An All-Platform Visio Alternative | EdrawMax Review

Are you looking for a free alternative to Visio? EdrawMax is our top pick for a non-visio diagramming tool.

In this article, we’ll review a top alternative to Visio, including a free Visio alternative that you’ll want to check out.

EdrawMax is a great Visio alternative that over 25 million users use. It’s popular because its excellent features make planning and creating faster. EdrawMax has a free version that acts as a free and a Pro version.

What Is EdrawMax?

EdrawMax is an all-in-one diagramming tool. This tool has over 280 types of diagrams that you can work with. This Visio alternative offers a wide variety of diagram categories, from simple flowcharts to electrical engineering circuits. Some of the top diagrams used are:

• Flowcharts
• Floor Plan
• UML Diagram
• Mind Map
• Gantt Chart
• P&ID

 This tool even has a library where you can download diagrams that other users have created. Also, you can upload the diagrams that you’ve created to this library.

EdrawMax Features

You might be thinking this sounds great, but what are some EdrawMax features? Here’s a list of some of the best elements:

1. Cross-Platform Supported

One of my favorite features is that this Visio alternative is available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and online. This means that you can easily use this tool across platforms. 

Plus, when you save a file, it’s saved to the Edraw Cloud. This gives you extra security for your files.

2. Easy to Use

Another feature of EdrawMax is that it’s easy to use because of its friendly user interface. This is what makes it stand out among other free Visio alternatives. Also, this tool has a built-in interface that makes it easy for people new to the tool to use it.

Another helpful feature that makes creating quick and easy is the drag and drop feature. You can choose what you want from the toolbar, panel, and libraries. Then, drag and drop on the canvas. This feature makes adding symbols and graphics to your diagram simple.

In EdrawMax if you want to make an org chart and you’ve got your employee information in a spreadsheet, you can automatically create an org chart from that spreadsheet. Just choose which data you want to add to your chart. With EdrawMax you can easily import data into different charts.

3. Supports 280+ Types of Diagrams

If you use many different types of diagrams, then this tool can be beneficial for you because of the wide array of templates that this tool offers. When you download and open the tool your taken to the templates page.

There are seven main categories of templates. Here are the categories and what they include:

1. Basic. Basic Diagram, Flowchart, Mind Map, Organizational Chart, Graphs and Charts, and Form
2. Business. Business Management, Quality Management, Project Management, Strategy and Planning, Marketing, and Analysis Canvas
3. Software & Data. Software Development and Database Modeling
4. Network. Network and Cloud Service
5. Engineering. Building Plan, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Map
6. Design. Graphic Design, Infographic, Card, and UI& UX
7. Education. Science and Education, Graphic Organizer

Once you choose a category each subcategory has several diagrams in it. For example, if you click on the Business category and then subcategory Business Management, you’ll see the following templates:

• Enterprise Architecture
• Agenda
• Business Process
• Human Resources
• Team Cooperation
• Vision and Mission
• Roadmap

4. Abundant Graphic Elements and Templates

The number of templates makes it easy for you quickly create a diagram. You save time with the template because it’s all put together. Simply add in data or information.

This Visio alternative not only has a lot of templates, but they’ve got over 26000+ vector symbols that can be used with different industry themes. You can easily add a symbol by dragging and dropping the symbol of your choice to your canvas.

EdrawMax has a user Template Gallery where users can upload diagrams they’ve created. This means that if you don’t see a template that you want, you might find it in the user gallery. Right now, the user Template Gallery has over 5000 templates from different industries.

5. Powerful Compatibility

If you’ve already created diagrams in Visio, you’re not stuck with it. EdrawMax is a free Visio alternative that can import Visio diagrams into the tool. The powerful compatibility features mean that any previous work you may have done in another software application isn’t lost.

Diagrams aren’t the only things you export or import. You can export a document as a PDF file. PDF files are often quickly sent through email without the elements on the page moving. You can also export a document as a PS and EPS file. If you want to send your file to Microsoft Office and still have it editable, you can do that.

EdrawMax has many supported languages. They are:

• English
• French
• German
• Japanese
• Simplified Chinese
• Traditional Chinese
• Spanish
• Italian
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Korean

What’s the Difference? (Visio Vs. EdrawMax)

After reading about all the features and aspects of EdrawMax you might want to compare them. Look no further, let’s compare EdrawMax with Visio. From the beginning Visio has you fill out a time-consuming questionnaire to get started. This makes the Visio alternative EdrawMax easier right away because all you need to do is download the software.

