The Best Diagram Software in 2026
We researched diagram software from official websites, including pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. Rankings focus on the core diagramming job, value for money and verified features such as supported diagram types, collaboration, exports and platform availability.
Our top picks
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Top ranked
draw.io#1 of 369.4/10A broad, flexible diagramming editor for teams that want free cross-platform coverage.
Free plan
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Runner-up
Visual Paradigm#2 of 369.2/10A broad modeling suite with collaboration, engineering tools, and a free plan.
Free plan · 30-day trial
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Top-ranked free plan
Lucidchart#3 of 369.0/10A broad, collaborative diagramming workspace with a free tier and web-only access.
Free plan · 7-day trial
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 36 tools, best first
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Best forFree, broad diagramming across teams and platforms
A broad, flexible diagramming editor for teams that want free cross-platform coverage.
- Real-time collaboration
- Desktop app
- Version history
9.4/10★★★★★Visit draw.io -
Best forTeams needing deep modeling and collaboration
A broad modeling suite with collaboration, engineering tools, and a free plan.
- Real-time collaboration
- Desktop app
- Version history
Free plan · 30-day trial Our Visual Paradigm verdict → Try Visual ParadigmFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #2 · $99/mo →9.2/10★★★★★Try Visual Paradigm -
Best forCollaborative business and technical diagramming
A broad, collaborative diagramming workspace with a free tier and web-only access.
- Real-time collaboration
- Version history
Free plan · 7-day trial Our Lucidchart verdict → Visit LucidchartFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #3 · $79/mo →9.0/10★★★★☆Visit Lucidchart -
Best forMicrosoft-centric professional diagramming
A broad, Microsoft-centric diagramming suite with strong desktop and data features.
- Real-time collaboration
- Desktop app
- Version history
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Visio -
Best forAffordable AI-assisted visual diagramming
A low-cost, cross-platform diagramming tool with AI, imports, exports, and collaboration.
Free plan · 7-day trial Our EdrawMax verdict → Visit EdrawMaxFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #5 · $59/mo →8.8/10★★★★☆Visit EdrawMax -
Best forAffordable collaborative diagramming across devices
A flexible diagramming workspace with a useful free tier and broad format support.
- Real-time collaboration
- Version history
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit ProcessOn -
Best forGeneral-purpose diagramming with office integrations
A broad diagramming suite for teams that need office integrations and collaboration.
- Real-time collaboration
- Desktop app
- Version history
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit SmartDraw -
Best forSmall teams wanting low-cost live collaboration
A low-cost collaborative diagramming tool with broad formats and deployment options.
- Real-time collaboration
- Version history
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit Cacoo -
Best forWeb teams combining diagrams and workshops
A broad web workspace for diagrams, workshops, collaboration, and project planning.
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Creately -
Best forTechnical teams using AI and diagram-as-code
A flexible diagram-as-code workspace for technical teams building with AI.
- Real-time collaboration
- Version history
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Eraser -
Best forDevelopers who prefer text-based diagrams
A flexible diagramming toolkit for teams that prefer code, with hosted collaboration options.
- Version history
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Mermaid -
Best forFree desktop graph and technical diagram creation
A capable free desktop graph editor with broad formats and automatic layouts.
- Desktop app
- Version history
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit yEd -
Best forCode-driven diagrams integrated with developer tools
A flexible open-source choice for diagrams managed as code.
- Desktop app
- Version history
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit PlantUML -
Best forBusiness process modeling and simulation
A focused BPMN tool for modeling, simulating, documenting, and sharing business processes.
- Real-time collaboration
- Desktop app
- Version history
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Bizagi -
Best forDesktop users needing rich visual diagram design
A capable desktop diagram tool with broad formats and a $199 perpetual license.
- Desktop app
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit ConceptDraw -
Best forEnterprise process governance and analytics
A process governance suite for collaborative BPMN, DMN, simulation, and analytics.
- Version history
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit SAP Signavio -
Best forEnterprise architecture and software engineering teams
A broad enterprise modeling suite with deep repositories, engineering, and governance features.
- Real-time collaboration
- Desktop app
- Version history
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit Sparx Systems -
Best forArchitecture-as-code documentation at scale
A deep architecture-as-code tool for teams that need versioned C4 documentation at scale.
- Version history
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit Structurizr -
Best forArchitecture teams using C4 modeling
A C4-focused architecture modeler with reusable objects, versioning, and structured exports.
- Real-time collaboration
- Version history
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit IcePanel -
Best forCloud architects planning AWS, GCP, or Azure infrastructure
A focused web platform for mapping cloud infrastructure, Terraform, and related costs.
- Real-time collaboration
- Version history
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit Holori -
Best forAWS and Azure architecture visualization
A capable AWS and Azure diagramming tool with collaboration, scanning, and cost planning.
