Astah Professional vs Grapholite

Astah Professional is a desktop modeling tool for visualizing software design with diagrams and code-related models. It supports UML diagrams, ERD, data flow, flowchart, requirement, CRUD, and mind map diagrams. ER diagrams can be created manually or generated from imported database tables, with SQL export and reverse engineering. Modeling features include automatic layout, traceability maps, project comparison and merging, map view, and state-transition paths and tables. Astah can reverse engineer Java, C#, and C++ and generate code for PHP, SQL, and other languages. Team features cover file locking, file merging, model comparison, and read-only project references; real-time collaboration is not available. Its API and Script Editor can retrieve model information and create or modify diagrams and models. Plug-ins listed include Mermaid, Microsoft Office, Redmine, and Miro. AI Chat Copilot requires an external provider API key or endpoint. Supported platforms listed for Professional 12.0 include Windows 11 x64, macOS 13+ arm64, Ubuntu 24.04, and Rocky Linux 9.6.

Grapholite is a diagramming tool for business graphics, including flowcharts, floor plans, office layouts, UML diagrams, organizational charts, mind maps, BPMN diagrams, wireframes, technical drawings, and network layouts. It also supports swimlanes, SWOT diagrams, website wireframes, workflow diagrams, TQM diagrams, Venn diagrams, planograms, and home plans. Drawing tools include ready-to-use shapes, themes, styles, a dynamic grid, snap lines, smart shapes, sketch mode, and automatic connector layout. Users can connect shapes and edit connections, positions, rotation, and scale. Floor-planning tools cover walls, windows, doors, room templates, furniture, appliances, accessories, and dimensions; the site lists over 100 furniture elements. Grapholite supports online and offline work, in and out of a browser. Diagrams can be saved locally or on a server, printed, and shared with collaborators when stored on the server. Existing diagrams can be opened from local storage or OneDrive. Exports include JPEG, PNG, PDF, SVG, and VDX Visio Drawing. The app is available on Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows. A time-unlimited free trial is advertised; Personal costs 49.99 USD once.