FigJam is an online interactive whiteboard from Figma headquartered in San Francisco, presently in beta (2021) but available to the public in a free trial. The vendor states that in 2022, FigJam will have plans for $0, $8, and $15 per editor, per month.
$5
per month per editor
Microsoft Visio
Score 7.4 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft offers Visio, a diagramming tool for building flowcharts, diagrams (e.g. network diagrams), org charts and floor plans, available online as a subscription and also in enterprise level packages (e.g. Visio Professional).
$5
per month per user
Pricing
FigJam
Microsoft Visio
Editions & Modules
FigJam Professional
$36
per year per editor
FigJam Organization
$60
per year per editor
Visio Plan 1
$5.00
per month per user
Visio Plan 2
$15.00
per month per user
Visio Standard 2024
$309.99
one-time fee On-premises diagramming solution, licensed for one PC
Visio Professional 2024
$579.99
one-time fee On-premises diagramming solution, licensed for one PC
If you're working in small product teams, like triads, and already using Figma, this is a no brainer for white boarding, quick/fast sketches, wireframing, collaborative doodling ... it gets less appropriate with large teams, infrequent. IMO, due to the way in which they price, it's better to keep the inner circle small-ish.
Given the versatility and diversity of the diagrams that can be created with Microsoft Visio, we use this tool for the most diverse activities. With our students, we use it to organize group activities and manage the tasks that everyone has to complete. In research groups, we use it to divide tasks and create organization charts. For research activities, especially the more complex ones carried out, for example, in PhD programmes, the diagrams allow us to display all the work phases graphically.
Visio comes with icons that can help differentiate processes within a map. These can be used to be a legend and helps create a visually appealing flow.
Visio is user-friendly and allows the user to easily navigate through the different creative options that can be used.
Because this is a Microsoft product, Visio works well with other Microsoft products for easy translation.
It misses easy-to-use pre sets of diagrams. The ones presented seem to be not native and hard to use. Miro is a good benchmark.
Navegating throught projects in the main page is confusing, specially when people are not admin users.
It should suggest ways of organizing the pages designers do, specially when the project is big and have many pages and sections.
It could have, for example, a draft version for every page, so that one can hide it when they finish the work, but can open it whenever something needs to be modified, versioning the job.
For me personally I cannot highlight anything specific that has any bearing on how I use the product. Everything is very straightforward and clearly signposted including template desgins and categories. The layout is easy to navigate and as it's part of the MS Office ecosystem means there is less to learn as I'm used to a lot of the cross product functionality.
We use Microsoft Visio to keep our diagrams updated and to that end we will need the subscription to keep using the software. Otherwise we will be left with PDF versions of the diagrams.
I don't use it often, because the organization I work in uses a different environment on a commo basis. This is rather used between the designers, who prototype the solutions in Figma - they just have it as a workbook/notebook for their ideas. However, if those need to be shared with stakeholders or other organization members, the designers are expected to use a different environment.
I think Microsoft Visio is pretty easy to initially pick up and understand the user interface to dive into make basic models. It would be nice if there were some fit for purpose templates so that not as much time needs to be spent on some types of engineering diagram structure. Trying to work on a single Visio file with multiple team members is also a sticking point.
Overall, I feel that Microsoft's support is weak. They are now such a behemoth that their model of putting documentation online for their users to sift through is totally outgrown. Given the amount of money you pay for these licenses, Microsoft should provide easy one-on-one support for their products via email or chat. The idea of paying their rates for support incidents is ridiculous. If you have an enormous amount of time on your hands, use their support websites and you will eventually find a solution most of the time.
FigJam works best in pair with Figma, as it allows you to keep track of your project in one place, supporting all phases of the process. The functionality is more intuitive, quick, and efficient. Visually, I also prefer it more —it’s more enjoyable and playful, making the experience much more engaging.
Even though it’s a more expensive solution, Vizio is built for the enterprise. Therefore, it integrates perfectly with our existing Microsoft stack, and quite frankly, because it’s such a more mature product, it provides exactly the functionality we need and expect.
FigJam saves a lot of time ... it's nice to have all my visual notes/sketches within Figma itself where a lot of design work lives
The project organization and other features contribute to the ease of answering that age old question ... "where can I find that mockup?"
Dev Mode is pretty cool. Not many use it, so some designers may spend unnecessary time spec'ing out things that no one will appreciate, let alone look at.
Visio diagrams have help us streamline processes that reduce costs and improve efficiencies.
It is a very complete program, it allows you to make industrial and civil works diagrams. It also allows you to design 3D graphics. It is a very reliable program.
Its ability to work with vectors is a big plus. It can easily import SVG graphics, edit their individual lines and then being able to export the edited SVG again.
