Lucidchart is one of the most popular diagramming software available on the market. However, with expensive subscriptions, limited flowchart management features, and a lack of unified productivity tools, it might not fit your business.
If that’s the case, you may be looking for alternatives that align with your company’s goals.
This article will cover some of the best available Lucidchart alternatives — with an in-depth overview of their features, advantages, disadvantages, and pricing — and show you how to boost your work-call productivity with Lark.
What is Lucidchart?
Lucidchart is a popular diagramming tool developed by Lucid Software Inc. and launched in 2010.
It boasts collaborative and sharing features and a wide selection of templates and pre-built shapes, allowing users to communicate complex ideas and visualize organizational processes and systems by creating various diagram types and flowcharts — mindmaps, wireframes, organizational charts, and network diagrams.
Moreover, this Cloud-based diagram software supports third-party integrations. It connects with Jira, Trello, Confluence, Google Workspace, Microsoft, Slack, Dropbox, Zoom, AWS, and Asana — allowing you to streamline your workflow further.
What Lucidchart does right and what it lacks
Here’s an overview of Lucidchart’s notable features, advantages, and disadvantages.
What Lucidchart does right
It’s versatile and flexible
One of the areas where Lucidchart shines is versatility. You can use the diagram tool to create a wide range of diagrams — from flowcharts and mindmaps to wireframing and more.
Collaboration features
Lucidchart’s collaborative features — including real-time updates, commenting, @mentions, in-editor chat, and collaborative cursors — allow you to work with other team members within the same document, enhancing team collaboration and productivity.
Template library
Lucidchart has an extensive library of templates and pre-built shapes within the editor. Users can easily create different diagrams without starting from scratch, reducing the time spent diagramming and improving efficiency.
What Lucidchart lacks
Here are a few reasons you might want to look into Lucidchart alternatives.
Expensive pricing plans
Lucidchart is significantly more costly than similar diagramming tools. There are four pricing options — including a free plan — and a seven-day free trial.
The free version includes essential features like three editable Lucidchart documents, 60 shapes per Lucidchart document, and 100 templates — while the paid version has three plans:
Individual plan, starting at $7.95 per user per month, which includes unlimited editable documents, unlimited shapes and objects per document, and 1 GB of storage
Team plan, starting at $9 per user per month, which includes Visual Activities, password-protected publishing, and revision history with versioning
Enterprise plan with custom pricing, which unlocks Lucidchart’s exclusive features, like Team Spaces, Universal Canvas, IP address whitelisting, and advanced controls
Steep learning curve for more advanced features
Lucidchart’s interface is simple, and it should be relatively easy to create and share diagrams, flowcharts, and other visuals. However, there’s a steep learning curve when it comes to some of Lucidchart’s advanced features.
Limited offline functionality
Lucidchart is a web-based diagram tool designed to work seamlessly across several operating systems and devices. While it offers cross-platform functionality, it doesn’t have a desktop version — meaning it can’t be used without Internet access.
10 best Lucidchart alternatives
Here are the top Lucidchart alternatives worth considering in 2024.
1. Lark - Best overall alternative
Lark is a comprehensive collaboration software designed for businesses and teams of all sizes. It combines collaboration features — video conferencing, task delegation, messaging, and other productivity tools — into a single platform.
Besides these core capabilities, Lark offers a wide range of additional features — including a wide selection of templates for mind maps, flow charts, UML class diagrams, and more — to help teams create high-quality, beautiful diagrams.
In short, it’s more than a basic diagramming tool.
Here’s an overview of Lark’s most notable features that make it a powerful diagramming tool:
Document, whiteboard, and diagramming collaboration within Lark Docs, which allows up to 200 team members to work on diagrams simultaneously, with rich media, real-time syncing, detailed edit history with the option to restore previous versions, and up to 10 TB of storage (depending on the plan)
Wide range of templates — including flowcharts, mind maps, and org charts — to kickstart your projects and cater to various diagramming needs
Immersive video conferencing experience with Meetings, which allows team members to host and join video calls directly within the platform, share their screens, and work collaboratively on diagrams while on a video call
Lark’s collaborative database with multiple project views, workflow automation, and data syncing
Robust task management capabilities designed to streamline project workflows and help teams stay organized and focused on their objectives, with features such as task prioritization, due dates, and progress tracking
Calendar tool, which you can use to schedule tasks and meetings, set reminders, prevent scheduling conflicts, and keep teams synchronized — all within the chat
Unlimited messaging in one-on-one and group chats with Lark’s Messenger, which supports information sharing and decision-making with features like auto-translation, rich formatting, threads, and complete search history
As for integration features, Lark connects with popular apps like Trello, Zoom, GitLab, Jira, Dropbox, and Google Docs — with even more integration solutions available through Zapier.