- Real-time collaboration
- Version history
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit Cloudcraft -
Best forAutomated multi-cloud infrastructure diagrams
A focused choice for automatically mapping and tracking AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud environments.
- Version history
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit Hava -
Best forSoftware teams needing UML and code engineering
A broad desktop modeling suite for software engineering, with one-editor licensing.
- Desktop app
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Astah -
Best forAdvanced open-source UML and SysML modeling
A deep modeling environment for advanced UML and SysML work, not simple diagramming.
- Real-time collaboration
- Desktop app
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Papyrus -
Best forFree UML, BPMN, and enterprise modeling
A free desktop modeler for teams that need standards-based architecture and process diagrams.
- Desktop app
- Version history
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit Modelio -
Best forFree ArchiMate enterprise architecture modeling
A focused, free desktop choice for ArchiMate modeling across Windows, macOS and Linux.
- Desktop app
- Version history
6.6/10★★★☆☆Visit Archi -
Best forDevelopers wanting broad desktop modeling support
Broad desktop modeling support with a one-time per-device purchase.
- Real-time collaboration
- Desktop app
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit StarUML -
Best forFree structured technical diagrams on desktop
A capable free choice for technical diagrams, with a desktop-first workflow and limited collaboration scope.
- Desktop app
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit Dia -
Best forProgrammatic graph generation and layout
A specialized, scriptable choice for generating structured diagrams from DOT definitions.
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit Graphviz -
Best forMac and iOS users needing precise diagrams
A precise, feature-rich diagramming tool for Mac, iPhone, and iPad users.
- Desktop app
- Version history
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit OmniGraffle -
Best forOffline diagramming across desktop and mobile
A broad diagramming tool for offline work across desktop, web and mobile.
- Desktop app
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit Grapholite -
Best forFree wireframing and basic diagram creation
A free desktop tool for wireframes, mockups, flowcharts, and basic diagrams.
- Desktop app
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit Pencil Project -
Best forGoverned collaborative process mapping
A governed process-mapping workspace for teams that need controlled collaboration.
- Real-time collaboration
- Version history
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit IBM Blueworks -
Best forStructured Windows process mapping
A detailed Visio add-in for process maps, reports, risks, and Microsoft exports.
- Desktop app
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit TaskMap -
Best forFree basic UML editing
A focused, free UML editor for basic diagrams, with limited collaboration and interoperability.
- Desktop app
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit Violet UML -
Best forBasic free Windows diagramming
A capable free Windows diagram tool for core diagrams, images and utilities.
- Desktop app
- Version history
6.0/10★★★☆☆Try Diagram Designer
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Diagram types | Export formats | Import formats | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | draw.io | Yes | Free | flow charts, mind maps, org charts, Venn diagrams, infographics, network diagrams, architecture diagrams, floor plans, electrical diagrams, rack diagrams, UML diagrams, BPMN diagrams, Kanban boards, ER diagrams, Mermaid diagrams, Gitflow diagrams, C4 models, threat models | PNG, SVG, JPEG, animated GIF, PDF, HTML, URL, XML, JSON | draw.io, XML, Gliffy, VSDX, Lucidchart, PNG, SVG, JPEG | 9.4 |
| 2 | Visual Paradigm | Yes | $4/user/mo | UML, SysML, flowchart, organization chart, ER, BPMN, data-flow, EPC, mind map, C4, Gantt, wireframe, cloud architecture | JPG, PNG, SVG, TIFF, EMF, PDF, XML, Excel, XMI, UML2 | XML, Excel, XMI, UML2, Visio drawing, Visio stencil, Rational Rose, Rational DNX, Rational System Architect, Rational Rhapsody, NetBeans UML | 9.2 |
