10 Best Online Flowchart Software Of 2023
Mục lục bài viết
The Best Flowchart Software List
Here’s a shortlist of the best software for flowcharts:
1.
Lucidchart
— Best flowchart with collaboration and data import features
2.
Miro
— Best flowchart with built-in communication features
3.
Creately
— Best free flowchart software
4.
Whimsical
— Best app for making fast flowcharts
5.
Draw.io
— Best easy to use flowchart freeware
6.
ConceptDraw Diagram
— Best flowchart software download (buy a one-time license)
7.
Edraw Max
— Best all-purpose diagramming software
8.
SmartDraw
— Best for enterprise teams looking for powerful features and affordable prices
9.
Visio
— Best flowchart software for Windows
10.
Gliffy
— Best flowchart tool for Confluence & Jira (native Atlassian integrations)
Flowchart diagrams might not be one of the skill requirements for a DPM job. However, knowing how to diagram and use flowchart software will help you do your job better. But how?
One of the ways we use flowcharts is to represent process flows. As a PM, you must understand how to sequentially navigate your team’s operation during a project. Therefore, you will have questions along the way, like who do you contact after this team is done? What happens if the team is delayed? or when do we trigger the disaster recovery plan?
Although some of those questions can be answered with the project plan, it is not the same for the rest. Using a flowchart to document the decision-making situations throughout your project will make you react faster. In addition, having this flowchart as part of your documentation will help you next time you take on a similar project.
So, in the spirit of selfishness, let’s go through some tools to support your flowchart creation and make you a rockstar. However, if you have general questions about the topic, head to the FAQ section at the bottom of this list.
Overviews Of The Best Flowchart Software
Here’s a brief description of each of the flowchart software solutions that are featured on this top 10 list. Feel free to check out how I picked the software on this list at any moment.
1
Lucidchart
Best flowchart with collaboration and data import features
Lucidchart is an intelligent diagramming application with data visualization and collaboration features. It’s designed to support teams and businesses as they improve and visualize processes and systems.
Why I picked Lucidchart: It’s very easy to build any type of flowchart, including process maps, data flowcharts, BPMN diagrams, entity relationship diagrams, swimlane flowcharts, cross-functional flowcharts, and hundreds more. Users can also import data to generate visuals automatically.
Several features, like comments, tasks, sharing, revision history, and embedding, make collaboration simpler and easier for remote and hybrid teams. Its intuitive and clear interface makes navigating Lucidchart really easy. Lucidchart has a diverse set of features and capabilities, so it includes “Feature Find,” which allows users to quickly search for any feature or tool they’re looking for.
Lucidchart Standout Features & Integrations
Features include external sharing options, comments, mentions, real-time collaboration, revision history, and data linking.
Integrations include everything from Slack, Google Workspace, Asana, Atlassian, and Office365, to more industry-specific applications like Salesforce, AWS, Azure, and BambooHR. Lucidchart has a free plan available for individual users.
Lucidchart has a free version where you can access 80+ templates and work on a maximum of 3 documents. Perfect for a test run!
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6
1575
Free trial available
From $7.95/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
2
Miro
Best flowchart with built-in communication features
Miro is a collaborative online whiteboard with over 1,000 templates including mind maps, Kanban boards, Gantt charts, product wireframes, research boards, and flowcharts. It’s trusted by 99% of the Fortune 100, and used by teams at TransUnion, HP, Upwork, Cisco, Qlik, and Atkins. Miro’s visual platform is built for hybrid work, and has robust resources for continuous learning like Miro Academy, online events, and a community forum.
On a Miro board, you can build out stunning flowcharts collaboratively with a vast shape and icon library. Bonus: You can do it with built-in communication features, from notes and comments to video and reactions. Miro’s flowchart templates are great for team brainstorms, meetings and 1:1s, and product UX and design.
At The Digital Project Manager, we use Miro to map out content clusters and to visualize content workflows from start (brainstorming ideas) to finish (publishing the content on our site).
Miro has integrations with a whole suite of tools, including Zoom, Figma, Asana, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Slack, Google Drive, Box, Airtable, Notion, Azure, and Webex. Some integrations are limited to paid plans only.
Miro is free to use for unlimited members with up to 3 editable boards. Paid plans start at $8/user/month (billed annually).