One of Lark’s key advantages is that it’s a comprehensive collaboration and productivity platform that reduces your reliance on third-party software and eliminates the need for constant app switching.
Lark’s free version supports up to 50 users, making it more cost-effective than Lucidchart. You can also access Lark’s most notable features — unlimited one-on-one and group chats, video conferencing (up to 60 minutes per meeting), workflow automation, 100 GB of file storage, and Lark-hosted email.
If you’d like to explore additional features, you can upgrade to Lark’s paid plans:
Pro plan, which starts at $12 per month and allows up to 500 users
Enterprise plan with custom pricing and an unlimited number of users
2. Draw.io - Best for customization
Draw.io — an online diagram-drawing application — can be used to create various types of diagrams, including flowcharts, wireframes, and more.
This simple tool boasts features like:
Drag-and-drop features that make diagramming straightforward
Extensive library of shapes and elements with basic shapes to cater to different diagramming needs
Real-time collaboration, which allows multiple team members to work together on a diagramming project simultaneously
Wide range of import and export formats, including .xml, .vsdx, .png, .jpeg, and .svg
Ad-free and privacy-focused platform that doesn’t feature external advertising or track your data
Draw.io is an open-source platform, meaning you can create your own third-party integrations. It already integrates with many popular tools, including Atlassian software — Jira, Trello, and Confluence — Google Docs and Slides.
It works on all major platforms, including macOS, Windows, and Linux. More importantly, it has a stand-alone desktop app called draw.io Desktop that works in offline mode, too.
While the interface is simple and easy to use, it looks outdated compared to tools like Lark and is prone to lagging.
Unlike other tools for diagramming, Draw.io is completely free, making it an excellent alternative to Lucidchart for small teams with limited resources.
3. Visio - Best for professional diagrams
Visio — part of the Microsoft suite — is a powerful diagramming tool that allows users to create professional-looking diagrams, with notable features like:
Wide range of templates, shapes, and more than 1,000 icons for different diagram types, including organization charts, cross-functional flowcharts, floor plans, layouts, and mind maps
Collaboration features, including real-time editing, commenting, and co-authoring
Option to create diagrams from data and link shapes to data from different sources, like Excel and SharePoint
Accessibility features, including high-contrast support and narration
Enterprise-grade security with GDPR compliance and Information Rights Management (IRM)
It natively integrates with the MS ecosystem — including Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and Office 365 — making it a great choice for Microsoft users. But overall, it has limited integrations.
One of Visio’s biggest downsides is that the dashboard isn’t user-friendly. There’s a steep learning curve, so it takes some time for first-time users to fully understand the platform.
Moreover, there’s no free version, which can be an expensive option for smaller teams.
That said, it’s included in all Microsoft 365 commercial plans, with two subscription options:
Visio Plan 1, which starts at $5 per user
Visio Plan 2, which starts at $15 per user
Visio Standard 2021 and Visio Professional 2021 are available as a one-time purchase for $309.99 and $579.99, respectively.
4. Miro - Best for visual collaboration
Miro is a powerful, feature-rich digital whiteboard supporting visual collaboration.
As an enterprise-ready team collaboration tool, Miro boasts diagramming features such as:
Project folders for organizing boards
Ready-made templates, including the option to create and reuse custom templates
Brand Center with customization tools to ensure consistency with brand guidelines
Collaborative features, including voting, Talktracks (audio and video walkthrough of the board), and video chat
Interactive Presentation Mode for two-way presentations where the audience can also interact with the board
Product development workflows with product planning and visualizing dependencies
Manual backups and board history
Miro Assist, an AI-powered diagram generator
It integrates with over 130 apps — including Google Drive, Microsoft Excel, Slack, Trello, Dropbox, Zoom, Asana, monday.com, Webex, GitHub, and Atlassian apps. Moreover, the Miro REST API allows users to build their own integration solutions.
It’s a versatile tool that helps remote teams brainstorm and visualize complex projects and enhances real-time collaboration. However, there’s a slight learning curve compared to Lark.
