Strategy & OperationsProfessional Services

3 Best Free Flowchart Software

Barkha Bali profile picture
By Barkha Bali

Published | Updated on
6 min read

Flowchart software helps communicate and visualize complex ideas or concepts using diagrams.

While balancing multiple projects and workflows, business managers often seek a tool that can help them communicate and visualize complex ideas. Flowchart software can assist them in creating visual representations of business processes and clarifying concepts that are otherwise difficult to understand.

However, investing in paid tools without understanding how they will add value to your workflow might hamper your finances. This is why you should look into free flowchart software. Using a free tool will help you evaluate its usability and compatibility with your operational workflows without disturbing your budget.

We highlight the top three free flowchart software products for designers and project managers, in alphabetical order, based on verified software reviews. Read more.

Check out the complete list of the best flowchart tools in Capterra’s software directory.

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1. Lucidchart: Includes real-time co-authoring and in-editor chat

Lucidchart is a diagramming tool that helps teams create flowcharts and diagrams to optimize business processes and visualize data. It lets you auto-visualize data and generate organizational charts, entity relationship diagrams (ERDs), and more with data linking. The software improves collaboration and brainstorming with remote teams via its real-time co-authoring feature, which lets you add comments, annotate elements, and collaborate on a flowchart or document. Lucidchart has a mobile application for both Android and iOS devices.

Free features*:
  • Editable documents: Includes three editable documents in the free plan using which you can highlight important information or key areas in your flowcharts and customize their shapes using conditional formatting rules.

  • Customizable templates: Offers 100 customizable templates to create custom flowcharts, unified modeling language (UML) diagrams, architecture diagrams, organizational charts, and mock-ups for websites and mobile devices (UI mock-ups, iOS mock-ups, etc.)

  • Design elements: Enables you to access 60 design shapes per document to enhance visualization of technical processes.

Customer support options: Live chat, help center, and ticket queries

Most affordable upgrade

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Cost to upgrade

$7.95 per user, per month

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Lucidchart

Organizational chart creation in Lucidchart (Source)

* Analysis accurate as of November 2022

2. miro: Features editable boards to create action plans

miro is a collaborative whiteboard platform and professional flowchart maker that allows remote teams to brainstorm, plan, and manage Agile project workflows. It offers a digital whiteboard to help create mock-ups and schemes, note down ideas, and leave feedback. You can invite frequent collaborators and edit team boards according to project requirements. miro has a mobile application for Android as well as iOS users.

Free features*:
  • Editable boards: Comprises three editable boards where you can collaborate with your team members and complete the diagramming process—from scheduling meetings to creating action plans.

  • Pre-installed templates: Furnishes predesigned templates to help you visualize and map out new processes or reassess existing ones.

  • Core integrations: Integrates with business applications, such as Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Trello, and Zapier, to facilitate easy collaboration. 

Customer support options: Request forms, a knowledge base, and help center

Best functionality

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Cost to upgrade

$8 per user, per month (billed annually)

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Miro

Mind map creation in miro (Source)

* Analysis accurate as of November 2022

3. Whimsical: Enables comments and discussions for real-time collaboration

Whimsical is a collaborative digital workspace tool that allows you to create flowcharts, mind maps, wireframes, and more to enhance ideation. It lets you collaborate with other team members in real time via comments and discussions. Whimsical also provides a Kanban board to view projects and track their progress.

Free features*:
  • Real-time collaboration: Enables you to invite team members and use comments to discuss and collaborate on flowcharts in real time.

  • Customization: Offers an extensive library that includes elements such as buttons, checkboxes, and searchable icons to customize your diagrams. You can also customize the board and flowchart as per your needs.

  • Create and use templates: Lets you create a new flowchart template with customizable themes and store them for future use.

