Free Microsoft Visio Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to Microsoft Visio for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best free Windows alternative is draw.io. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Microsoft Visio and many of them are free and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Windows alternatives to Microsoft Visio are LibreOffice - Draw, yEd Graph Editor, Dia and Pencil Project.

filter to find the best alternatives

Microsoft Visio alternatives are mainly Diagram Editors, but if you're looking for Mind Mapping Tools or UML Modeling Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Free, Linux, iPad, Android, Android + Mind Mapping and Diagram Editor. 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. draw.io icon

    draw.io

     1010 likes
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    Feature-rich diagram editor offering privacy-focused, ad-free experience with real-time collaboration, offline usage, dark mode, and cloud storage support. No registration required and compatible with various diagram formats, it excels in simplicity by not tracking user data.

    130 draw.io alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    • Notion
    • Self-Hosted
    • Nextcloud
    • Microsoft SharePoint
    • Flathub
    • Microsoft OneDrive
    • PortableApps.com
    • Google Drive
    • Google Docs
    • Microsoft Teams
    • Google Slides
    • Flatpak
    • Google Sheets
    Use the diagram editor in dark mode. Go to app.diagrams.net/?splash=0&ui=dark
     
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    225
    Comments about draw.io as an Alternative to Microsoft Visio
    Comment summary: Many users praise draw.io as a lightweight, user-friendly, and cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Visio. Benefits highlighted include its intuitive interface, offline capabilities, support for LaTeX, and compatibility with Visio files. The open-source nature and free availability are frequent points of commendation. While most feedback is positive, one comment regards draw.io as merely an illustration tool with flowchart shapes. Overall, it is well-regarded for its features, ease of access, and utility both online and offline.
    Top Positive Comment
    makerj
    10

    It is very convenient and contains many features.

    CRAZY HICK
    Positive
    0

    Lightweight, simple to learn/use and not a rip-off like Visio.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Simplified, easy to use interface. Free and Open Source. Clean UI design and look and feel.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
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    3 of 15 comments
    Microsoft Visio Icon
    draw.io icon

    • Almost everyone thinks draw.io is a great Microsoft Visio alternative.

    • draw.io is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Microsoft Visio.

    • draw.io is the most popular free alternative to Microsoft Visio.

    • draw.io is Free and ProprietaryMicrosoft Visio is Paid and Proprietary
    • draw.io is Lightweight and Privacy focusedMicrosoft Visio is not according to our users
  2. 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.

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    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
  4. yEd Graph Editor icon

    yEd Graph Editor

     441 likes
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    yEd is a powerful diagram editor that can be used to quickly create diagrams manually or import external data for analysis and auto-magically arrange even large data sets by just pressing a button. You can use yEd to quickly create flow charts, BPMN and UML diagrams...

    117 yEd Graph Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • BSD
    yEd Graph Editor screenshot 1
     
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    75
    Comments about yEd Graph Editor as an Alternative to Microsoft Visio
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    1

    good functionality, when all custom pallets are in place, over the years.

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

    Free, lightweight and good response. Powerful layout tool to smart redraw your diagram. Several types of diagrams supported.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    -1

    Open source, lightweight, easy to use.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
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    3 of 7 comments
    Microsoft Visio Icon
    yEd Graph Editor icon

    • Almost everyone thinks yEd Graph Editor is a great Microsoft Visio alternative.

    • yEd Graph Editor is Free and ProprietaryMicrosoft Visio is Paid and Proprietary
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Creately icon
    Creately

    Web-based diagram platform offers real-time teamwork, 50+ diagram and mind mapping types, technical wireframing, smart objects, templates, version control, secure cloud storage, PDF export, collaboration tools, commenting, and in...

    https://creately.com
    Learn More
  6. 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
  7. 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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    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.
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    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
  8. Miro icon

    Miro

     115 likes
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    A secure collaboration platform for distributed teams offering real-time and asynchronous capabilities, infinite canvas, integrations with major tools like Google Suite, Slack, and Dropbox, and features for enhanced product development and design workflows.

    107 Miro alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    Miro screenshot 1
     
  10. 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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  12. 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
     
  13. 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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  14. 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.

    52 Umbrello alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Umbrello screenshot 1
     
  15. ProcessOn icon

    ProcessOn

     22 likes
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    ProcessOn is a free online drawing tool that supports the creation of mind maps, flow charts, swimlane diagrams, network topology diagrams, fishbone diagrams, UML and other graphics.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    One stop drawing tool
     
12 of 42 Microsoft Visio alternatives