Gliffy vs. Whimsical

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Gliffy
Score 6.0 out of 10
N/A
Gliffy is an online diagramming tool with collaboration features from the San Francisco company of the same name, offering standalone versions of Gliffy and integrated versions for Jira and Confluence.
$6
per month
Whimsical
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
Whimsical is a visual workspace application from the company of the same name in Denver, allowing users to create collaborative wireframes, mindmaps, flowcharts, and sticky notes.
$12
per month per editor
Pricing
GliffyWhimsical
Editions & Modules
Professional
$6
per month
Pro
$12
per month per editor
Business
$18
per month per editor
Enterprise
$240
per year per editor
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GliffyWhimsical
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsFor Enterprise pricing, please reach out.17% discount for annual billing on Pro and Business plans.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GliffyWhimsical
Considered Both Products
Gliffy
Chose Gliffy
The interface is pretty decent and easy to use, with more helpful and advance features in comparison to others.
Chose Gliffy
It really all comes down to ease of use. The way you can make diagrams and how Gliffy integrates with Confluence is very important for our way of working.
Chose Gliffy
Gliffy is easier to use together with Confluence since it provides an integration where you can edit an image directly on the page. Visio and PowerPoint is better drawing tools but we have moved away from them since there isn’t a good way to keep track of the original file of …
Chose Gliffy
The Gliffy platform supports only web whereas LucidChart and Zoho Creator both support web, iPhone App and Android App. Gliffy is geared toward SMB and MSB whereas their competitors also market to freelancers and Enterprise customers providing solutions for each. Gliffy only …
Chose Gliffy
I prefer Gliffy due to several factors:
1. Price
2. Ease of use
Chose Gliffy
I was not involved with the Gliffy evaluation, though I've often went looking for similar solutions to see if some of the gaps I've identified were better addressed. I haven't evaluated alternatives deeply enough to consider a switch seriously.
Chose Gliffy
Gliffy seems to have an advantage over most of the competition when it comes to functionality and accessible tools within the product. We selected them mainly because of their ability to embed into multiple different resources, most specifically Confluence. Its a balance …
Chose Gliffy
Visio has been the standard of what I have considered to be the go-to diagramming product. Gliffy holds its own and while I haven't used Visio for a while I don't know where there would be substantial advantages to using Visio over Gliffy. The functionality is comparable and I …
Chose Gliffy
Visio is much more expensive than Gliffy. If Visio was included in Office365 I'd likely give it a shot, but I don't see that happening soon. Again, if you're an expert maybe you have a reason for using Visio instead of Gliffy. Other than that or a scenario in which someone is …
Chose Gliffy
Comparable. Not quite as slick but it accomplishes the core functionality just as well. At least with the version I've used, they're not mutually compatible, but it's not too tough to recreate Visio content in Gliffy.
Whimsical
Chose Whimsical
Clickup's mind mapping tool was very basic and hard to use from my perspective. Whimsical was by far easier and did what I wanted for a SaaS/cloud-based mind mapping tool. Xmind is fine as a desktop app, but updating the app was a pain whereas, with Whimsical I don't have to …
Chose Whimsical
Miro has a slight edge in UI but Whimsical is not far behind.
Chose Whimsical
Whimsical is so much easier and has a better interface, so I think it's more suited to our workflow if compared to other tools like Google Charts. I really love this tool and I'm looking to learn and use it even more, as it helps us optimize our time, planning, and delivering …
Chose Whimsical
Whimsical is much easier to learn than Lucidchart. We had coworkers up and running on Whimsical with little to no training. It's intuitive and just makes sense and it never freezes or times out, unlike some other tools we've used in the past. The monthly cost is also …
Chose Whimsical
I like the wireframing/web mockups a little better in Whimsical. I still do use Miro for some other uses (simple sprints/onboarding exercises).
Chose Whimsical
Whimsical nails early stage project exploration. Whether it’s mapping, wire-framing, or simply whiteboard collaboration, Whimsical provide a flexible toolset that puts you and your team in the correct mindset to explore ideas without feeling committed to a specific direction. …
Chose Whimsical
I've tried a few different services similar to Whimsical, and like the simplicity of Whimsical - as it's very easy to learn how to use and begin creating. The price is also better than a lot of competitors. There are quite a few options for creating wireframes, flowcharts and …
Chose Whimsical
Whimsical has a flexible interface and a more cost-friendly plan than Lucidchart. Whimsical allows you all the room to create whatever comes to mind in one space, whereas with other products, you have to create a separate document to use the different functions. Other apps like …
Chose Whimsical
Whimsical is simpler and easier to use than InVision. Not as many design capabilities, but much better interface.