Plus, Miro’s free version is relatively limited. It includes only three boards, five Talktracks, core integrations, and basic exports. You must upgrade to one of Miro’s three paid plans to access additional features:
Starter plan, which starts at $8 per month
Business plan, which starts at $16 per month
Enterprise plan with custom pricing
5. Creately - Best for visualized project management
Creately is an online diagramming tool focusing on visual collaboration and project management — with key features such as:
Infinite canvas with drag-and-drop functionality — one of Creately’s key advantages
Diagramming and whiteboarding features with 70 types of professional diagram types, thousands of ready-to-use templates, a library of shapes and connectors, and support for freehand drawing and markups
Diagram version history for tracking changes and reverting to the previous versions
Real-time collaboration with cursors, comments, and advanced sharing features
Standard and custom databases with rich property types and two-way data syncing
Project management features, including multi-role workflows, agile planning and management with Kanban boards, and OKR and KPI toolkit
This versatile tool integrates with Microsoft, Google, GitHub, Slack, and Microsoft Teams — but overall, it has limited integration capabilities.
Besides the relatively limited integration features, you may experience issues with lagging — especially when multiple users are editing diagrams simultaneously — importing SVG files, and grouping objects.
The free version includes three Canvases with up to 60 items, 50 types of diagrams, templates, real-time collaboration, and link sharing. However, free Creately users have limited storage and no access to project management features or customer support.
It also has three paid plans:
Personal plan at $8 per month per user
Business plan at $149 per month for an unlimited number of users
Enterprise plan with custom pricing
6. Gliffy - Best for streamlined diagramming
Gliffy is a simple diagramming tool that focuses on user-friendliness and efficiency and caters to a wide range of users — including beginners:
Drag-and-drop functionality that makes diagram creation straightforward
Real-time collaboration, which allows multiple users to work on the same project at the same time and leave comments
Mind mapping for brainstorming sessions
Shape libraries with a wide variety of shapes and templates
It offers a wide range of integrations — including Lucidchart, Basecamp, monday.com, Trello, and, most notably, Jira and Atlassian Confluence — allowing you to streamline your workflow with third-party software.
If you’re used to working with Atlassian apps, this user-friendly alternative to Lucidchart is worth considering.
Gliffy is great for business process modeling, software development, and design projects, but it focuses on simplicity — so it lacks some advanced tools. While it offers various pre-built shapes and symbols, customization options are limited, preventing users from creating detailed diagrams.
On the plus side, Gliffy is a budget-friendly tool suitable for individual users and small teams. The online version has a 14-day free trial and two subscription levels:
Professional, which starts at $10 per user per month for up to 9 people ($8 for up to 50 people)
Enterprise, which has custom pricing and is suitable for any team size
7. Figma - Best for collaborative interface design
Figma is a versatile design tool that goes beyond diagramming and focuses on collaborative interface design. It’s a fantastic alternative to Lucidchart for projects involving interface prototyping and design iteration — with features like:
Figma Editor with auto-saving, complete version history, and unlimited Cloud storage
Advanced drawing tools for web and UI designers
Real-time collaboration features, including multiple editors, unlimited viewers, audio chats, shareable links, and on-canvas commenting
Prototyping capabilities with interactive overlays, transition animations, and videos
Customization options, such as reusable components, company-wide design systems with shared assets, and styles for object customization
Figma’s Dev Mode with advanced inspection, annotations, dev resources, and customized code output
It connects to other collaboration and productivity tools, including Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Slack, Asana, and Jira. Plus, you can add more integrations with the Figma API.
With real-time collaboration and prototyping capabilities, Figma is a powerful diagramming tool — ideal for projects requiring rapid prototyping with many iterations. However, there’s a learning curve, and it takes time to become familiar with Figma’s full range of features.
Also, it consumes more device resources compared to other tools.
Figma has a free version — the Starter plan gives you access to Figma Editor’s basic features — and three paid plans:
Professional plan, starting at $12 a month
Organization plan, starting at $45 a month
Enterprise plan, starting at $75 a month
8. SmartDraw - Best for versatile business graphics
SmartDraw is a powerful diagram editor renowned for its flexibility and built-in automation. It can create professional-looking visuals — including flow charts, mind maps, floor plans, network diagrams, and organizational charts — boasting features like:
Diagramming AI that uses built-in automation to help you build visuals
Generating diagrams based on data from external sources with real-time syncing
Free-form brainstorming with whiteboarding AI, sticky notes, and blueprints for flow charts, mind maps, decision trees, Kanban boards, and more
Professional Finish, which allows you to apply a preferred color scheme and maintain branding standards when working on complex projects
Thousands of templates with the option to create and save custom shapes for future use
Third-party storage solutions, including OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox
This diagram software also connects with Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Trello, and Confluence.
The automated diagramming features make it a user-friendly alternative to Lucidchart. Plus, you can run SmartDraw in a web browser or download the desktop software — but the latter is only available on Windows.
It’s also not the most cost-effective solution compared to an all-in-one platform like Lark.
