Best Visio Alternatives

Top alternatives to Visio. Some are downloaded products and some are up in the cloud but they are all better and less expensive. Down with Microsoft!
The Top Ten
1 ConceptDraw

Tried the demo as I did with many others, as I dislike Visio, its cost, and the new "look" which reminds me of a dead person with a marble complexion. Visio used to be good, but for the money and the aggravation of trying to mix it with MS Office 2010 (causes all kinds of problems unless you update everything... Trust me here!)

ConceptDraw Pro is the first and only one I really have faith will go somewhere in the future in this business, and I would strongly suggest you all give it a try, beat it up somewhat, and have fun. It is very solid and has the best ability to handle the new Visio VSDX format, which nobody has right now except SmartDraw, which is equally overpriced for what it does.

Chris

I chose ConceptDraw PRO because of the easy interchangeability with Microsoft Visio files. Ever since I moved over to a Macintosh, I was missing a strong tool for creating visual workflows for the business processes I develop. I can even interchange files between a PC and Mac! This has turned out to be very productive!

So far, I've been able to import some of the more current visio files into ConceptDraw. I was unable to do that successfully in other competing products, though they advertise this ability. Further, the movement and management of the shapes so far is impressive.

Worked with Conceptdraw PRO. I was looking for how to make vehicular networking diagram and found it with Conceptdraw. Also their CISCO items look very professional. If you have cisco email, check cisco wiki for the special prising.

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2 Lucidchart

Lucidchart is the obvious winner for 3 primary reasons:
1. Import and export Visio diagrams
Lucidchart allows you to open, edit, and save the most popular Visio file types within your favorite browser -- eliminating over-priced software to install, update, or maintain. Don't worry about getting stuck -- you can also support export from Lucidchart to Visio (as well as PNG, PDF, and JPEG).

2. Import Visio stencils
Lucidchart is the only web application that gives you the flexibility to save all of your Visio stencils. They recently released a Visio stencil import feature and continue to expand their range of compatible formats.

3. Share diagrams with anyone
Skip restrictive Visio formats by sharing your document in more accessible ways: collaborate in real time, publish to a web page or embedded view, or export to a PDF or image. You, not the software, get to choose the perfect publishing option.

Here is why I like Lucidchart. First they are integrated with Google Drive. If you signup for Lucidchart and then tie it into your Google Drive account, you can open Visio files directly from Google Drive using Lucidchart. Lucidchart is also tied into Microsoft 2013 beta, JIRA, Confluence, and BOX.

If you are looking for a good visio alternative, Lucidchart opens visio files and you can even edit it and export Visio files if you have a paying account. You can get a free account that works with Visio is you have an. Edu email account.

My favorite thing about Lucidchart is how intuitive it is. How do you add objects to the canvas? Just drag and drop. Lines connect smoothly and they stay connected. Your docs stay private by default. Thoughtful details like these sound simple, but it saves me hours of time. Lucidchart is also, hands down, the most interoperable Visio replacement on the market. Import, edit, and export your old Visio files in a matter of minutes. It almost makes diagramming fun

I needed a Visio alternative to quickly draw up a last minute security process flow chart for a client. In desperation I tried Lucidchart only to find it is very easy and intuitive to use, and getting started took a minute.

Great job, I will definitely consider investing in Lucidchart.

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3 Creately

Why I Love Creately? It's so simple and faster than compared to Visio. It even has the inbuilt comments option which is a cool option when we work as a team. We can comment on certain changes and coordinate then and there.

Their graphics are far better than Visio. I have able to create more colorful diagrams and got some credits from my class. And I should not to forget that they offer much affordable collage plans which comes with 50% off! That's Totally cool!

Simple : No learning curve at all.
Speed: Really fast diagramming experience.
Convenient: When you activate diagram anywhere feature on your Desktop app it really helps you to work even you are on vacation
Collaboration: I really love this feature since my entire team is working at the same time it's like more social when you comment on your work. Like a social network typo

There are so many things I love about Creately. For a start their user interface is miles ahead of Visio. And if you want to get started quickly there are hundreds of professionally designed templates. I think if you're a bit new to diagramming then this is the perfect application to use because it sort of automatically draws for you.

Definitely more user friendly interface than Visio. I like the modern looking uncluttered interface as well. It would be awesome if they allow import of Visio files, but I guess few people actually have that need. Also the fact that you get access to hundreds of templates from the drawing area is a definite bonus.

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4 OmniGraffle

Best diagramming app I've ever used. Makes Visio look like a coloring book and a box of crayons in comparison.

OmniGraffle is like Visio on steroids.

5 Gliffy
6 Balsamiq

Great tool for web mockup!

7 DIA

Pretty good & easy to use.

8 MockFlow
9 EdrawMax

I regret to invest so much money on Visio. I regret I didn't try Edraw Max sooner. Fortunately, I can still benefit a lot from it in the future. The upgrade and technical fee is saved. It is an all-in-one app so I don't have to buy another diagramming app any more. And I don't need to worry about compatibility. It can export to so many other formats.

Edraw is full Visio compatibility and better alternative for students, teachers and business professionals to reliably create and publish kinds of flowcharts, mind maps, organizational charts, network diagrams, floor plans, electrical diagrams, software design diagrams, maps and more.

I work as a management consultant and needed a reliable & powerful software to use in my presentation with my clients. Got EDraw and am extremely satisfied with it. Just got V 8.0 which is great. It comes with some fantastic FREE templates also and you can export your work after in PDF, etc. it's also fully compatible with MS Office which is great for me.

I have always had nothing but great experience with eDraw and it helps staff! The program is great and you will not find anything like it for the price. You bet I will.

10 SimpleDiagrams
The Contenders
11 diagrams.net

How often are you really offline and need to put something together? And free is my favorite price.

The best free app in my opinion.

A browser based free alternative and does not require registration

12 SmartDraw

Much easier to use than Visio. The automated flowcharts save a ton of time otherwise spent formatting. There are so many symbols and templates available. I use the cloud version on my Mac at home, but they have both a cloud and a Windows desktop version. Excellent product at a great price.

Really a good alternative to visio with extended features (BPM, database,... )

13 MyDraw

Nice and easy to use Visio alternative. Comes with a lot of predefined shapes and powerful automatic graph and tree layouts. Has versions for Windows, Mac and web (Silverlight based), so you get the same functionality and behavior no matter the platform you work on.

I liked the ability to apply gradients on all shapes. The shape editors modify the shape properties instantly which allowed me to instantly see the property effect.

Great value for the money. Very much like Visio and works on both PCs and Macs. I use the Silverlight version which is free, but my drawings can be opened by colleagues that use the PC and Mac versions. All versions are virtually the same.

Very powerful diagram designer. The switch from MS Visio to Nevron Draw is extremely easy - the interface is similar and I didn't need to re-learn how to do diagrams all over again.

14 Mockingbird
15 SmartArt
16 Google Drawings
17 LibreOffice Draw
18 Microsoft PowerPoint

The Drawing tool (via the Drawing Toolbar) offers flowcharting in Microsoft PowerPoint but unlike in Microsoft Word, it has working connectors to link shapes with lines.

19 Gluu.biz

Gluu is a common platform for managing your business.

20 yEd
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