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.8
3414
Freemium plan available
Plans start at $10/member/month
Visit Website
Pros
- Built-in communication features for streamlined collaboration
- Intuitive and easy setup
- Free forever plan available
Cons
- Free version does not allow high-quality export to pdf
- Zooming can be jumpy on larger projects
- Visitor/guest accounts locked to paid plans only
Visit Website
3
Creately
Best free flowchart software
Creately is built to help you make flowcharts quickly and easily. To start with, they have an extensive library of templates ranging across industries and topics, including everything from UI/UX user flows to HR recruitment processes, so finding an example that fits your needs is pretty simple.
The interface itself is clean and aesthetically pleasing. The most commonly used shapes are arranged right where you need them and simple drag and drop functionality lets you create your flowchart structure. It also has a clever contextual toolbar that suggests relevant shapes as you draw, which really streamlines the process.
What sets Creately apart are its collaborative features. Some flowchart tools are meant to be used by individuals working by themselves, but Creately lets you collaborate in real-time in a few different ways. For instance, it has video conferencing built right into the canvas so you can discuss ideas with your teammates as you draw. You can leave comments and track changes in real-time with other users on the canvas. Additionally, you can export in PNG, SVG, and JPEG formats.
The only downside is that the free version of the software allows for only 3 collaborators, so you will need a paid version for larger teams.
All in all, it’s intuitive, user friendly, and a great diagramming tool for teams to come together to think through and visualize processes.
Creately has a free plan for up to 5 users and 3 documents. Paid plans costs from $4/user/month.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4
229
Free plan with limited features
From $4/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
4
Whimsical
Best app for making fast flowcharts
Whimsical is a flowchart software that lets you create flowcharts without the learning curve of a traditional design tool. Whimsical gives you the ability to create flowcharts and diagrams by connecting objects with a single click and a wide variety of keyboard shortcuts.
Whimsical is intentionally designed to allow you to move at the speed of thought and not have to waste time on styling or layouts. You don’t have to download any additional apps or extensions to use Whimsical flowcharts, as everything is available within your browser.
Whimsical flowcharts can be integrated with other Whimsical files, giving you the ability to switch between mind maps, wireframes, projects, and docs.
Whimsical has a direct integration with Github and can be embedded in Notion docs. It also supports two-factor authentication with any authenticator app.
Whimsical costs from $10/user/month.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5
36
Free trial available
From $10/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
5
Draw.io
Best easy to use flowchart freeware
Draw.io is a free, browser-hosted app for easy, intuitive chart building online. Because it’s online (though it can be used offline too), it’s simple to boot up and get started creating on a moment’s notice. Features include drag and drop functionality, a library of available shapes, plenty of templates, importing/exporting various formats, and more.
Obviously, being free to use, Draw.io ranks highly in our evaluation criteria for value for price. Although it may seem sot of features compared to its for-pay counterparts, Draw.io is great for small teams with smaller budgets or those who might only need flowcharting software on occasion.
Draw.io integrates with many popular apps like Google Drive, Google Docs, Dropbox, Chrome, Confluence Server/Cloud, JIRA Server/Cloud, Github, Gitlab,and OneDrive.
A few cons and critiques to note: The browser version requires Chrome to work; the app could use more shapes and templates to choose from; positioning the shapes could be a bit finicky and the “snap to place” was clumsy.
Draw.io is free to use online.
Free to use online
Free
Visit Website
Visit Website
6
ConceptDraw Diagram
Best flowchart software download (buy a one-time license)
Design custom stencils, arrange and format diagrams of any complexity using revamped side panels, format and order position tools for professional-looking flowcharts, create a dynamic chart that can change in visual appearance based on external data source files, and more.
ConceptDraw Diagram’s asset organization is superb, including organizing thousands of images in contextual groups, object formatting and more. Therefore, they scored quite highly in our Features and Functionality evaluation criteria, where graphical elements, template options, and exporting flexibility reign supreme.
Integrations listed include the ability to import and export to the Visio file format. That’s it. In fact, they have a whole section denouncing the need for further integrations. See below for more details.
While ConceptDraw Diagram considers itself;f a “toolbelt” with features like INGYRE technology, intelligent topics, smart inputs and outputs, live Objects, ConceptDraw Solutions, dashboards, and dynamic presentations, they don’t play well with third-party software outside of their own app. This is the biggest con of the program.
ConceptDraw Diagram starts at $199 and has a free 21-day trial.