SmartDraw offers a seven-day free trial, but there’s no free version — and the three subscription levels can be expensive for individual users and small teams:
Individual, starting at $9.95 a month
Team, starting at $8.25 per user, with a minimum three-user requirement
Site, with a fixed price of $2,995
9. Mural - Best for collaborative visual thinking
Mural is another visual collaboration platform that serves as a digital whiteboard for brainstorming and sharing ideas, with notable features such as:
Flexible canvases with drag-and-drop capability, with the option to choose between resizable and infinite canvases
Core features for visual collaboration, including sticky notes, interactive displays, images, icons, drawings, comments, and reactions
Engaging features like timers, voting, and laser pointers
Library of templates with more than 250 pre-made templates
Option to invite guests and one-time collaborators (visitors) to work with people outside of your core team
In addition to the built-in generative AI tool, it integrates with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Moreover, you can connect Mural to other tools — Microsoft Teams, Slack, Asana, Google Workspace, Webex, Zoom, Jira, and Confluence — or build custom integrations with Mural’s API.
Overall, Mural’s digital whiteboards are easy to use and can be a great choice for mind-mapping and brainstorming — both in real-time and asynchronously.
New users might need more time to adapt to the platform. Also, it can be slow — lagging is especially noticeable when several people edit the canvas simultaneously.
Mural has a free version — which includes three whiteboards with essential visual collaboration features and templates — for unlimited members and three paid plans:
Team+ plan, starting at $12 per user per month
Business plan, starting at $17.99 per user per month
Enterprise plan with custom pricing
10. Whimsical - Best for simplified visual communication
Whimsical is a user-friendly visual communication platform focusing on drag-and-drop components and automatic formatting — with notable features such as:
Collaborative diagramming with comments and the option to follow another editor’s cursor in real-time
Intuitive wireframing with drag-and-drop features, keyboard shortcuts, and self-scaling icons
Mind maps with automatic layouts, one-key shortcuts for adding new nodes, rich text formatting, easy-to-move branches, and links
Flow charts with predictive shapes, rich text formatting, and self-scaling icons
Whimsical AI for generating diagrams with up to 4,000 AI actions per editor per month
It natively integrates with Slack, Google Docs, Notion, Jira, Linear, and GitHub. You can embed Whimsical boards in popular project management platforms, including ClickUp, Trello, monday.com, and Asana.
Overall, Whimsical is a simple alternative to Lucidchart that supports visual communication and allows team members to collaborate on mind maps, flow charts, wireframes, and documents in real time.
However, it lacks advanced features for complex projects.
Another downside is that while Whimsical’s free plan supports unlimited members and guests, it’s limited to only three boards and 100 AI actions.
Besides the free version, Whimsical also offers two paid plans:
Pro plan, starting at $12 per editor per month
Organization plan, starting at $20 per editor per month
How Lark’s diagramming and drawing capabilities can enhance your calls
Over the last few years, virtual meetings have become the preferred option for organizations — especially multinational corporations and fully remote companies.
Fifty-eight percent of employees can now work remotely, and the adoption of video conferencing continues to grow — but keeping employees engaged during virtual meetings can be challenging.
If you’re hoping to get more out of team calls, improve collaboration, and capture employee attention, Lark’s whiteboard and diagramming capabilities can help:
Problem-solving with diagrams: Create visual representations like diagrams and flow charts to break down problems into smaller parts and help others analyze the issue, understand it better, and come up with potential solutions
Streamlined communication process: Communicate through group and individual chats, video and audio calls in one place — instead of switching between several chat apps
Collaborative whiteboarding: Share a whiteboard during meetings so others can view and edit it in real time; it’s great for sketching out ideas, dynamic brainstorming, and presenting information in a visually engaging way
Breaking down complex projects: Diagrams can help your team break down complex projects and present available data in a structured format, making it easier to follow
Efficient onboarding and training for new employees: HR professionals can use Lark’s whiteboards and templates to ensure a better onboarding and training experience for new employees
Conclusion
Lucidchart is a decent diagramming software — but the expensive subscription plans and lack of offline access may make it unsuitable for your business.
Plus, it’s not as dynamic and flexible as other Lucidchart alternatives — especially Lark.
With a wide suite of productivity and collaboration tools within a single platform, covering everything from video conferencing and team chat to flowcharting and scheduling tasks, Lark is a fantastic alternative to Lucidchart.
It’s the ultimate all-in-one solution that’ll help your team save time and resources and remove the need for constant app toggling.
Keep reading:
Unleashing the Power of Flowcharts: Enhance Team Collaboration and Efficiency | Lark Blog
Mastering Swimlane Diagrams: Improve Collaboration & Streamline Processes with Lark
