Development:Tools/Flowchart tool
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Decision
Advantages Miro
- Allows Embed google sheets
- Better mobile app compared to e.g. Figjam
- Miro Team fully focused on whiteboards
- Tracklane recordings
- Some visuals e.g. on sticky notes more appealing
- Faster load time
- AI automatic generation tools
- Great presentation modes
- Great helpful video content on Youtube
- Unlimited guests allowed on Business Plans
- Shapes can be converted into tasks
Description
We need a tool that can visualize all kinds of flowcharts ( e.g. Moneyflows between a lot of different accounts)
This is needed for keeping an overview of transactions, controlling, and I think it is a better and more natural way to implement decision trees than to do it in mindmaps.
We already have a general idea about such tools, some of which were documented in this article.
Criteria
- Free (if possible)
- Good workflow
- Lots of features ( e.g. Draw.io is too simple)
- Dedicated mobile app (if possible)
- Good sharing capabilities
- Available from the web
Comparison Table
Legend
X = Criteria fulfilled
~ = Criteria medium fulfilled
-- = Criteria not fulfilled
() = Footnote
| Name | Consider? | Elimination Reason | Presentation | Flow Charts | Acessibility | Affordable | Collaborative | Team | Mobile | Valuation | Templates | Changelog | Ease of use | Load Time | Collapsible | Integrations | Design | Scope | Exportability | Fun | Version History | Open Question | Answers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miro | Yes | - | Loom | X | X | $8/month/user | Very good | Very Strong | A bit laggy. Editing elements is easy. Not hard to use, just slower. Can only add relationship lines starting from the bottom of the shape. | 17.5billion | Very good (300+) | Yes, very good | Yes | Fast (3-5sec) | Yes (Mindmap elements) | X | Great | Very Large | Yes | High | X | ||
| FigJam (Figma) | Yes | In comparison to Miro - design a bit weaker, not as much mobile functionality | Loom | X | X | Free, with options of $3-5/month/editor | Somewhat | Very Strong | View Only | 20billion | Good | Yes, but not specially made for FigJam | Yes. The support it offers makes creating a flowchart be very fast. | Medium (5-8sec) | X | X | Good | Large | ? | X | X | ||
| xMind | Yes | Compared with Miro the workflow is not as good, and so is the outcome. | Youtube | X | X | $60/user/year (lower price for multiple users) | X | ? (50 employees) | Design is a bit simple, but it's not hard to use the app. | - | ~ (30?) | Yes, but not too good | Medium / High | Fast (2 sec) | X | X | X | X? | X | ~ / X | X | ||
| Mural | Maybe | Pricier and not as fun to work with as Miro, FigJam | Youtube | X | X | $10/month/user, can also try free plan for now | ~ (cannot edit if sent the document's link) | Strong? (700 employees) | ~ Not enjoyable to work, quite tricky when editing | 2 billion | Good | Yes, but very unmaintained | Very high. The support it offers makes creating a flowchart be very fast. | Medium (4-5 sec) | -- | X | X | Large? | X | ~ / X | X | ||
| Canva | NO | There are better options available, making Canva useless.
Design not great. Bad workflow. |
Youtube | ~ (not best-looking interface) | X | free | X ( can edit via link with no account) | Strong (2k+ employees) | ~ Quite annoying, e.g when you add a new element the screen is filled with confetti. To add elements you have to go through a few menus and that makes it laggy and the workflow slow. | 39 billion | Good | Not updated as of 2021 | Low | Fast (3 sec) | -- | X | ~ | -- (more like PowerPoint, with multiple slides) | X | ~ / X | X | ||
| FlowMapp | Remember for later (Website use possible) | To be considered for UX Website design project. No good fit for Flowchart project. | Youtube | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||
| InVision | No | No Accesibility, collaboration, design are bad too. | Youtube | X(free version only 3 docs) | -- / ~ | free or $4/user/month | ~ ( can only view if logged in after opening link) | Strong? (900+ employees) | X | - | Ok / Good | Yes, updated quite rarely | Medium | Fast (3 sec) | -- (video) | X | ~ | Small | -- | ? | X | ||
| Lucidchart | NO | Good app, but in comparison to Miro the workflow is not as good and usecases are way more limited | Loom | X | X | $27/month/3 users | ~ ( can only view if logged in after opening link) | Very Strong (+800 employees) | ? | 3 billion | Very good ( hundreds) | Yes, quite alright | Medium | Fast (3 sec) | -- (video) | X | ~ / X (Good) | ~ / X | X | ~ | X | ||
| Zapier Canvas | NO | It's an app used for automating processes. The canvas is used for drawing a workflow which the app can interpret. | Loom | N/A | N/A | free, early access | N/A | Strong (500 employees) | N/A | 5 billion | N/A | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Zen Flowchart | NO | Doesn't offer as much as other apps like Miro. Bad design, not fun to work with. | Youtube | X | X | $6.3/user/month | ~ (can only invite editors via email) | ? | -- | - | ? | No | Medium / High | Medium (4-5 sec) | --? | --? | ~ | Good | X | ~ | --? | ||
| Whimsical | NO | No dedicated mobile app. Cannot collaborate unless you are subscribed. A worse version of better apps such as Miro | Youtube | X | X | only pay for editors - free version seems like enough | ~ (paid plans only) | ? | (no dedicated app) | 180 million? | Good | Yes | Medium | Fast (2-3 sec) | -- | X | ~ / X | Small / Decent | ~ (only as photo) | X | |||
