Eraser vs PlantUML

Eraser is a diagramming tool for technical teams that generates diagrams from prompts, code, files, and private Git repositories. It supports flow charts, entity-relationship diagrams, cloud architecture diagrams, sequence diagrams, and BPMN diagrams. Generated diagrams can be adjusted with diagram-as-code or AI edits, and reference libraries can align output with company building blocks. Collaboration includes real-time work, comments, tagging, and unlimited free guests. The service lists GitHub, Notion, Confluence, and a VS Code extension, as well as live diagram embeds and Git-powered updates. The free plan includes 3 files, 3 AI diagrams, and 7-day version history. Starter costs $15 a month when billed annually, or $20 monthly; it adds unlimited files, private files, and API calls. The diagram API is for paid users, while MCP operations are subject to plan AI-credit limits. Eraser says it is SOC 2 Type 2 certified, performs annual penetration testing, and does not train AI models on customer content. Enterprise deployment options include multi-tenant, single-tenant, and self-hosted setups.

PlantUML turns textual descriptions into diagrams, covering UML forms such as sequence, use-case, class, object, activity, component, deployment, state, and timing diagrams. It also supports JSON, YAML, EBNF, regex, network, wireframe, Archimate, Gantt, mind map, and WBS diagrams. Outputs include PNG, SVG, LaTeX, EPS, and other listed formats; sequence diagrams can also be rendered as ASCII art. Its browser editor renders diagrams with JavaScript and refreshes them as the text changes. Layout options include Graphviz, Smetana, VizJs, and ELK, though ELK lacks some features. PlantUML offers integrations for tools including GitHub, GitLab, Confluence, WordPress, Slack, Visual Studio Code, Eclipse, and IntelliJ IDEA. It is free, with a plan listed at free, and runs on web, Windows, macOS, Linux, API, extension, and self-hosted platforms. Local installation requires Java, with version 11 or later recommended; Graphviz is needed for some diagrams. PlantUML can also run as a local server, which the project recommends for sensitive diagrams.