Featured in This Roundup:
- Best Flowchart App For Mac
- Best Flow Chart App For Mac
- Best Free Flowchart App For Mac
- Best Flowchart Software For Mac
As an owner of a Mac computer, Apple Pages is an effective productivity app to use in composing your project flowchart. If you don’t have Pages installed yet, then you can simply visit Apple’s online App Store to find it there. The app is free to download and can even be used on your favorite iOS devices, so you can work on the go if need be! I was reviewing flowcharting tools for some software development diagrams. I checked everything I could, and for a truly free program, hands down, I suggest draw.io. At first glance it seems this is a website with services and pricing for online (.
SmartDraw
Pros: Huge selection of templates and objects. Helpful Smart Panel feature. Good integration options. Easy to use.Cons: Weak collaboration features. Expensive. Can't export to Visio format.Bottom Line: SmartDraw is a Windows-only desktop program for creating charts, graphs, and other kinds of visual diagrams. It can integrate with Microsoft Office programs, like PowerPoint, making it extremely attractive to business users. Editor's Note: This product has not yet been tested. The following coverage is based on information provided by the manufacturer or developer.Read ReviewCreately
Pros: Inexpensive. Supports real-time collaboration. Offers Web and desktop apps.Cons: Limited template selection. Canceling or changing an account requires an email to the company.Bottom Line: If you need to create professional diagrams on a budget, Creately is a good alternative to Visio, but only if it has the templates you need.Read ReviewDraw.io
Pros: Free. Speedy. Excellent real-time collaboration support included when connected to a Google account.Cons: Collection of templates and shapes is unimpressive. Not as easy for non-designers to use as other diagramming apps. Importing from other file types was unsuccessful in testing.Bottom Line: Draw.io is a useful, free diagramming service with strong collaboration features via Google. It's handy if you only occasionally need to make diagrams, but for better functionality and more templates you'll want a premium service.Read ReviewMicrosoft Visio for Office 365
Pros: Powerful. Huge library of templates and objects. Wide array of export formats.Cons: Expensive. Not available on Mac, Linux, or as a web app. Confusing purchasing process. Limited collaboration capabilities. Clunky and cluttered.Bottom Line: Microsoft Visio is a powerful diagram creation and editing tool, but it's challenging enough to set up that it's best suited for bigger businesses with the IT resources to handle the process.Gliffy
Pros: Easy diagram creation. Good collaboration options. Low cost.Cons: Very limited free account. Diagrams in free version are public. Google Drive integration and collaboration limited to Business Team accounts. Can't export to Visio. Mediocre collaboration.Bottom Line: The online diagram-creation tool Gliffy provides a low-cost alternative to Visio. It works well enough when you need to make one diagram quickly, but other tools are better for consistent use.Read Review
Flowcharts and Diagrams Made Easy
Business professionals, educators, and students often need to make visuals to go along with other materials they present. An organizational chart may help an executive explain to investors the company's structure. An educator might need a flowchart to explain a complex process to students. A medical student might create an annotated figure of the human body for a peer-reviewed paper. Few people who need to create these visuals just happen to also be experts in online drawing and design. These easy-to-use productivity apps are precisely what such users need.
Diagramming apps help people who have no artistic talent produce professional-looking organizational charts, floor plans, evacuation maps, Venn diagrams, flowcharts, and other visuals. They're typically pretty easy to learn to use, especially if you're familiar with other office software.
Diagramming software was invented after vector software failed to help people who were not artistically inclined. Vector software gives you tools for drawing lines, making boxes and circles, and adding text. If you're an artist or a designer, you can use those virtual pen-and-paper products to make whatever you need. If you're not an artist, however, vector software is completely frustrating to use. You might as well be thrown back into the seventh grade with nothing more than construction paper and a protractor to make visuals for a multimillion-dollar company.
Templates.All good diagramming software comes with templates. Templates are sample versions of the visuals you are likely going to create. Unlike old-school vector software, modern diagramming apps are built with the kinds of diagrams people are likely to make in mind. They therefore provide templates for all the common purposes for diagrams. That's why I mentioned org charts, flowcharts, and floor plans early in this article. Those are some of the most common diagram types people create, and I haven't found a diagramming app that doesn't offer several templates in all those categories.
Objects. Templates start you out with a layout for your visual. Objects are the pieces of content on the template. Many templates come with objects already in place, but there are more objects, usually in a pane to the left, that you can add to your masterpiece. Diagramming software also lets you add custom objects when you upload images. If your company or educational program has specific visuals that need to be incorporated into a diagram, you don't have to draw them by hand to add them. You can instead simply upload image files.