Best Alternatives
GliffyWhimsical
Small Businesses
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.8 out of 10
Canva
Canva
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Cvent Event Diagramming
Cvent Event Diagramming
Score 8.8 out of 10
Canva
Canva
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Cvent Event Diagramming
Cvent Event Diagramming
Score 8.8 out of 10
Miro
Miro
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GliffyWhimsical
Likelihood to Recommend
5.0
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
5.7
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
GliffyWhimsical
Likelihood to Recommend
Gliffy is user-friendly, with a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to create clear and visually appealing diagrams without steep learning curves. It’s perfect for creating straightforward, quick wireframes. Gliffy lacks features for detailed UI/UX wireframing and prototyping compared to specialized tools like Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD.
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It's extremely well-suited for rapid wire-framing of concepts, as product teams can quickly collaborate on any idea and create a visual blueprint of it. Whimsical could provide more intuitive feature prioritization templates. The current templates lack the necessary detail and could be further enhanced from a UI/UX standpoint.
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Pros
  • First it's important to point out that Gliffy has priced itself incredibly well for small to medium sized businesses. Most other similar solutions are so expensive that organizations will avoid getting workflow software overall. Gliffy can take pride in knowing they're helping small business operate better.
  • Gliffy is incredibly easy to use for a first time user. I rarely have to train someone on how to use it. It's a lot of fun to see people get excited about systems and processes when using Gliffy. If you need to get up and running quickly I can't think of a better solution for workflow visualization.
  • I also like using Gliffy for mindmapping. I'm sure some mindmapping experts can tell me how I'm doing that incorrectly, but it just works for me. This points to the ease with which Gliffy allows you to get your thoughts down quickly and easily.
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  • Simple to use
  • Tons of uses
  • Can be customized with themeing
  • Can organize all your boards pretty much however you want
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Cons
  • Gliffy does need to improve its pricing model. I believe they were early to market with their product and offerings, however, with the increased competitors they are falling behind in keeping their prices competitive.
  • Gliffy does need to increase its export conversion migration tools. I can understand why they would not want to port items uses by their products to another product but we are in a world where products need to play nice with others in good faith. It can be done, but you do need to check over what you port either incoming or outgoing.
  • Would like to see Gliffy allow us to build templates and import them into the repository and have increased the ability to archive those, share and have owners.
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  • Kind of want to see some of the functionality of other similar apps like Miro but the app is great at what it does
  • Folder structure takes a little time to get used to
  • Nitpicking here but not a big fan of the default font
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Likelihood to Renew
Because of its great versatility and ease of use. From diagramming to roadmpas and even user interface wireframes. Once a draft or first version is done we like to use the Confluence integration so we can collaborate and have one single source of truth
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No answers on this topic
Usability
I based my assessment on aggregated user feedback and reviews from platforms like G2 and Software Advice. Many users highlight the simplicity and versatility of Gliffy’s interface, which makes it accessible for both beginners and professionals. Features like drag-and-drop functionality, a variety of templates, and integration options (e.g., Atlassian tools) contribute to its high rating.However, it doesn’t score a perfect 10 because some users report performance issues with complex diagrams, limited advanced features compared to competitors, and occasional difficulties with collaboration features. Balancing these strengths and weaknesses lands Gliffy in the 8-9 range for usability
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Whimsical is overall very easy to learn and remember. One issue with the usability occurs when you attempt to move connected boxes around the workspace. Frequently connections break or do not add easily, causing further disconnects. You can manually fix these issues, but it's a oprobem that seems would have an easy fix
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
I reached out to support, as I was interested in possibly investing in the organization, and they quickly and happily informed me they are a bootstrap organization and do not take on investors at this time. The swift response and information readily available for my consumption was extremely helpful and shows how solid the team behind it is.
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Alternatives Considered
Gliffy is easier to use together with Confluence since it provides an integration where you can edit an image directly on the page. Visio and PowerPoint is better drawing tools but we have moved away from them since there isn’t a good way to keep track of the original file of the vector/bitmap included in the Confluence page.
Read full review
ClickUp's mind mapping tool was very basic and hard to use from my perspective. Whimsical was by far easier and did what I wanted for a SaaS/cloud-based mind mapping tool. Xmind is fine as a desktop app, but updating the app was a pain whereas, with Whimsical I don't have to worry about that. Also, I wanted to continue working on a mind map wherever I was, even if I didn't have my laptop or device with me and Whimsical allows me to do that.
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Return on Investment
  • Hard to quantify actual $ROI (always is!), though qualitatively I've receive consistent feedback that live modeling with Gliffy is highly valuable for both our customers and internal team:
  • a) For customers, it's live feedback to demonstrate we are listening and an opportunity to comment / add feedback to ensure we are hitting on key points
  • b) For internal teams, it's a great reference to track key points on calls and ensure alignment going into the next call
  • This is particularly important when discussions stall for months. Having Gliffy as a visual has helped us to win business because of the speed with which we could return to "the arena" and keep the ball moving forward.
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  • We've been using free version, so it's a no brainer.
  • As it helps us focus on the information organization process, we don't lose time redoing work due to the lack of planning before doing design or code.
  • We can collaborate on the same project, so it's easier to get things done as we're working from home as well.
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ScreenShots