- Best Tool To Draw Flowcharts
- Best Flowchart App For Macbook
- Best Free Flowchart App For Mac
- Best Flowchart Application Mac
The flowchart is a subtle way of representing a process or an algorithm for analyzing the workflow in an effective way. Flowcharts are extensively used in organizations and institutions to represent a solution model of a task with the diagrammatic illustration. The representation of a work process with graphical representations like a flowchart paves the way for better collaboration to deal with a work-related process and aids in understanding the entire process.
Gliffy – Best Flowchart Making App. Gliffy is also a terrific tool that works in your browser and uses the HTML5 language to render and create beautiful, functional diagrams. Choosing the most efficient and cost-effective communication tool is a challenge and we’re here to help. Best flowchart software of 2018. Apple Mac OSX and various Linux distributions. Best Video Software for the Mac How To Run MacOS High Sierra or Another OS on Your Mac Best Graphic Design Software the Mac Stay Safe with Best Free Password Managers. Flowchart is the only diagramming application that is solely dedicated to create flow charts. The multi-user interface that the tool features is straightforward and simple which allows team collaboration in real-time.
Generally, a flowchart depicts the steps that are necessary to start a process and also steps that are required to finish the process or reach the endpoint of the workflow. There are many software available for Windows to make flowcharts. However, they are specific to your system specification like operating systems and hardware configuration. The most useful way of making a flowchart is by using online flowchart makers.
Free Online Flowchart Makers
Online flowchart makers is an excellent tool explicitly for developers and app designers that allows users to design technical diagrams with no much efforts. They are the easy and super fast way of making flowcharts without worrying about the hardware configuration and software installation. In this article, we round up some of the best online flowchart makers to create charts, graphs, and diagrams instantly.
- Apache OpenOffice Draw
- Grapholite
- Lucidchart
- Draw.io
- Wireflow
- Google Drawings Chrome extension.
1]Apache OpenOffice Draw
Apache OpenOffice Draw is an open source flowchart maker that aids in creating a business flowchart in a few clicks. It is a lightweight tool that can be used for both general posters and technical process. With the help of OpenOffice Draw, users can create Complex Diagrams, Floor Plans, SWOT Analysis and others instantly. The online tool offers a simple and easy to use interface that makes use of vector graphics for editing the drawings. With the help of Open Office.Org, users can easily transport the Scalable Vector Graphics. Users can also use the tool to create Flash (.swf ) versions of charts. The tool is compatible with Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, and Linux systems. Use this online flowchart maker here.
2] Grapholite
Grapholite is a free online flowchart maker that lets you draw the sophisticated diagrams at your fingertips. The online tool helps in drawing Venn Diagrams, UML diagrams, mind maps, Sitemap, Org Charts, Wireframe and other complex diagrams instantly with a simple clickety-clack of your mouse. The tool offers built-in shapes and diagrams for creating diagrams in a professional way. The tool can be used across all the devices and users may have to use Microsoft Silverlight to use the tool online on your browser. Use this online flowchart maker here.
3] Lucidchart
LucidChart is a free online flowchart maker that lets a user create diagrams from any device by simply signing up. The online tool helps to draw diagrams like flowcharts, Venn Diagrams, Sitemap, Org Charts, Wireframe and other complex diagrams instantly with the available templates. Users can easily create a PDF or image files of the diagrams and share easily with the team. The tool provides a platform to invite and collaborate effectively with your team and friends on any devices. The tool also lets the user import data and connect live data to the flowcharts in order to build visuals and other org charts. Use this online flowchart maker here. It is free for single users only.
4] Draw.io
Draw.io is a free online flowchart maker that offers an easy interface to draw any diagrams and charts be it a simple or a complex process. With a simple drag and drop, you can create flowcharts like Venn Diagrams, UML diagrams, mind maps, Sitemap, Org Charts, Wireframe and other complex charts. The tool allows users to store and share the workflows with your team on Google Drive. Use this online flowchart maker here.
5] Wireflow
Wireflow is another a free online flowchart tool used for creating beautiful flowcharts instantly. The tool lets a user create complex diagrams and charts without the need for any software or photoshop skills. Wireflow is an excellent tool to design the wireframes and user flows. It provides an easy to use interface with inbuilt templates. The user needs to simply drag and drop to create beautiful charts and diagrams. Additionally, the tool also supports the live chat to allow the users to communicate with the team to produce an effective flowchart. Use this online flowchart maker here.
6] Google Drawings Chrome extension
Google Drawing is a free extension for the Chrome browser which can be used for making flowcharts. To start using Google Drawings all one need to have is a Google account in order to avail the benefit of the free Google drawings. With the help of Google Drawings, one can easily draw diagrams and other complex charts with simple drag and drops. Users can access Google Drawing via Google Drive. So anything you draw in Google Drawings will be automatically saved to Google Drive which provides users the benefit of collaboration by sharing the projects with the team. Users can invite participants to view and edit the drawings as well as share it with friends. Use this online flowchart maker here.
That’s all!
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Microsoft Visio is a powerful piece of software, allowing IT professionals, business people, engineers, and others working in highly technical fields to map out and display complex information in the form of flowcharts, site plans, floor plans, diagrams and more.
