This is why we’ve decided to compile a list of some of the best Microsoft Visio alternatives available in 2025. There are some good offerings that are available for free or for a nominal fee.

Microsoft's Visio has long been the go-to business tool for such chores, but there are free and easy alternatives. For example, the aptly named Lovely Charts lets you design diagrams in your ...

Dia is a free structured drawing program that looks and acts a lot like Visio, but it's smaller, simpler, and snappier. For a free alternative, Dia is surprisingly complete.

I have always used Visio to build database schemas. However, with the latest version of Visio, I think Microsoft has really dropped the ball -- the cardinalities are microscopic and nearly ...