| 3 | Lucidchart | Yes | flowcharts, org charts, entity relationship diagrams, sequence diagrams, mind maps, UML/class diagrams, process diagrams | PDF, PNG, JPEG, SVG, VSDX, VDX, JSON, CSV, BPMN | VSDX, VSD, VDX, JPEG, PNG, .drawio, XML, BPMN, XPDL, OmniGraffle flat files | 9.0 | |
| 4 | Microsoft Visio | No | $5/user/mo | basic, block, business matrix, Venn, cycle, pyramid, flowchart, process, cross-functional, SDL, UML, ERD, network, Azure, AWS, BPMN, floor plan, HVAC, plant layout, timeline, Gantt, PERT, ITIL, Pivot, Six Sigma, value-stream map, organization chart | PDF, PNG, JPG, SVG, EMF, GIF, TIF, BMP, WMF | DWG, DXF, EMZ, EMF, GIF, JPG, PNG, SVG, SVGZ, TIF, TIFF, BMP, DIB, WMF | 8.9 |
| 5 | EdrawMax | Yes | $5.90/mo | 8.8 | |||
| 6 | ProcessOn | Yes | mind maps, flowcharts, swimlane diagrams, Gantt charts, UML diagrams, architecture diagrams, ER diagrams, network topology diagrams, organizational charts, Venn diagrams, BPMN diagrams, circuit diagrams, floor plans, timelines, fishbone diagrams, tree diagrams, matrix diagrams, data visualization charts | PNG, PDF, PPT, SVG, Excel, Word, JPG, POS, XMind, FreeMind, Visio | Visio, XMind, Markdown, Mermaid, Excel, POS | 8.7 | |
| 7 | SmartDraw | No | floor plans, site plans, building layouts, evacuation plans, accident reconstructions, crime scenes, circuit diagrams, wiring diagrams, electrical plans, planograms, flowcharts, organizational charts, network diagrams, UML diagrams, ERDs, data flow diagrams, timelines, mind maps, Gantt charts, cause-and-effect diagrams | JPEG, PNG, SVG, PDF, Visio | PDF, VSD, VSDX, Visio stencils, Lucidchart files, JPEG, PNG, SVG | 8.6 | |
| 8 | Cacoo | Yes | $6/user/mo | flowcharts, wireframes, mind maps, process diagrams, BPMN diagrams, network diagrams, UML diagrams, organizational charts, timelines, charts, wireframes | PNG, SVG, PDF, PS, PPT | Microsoft Visio, CSV | 8.5 |
| 9 | Creately | Yes | $5/mo | 8.4 | |||
| 10 | Eraser | Yes | $15/user/mo | Flow charts, entity-relationship diagrams, cloud architecture diagrams, sequence diagrams, BPMN diagrams | PNG, SVG, PDF, PowerPoint, Google Slides, BPMN, Visio, draw.io, Markdown | PNG, JPEG, WebP, PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Draw.io, Visio | 8.3 |
| 11 | Mermaid | Free | flowchart, sequence diagram, class diagram, state diagram, Gantt chart, timeline, mindmap, Git graph, use case diagram, event modeling diagram | PNG, SVG, Markdown | .mmd | 8.2 | |
| 12 | yEd Graph Editor | Yes | Free | BPMN diagrams, semantic networks, family trees, flowcharts, social networks, UML class diagrams, entity relationship diagrams, swimlane diagrams | PDF, SVG, EMF, JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG, HTML, EPS, SVGZ | GraphML, GraphMLZ, YGF, GML, XGML, XLS, XLSX, TGF, GEDCOM, XML/XSL | 8.1 |
| 13 | PlantUML | Yes | Free | Sequence, use-case, class, object, activity, component, deployment, state, timing, regex, network, wireframe, Archimate, Gantt, mind map, WBS, EBNF, JSON, YAML | PNG, SVG, EPS, PDF, VDX, XMI, SCXML, HTML, ATXT, UTXT, LaTeX, Braille PNG | 8.0 | |
| 14 | Bizagi Modeler | Yes | BPMN process diagrams; value chain diagrams | Image; Visio; XPDL; XML; BPMN; Word; PDF; Web; SharePoint; Wiki | Visio; XPDL; Bizagi; XML; BPMN | 7.9 | |
| 15 | ConceptDraw DIAGRAM | No | $199 one-time | flowcharts, block diagrams, process diagrams, UML diagrams, organizational charts, network diagrams, rack diagrams, cloud service architecture diagrams, technical schematics, building plans, floor plans, dashboards, infographics, presentations | PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, EPS, Adobe PDF, HTML, SVG, PowerPoint, VDX, VSDX | PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PowerPoint, VDX, VSDX, VSD, VSS, VSSX | 7.8 |
| 16 | SAP Signavio Process Manager | No | BPMN 2.0, DMN, EPC, conversation diagrams, choreography diagrams | PDF, PNG, SVG, JSON, BPMN 2.0 XML, DMN XML, SGX, CSV, Microsoft Word | BPMN 2.0 XML, DMN XML, Excel, PO files | 7.6 | |
| 17 | Sparx Enterprise Architect | Yes | UML Use Case, Activity, State, Interaction Overview, Sequence, Communication, Package, Class, Object, Composite, Component, Deployment; BPMN; SysML | XMI, PDF, HTML, RTF, XSD, DDL | XMI, JAR, .NET assemblies, XML Schema, WSDL | 7.5 | |
