The Best Open Source Microsoft Visio AlternativesTop Diagram Editors & Mind Mapping Tools like Microsoft Visio

The best open source alternative to Microsoft Visio is LibreOffice - Draw. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Microsoft Visio and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Microsoft Visio are Dia, Pencil Project, Excalidraw and PlantUML.

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Microsoft Visio alternatives are mainly Diagram Editors, but if you're looking for Mind Mapping Tools or Vector Graphic Apps you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Free, Linux, Android + Mind Mapping, Diagram Editor, Android Tablet and Android. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Microsoft Visio.
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Alternatives list

  1. LibreOffice - Draw icon

    LibreOffice - Draw

     311 likes
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    Draw lets you produce anything from a quick sketch to a complex plan, and gives you the means to communicate with graphics and diagrams. With a maximum page size of 300cm by 300cm, Draw is a an excellent package for producing technical drawings, general posters, and much else.

    97 LibreOffice - Draw alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flathub
    LibreOffice - Draw screenshot 1
     
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    63
    Comments about LibreOffice - Draw as an Alternative to Microsoft Visio
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    5

    It's free and open source, while Visio is proprietary and expensive.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    stefan-hoelzl
    Positive
    0

    It works well for me, is free and open source, and Visio obviously is not.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Red-Case
    Positive
    0

    Not cloud based, which is great. Had problems with diagrams.net being unable to login with my Google account which made my files inaccessible.

    Show more comments
    3 of 7 comments
    Microsoft Visio Icon
    LibreOffice - Draw icon

    • Most users think LibreOffice - Draw is a great Microsoft Visio alternative.

    • LibreOffice - Draw is the most popular Open Source alternative to Microsoft Visio.

    • LibreOffice - Draw is Free and Open SourceMicrosoft Visio is Paid and Proprietary
    • LibreOffice - Draw is Lightweight and Privacy focusedMicrosoft Visio is not according to our users
  2. Dia icon

    Dia

     451 likes
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    Open-source diagram editor supporting Linux, Windows, Unix, and Mac OS X, with features for constructing entity relationship, UML, flowchart, and network diagrams, customizable with XML-defined shapes, extensibility, and a GTK+-based graphical user interface.

    91 Dia alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    • FreeBSD
    • Xfce
    • DragonFly BSD
    • NetBSD
    • OpenBSD
    Dia screenshot 1
     
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    83
    Comments about Dia as an Alternative to Microsoft Visio
    Guest
    Negative
    10

    Clumpsy Handling, old fashion style look

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    -4

    Dia has no cross platform copy paste capability.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Microsoft Visio Icon
    Dia icon

    • Most users think Dia is a great Microsoft Visio alternative.

    • Dia is Free and Open SourceMicrosoft Visio is Paid and Proprietary
    • Dia is LightweightMicrosoft Visio is not according to our users
  4. Pencil Project icon

    Pencil Project

     416 likes
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    Pencil is a standalone app that lets you create diagrams or UI mockups. It doesn't have collaboration/multi-user features.

    78 Pencil Project alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    Pencil Project screenshot 1
     
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    5
    30
    Comments about Pencil Project as an Alternative to Microsoft Visio
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    1

    Used to make sketchups for a mobile GUI.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    4

    Does not map network layout easily enough, which is what Visio was designed to do from the start

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    Great for UI mockups and planning.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Show more comments
    3 of 5 comments
    Microsoft Visio Icon
    Pencil Project icon

    • Most users think Pencil Project is a great Microsoft Visio alternative.

    • Pencil Project is Free and Open SourceMicrosoft Visio is Paid and Proprietary
  5. Excalidraw icon

    Excalidraw

     96 likes
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    Excalidraw is an open-source whiteboard tool that lets you easily sketch diagrams that have a hand-drawn feel to them. Available directly online as a web app and also through CodeSandbox to easily see how the code works, and the app is available for self-hosting.

    80 Excalidraw alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Excalidraw screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about Excalidraw as an Alternative to Microsoft Visio
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    While Excalidraw is great whiteboard software, it doesn't support as many shapes and "relations between objects" as visio does

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Microsoft Visio Icon
    Excalidraw icon
    • Excalidraw is Freemium and Open SourceMicrosoft Visio is Paid and Proprietary
    • Excalidraw is Privacy focusedMicrosoft Visio is not according to our users
  6. PlantUML icon

    PlantUML

     119 likes
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    PlantUML is an open-source tool that uses simple textual descriptions to draw UML diagrams. The generator can be run anywhere within JVM and integrated with various application such as wiki, text editor, IDE, programming language, documentation generator, and others.

    115 PlantUML alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • Chrome OS
    Common PlantUML JAR GUI application that will render text file into image.
     
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    13
  7. quiver diagram editor icon

    quiver diagram editor

     9 likes
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    Efficient web-based tool for constructing high-quality commutative diagrams. Offers LaTeX export with embedded links, intuitive interface supporting both mouse and keyboard inputs, and features like multiple selections, macro support, and smart label alignment.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    quiver diagram editor screenshot 1
     
  9. Graphviz icon

    Graphviz

     74 likes
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    Graphviz is open source graph visualization software. Graph visualization is a way of representing structural information as diagrams of abstract graphs and networks. It has important applications in networking, bioinformatics, software engineering, database and web design...

    56 Graphviz alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Graphviz screenshot 1
     
  10. Apache OpenOffice Draw icon

    Apache OpenOffice Draw

     125 likes
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    Draw, part of the Apache OpenOffice suite, is a graphics editor that gives you the tools to communicate with visuals and diagrams. With a maximum page size of 300cm by 300cm, Draw is powerful tool for posters, graphs, charts, and more.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    For technical drawings with integrated graduation function (not available in PowerPoint)
     
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    10
  11. Wireflow icon

    Wireflow

     22 likes
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    Feature-rich, open-source Wireflow offers a collaborative platform for online creation of complex user flow prototypes. Ideal for team work in UI design, wireframing, and mind mapping, promoting idea sharing in real-time environment aided by modern whiteboard features.

    117 Wireflow alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Wireflow screenshot 1
     
  12. Kroki icon

    Kroki

     7 likes
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    Creates diagrams from textual descriptions! It provides a unified API with support for BlockDiag, BPMN, Bytefield, C4 (with PlantUML), Ditaa, Erd, GraphViz, Mermaid, Nomnoml, PlantUML, SvgBob, UMLet, Vega, Vega-Lite, WaveDrom.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Kroki screenshot 1
     
  13. Umbrello icon

    Umbrello

     40 likes
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    Umbrello is a Unified Modelling Language (UML) modelling tool and code generator. It can create diagrams of software and other systems in the industry-standard UML format, and can also generate code from UML diagrams in a variety of programming languages.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Umbrello screenshot 1
     
  14. ThinkComposer icon

    ThinkComposer

     40 likes
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    Create deep visual documents, adaptable and multi-level diagrams, flowcharts, concept maps, mind maps and models.

    164 ThinkComposer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Editing a Business Process diagram
     
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12 of 23 Microsoft Visio alternatives