Gliffy vs Lucidchart (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Gliffy if

• Fits if your team already writes its documents in Confluence
• Works for a team of up to 10 that wants free diagrams there

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you do not use Confluence, since the pricing page covers Confluence apps only
• Pricey if your instance is large: the price follows the size of your Confluence users, not who draws
• Watch out: on Confluence Cloud, diagrams become read-only if the licence is not renewed
• Watch out: all purchases and renewals go through Atlassian
• Watch out: the Zero Egress price is shown as an as-low-as figure

Pick Lucidchart if

• Fits if you document processes as flowcharts or draw UML, ERD or cloud architecture
• Works for org charts built from a spreadsheet you already have

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you're staying free, because 3 documents and 75 shapes each run out quickly
• Watch out: the 7-day trial asks for payment details at sign-up, and monthly prices aren't published
• Skip it if you're on Free or Individual and want the iOS app, which needs Team or Enterprise
• Pricey if you need revision history or the Jira, Confluence and Microsoft 365 links, as those start at Team, $10 a user
• Not for you if you want sticky-note brainstorming, as Lucidspark is separate and only bundled on Enterprise

Gliffy

• The pricing page covers Confluence apps only, and all purchases, renewals and upgrades go through Atlassian.
• Prices are per Confluence user and follow the size of your instance, not just the people who draw.
• On Confluence Cloud, diagrams become read-only if the license is not renewed.
• The Zero Egress price is shown as an as-low-as figure.

Lucidchart

• The Free plan is limited to 3 editable documents and 75 shapes per document.
• The iOS app requires a Team or Enterprise subscription; Free and Individual accounts are pointed to the browser version instead.
• Revision history, the developer platform and the Microsoft 365, Confluence and Jira integrations start at Team; SAML is Enterprise only.
• The pricing page shows only annual-billing rates. Its FAQ says monthly billing is available but gives no monthly price.

Gliffy

Native Confluence diagrams

Diagrams are created inside Confluence pages and stored as attachments, as a .gliffy file and a PNG image.

Diagram types

Flowcharts, UML, BPMN, network and Mermaid diagrams are listed, with sticky notes and freehand drawing for sketching during sessions.

Import and export

Microsoft Visio and draw.io diagrams can be imported, and diagrams export as JPEG, PNG and SVG.

AI diagram generation

Gliffy added AI diagramming in 2025 and describes it as turning a text prompt into a diagram in Gliffy for Confluence.

Zero Egress edition

A second app keeps diagram data inside the Atlassian environment, and lists ITAR, GDPR, HIPAA and SOC 2 compliance.

Searchable text

All text inside diagrams is searchable from Confluence.

Lucidchart

Shape libraries for technical diagrams

Libraries cover flowcharts, process maps, org charts, UML, ER and network diagrams, plus AWS, Azure and GCP shapes. Premium libraries need a paid plan.

Lucid AI

Text prompts generate diagram content on the canvas, and AI can refine a prompt or summarize a document. Lucid AI is listed on every plan, including Free.

Data linking

Connect a diagram to Google Sheets, Excel or CSV data to build visuals from the source, then use conditional formatting to highlight patterns in it.

Diagram from markup

UML markup generates a sequence diagram from text, and ERD markup and diagram-as-code options let technical users edit the source instead of dragging shapes.

Collaboration and versioning

Several people can edit a diagram at once and leave comments. Revision history with versioning is added on the Team plan.

Visio import and export

Paid plans open and export Microsoft Visio files, and the Android app can import and view VDX, VSD, VSDM and VSDX formats.

Gliffy

• Confluence app, up to 10 users$0

  Free with no time limit for up to 10 users, with unlimited diagrams on Confluence Cloud.

• Confluence app, 11-100 users$3.80

  per user / month, billed annually

  Unlimited diagrams, flowchart, UML, BPMN, network and Mermaid support, plus exports to JPEG, PNG and SVG. Bought and renewed through Atlassian.

• Gliffy Zero Egress$2.80

  per user / month, shown as an as-low-as price

  For security-focused teams: no diagram data leaves the Atlassian environment, and it works with Atlassian Government Cloud and Isolated Cloud. Up to 100 users listed.

Lucidchart

• Free$0

  3 editable documents, 75 shapes per document, 100 templates, basic data linking, presentation mode and commenting.

• Individual$9

  per month, billed annually

  Unlimited editable documents and objects, 1 GB of storage, Visio import and export, and premium shape libraries and templates.

• Team$10

  per user / month, billed annually

  Adds revision history with versioning, password-protected publishing, the developer platform, and Microsoft 365, Confluence and Jira integrations.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds Lucidspark whiteboarding, team hubs, SAML authentication, enforceable sharing restrictions, advanced data and automation, and Salesforce integration.

Gliffy

• Annual discount

  Annual billing

  Gliffy says apps are billed annually at a discount of 12 months for the price of 10 when the Confluence host product is on annual billing.

• Education

  Academic and open-source licenses

  Atlassian offers special licenses for academic institutions and the open-source community, which Gliffy says extend to Marketplace apps.

Lucidchart

• Annual discount

  Lower price with annual billing

  Lucid's pricing FAQ says paid plans can be paid monthly or, at a saving, annually. The listed rates are the annual ones and the page does not state the size of the saving.