Collaboration. Maybe with the right tools, you can make the perfect visuals. Or maybe you need some help from a coworker who fills in details, or from an art director who finesses your work into something even more appealing. Diagramming apps that support collaboration allow more than one person to edit a graphic simultaneously. In the best apps, the collaboration is live and in real time, much the way Google Docs and other apps in the G Suite support it. Being able to collaborate effortlessly also means that when you pass a diagram on to a manager or boss for approval, that person can make a few lights edits firsthand rather than telling you what the changes should be. That saves everyone a lot of time and reduces frustration.
How Much Does it Cost?
The cheapest diagramming apps are free to use, and the most expensive ones cost around $300 for a desktop version of the software. Subscription fees are much more common than straight purchases, however, with the best apps charging between $100 and $200 per year.
My favorite apps are those that offer a free level of service so that you can try them out without a time limitation. They usually add more features and services if you upgrade to a paid tier of service (in other words, they're freemium apps). Be careful with free services, though. Sometimes when you create diagrams with them, your files are publicly viewable. You wouldn't want to create a company networking diagram, for example, that might contain sensitive information that anyone could find.
Top Software for Flowcharts and Diagrams
After I tested and compared several of the most popular apps for creating diagrams, two stood out for their exemplary ease of use, feature set, template and object library, and value. They are Lucidchart and SmartDraw. These two earn PCMag's Editors' Choice.
My top choice among these two winners is Lucidchart. Lucidchart is an online diagramming app with excellent support for collaboration, and it's easy to pick up and use. Because it's online, there's no need to worry about whether all the collaborators are running macOS or Windows. Lucidchart simply runs in the browser.
SmartDraw is the runner-up, and I like the web app version SmartDraw Cloud for the same reason I like Lucidchart. Why worry about platform compatibility when everyone can simply work on the web? SmartDraw's template library is even bigger than Lucidchart's, but the app costs a bit more and doesn't have the same excellent real-time co-authoring features.
The Best Free Software for Flowcharts and Diagrams
When it comes to free diagramming apps, Draw.io is my go-to. Draw.io works very well if you're in the position of needing to make a visual or two every so often, and paying $100 a year for the privilege seems bonkers.
Draw.io lets you save your files to cloud storage services Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive. You can also save files you create with it to your computer. Even though it's a web app, there's an offline option and Chrome users can access it by installing the Draw.io Desktop Chrome app.
If you're feeling suspicious about why Draw.io is entirely free, here's the deal. The company makes one version of the product that it sells for a fee: Draw.io for Confluence Server. That version of Draw.io is a plug-in for Confluence Server, and it lives entirely behind the firewall. It lets teams create diagrams within those spaces to have visual aids and representations of the work done there. If you get hooked on the free version of Draw.io and you're in the market for a tool that specifically works with Confluence Server, maybe you'll bite and pay for the service.
Best Flowchart App For Mac
Explore Your Templates!
One of my favorite things about diagramming apps is exploring the templates. You might just find a diagram you didn't even know you needed, such as a business decision-making diagram for responding to emergencies. Need to post a First Aid chart in your office break room? Does your kid's soccer team have a phone tree? Browse the templates in a diagramming app, and you're sure to uncover something unexpected and hopefully useful, which will surely help you appreciate the value of having it in the first place. For more tips on how to get important documents made in hurry, you can read How to Make Key Emergency Documents in Under an Hour.
Best Flow Chart App For Mac
Featured Reviews for Flowchart and Diagram Apps:
Lucidchart Review
$107.40 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller%Online diagramming app Lucidchart supports real-time collaborative editing, has well-stocked libraries of templates and objects, and offers many options for exporting and presenting your diagrams. Read the full reviewSmartDraw Cloud Review
$179.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller%SmartDraw makes it easier than any other app to quickly create professional-quality diagrams, thanks to its huge, context-sensitive collection of elements and templates. Its collaboration features aren't the strongest, however. Read the full reviewCreately Review
$49.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller%If you need to create professional diagrams on a budget, Creately is a good alternative to Visio, but only if it has the templates you need. Read the full reviewDraw.io Review
$0.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller%Draw.io is a useful, free diagramming service with strong collaboration features via Google. It's handy if you only occasionally need to make diagrams, but for better functionality and more templates you'll want a premium service. Read the full reviewMicrosoft Visio Pro for Office 365 Review
$15.50 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller%Microsoft Visio is a powerful diagram creation and editing tool, but it's challenging enough to set up that it's best suited for bigger businesses with the IT resources to handle the process. Read the full reviewGliffy Review
$59.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller%The online diagram-creation tool Gliffy provides a low-cost alternative to Visio. It works well enough when you need to make one diagram quickly, but other tools are better for consistent use. Read the full review
Looking for the best iPad apps to help you turn mindmapping and creating charts and diagrams into less of a headache? If you're giving a presentation or just in the beginning stages of starting a project, flowcharts and diagrams can be immensely useful when it comes to conveying and sharing ideas with others. And since most people benefit from visual cues, flowcharts can be a great way to help people make decisions. There are lots of App Store apps up for the task, but what flowchart apps for iPad are the best?
