Graphviz

Classic open-source graph layout toolkit that renders DOT text into diagrams.

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 4
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Graphviz

Graphviz is the long-standing open-source toolkit for automatic graph layout, started at AT&T Labs. You describe nodes and edges in the DOT language, and layout programs such as dot (hierarchical), neato and fdp (force-directed), circo (circular) and twopi (radial) arrange them and output SVG, PNG, PDF and many other formats. Countless other tools quietly use it under the hood to draw dependency graphs, call graphs, database schemas, state machines and network maps, and libraries exist for most programming languages. It runs on Linux, Windows and macOS and is licensed under the Eclipse Public License. Graphviz is free and extremely good at laying out large generated graphs, but it is a command-line and library tool rather than an editor: there is no friendly drag-and-drop interface, styling takes trial and error, and the output looks functional rather than polished.

Best for: Developers generating diagrams of large graphs from code or data.

What works

Excellent automatic layout for large graphs
Many output formats and language bindings
Free and widely embedded in other tools

Why people leave

No visual editor
Styling is fiddly
Output looks plain without effort

Top Graphviz alternatives

See all 4

1
D2
A modern diagram language with nicer defaults that can use several layout engines.
66.5
2
Mermaid
Simpler syntax with native rendering in GitHub and many docs tools.
62.6
3
yEd Graph Editor
A free GUI editor with strong automatic layouts if you'd rather click than code.
59.6
4
PlantUML
Builds on Graphviz for many UML diagram types.
57.2

Why people left Graphviz

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Graphviz: common questions

Is Graphviz free?

Yes. Graphviz is free, open-source software.

Is Graphviz open source?

Yes.

What platforms does Graphviz run on?

Graphviz is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

What are the best alternatives to Graphviz?

The highest-ranked Graphviz alternatives right now are D2, Mermaid and yEd Graph Editor. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 4 Graphviz alternatives

Graphviz facts

4 of 4 verified

Open source: Yes; Checked Oct 25, 2026graphviz.org(opens source in a new tab); “Graphviz is open source graph visualization software.”
License: Eclipse Public License; Checked Oct 25, 2026graphviz.org(opens source in a new tab); “licensed on an open source basis only under the Eclipse Public License.”
Input: Simple text graph language (DOT); Checked Oct 25, 2026graphviz.org(opens source in a new tab); “The Graphviz layout programs take descriptions of graphs in a simple text language”
Platforms: Linux, Windows, Mac and other Unix; Checked Oct 25, 2026graphviz.org(opens source in a new tab); “Executable Packages Linux Windows Mac Solaris Other Unix”