| Mindmeister | NO | Unable to add text between items -> can't create Yes-No scenarios | Loom | ~ (only able to use 4 shapes) | X | ~ (3 free mindmaps/user. Unlimited mindmaps €6/month/user) | X | ? (50 employees) | X | - | Good | No | Yes | Fast (2 sec) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| Creately | NO | Doesn't offer as much as other apps at the same price. Not the best design compared to others either | Youtube | X | X | $5/month/user | X | ? ( around 100 employees) | X | - | Good | No | Medium | Fast (3 sec) | -- | X | ~ | Decent | X | ~ | X | ||
| eDrawMax | NO | Design not great. Working on the tools not too easy nor fun. | Youtube | X | X | $198/user one time | ~ (requires log-in to edit doc recevied with link) | ? | X | - | ? | Yes | Medium | Medium (5-6sec) | X | --? | ~ | Good | X | ~ | X | ||
| SmartDraw | NO | Mediocre design. Not too easy nor fun to work with and high price compared to bettter apps | Youtube | X (with templates) | ~ (no log-in for editing your own work, but needed to view docs recieved via link) | $10/month/user | only paid plans | ? (42 employees) | X | - | Ok | Yes | Low | Medium (4-6sec) | X | X | ~ | Decent | only paid plans | -- / ~ | X | ||
| Venngage | NO | Focused on Infographics, not flowcharts. | Youtube | X, but not too good | X | $10/month/user | ~ (only on paid plans) | Strong ( rapid growth, +100 employees? | -- | - | ~ | Yes, kind of | Medium / Low | Slow (7 sec) | -- | ~ (not much information offered) | ~ | Decent ( more for infographics) | ~ ( paid plans only) | -- / ~ | --? | ||
| Gliffy | NO | Pricy compared to better tools, such as FigJam | Youtube | X | -- (unless you are a user) | $6-8/user/month | ~ (only with paid users) | ? (25 employees) | -- | - | Yes, kind of | Medium | cannot test without trial | -- | -- (only with monday.com?) | ~ / X | Good | X | ~ | X | |||
| Visme | NO | Harder to use and not as fun as other tools which offer better features | Youtube | X | X | free / $12/user/month | (shared as public, only private if you have paid plan) | ? (100 employees) | X | - | Good | No | Medium | Fast (3 sec) | -- | X | ~ | Decent | X | ~ | X | ||
| draw.io | NO | Doesn't offer enough features in comparison to others | Youtube | X | - / ~ (2) | free | X | ? (open source) | ~ ( no dedicated app) | - | Good? | Yes, not too nice | Medium | Fast (2 sec) | ~ (3) | ~ | -- | ? | ~ ( have to connect to G Drive) | -- | X | ||
| Cacoo | NO | Lacks dedicated mobile app, cannot edit on phone. Bad design and not too fun or easy to use | Youtube | ~(connection line between elements not flexible) | X | $6/month/user | X | ? | -- (cannot edit) | - | Ok | No | Low | Good (3-4 sec) | -- | ? | -- / ~ | ~ / X | ~ (mostly for paid plans) | -- | X | ||
| ConceptDraw | NO | Not cloud based. Only as desktop app, making it too hard to access | N/A | N/A | -- (no web version) | $299/user one time | N/A | ? ( around 100 employees) | -- | - | N/A | Yes, kind of | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||
| Visual Paradigm Online | NO | Not very focused on Flowcharts, bad design, Not Cloud based | Youtube | X (link) | ~ (sign-up required) | free / $4/user/month | ~ (have to sign up) | ? | X | - | Decent | Yes | Medium | Medium (5-6sec) | -- | ~ (only found few) | -- | ~ ( not very focused on Flowcharts) | X | -- | X |
Comments and recommendations
Personal recommendation
Miro comes in a bit pricier than FigJam, but offers better collaboration and a slightly better interface.It's workflow is also better, as for example, the connection line between elements are very flexibile and easy to work with. It's also faster than FigJam when loading documents.
Comments
Miro - cool that the lines (connections) between elements are very flexible and allow for text to be integrated within them, making it very easy to create decision trees. Lines can also be made rounded or with 90 degree angles. Very easy to add new shapes (elements for the decision tree) by copy-pasting an existing one and changing it's text afterwards, making it very fast. Here's a document to see what you can achieve in Miro. Sometimes textboxes from templates get bugged and you can't edit text size and you have to copy-paste a textbox that is working are recreate the connection line.
FigJam - good workflow and quite similar to Miro but Miro just gets the upper hand by the way it was designed and the workflow that it offers.
xMind - It can be seen that at it's core xMind is a mind mapping tool and that is what it's best for. It can also be used for flowcharts, but it's just not as enjoyable or specifically created for this reason, giving it a disadvantage when compared to apps like Miro.
Lucidchart - Very good. It can do what all other apps do, but at the cost of a poorer design.
Mural - relationships (lines) are not flexible
InVision - cannot add text on relationship lines
Also tested FlowMapp but did not include it as it is a tool for UX designers, and didn;t have enough in common with the rest of the tools to be worth including it.
eDrawMax is for flowcharts and eDrawMind for Mindmaps, therefore I only included eDrawMax in this article.
ConceptDraw is only available as a downloadable app on desktop, making it too hard to access and therefore disqualifying it.