21 days free trial
From $199
Visit Website
Visit Website
7
Edraw Max
Best all-purpose diagramming software
The sheer number of templates, icons and shapes make Edraw a stand-out competitor in our evaluation criteria for Features & Functionality. Graphic elements aplenty and a robust templates stockpile are one of the selling features of this tool.
Some more traditional app integrations would have been a nice touch, although Edraw’s communication with PowerPoint is of great value. Furthermore, some sort of eraser tool would go a long way to making Edraw feel complete.
Integrates with the likes of PowerPoint. They also have an unconventional integration offer where OEM partners can integrate Edraw technologies with their own procust and distribute that package to customers as a sublicence. You can also export your drawings to a variety of familiar file formats, such as Visio, PDF, Word, PPT, JPEG, Html, and more.
Edraw Max starts from $8.25/month and has a free 30-day trial.
30 days free trial
From $8.25/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
8
SmartDraw
Best for enterprise teams looking for powerful features and affordable prices
Pick between the desktop edition or the online edition, depending on your use case needs. They have quick-start diagram templates for over 70 different diagram types (and over 4,500 templates overall), intelligent automatic formatting, over 34,000 symbols, collaboration online or behind a firewall, draw and print architectural and engineering diagrams to scale, and more.
SmartDraw is a robust diagramming tool that speaks to all of my evaluation criteria for Features & Functionality, particularly the easy of drawing tools, many different templates to choose from, and ease of use so fair that even beginners can jump right in.
Any SmartDraw drawing can be inserted into Word, Excel, PowerPoint as well as Google Docs and Sheets. The app easily integrates with Microsoft, Google, Confluence, Jira, WordPress, Dropbox, Trello, and Box.
The app was a little finicky, some progress saving issues resulted in lost work and the software has a tendency to crash on top of that. I would recommend working in the cloud to instigate auto-saving in order to combat these issues.
Smartdraw starts from $5.95/user/month and has a free trial.
Free trial available
From $5.95/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
9
Visio
Best flowchart software for Windows
With Visio flowcharts, multiple team members can work on diagrams at the same time. You can connect your flowcharts and diagrams to real-time data so that changes in underlying data is reflected through applied shape formatting. A web version of the software lets you work on your flowcharts anywhere, in any browser.
In the Usability and Features sections of our evaluation criteria, we stress one thing: Variety! A good flowchart app will let you pick through a library of useful diagrams and chart templates in order to cater to each unique use case. MS Visio does this well, offering charting options fitted to different needs.
MS Visio would benefit from a more seamless integration with apps like PowerPoint, Excel, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. Being able to easily import or drag-and-drop diagrams into common visual presentation tools would take this app to the next level.
Visio doesn’t have a ton of software integrations to tout but, of course, it connects with Microsoft OneDrive. Third-party integrations include: Lucidchart, The VIP Test Modeller, AxisTV, netTerrain Logical, and Digital Enterprise Suite.
Microsoft Visio starts from $6.40/user/month and has a free trial.
30-day free trial
From $5/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
10
Gliffy
Best flowchart tool for Confluence & Jira (native Atlassian integrations)
Gliffy diagram and flowchart software is a drag-and-drop based diagram building that lets you sketch and share your flowchart ideas with little to no fuss. Templates and themes are available for time-saving starting points and the ability to preserve and track changes will make sure you never lose something important.
Gliffy nails many of the requirements we have in the evaluation criteria for features and functionality: Intuitive interface, including for object importing; shapes conveniently snap to grid; revisions can be rolled back in the event of an error, and it has easy editing and sharing capabilities.
A broader color customization pallet would have helped the charts tell a better data story, particularly in flowcharts with a lot going on visually. Furthermore, the software was a little buggy in the Google Chrome browser. Minor complaints for an otherwise solid tool.
Gliffy software integrates with many other apps, including WordPress, Jira Software and Jira Service Desk, Lucidchart, Atlassian Confluence, Bitium, and Nuclino.
Gliffy starts from $4.99/user/month and has a free 14-day trial.
14-day free trial
From $10/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
Need expert help selecting the right Project Management Software?
We’ve joined up with Crozdesk.com to give all our readers (yes, you!) access to Crozdesk’s software advisors. Just use the form below to share your needs, and they will contact you at no cost or commitment. You will then be matched and connected to a shortlist of vendors that best fit your company, and you can access exclusive software discounts!
Other Flowchart Maker Options
Here’s a few more that didn’t make the top list. If you need additional suggestions for handy process flow diagram software, check these out.
