draw.io The Best Free Alternative to Paid Diagram Tools
November 12, 2025

draw.io The Best Free Alternative to Paid Diagram Tools

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with draw.io

I normally use draw.io to create the architectural diagrams. to-be conceptual diagrams, workflow diagrams, flowcharts, data flows, and entity relationship diagrams—generally, from a business analysis and the project management standpoint, this tool provides the images, logos, and shapes that are required to show the relationships/flows. On top of that, the tool is also quite flexible to embed in the Atlassian Confluence pages to create the documentation for the application as well as structural docs and playbooks, or we can say runbooks, for engineers. You can also import custom images, logos, and PNG files for some applications that are not available in the preset. We also use this under technical aspect for using it as a reference for those teammates who are getting onboarded to our team and having the clear diagrams and figures helps in explaining the working models of processes we follow as a team.

Pros

  • Import the image files of application logos
  • Embeds into Atlassian confluence pages for technical documentation
  • It's a lightweight tool that loads quickly online on the websites
  • Wide coverage of shapes and icons with customization of colors

Cons

  • There are actually multiple options on draw.io for diagrams and images; that feature can be merged into one
  • The user interface is a bit complicated, with toolbars, so adding something like beginner mode could help newbies with the tool
  • I'd love to see more templates in it; currently they're limited to charts and diagrams, but themed templates or perhaps ease of finding them and previews in the interface could be more interactive.
  • Stakeholders that are visual learners are able to understand the technical information on a high-level diagram due to them loading on time and simplified design features.
  • It's not adding up to the company's opex or capex cost, as the tool comes embedded for free of cost in Confluence pages.
  • The low amount of required training time makes it easy for new employees to learn this quite easily without taking much time.
As the tool offers the highly functional technical diagramming experience with a wide variety of shapes, templates, and icons, it also allows you to integrate with other different platforms like SharePoint, Loop, etc. The drag-and-drop interface is straightforward. However, an abundance of options does feel overwhelming to beginners; once you get used to it, it becomes quite easier to draw even the most complex of the diagrams. Real-time collaboration and mobile usability need a little improvement, though. But still, it's a powerful tool with some areas of improvement.
draw.io is actually free of cost, while Miro, Visio, and Whimsical are paid or come with paid premium versions. Miro does have excellent collaboration, while Visio and Whimsical are simply basic and normal. draw.io has very limited ways to collaborate. Templates are more organized in other tools, but in draw.io they're hard to discover. One advantage draw.io has over these tools is the offline access support as well as the feature-rich UI.

Do you think draw.io delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with draw.io's feature set?

Yes

Did draw.io live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of draw.io go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy draw.io again?

Yes

draw.io can be more suitable for technical documentation for architectures, flow diagrams/charts, and conceptual images of an application infrastructure. However, this tool is not made for business intelligence work nor for dashboarding to monitor the technical components. From the administrative standpoint, this is not well suited for agile ceremony structures like retrospective boards or planning or even quarterly planning boards. The strength of draw.io lies strongly in being a lightweight diagramming tool.

draw.io Feature Ratings

Diagramming
7.2
Flowchart Creation
10
Drag-and-Drop Functionality
10
Templates Library
7
Diagram Collaboration Tools
3
Custom Styling
7
Diagram Export and Sharing Options
9
Auto-layout Feature
7
Revision History
2
Cross-Platform Access
10

Using draw.io

5000 - Mostly this tool is used by only the technology teams for diagramming the technical requirements and flow diagrams

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