Get in touch

Fill out this form and our team will respond as soon as we can, alternatively email us at mail@icepanel.io

Get in touch

Fill out this form and our team will respond as soon as we can, alternatively email us at mail@icepanel.io

Back to all blogs

Top 8 diagramming tools for software architecture

The best free and paid tools to diagram your software architecture

toolsdiagrammingsoftware architecture
20 Feb 2023
Blog hero image

⚡ Tl;dr

🚀 Let’s kick-off

Diagramming software architecture provides several benefits to communicating complexity. Clear system designs give engineering teams an enhanced understanding of the architecture and plan for future development whilst identifying potential issues.

Diagramming is best for quick sketches in conversation and experimentation of ideas. They are easy to make but often thrown away and difficult to keep up to date.

1️⃣ Diagrams.net

Diagrams.net (formerly draw.io) is a collaborative online diagramming tool with an offline desktop app for added security.

Free and open source.

Best for teams who want to ensure data security by storing their diagrams in a secure or offline location.

It includes features such as:

Diagrams.net screenshot!

2️⃣ Lucidchart

Lucidchart is a collaborative diagramming tool with templating and shape types to create many diagram types, such as flow charts, process flows, mind maps and more.

Free and paid.

Best for teams collaborating on quick and flexible diagrams.

It includes features such as:

Lucidchart screenshot!

3️⃣ Excalidraw

Excalidraw is a collaborative virtual whiteboarding tool with the paid option of Excalidraw+.

Free and open source with a paid option.

Best for teams who want to sketch diagrams using pre-existing components quickly.

It includes features such as:

Excalidraw screenshot!

4️⃣ tldraw

tldraw is a collaborative online tool for sketching diagrams.

Free and open source.

Best for people looking for a free, open-source solution for diagramming.

It includes features such as:

Tldraw screenshot!

5️⃣ Gliffy

Gliffy is a collaborative drag-and-drop diagramming tool.

Paid.

Best for larger teams who want to diagram software architecture and have enterprise requirements.

It includes features such as:

Gliffy screenshot!

6️⃣ OmniGraffle

OmniGraffle is a macOS and iOS desktop application for diagramming and prototyping.

Paid.

Best for individuals who want their diagrams stored on their local machine and want to manipulate many file types.

It includes features such as:

OmniGraffle screenshot!

7️⃣ Miro

Miro is a collaborative whiteboarding tool with templating and team-based tooling to help facilitate workshops.

Free and paid.

Best for teams collaborating on diagrams and facilitating workshops.

It includes features such as:

Miro screenshot!

8️⃣ CloudSkew

CloudSkew is an online tool for drawing cloud architecture diagrams.

Free and paid.

Best for individuals wanting to quickly create architecture and network diagrams for the major cloud platforms.

It includes features such as:

CloudSkew screenshot!

🏁 To wrap up

There are many software architecture diagramming tools, and it’s important to consider which is best suited for your organization.

Some key things to consider.

Stay chill 🧊

Victor

Get in touch

Fill out this form and our team will respond as soon as we can, alternatively email us at mail@icepanel.io

We use cookies to improve your experience
Accepting lets us personalize content and understand how our site is used. By clicking “Accept all”, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Privacy Policy.