Eraser vs yEd Graph Editor

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.

yEd Graph Editor is a free desktop application for creating diagrams manually or importing data and arranging it with automatic layouts. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and supports diagrams including BPMN, flowcharts, semantic networks, family trees, social networks, UML class diagrams, entity relationship diagrams, and swimlane diagrams. Its palette includes common diagram elements, with options to add custom graphics and Visio VSX stencils. Layouts include hierarchical, orthogonal, organic, circular, tree, radial, swimlane, and flowchart arrangements. yEd imports GraphML, Excel XLS, GEDCOM, GML, and XML transformed into GraphML with XSLT. Export formats include PDF, SVG, EMF, JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG, HTML image maps, and EPS. The interface supports English and German. The Java Swing application is based on the yFiles for Java diagramming library and requires a suitable Java Runtime Environment. Its license permits one installed copy for personal or commercial use, but bars redistribution and use in automated processes. The listed plan costs nothing.