draw.io (diagrams.net) Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
draw.io (diagrams.net) alternatives: Excalidraw, yEd Graph Editor, Mermaid, AFFiNE and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 25, 2026.
•3 min read•Graphic Design & Diagramming
Verdict:Leave draw.io when the diagram is a sketch for one meeting, not a document you keep updating. draw.io is free, Apache-2.0 licensed, opens with no sign-up and saves to your own storage, which is hard to beat on price. Move if the sketch style matters more than precise shapes: Excalidraw is free and collaborative, and its hand-drawn look hides rough layout, but its shape set is smaller. If your diagrams come from code or live in a repo, Mermaid is MIT licensed and turns text into flowcharts and sequence diagrams, though you cannot drag boxes by hand. yEd is freeware that includes commercial use, with automatic layout that suits big graphs; it cannot be redistributed and it is a desktop app. For docs and a whiteboard in one workspace, AFFiNE is MIT licensed with free local workspaces, and its Pro plan starts at $6.75 a month. The trade-off to test first is where your files sit. draw.io keeps diagrams in files you control, so check that your export format still opens after a switch before you move a large set of diagrams.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excalidraw | Free (Free web app with real-time collaboration and end-to-end encryption); paid from $6 per user/month, Excalidraw+ | Web | Quick sketches shared in a meeting | Docs only |
| yEd Graph Editor | Free (Free including commercial use; may not be redistributed or used in automated processes) | Windows, macOS, Linux (Java) | Large graph layouts on a desktop | Docs only |
| Mermaid | Free (Open-source library plus free online Mermaid Live Editor) | Web, JavaScript library | Diagrams generated from code | Docs only |
| AFFiNE | Free (local workspaces; Cloud Basic has 10 GB of storage, up to 3 members and 10 MB files); paid from $6.75 per month (Pro; the page does not name the billing term) | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted | Docs and diagrams in one place | Docs only |
| tldraw | Free (Free whiteboard web app with instant collaboration; no paid plan or limits shown on the homepage) | Web | Live whiteboarding with a team | Docs only |
| Microsoft Visio | Paid from $5 per user/month, billed yearly (Plan 1, web app only) | Web, Windows (Desktop, Plan 2) | Diagramming | Docs only |
| SmartDraw | Paid from $7.95 per month, billed annually (Individual, introductory price for new customers) | Web browser | Diagramming | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You need a fast hand-drawn sketch to share in a call (Excalidraw is the pick)
- Your diagrams come from code or live next to the source in a repo (Mermaid is the pick)
- You lay out large graphs and want automatic arrangement on a desktop (yEd Graph Editor is the pick)
- You want documents and a whiteboard in one free workspace (AFFiNE is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on draw.io (diagrams.net) features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
draw.io (diagrams.net) today: Free (Free with no sign-up; open files from local storage or your own cloud account) (draw.io (diagrams.net) pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Excalidraw
Compared with draw.io (diagrams.net): Free web app with real-time collaboration and a hand-drawn look. Unlike draw.io, its shape library is small and it has no import of your own diagram files, so layouts stay loose. Excalidraw+ costs from $6 a user a month.
Price: Free (Free web app with real-time collaboration and end-to-end encryption); paid from $6 per user/month, Excalidraw+ (Excalidraw pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 134.7k GitHub stars · latest release v0.18.1 (Apr 21, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Quick sketches shared in a meeting.
Worth knowing: Excalidraw+ has a 14-day trial; annual billing saves 14%. Hand-drawn look, not a formal-shape library.
yEd Graph Editor
Compared with draw.io (diagrams.net): Freeware for commercial use, with automatic layout for large graphs that draw.io leaves to you. It is a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, so you lose draw.io's browser access and free cloud saves.
Price: Free (Free including commercial use; may not be redistributed or used in automated processes) (yEd Graph Editor pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux (Java). Freeware (proprietary).
Best for: Large graph layouts on a desktop.
Worth knowing: Imports Excel and XML; exports PNG, JPG, SVG, PDF. Visio export is a separate paid yFiles add-on.
Mermaid
Compared with draw.io (diagrams.net): Open-source MIT library: diagrams are plain text you can keep in Git, but you lose draw.io's drag-and-drop canvas, so you edit code, not shapes.
Price: Free (Open-source library plus free online Mermaid Live Editor) (Mermaid pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, JavaScript library. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 90.9k GitHub stars · latest release @mermaid-js/tiny@12.2.0 (Oct 13, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Diagrams generated from code.
Worth knowing: Generates diagrams from Markdown-like text. A paid platform exists at mermaid.ai; its price was not found.
AFFiNE
Compared with draw.io (diagrams.net): Open-source MIT workspace that combines docs with a whiteboard. Local workspaces are free and Cloud Basic gives 10GB. You get documents next to the canvas, but its diagram templates are thinner than draw.io's.
Price: Free (local workspaces; Cloud Basic has 10 GB of storage, up to 3 members and 10 MB files); paid from $6.75 per month (Pro; the page does not name the billing term) (AFFiNE pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 73.9k GitHub stars · latest release v0.27.4 (Aug 18, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Docs and diagrams in one place.
tldraw
Compared with draw.io (diagrams.net): Free whiteboard in the browser with instant collaboration. Its homepage states no license or paid plan. You give up draw.io's own file formats and its export to your storage.
Price: Free (Free whiteboard web app with instant collaboration; no paid plan or limits shown on the homepage) (tldraw pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web. Source-available SDK (development use only without a license key); tldraw.com is a free web app.
Best for: Live whiteboarding with a team.
Worth knowing: Free web whiteboard. The homepage did not state a license for the app or the SDK.
Other popular options (paid)
Microsoft Visio
Compared with draw.io (diagrams.net): Plan 1 (web app only) is $5 per user per month billed yearly and Plan 2 with the desktop app is $15, while draw.io charges nothing. Microsoft 365 business plans include a limited Visio web app.
Price: Paid from $5 per user/month, billed yearly (Plan 1, web app only) (Microsoft Visio pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
SmartDraw
Compared with draw.io (diagrams.net): Individual is $7.95 per month billed annually, an introductory price for new customers, and Team is $6.95 per user per month with a 3-user minimum. draw.io is free, so this is a paid-only choice.
Price: Paid from $7.95 per month, billed annually (Individual, introductory price for new customers) (SmartDraw pricing, checked 2026-10-25).
Which one to pick
- You need a fast hand-drawn sketch to share in a call: Excalidraw
- Your diagrams come from code or live next to the source in a repo: Mermaid
- You lay out large graphs and want automatic arrangement on a desktop: yEd Graph Editor
- You want documents and a whiteboard in one free workspace: AFFiNE
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Excalidraw, yEd Graph Editor, Mermaid, AFFiNE, tldraw: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from draw.io (diagrams.net). Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-25: draw.io (diagrams.net), Excalidraw, yEd Graph Editor, Mermaid, AFFiNE, tldraw, Microsoft Visio, SmartDraw. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.