| 18 | Structurizr | Yes | £300/mo | system landscape, system context, container, component, code, dynamic, deployment, custom, filtered, image | PlantUML, C4-PlantUML, Mermaid, WebSequenceDiagrams, static HTML, PNG, SVG, JSON, theme | Structurizr DSL, Structurizr JSON | 7.4 |
| 19 | IcePanel | Yes | $40/user/mo | Context diagrams, app diagrams, component diagrams | PNG, PDF, JSON, CSV, HTML, LLMs.txt, PlantUML, Mermaid | JSON, YAML | 7.3 |
| 20 | Holori | Yes | $49/mo | AWS, Azure, GCP, multi-cloud, Kubernetes, Terraform, cloud architecture | PNG, SVG, JPG, PDF | Terraform files | 7.2 |
| 21 | Cloudcraft | Yes | Free | cloud architecture, infrastructure, network, security | 7.1 | ||
| 22 | Hava | No | $59/mo | Infrastructure, security group, list, container, hybrid cloud | PDF, PNG, VSDX, CSV, JSON | 7.0 | |
| 23 | Astah Professional | No | $129.99/user/yr | Class, object, communication, timing, component, deployment, composite structure, use case, sequence, activity, statemachine, package, requirement, mind map, ER, flowchart, CRUD, data flow, traceability map, Eriksson-Penker process | JPEG, PNG, EMF, SVG, RTF, HTML, CSV, XML, CMOF | Excel, XML | 6.9 |
| 24 | Eclipse Papyrus | Yes | Free | Class, Object, Package, Composite Structure, Component, Deployment, Profile, Use Case, Activity, State Machine, Communication, Sequence, Timing, Interaction Overview, Block Definition, Internal Block, Requirement, Parametric | 6.8 | ||
| 25 | Modelio | Yes | Free | UML, BPMN, ArchiMate, SysML | XMI, HTML | XMI | 6.7 |
| 26 | Archi | Yes | Free | ArchiMate Views, Sketch Views, Canvas Views | BMP, JPG, PNG, PDF, SVG, CSV, Open Exchange XML, HTML | CSV, Open Exchange XML | 6.6 |
| 27 | StarUML | No | $129/device one-time | UML 2, entity-relationship, data flow, flowchart, mindmap, C4, SysML, BPMN, UI wireframe, AWS architecture, GCP architecture, Azure architecture | PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF, HTML | StarUML V1 .uml, StarUML fragments, XMI | 6.5 |
| 28 | Dia | Yes | Free | Entity-relationship diagrams; UML diagrams; flowcharts; network diagrams | EPS; SVG; XFIG; WMF; PNG | Dia XML (.dia); Visio XML (.vdx) | 6.4 |
| 29 | Graphviz | Free | graph diagrams; network diagrams; hierarchical diagrams | BMP, EPS, GIF, JPEG, JSON, PDF, PNG, PS, SVG, TIFF, WebP, DOT, XDOT | DOT | 6.3 | |
| 30 | OmniGraffle | No | family trees, flow charts, org charts, layouts, directed graphs, nondirected graphs | PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, PDF, EPS, PSD, SVG, OmniOutliner, Visio XML | PNG, JPEG, GIF, SVG, PDF, OmniOutliner, Visio VDX, Visio VSDX, Visio VST, Visio VTX, Visio VSS, Visio VSX | 6.1 | |
| 31 | Grapholite | $49.99/user one-time | flowcharts, organizational charts, mind maps, swimlanes, SWOT diagrams, BPMN diagrams, UML diagrams, floor plans, brainstorming diagrams, website wireframes, workflow diagrams, TQM diagrams, Venn diagrams, network layouts, planograms, office plans, home plans | PNG, JPEG, PDF, SVG, VDX | 6.0 | ||
| 32 | Pencil Project | Yes | Free | GUI mockups, wireframes, flowcharts, desktop UI, web UI, Android UI, iOS UI | PNG, HTML/web page, OpenOffice/LibreOffice text, SVG, PDF | 6.0 | |
| 33 | IBM Blueworks Live | No | Discovery maps, process diagrams, decision diagrams | XLSX, DOCX, PPT, XPDL 2.1, BPMN 2.0, PDF, CSV | BPMN 2.0, XPDL 2.1, Microsoft Visio, XML process diagrams | 6.0 | |
| 34 | TaskMap | Yes | process maps | HTML/website, Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Project | Excel | 6.0 | |
| 35 | Violet UML Editor | Yes | Free | class, sequence, state, object, use case | PNG, JPEG | 6.0 | |
| 36 | Diagram Designer | Yes | Free | flowcharts, UML class diagrams, illustrations, slide shows | WMF, EMF, BMP, JPEG, PNG, MNG, ICO, GIF, PCX | WMF, EMF, BMP, JPEG, PNG, MNG, ICO, GIF, PCX | 6.0 |
Head-to-head All 28 comparisons →
- draw.io vs Visual Paradigm
- draw.io vs Lucidchart
- draw.io vs Microsoft Visio
- draw.io vs EdrawMax
- draw.io vs ProcessOn
- draw.io vs SmartDraw
- draw.io vs Cacoo
- Visual Paradigm vs Lucidchart
- Visual Paradigm vs Microsoft Visio
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How we rank diagram software
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update