- VisualParadigm Online
Best flowchart software for agile software development & data analytics
- Terrastruct
Best flowchart tool for software development
- Cacoo
Best online flowchart software for real-time team collaboration
How I Picked The Best Flowchart Software
I evaluated and compared the most popular flowchart software on the market, both for its reviews and user interface. Then I weighed factors that make software a good option for flowchart diagrams, such as the ones that follow.
User Interface (UI)
Is it clean with attractive presentation tools for sharing your flowchart diagram with clients and teams? Above all, flowchart software is a visual tool, so the graphical interface is a top consideration.
Usability
Is the flowchart software easy to learn and master? Does the company offer good tech support, templates, tutorials, and training? It should feel equally easy to build an org chart, a UML diagram, and a complex flowchart.
Integrations
Here, I look at how the software expands its functionality through third-party software. These can include pre-built integrations, apps you have to connect through an external vendor like Zapier, and custom integrations using an API.
Pricing
How is the pricing structure? I look at tiers, plans, starting prices, free trials, and free versions of the software. I find this information an important factor in your decision.
Flowchart Software FAQs
Find answers to common questions about this topic.
What are flowcharts good for?
The first “flow process chart” was described by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth in 1921 as a way to present every detail of a project where every part of the process is dependent upon or affected by every other part.
Today, flowcharts are taught even in grade school as a way to sort ideas, brainstorm, visualize data, build organizational charts, network diagrams, data flow diagrams, and more.
Flowcharts continue to be a great way to visualize data. And visualizing data helps us comprehend and remember information, identify relationships and patterns, and communicate ideas from one person to another. Therefore, it is commonly used to analyze complex processes within organizations.
Related Read: A Complete Guide To Workflow Diagrams For Project Managers
Related Read: What Is Mind Mapping? (+ How To Do It & Best Software)
What is flowchart software?
Flowchart software is a program or app that can create a sequenced diagram, often of interconnected shapes, that outlines the flow, hierarchy, order or structure of a plan or idea.
These cloud-based solutions help you build anything from simple flowcharts that have a few steps to complex diagrams that involve different stakeholders and decision-making points.
What features should I look for when selecting flowchart software?
Ideally, we want software that is good for more than one type of diagram. Therefore, these are some of the features that should be included.
- Drag & Drop: Arrange shapes, lines, and grids intuitively with drag and drop. Even better if the flowcharting software offers auto-align and auto-snap features to speed up the process.
- Lots of Graphical Elements: Any good process mapping software should supply a large variety of objects to work with. You’ll need standard options like shapes (ovals, diamonds) and connectors. The best apps also let you make your own shapes and add your own images.
- Templates: I mention this feature as part of overall usability. While not everyone wants templates, in general, a robust template library helps you put the tool to immediate use. My advice is to check the template library before getting started to make sure the tool offers the type of templates you’ll need.
- Collaboration: At its most basic, collaboration features include comments. Some of the more advanced flowchart diagramming software includes some form of groupware that lets users edit simultaneously in real-time on the same diagram, which can be really useful for remote teams.
- Exporting and Presentation: Your flow diagrams should be easy to present, share, and export in a range of formats. Keep in mind that if you’re printing your diagrams in a large format, the software needs to support vector file exports.
What are the basic flowchart symbols?
The basic symbols are ovals, arrows, lines, parallelograms, rectangles, and diamonds.
Typically, an oval means a start or end point; an arrow (or line) shows a connection, relationship or pathway; a parallelogram indicates some sort of input or output; a rectangle stands for a process; and a diamond represents a decision-making moment.
What are the common types of flowcharts?
There are three common types of flowcharts: Process Flowchart, Data Flowchart, and Business Process Modeling Diagram.
However, there are many different types of flowcharts, including but not limited to Swimlane Flowchart, EPC Diagram, SDL Diagram, Cross Functional Flowchart (or Deployment Flowchart), IDEF Flowchart, and Workflow Flowchart.
What’s Next?
Since we are on the topic of process representation and mapping stuff, you might be interested in reading about other tools such as workflow diagrams or mind mapping. What you cannot miss, though, is our guide on how to build workflow diagrams from scratch.
Related tool lists:
If you want to receive more fun and valuable content related to project management, subscribe to the Insider Membership Newsletter. We’ll deliver information on PM stories, new content, productivity hacks, and tunes you can’t live without.