Useful though all this is, the price point is well beyond what the average home user is willing to spend at $300 for the “Standard” version and $590 for the Pro version. (If you’re dead-set on using Visio, there is a potentially cheaper option where you can get Visio Pro for Office 365 for $13/month if you get an annual subscription or $15/month for a monthly commitment.)
But why pay at all when there are perfectly free and viable Visio alternatives available to you? Here are our top picks.
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1. LucidChart
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
If you are looking for a web-based alternative to Microsoft Visio, LucidChart is the perfect choice. It provides a drag-and-drop web interface to draw any kind of diagram. LucidChart gives you an option to build your diagrams in collaboration with your team. Multiple people will be able to work with the same diagram, making it the perfect choice for small teams.
One of the great features of LucidChart is that it can export or import Microsoft Visio vdx files very easily. One thing that is missing in LucidChart is the built-in categorization of different shapes for different areas like networking, engineering, etc. You don’t need to sign up for an account with LucidChart; just open the site and start drawing.
2. ASCIIFlow Infinity
Platforms: Browser
Starting with the simple stuff, if you’re looking for a quick, easy and instantly accessible diagramming tool with no bells and whistles attached, ASCIIFlow is a good option.
You can forget about having a vast range of shapes at your disposal or using this to map out a complex engineering project, but for quickly conveying ideas in diagram form, this is about as efficient as you can get. The ASCII format is clear, and you can use familiar Windows shortcuts (Ctrl + C, Ctrl + Z and so on) to quickly chop and change your diagrams.
You can change the format of the boxes from ASCII to Lines to make things a little clearer, and sync it all with Google Drive, too (though currently the level of access it requests to your Google Drive may put more security-conscious users off – hopefully that’s something they can fix).
3. Gliffy
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Browser
Coming in both free and paid flavors, Gliffy is a robust diagramming app that fully embraces the cloud. It integrates with services like Google Drive, Confluence and JIRA to allow you to collaborate on your UMLs, flowcharts and other diagramming projects seamlessly. Gliffy is free for students, while others get access to the ‘Basic’ version of the software (after a 14-day trial with the paid version), which has less templates, images and so on than the paid version.
With its simple drag-and-drop interface, large variety of exportable formats and a perfectly usable browser version which is completely free, Gliffy is an excellent choice for those comfortable with diagramming and flowchart software. More advanced users, however, may find the free version a little wanting in features and opt for one of the other, more feature-packed options in this list.
4. yEd Graph Editor
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Quite possibly the most user-friendly diagramming software out there, yED has you covered for everything from flowcharts, to family trees, to more technical diagrams like network infrastructures and process models.
You can set your chart to automatically lay itself out to suit whatever kind of data you’re entering. It has a decent repository of images for various types of charts and also gives you the option to import images from elsewhere. When you’re done, you can save your chart as a JPEG, XML or HTML, among other formats, making it easy to upload to websites or send to clients.
Best Tool To Draw Flowcharts
5. Graphviz
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
For something a little alternative, you can try Graphviz, the near thirty-year-old tool in which you create graphs, hierarchies and so on using a command line utility and the robust DOT language. It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll see that it could save you time in the long run.
It has a good amount of formats you can export your graph to and a number of layouts such as hierarchical, radial, multiscale and more. It’s particularly useful if you aren’t too fussy about pretty colors but are more concerned about entering huge amounts of data that can get instantly organized and generated. (That colossal graph at the top of this article was made using Graphviz.)
6. LibreOffice Draw
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
LibreOffice Draw is the closest and biggest open-source competitor of Microsoft Visio. Draw is an all-purpose drawing, diagramming and charting tool. The feature that I love in Draw is the grouping feature.
Best Flowchart App For Macbook
You can easily group different objects together and then do different actions on the group like moving the group, connecting with other groups, etc. In addition to other formats (XML format is the default), you can also export your diagrams as SWF Flash files. As an extra treat, here’s a package of shapes for Draw that are similar to those you find in Visio.
7. Dia
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Dia is an open-source program very similar to Microsoft Visio, with largely the same feature set. You can create UML diagrams, flowcharts, network processes and architectures, entity relationship diagrams, etc., easily with Dia. The default file format for any file created with Dia is .dia, but there are plenty of file formats you can export your diagram to, including Microsoft Visio’s .vdx format.
8. Draw.io
Platforms: Browser
Draw.io has a very responsive and accessible interface, with the tools in the column on the left and the drawing in the column on the right. You don’t need to sign up for an account to use Draw.io, and from the moment you’re on the site you’re given the option to save your work to cloud services like Google Drive and OneDrive or your hard drive.
Best Free Flowchart App For Mac
If you connect Draw.io to your Google account, it has very functional real-time collaboration, letting you work on projects simultaneously with others. It’s not a complex tool, so while it’s accessible, it doesn’t offer the depth of features of some other diagramming software.
9. Pencil Project
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Pencil Project is an open-source alternative to Microsoft Visio which is actively maintained by the development community. Their goal for Pencil Project is to make diagramming as easy as possible and usable for everyone from a newbie to an expert. It’s regularly updated with new stencils, templates and other features, lets you export your work to multiple formats, and has integration with OpenClipart.org, letting you instantly search the Web for images to make your projects pop.
Best Flowchart Application Mac
Hopefully you will find these free alternatives to Microsoft Visio useful. Or after testing these do you still believe that the paid tools offer something these don’t? Let us know in the comments!
This article was first published in January 2012 and was updated in May 2018.