Microsoft Visio vs draw.io

Fit:

Migration notes

Imports .vsdx and supported older .vsd/.vst and stencil formats. .vdx/.vsx need conversion in Visio first. Test fidelity; no editable Visio round-trip, data-link or Microsoft workflow parity asserted.

Sources: www.drawio.com · checked 2026-10-21

Microsoft VisioPaid incumbent

Entry priceUSD 5 / seat / month

Pricing modelper-seat, billed annual

OwnerMicrosoft Corporation

Visio Plan 1, $5 per user/month paid yearly; web and Teams apps. Desktop included in higher Plan 2. Source

Microsoft Visio plans reviewed
Visio Plan 1	entry	USD 60 / user / yr
Visio Plan 2	business	USD 180 / user / yr

draw.ioOpen-source alternative

Fit for Microsoft Visio

License

Apache License 2.0 A permissive license whose main conditions require preservation of copyright and license notices. Contributors provide an express grant of patent rights. Licensed works, modifications, and larger works may be distributed under different terms and without source code. May Commercial useModificationDistributionPatent usePrivate use Must License and copyright noticeState changes No Trademark useLiabilityWarranty Summary from GitHub's choosealicense.com

Paid-feature tier A

Self-host

Paid-feature limitsNone established

draw.io plans reviewed
draw.io editor	free desktop/core	Free

What you may give up

No paid-feature limits established for this edition.

First-party app.diagrams.net serves the free editor; diagrams remain on your device or chosen storage, rather than a first-party document repository.
Paid Confluence/Jira integrations provide embedded Atlassian workflows and support; external storage and collaboration deployment must be evaluated separately.

Tier A: Scope: Apache-2.0 general diagram editor, free to use and deploy yourself. Publisher explicitly describes free editor and no enterprise SSO tier. Paid Atlassian integrations are separate commercial add-ons; this classification does not assert their code or functionality is included in the OSS editor. License source

What running it takes

Browser and local/chosen file storage

or
Desktop binary

Hover or focus an icon for its name. Dashed means not established; struck through means no; grouped icons are alternatives.

Editor can run as desktop or self-operated web container. Default container exports in browser and uses local/chosen storage; no required database, Redis, queue or SMTP. Paid Atlassian integrations separate. Infrastructure and staff time are not priced here; this page does not compare total cost.