Lucidchart vs PlantUML

Lucidchart is a web, iOS, and Android diagramming tool with real-time collaboration and offline editing. It supports process maps, flowcharts, organizational charts, technical and system architecture diagrams, UML diagrams, ERDs, sequence diagrams, Gantt charts, and C4 models. Users can import VSDX, VSD, VDX, Draw.io XML, OmniGraffle flat files, BPMN, and XPDL, then export PDF, PNG, JPEG, SVG, VDX, VSDX, JSON, or CSV. AI can create diagram content from text prompts, and UML markup can generate sequence diagrams from text. Google Sheets, Excel, and CSV data can link to visualizations; conditional formatting highlights patterns, while layers manage visibility and hierarchy. Lucidchart offers more than 100 custom-built integrations and a free signup. The Free plan costs nothing for Basic diagramming access. Individual, Team, and Enterprise plans are listed without prices. Lucidchart is associated with Lucid Software Inc., founded in 2010 and headquartered in South Jordan, Utah.

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.