to KNIME, which allows more open-ended, code-integrated workflows.
  • Has less advanced machine learning capabilities than RapidMiner, which provides a broader range of algorithms and automation features.
  • Does not offer a free trial, making it difficult for potential users to evaluate the software before purchasing.

Pricing context

Starting at $2,495.00 per year for a single-user license; no free trial available.

Getting started with Neural Designer

  1. Purchase and install Neural Designer

    Go to the Neural Designer website and purchase an annual subscription starting at $2,495. After payment, download the installer for your operating system and run it to install the application on your machine.

  2. Load your dataset

    Open Neural Designer and click the "Load Data" button. Select your dataset file (CSV, Excel, or other supported format) from your local drive. The software will import the data and display it in a table for review.

  3. Configure a neural network model

    Use the graphical interface to choose a task type: approximation, classification, forecasting, or text classification. Then set the input and output variables by dragging columns from the data table to the appropriate fields.

  4. Train the model

    Click the "Train" button to start the training process. Neural Designer will automatically apply optimized algorithms using CPU or GPU acceleration. Monitor the training progress and loss metrics in real-time on the dashboard.

  5. Export and deploy the model

    After training, click "Export" to save the trained model in a format compatible with your deployment environment (e.g., C++ code or API). Integrate the exported model into your application or use it for batch predictions on new data.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Neural Designer and what does it do?

Neural Designer is a commercial desktop application for building and deploying neural network models without writing code or assembling block diagrams. It targets data scientists and business analysts in sectors like banking, healthcare, and retail for tasks such as forecasting and classification.

How much does Neural Designer cost and is there a free trial?

Neural Designer starts at $2,495 per year for a single-user license. There is no free trial available. The subscription includes customized training sessions with experts and ongoing technical support for machine learning and software usage.

What are the main features of Neural Designer?

Neural Designer offers a no-code graphical interface for building neural networks, supports approximation, classification, forecasting, and text classification, and is programmed in C++ for efficient memory management. It also provides CPU and GPU acceleration, low energy consumption, and large data capacity.

How does Neural Designer compare to KNIME and RapidMiner?

Neural Designer focuses on neural networks with a no-code interface, high performance, and low energy consumption. However, it offers less customization than KNIME and fewer advanced machine learning capabilities than RapidMiner, which provide more open-ended, code-integrated workflows and broader algorithm support.

What are the strengths of Neural Designer?

Neural Designer's strengths include a user-friendly no-code interface that eliminates programming, the lowest energy consumption among machine learning platforms, the largest data capacity for very large datasets, and extensive tutorials, solved examples, and customized training sessions for rapid onboarding.

What are the weaknesses of Neural Designer?

Neural Designer's weaknesses include a high annual subscription cost of $2,495, which is expensive for smaller businesses, limited customization compared to KNIME, less advanced machine learning capabilities than RapidMiner, and no free trial, making evaluation difficult before purchase.

Alternatives

How Neural Designer compares

Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.

This tool

Neural Designer

Pricing
Starting at $2,495.00 per year for a single-user license; no free trial available.
Target
Neural Designer is a commercial desktop application for building and deploying neural network models without writing code or assembling block diagrams.
Strength
User-friendly no-code interface eliminates the need for programming, enabling non-developers to build neural network models.
Watch for
Annual subscription starting at $2,495 is costly for smaller businesses compared to free or lower-cost alternatives like KNIME.

Dataiku

Pricing
Contact sales for pricing; free edition available
Target
Enterprise teams needing end-to-end ML and AI governance
Deployment
Cloud, on-premises, hybrid
Strength
Low-code/no-code visual ML with advanced coding environments
Watch for
Pricing can escalate with scale and add-on modules

Alteryx One Platform

Pricing
Contact sales; starts around $5,195/user/year
Target
Analysts and data scientists needing no-code data prep and analytics
Deployment
Cloud, on-premises
Strength
Drag-and-drop data blending and analytics without coding
Watch for
Limited deep learning capabilities compared to dedicated tools

DataRobot Agent Workforce Platform

Pricing
Contact sales; custom pricing per use case
Target
Enterprises automating ML model deployment and management
Deployment
Cloud, on-premises, hybrid
Strength
Automated machine learning with built-in MLOps and governance
Watch for
Complex setup and high cost for smaller teams

User reviews

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Sources

Reporting on this tool draws on these publicly available sources.

  1. www.neuraldesigner.com
  2. www.softwareadvice.com
  3. www.capterra.com
  4. www.trustradius.com
  5. vocal.media
  6. www.gartner.com