Open Source Visual Paradigm AlternativesTop Diagram Editors & UML Modeling Tools like Visual Paradigm

The best open source alternative to Visual Paradigm is draw.io. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Visual Paradigm and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Visual Paradigm are Excalidraw, Dia, PlantUML and Mermaid.

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Alternatives list

  1. draw.io icon

    draw.io

     1032 likes

    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.

    148 draw.io alternatives

    Cost / License

    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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  2. Excalidraw icon

    Excalidraw

     113 likes

    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.

    99 Excalidraw alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    Excalidraw screenshot 1
     
  4. Dia icon

    Dia

     453 likes

    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.

    93 Dia alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    • FreeBSD
    • Xfce
    • DragonFly BSD
    • NetBSD
    • OpenBSD
    Dia screenshot 1
     
  5. PlantUML icon

    PlantUML

     120 likes

    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.

    118 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.
     
  6. Mermaid icon

    Mermaid

     33 likes

    Ever wanted to simplify documentation and avoid heavy tools like Visio when explaining your code? This is why mermaid was born, a simple markdown-like script language for generating flowcharts, Gantt charts and sequence diagrams from text via JavaScript.

    28 Mermaid alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • JavaScript
    • Node.JS
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    Mermaid screenshot 1
     
  7. quiver diagram editor icon

    quiver diagram editor

     10 likes

    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 (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    quiver diagram editor screenshot 1
     
  9. Gaphor icon

    Gaphor

     8 likes

    Gaphor is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) UML and SysML modeling environment easy to use that will help you create your applications.

    15 Gaphor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Gaphor screenshot 1
     
  10. Umbrello icon

    Umbrello

     40 likes

    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.

    53 Umbrello alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Umbrello screenshot 1
     
  11. Modelio icon

    Modelio

     18 likes

    Modelio is an open source modeling tool supporting natively UML, BPMN and model exchange with XMI. It allows to draw all UML2 diagrams and specific diagrams for business process modeling. It is easy and powerful with the capacity to add new functionalities to the application.

    35 Modelio alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Eclipse
    Class diagrams
     
  12. Papyrus UML icon

    Papyrus UML

     17 likes

    Graphical modelling open source UML2 tool based on Eclipse environment.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Eclipse
    Use Case
     
  13. UMLet icon

    UMLet

     30 likes

    UMLet is an open-source UML tool with a simple user interface: draw UML diagrams fast, export diagrams to eps, pdf, jpg, svg, and clipboard, share diagrams using Eclipse, and create new, custom UML elements.

    36 UMLet alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    UMLet screenshot 1
     
  14. E

    Eclipse Mode Development Tools

     1 like

    The Model Development Tools (MDT) project focuses on big "M" modeling within the Modeling project. Its purpose is twofold:

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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