draw.io vs Lucidchart

Updated October 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

draw.io

Free, open-source diagram editor that saves to your own storage, in the browser or on the desktop.

FreeOpen sourceSelf-hostable

Visit draw.io draw.io profile

Lucidchart

Browser-based diagramming for flowcharts, org charts and technical diagrams, built for teams.

Free plan + paid

Visit Lucidchart Lucidchart profile

The short answer

Pick draw.io if you want a completely free diagram editor with no account, offline desktop apps and files kept in your own storage. Pick Lucidchart if your organisation wants polished real-time collaboration, data-linked diagrams, AI drafting and enterprise compliance, and will pay per user. The biggest difference is the model: draw.io is free and storage-agnostic, Lucidchart is a hosted, paid collaboration platform.

draw.io or Lucidchart: our take

Both cover flowcharts, UML, network and cloud architecture diagrams, org charts and more, with large shape libraries. Lucidchart runs in the browser with real-time collaboration, comments and revision history, and integrates with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Atlassian and Slack. It pulls ahead on data: shapes can link to Google Sheets, Excel or CSV, org charts can be built from imported data, conditional formatting can highlight values, diagrams can be written in Mermaid, and Lucid AI can draft a diagram from a prompt. draw.io, also known as diagrams.net, runs in the browser without sign-up and saves wherever you choose: your computer, Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, GitHub or GitLab. Its desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux works fully offline.

Pricing is the clearest split. draw.io is free with no paywalled features, including no SSO paywall, and its source is Apache 2.0 licensed; the company earns its money from Confluence and Jira apps. Lucidchart's free plan limits documents and shapes, so most regular users move to paid individual, team or enterprise plans billed per user, which adds up for large teams. Eligible educators and students can get free education accounts.

The trade-offs are about polish and control. draw.io's interface looks utilitarian, and real-time co-editing depends on which storage backend you use. Lucidchart offers a smoother shared workspace and compliance credentials including SOC 2, PCI and FedRAMP Moderate, though large diagrams can feel slow in the browser, and your files live in Lucid's cloud.

For individuals, engineers and teams that care about cost, privacy, offline work or keeping diagrams next to their code and docs, draw.io is hard to beat. For organisations that want a managed collaboration tool with data linking, AI and compliance assurances, Lucidchart is worth paying for.

Choose draw.io if…

Anyone who wants capable diagramming for free without handing their files to a vendor
You want open-source software
You need to host it on your own servers
You need Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted and Browser extension, which Lucidchart doesn't list
Completely free with no paywalled features

Choose Lucidchart if…

Teams that want a shared, browser-based diagram library tied into their office and dev tools
You need iOS and Android, which draw.io doesn't list
Real-time collaboration with comments and revision history
Data linking, org chart imports and conditional formatting

What is draw.io?

draw.io (also known as diagrams.net) is a free diagram editor that covers flowcharts, UML, network, cloud architecture, BPMN, org charts and more, with large shape libraries for AWS, Azure, GCP and Cisco. It runs in the browser without an account and stores files wherever you choose: your computer, Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, GitHub or GitLab, so the company behind it never holds your diagrams. A desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux works fully offline. The source is Apache 2.0 licensed and there are no paid tiers in the web app itself; the company earns money from paid Confluence and Jira apps. Official integrations cover Google Docs, Microsoft Teams, Notion, VS Code and Atlassian. The interface looks a little utilitarian next to newer tools, and real-time co-editing depends on which storage backend you use, but for price, privacy and file longevity it is hard to beat.

What is Lucidchart?

Lucidchart is one of the most widely used online diagramming tools, aimed at companies that want a shared place for process maps, org charts, network and cloud diagrams, ERDs and UML. Everything runs in the browser with real-time collaboration, comments and revision history, and it plugs into Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Atlassian and Slack. Where it pulls ahead of simpler editors is data: you can link shapes to spreadsheets, build org charts from imported data, apply conditional formatting, write Mermaid diagrams as code and ask Lucid AI to draft a diagram from a prompt. It is part of the Lucid suite alongside the Lucidspark whiteboard. The free plan is limited in how many documents and shapes you can use, so most regular users end up on a paid individual, team or enterprise plan billed per user. Educators and students can get free education accounts. It is a solid default for organisations, though heavy diagrams can feel slow and costs add up for large teams.

Side by side

Attribute	draw.io	Lucidchart
Pricing	Free	Free plan + paid
Open source	Yes	No
Self-hostable	Yes	No
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Browser extension	Web, iOS, Android
Best for	Anyone who wants capable diagramming for free without handing their files to a vendor	Teams that want a shared, browser-based diagram library tied into their office and dev tools
Status	Active	Active