Need to create diagrams, flowcharts, circuits, or other kinds of entity-relationship models? Microsoft Visio is without a doubt the best software for that, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for you.
Visio may be the industry standard in the corporate world, but it comes with a huge drawback: it’s expensive ($299 for the standard version as of this writing). Can’t afford that? Then you’ll be happy to know that several open source alternatives exist for the low, low price of FREE.
We’re going to highlight the two best ones here, but if you don’t like them for whatever reason, you can scroll down to the bottom of the article for even more options to explore.
Diagram Creation With Dia
To find an alternative to Visio, I looked at Visio competitors that are affordable, can sync with a project management software platform, and alternatives with good customer reviews. Here are the best Visio alternatives that are free to use or cheap for Mac and Windows. YEd Graphic Editor is an open-source network diagram software Mac for creating different kinds of diagrams like network, mind maps, flowcharts, UML diagrams and so on. Thanks to its straightforward and intuitive user interface, designing basic network diagrams and exporting them to popular file formats would be a breeze. Recently we list professional alternatives to Visio for Mac. If you want to use free Visio alternatives, read our guide. If you want to use free Visio alternatives, read our guide. LucidChart – Browser based Visio editor.
Dia has been the go-to Visio alternative for many years. What I like most about it is the first impression that you get when it launches: clean, simple, with an interface that’s familiar and easy to navigate. Quite reminiscent of Visio, in fact:
At the bottom left, you’ll see that Dia starts out with a set of flowcharting symbols. This is great and all, but you can select other “sheets” from the dropdown menu if you want. Dia comes with all kinds of symbol sets, including circuits, networks, UML, and more: https://entrancementchampion810.weebly.com/blog/microsoft-active-directory-management-tools-for-mac.
You’ll be able to create your first diagram in mere minutes. Drag-and-drop a few symbols onto the canvas, then connect them using the various types available in the toolbox: lines, zigzags, arcs, circles, curves, etc.
Dia also supports layers, making it a lot easier to manage complex charts, and moving elements between layers is as simple as hitting a hotkey.
Snap to grid, easy resizing, text labels, image insertions — Dia has it all. Anything you can do in Visio can be done in Dia as well. The only real downside is that Dia can’t open Visio VSD files, but it can handle most other diagramming formats like XML, EPS, and SVG.
Download — Dia (Free)
The website for Dia hasn’t been updated since 2014, but don’t let that stop you. The app ran perfectly fine on my system running Windows 10 version 1607. No hiccups at all.
Diagram Creation With LibreOffice Draw
Have you heard of LibreOffice? As far as open source competitors to Microsoft Office go, you won’t find a more solid and robust alternative.
Back in 2015, LibreOffice received a big update that brought it straight into the limelightIs the New LibreOffice a Better Microsoft Office Alternative?Is the New LibreOffice a Better Microsoft Office Alternative?LibreOffice, a long-time contender of Microsoft Office, just received a makeover and important updates. After being held back by niggling bugs over the years, has LibreOffice finally found the winning formula?Read More. What used to be an okay-but-problematic office suite had started closing the gap — and in early 2016, it actually began to outshine Microsoft Office in some waysIs LibreOffice Worthy of the Office Crown?Is LibreOffice Worthy of the Office Crown?LibreOffice is the king of free office suites. It's unlikely to replace Microsoft Office in a business environment, but it's an excellent alternative for casual users. Here's what's new in LibreOffice 5.1.Read More.
LibreOffice is far from perfect, but it’s a respectable option for fans of open source software. The app that should interest you is LibreOffice Draw, the Visio counterpart in this office suite.
LibreOffice Draw supplies two things for you: shapes and lines. You use the shapes to represent diagram entities, and you use the lines to connect them according to the entity relationships. It’s perfect for creating flowcharts, but you can do more with it if you want (like desktop publishing or PDF editing).
First you have to open the Drawing toolbar, which you can do through View > Toolbars > Drawing. Grid snapping is on by default, but you’ll want to change the snapping sensitivity by going to Tools > Options, navigate to LibreOffice Draw > Grid, change the values under Resolution to your intended grid size, and change the values under Subdivision to 1.
LibreOffice is surprisingly easy to use once it’s set up properly. You can draw shapes, connectors, lines, curves, symbols, arrows, thought bubbles, and even 3D objects. If you’re already using LibreOffice as your main office suite, forget Dia and learn to use Draw instead. The learning curve isn’t much worse at all, and you can use it for more than just diagrams.
Download — LibreOffice (Free)
Other Free Alternatives to Visio
Dia and Draw may be the best available right now, but a quick web search will turn up plenty of competitors that are just as good in many ways. Keep in mind that these are NOT open source unless specifically noted in the description.
How Do You Create Diagrams and Flowcharts?
Remember, Visio is a powerful piece of software meant for business situations. You probably don’t need that much power, so you probably don’t need a strict “alternative” to Visio. Indeed, you might fare better with one of these simple diagramming apps instead8 Diagramming Apps for Better Brainstorming on the Go8 Diagramming Apps for Better Brainstorming on the GoLife can be busy and chaotic. These mind mapping and brainstorming apps can help you keep track of your inspirations and ideas for a better thought process. All just a screen tap away.Read More.
Or if you have Microsoft Word, which is a much easier cost to justify since you can use it for so many other things, you can just use that to create stunning flowcharts and diagramsHow to Create Flowcharts With Microsoft Word The Easy WayHow to Create Flowcharts With Microsoft Word The Easy WayWant to learn how to make a flowchart in Word? It's easy with the right technique. This introductory article explains how.Read More. You’d be surprised by how much Word can do.
What are you creating flowcharts and diagrams for? And which Visio alternative do you like best for that? Are there any that we missed? Share with us in a comment down below!
Originally written by Karl L. Gechlik on October 6, 2009
Explore more about: Drawing Software, Image Editor, LibreOffice, Presentations.
Five months after first entering preview, Microsoft is launching Office 2019 into general availability today. Commercial volume license customers can get their hands on the followup to Office 2016 starting today, and Office 2019 will roll out to all consumer and commercial customers over the next several weeks.
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Office 2019 represents the latest perpetual release of Microsoft's productivity suite for those who aren't yet ready to embrace the cloud with Office 365 ProPlus. The latest release essentially brings a number of features that have rolled out to Office 365 ProPlus over the past three years. Those include things like a roaming pencil case and improved inking features, new data analysis features in Excel, along with the ability to use Morph and Zoom effects in PowerPoint.
For Word and Outlook users, you'll see the addition of Learning Tools features like Read Aloud and Text Spacing. A new Focus Mode also lets you stay free of distractions while working on a document or browsing through your inbox.
Office 2019 includes updated versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Project, Visio, Access, and Publisher. Commercial volume license customers can get started with the new suite today, and all other customers will get access in the coming weeks.
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