Mindnode is an easy to use diagramming and flow chart app that smartly organizes and handles the layout aspect on its own. Mindnode lets you create several independent charts in one document, display and hide nodes as you need to, choose fonts and highlights to emphasize particular areas, and more. Mindnode also offers iCloud sync with their pro version which you can then sync to the Mac version. As for exporting your work, Mindnode supports PDF, OPML, PNG, and more.
If you want to worry more about getting ideas out of your head and less about diagram style and structure, you need Mindnode.
- $9.99 - Download Now
Grafio
Grafio is a diagram app that isn't as conventional as the rest but offers a lot of flexibility. Simply start freehand drawing a shape and Grafio automatically recognizes and creates it. You can then add text, photos, and even record audio to add to your project. Since Grafio supports layers, you can send objects back or bring them to the front among many other editing features. Once you're done you can share your ideas via Dropbox, Box, AirPrint, or put them on paper with AirPrint support.
For a diagram and flowchart app as versatile and flexible as your brain, get Grafio.
- $8.99 - Download Now
Idea Sketch
Idea Sketch is a unique diagramming app that will appeal to folks that value organization and finding content easily. It's easy to create new blocks and add text in idea sketch. One of the features that makes it so unique is the ability to convert all your charts and diagrams to text outlines in just seconds. As for projects, they're organized in neat stacks on the main menu of Idea Sketch. When it comes time to share something, Idea Sketch supports export to Dropbox, Skydrive, Box, the Photos app, and more. You can create one idea in Idea Sketch for free. If you'd like to create more, you can unlock the unlimited version for $3.99 via in-app purchase.
Use This iOS App to Control Your Mac You’ll Need Two Apps First. Setting up Remote Control for Mac requires you to have both your Mac and iOS device handy. Replace Your Media Center Keyboard. Play Super Smash Bros. If you’re using your Mac as a media center, either. Launch Apps Remotely. Jun 06, 2014 All you need to do is download the Mac Helper application and connect your Mac and iOS device to the same WiFi. Remote Control will guide you through the simple setup process. AT A GLANCE - Control volume, playback and Airplay mirroring of your Mac/Windows; - Use your iOS device as a Mac/Windows trackpad and keyboard. Jun 06, 2014 Connect your computer to big screen TV, control it remotely with keyboard, mouse, and media controls in the app, sit back on the couch and relax. Control your Mac or Windows computer with multimedia controls, keyboard, mouse, app and system actions & AirPlay controls. Take full control of your computer from anywhere in your home or office. Set up the iTunes Remote app for iTunes on Mac. If you have an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad, you can use the iTunes Remote app to control your iTunes library from a distance. ITunes Remote is available as a free download from the App Store. Open iTunes for me.
The Starter Collection is $49.99, Bible Study Package ($199.99), Original Languages ($299.99), Essential (499.99), Advanced (999.99), and Ultimate Collection ($1999.99). Sermon organizer software for mac. Read Review. Accordance, which can currently be run on a Windows PC using their emulator, is set to release a Windows-native version in the fall of 2013. At $89.99 the software is available for both Windows and Mac users. This interactive software program from Tyndale House Publishers brings a multimedia experience to Bible study, featuring narrated and musically scored digital animations.
If you highly value organization and wouldn't mind instantly creating text outlines from your charts, check out Idea Sketch.
- Free - Download Now
Mindly
Best Free Flowchart App For Mac
Mindly is mainly a great place to organize your own thoughts and if you do that best through diagrams and charts, it's an easier to use option than many others. Just create a new project and then start adding subsets. Tap on any of them to create as many more subsets as you'd like. You can attach notes and images to your projects, add links, and change color schemes as necessary. If you need to share your ideas, Mindly supports export to PDF, OPML, and plaintext. The free version only lets you manage a few projects at a time, an in-app purchase of $6.99 will remove that limit.
If your main necessity is tracking your own ideas for personal use, be sure to give Mindly a try.
- Free - Download Now
PureFlow
PureFlow is one of the most basic and traditional flowchart apps you are going to find on the App Store. There aren't any fancy features, just a blank canvas and the ability to create whatever kind of flowchart you need. Create your first element and branch out from there choosing different types of objects. Drag anchor arrows to extend your chart outwards, drag elements around, and more. When you're done you can share your ideas via the email, Facebook, Twitter, PDF, or save it as an image.
If basic flowcharting is what you want, it doesn't get any easier than PureFlow.
- Free - Download Now
Best Flowchart Software For Mac
Your vote for best flowchart and diagramming app for iPad?
If you are a visual thinker and rely on a flowchart, diagram, and mindmapping app on your iPad, which one did you choose and why? And more importantly, what do you think makes it stand out from all other apps? Let me know in the comments!
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