System Platforms

Let’s compare which system platforms that Visio and EdrawMax can be used on. Visio can be used online in a web app and on the following systems

• Windows 11
• Windows 10
• Windows 8
• Windows 7

EdrawMax, the Visio alternative, can be used on system platforms that do not support Visio, which makes it more accessible.

• Microsoft Windows 2000
• Microsoft Windows 2003
• Microsoft Windows 2008
• Microsoft Windows Vista
• Microsoft Windows 7
• Microsoft Windows 8
• Microsoft Windows 10 (32bit/64 bit)
• Mac OS X 10.11 or above
• Linux

EdrawMax Features

Now let’s look at the features of each tool. Visio’s drawing tools are right in the home window. With Visio you can create block diagrams, flowcharts, network architecture, or Venn diagrams. You can also work with AutoCAD drawings . Visio has some templates, but they aren’t as user friendly or as professional looking.

EdrawMax, the Visio alternative, offers all the essential features Visio does. But it’s got more variety. Scroll through the EdrawMax library to get more colors, shapes, and ideas. With EdrawMax, you have a wide variety of nice-looking templates to choose from. You can easily create a nice-looking diagram all by yourself. EdrawMax also supports all types of infographics. Plus, they have a massive collection of infographics to choose from.

Pricing

Let’s talk pricing. Visio only has two plans plus a one-time purchase option:

1. Visio Plan 1 is $5.00 a user a month. This plan only includes the web app.
2. Visio Plan 2 is $15.00 a user a month. This plan contains the web and the additional integrations with Microsoft 365.
3. To buy Visio in a one-time purchase, you can buy the Visio Standard 2021 plan. It’s $309.99 and gives you licensing for one PC.

The Visio alternative EdrawMax has different pricing based on whether you’re an individual looking to buy the tool or a team and business or using it for education. Let’s look at the individual pricing first.

Individual Pricing Options

There’s a Lifetime Plan for $245 (on sale originally $495). With the Lifetime Plan, you’ve got:

• Access to all platforms (Web, Windows, Mac, and Linux)
• Lifetime free upgrades and priority support
• 10GB free cloud storage
• Easy device Management
• File backup and recovery

The next plan is the Subscription Plan. With this plan, you choose an Annual Plan with one-year free upgrades and support or the Semi-Annual Plan, where you have six months of free upgrades and support. The Semi-Annual Plan is $69 for six months, and the Annual Plan costs $99 per year. With both subscription plans, you get:

• Full access to all platforms (Web, Windows, Mac, and Linux)
• 1 GB free cloud storage
• Easy Device Management
• File backup & Recovery

The Last plan that’s offered in the individual section is the Lifetime Bundle Plan. With this plan, you can buy EdrawMax, EdrawMind, and EdrawInfo for $312 (on sale originally $790.

Team Pricing Options

If you’re looking for a team plan, your first option is the Perpetual Plan. This starts at $199 for a single user. You get everything in the individual plans. Plus, you also get:

• One license for two devices
• Support for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Web
• Smart licensing
• 3-year free upgrades and priority support
• Enterprise-level date security and privacy

If your team has more than 20 users, you’ll want to consider the Team/Enterprise plan, which includes everything above plus:

• Individualized support
• Customizable solutions

EdrawMax has many options for pricing to make sure that you get the most value for your money. If you want more information on pricing, please see their pricing plans on their website.

How to Import/Export Visio Files Using EdrawMax

Maybe you don’t want to lose the work that you spent hours creating in Visio. EdrawMax makes it easy to import and export Visio files into EdrawMax.

Import Visio to EdrawMax

If you’re going to switch your Visio files to EdrawMax, the Visio alternative, here’s how to import files:

1. Start by opening your EdrawMax tool. On the left side, you’ll see a blue sidebar. In this sidebar, click on Import. You’ll see two options to import documents.

2. First, click on the Import Visio option. A window opens with files. Find the file you want to import and double click. It’s that simple to import a Visio file.

Export Files from EdrawMax

To export a file from EdrawMax to Vision, follow these steps:

1.Go to the blue sidebar and click on Export & Send.

2. Choose Visio. Select the Save to Visio option that comes up.

It’s really that easy!

Final Verdict

When comparing Visio and the Visio alternative EdrawMax, there’s really no comparison.

EdrawMax allows you to create the diagrams you need quickly so that you aren’t wasting time. With the variety of templates and symbols, you can be as creative as needed. When you’re EdrawMax to create a diagram, you’ll always have a professional and high-quality result.

Why not start your free trial today?