Customer support options: A help center, knowledge base, and ticket queries

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Cost to upgrade

$10 per user, per month (billed annually)

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Whimsical

Icons in Whimsical (Source)

* Analysis accurate as of November 2022

How to choose the best free flowchart software for your business

With a wide range of products available in the market, it can be difficult to pick the right tool for your business. Let’s have a look at some key points to keep in mind before choosing a solution:

  • Evaluate editing capabilities: Flowchart software should allow you to edit flowcharts without having to change the entire diagram. Select a product that allows you to insert and delete columns and rows to facilitate repositioning, toggle between shapes, and move flowchart symbols as required. The software should also allow you to view edits in real time.

  • Identify required features: Before selecting a free flowchart and diagramming tool, consider its features and functionality. A drag-and-drop editor, lots of graphical elements, and an extensive template library are some basic features you must look for. Also, the tool should allow you to design your own shapes and store them in the library for future use.

  • Check software usability: A flowchart maker is designed to make the diagramming process quicker and more creative for you and your team. Consider a tool that offers an interactive dashboard to track edits, allocate work to team members, evaluate progress, and gain valuable process insights. Also, check if the vendor provides user support, training, and tutorials to help you get started.

What is the cost of upgrading from a free flowchart software plan to a paid one?

While a free plan of flowchart tools can fulfill your basic diagramming requirements, an upgrade might be needed if you want to implement premium features, scale your tool, or create unlimited items. Most diagram tools software in the market are priced on a per-month basis and can be divided into three pricing tiers based on their starting price.

Price ranges:*

  • $5 - $7

  • $8 - $9

  • $10+

*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offering found on vendor websites on November 17, 2022. These ranges correspond to the 25th, 75th, and 100th percentiles of pricing information gathered from vendor websites of sample products.

Hidden costs associated with flowchart software

The above pricing list summarizes pricing for the base plans of most products. However, even a free flowchart software plan may have some hidden costs. These costs may include transactional costs, integration costs, and upgrade and maintenance costs. Premium features such as extra users or premium diagram types and templates may also incur additional costs. Therefore, make sure to check with your vendor for any hidden costs that may be associated with the products you are considering.

Frequently asked questions while selecting free flowchart software

These are some common questions that you can ask vendors before selecting the best free flowchart software solution for your business:

Does the software provide diagram export and sharing capabilities?

An effective flowchart software tool should allow you to export your diagrams in various file formats, including PDF and vector. Additionally, it should provide you an option to share the flowchart diagrams via an online link or embed them in external platforms, such as websites or social media.

Does the tool offer collaboration features?

At its most basic, a flowchart designer tool should allow you to edit diagrams in real time, leave comments on them, and share them with team members to receive suggestions and feedback.

Does your software offer integration options?

Your shortlisted flowchart tool should integrate well with your existing business apps and software tools, such as Google Workspace, Slack, Confluence, Microsoft Excel, and Visio. Seamless integration will make the software easy to use and allow you to share and use flowcharts and diagrams across different platforms.


Methodology

To be considered for this list, products had to:

  1. Have at least 20 unique product reviews published on Capterra within the past two years, with an average rating of 3.0 or higher (as of November 17, 2022). We selected the three products with the highest ratings to feature in this article.

  2. Offer a free, stand-alone version of the software—not a trial version where you have to purchase after a certain amount of time to get the full experience.

  3. Meet our definition of flowchart software: “Flowchart software presents processes and hierarchies within an enterprise in graphical form.”

The “best functionality” tool is identified based on the highest user ratings for functionality that a vendor received based on publicly available reviews as of November 17, 2022.

The tool with the “most affordable upgrade” is identified based on the lowest pricing a vendor offered on their website in terms of cost to upgrade as of November 17, 2022.

Read more about our editorial independence*

Product research for this article was contributed by Himanshi Arora.


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About the Author

Barkha Bali profile picture

Barkha Bali is a writer at Capterra, providing expert insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing user reviews data for the highest rated products in relevant software categories. She has worked in finance, lifestyle, education, and medical. With expertise in marketing and content strategy, Barkha’s work has been featured in Medium and educational websites. When not working, she can be found re-watching “The Office” or “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

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