Gliffy vs Microsoft Visio (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Gliffy and Microsoft Visio share a 2.4 GPA, and only Gliffy has a free plan.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Gliffy grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Microsoft Visio grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Microsoft Visio
Diagramming software for flowcharts, org charts and floor plans
Which one is for you
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 Microsoft Visio if
- Fits if your company already pays for Microsoft 365 and works in Teams
- Works for IT or facilities teams that need network diagrams, floor plans or P&ID drawings
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on a Mac and want a desktop app, as that part is Windows only
- Not for you if you want to try it without a card, since the one-month trial needs one and a work account
- Pricey if you need the desktop app, at $15 a user a month or $309.99 to $579.99 to buy once
- Watch out: personal Microsoft accounts aren't supported, and the web app bundled with Microsoft 365 has limited templates
- Too light for work on a phone or tablet, as there are no mobile apps
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAGliffyFair | 2.4GPAMicrosoft VisioFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BFree for up to 10 users, then $3.80 a user a month billed annually from 11 to 100 users, under the cheaper quarter of $5. You also need Confluence itself, and it renews through Atlassian. | CPlan 1 is $5 a user a month paid yearly, but it's web and Teams only. The parts people buy Visio for, the desktop app, offline files, BPMN 2.0, floor plans and data linking, sit on Plan 2 at $15, well above this category's $8.33 middle. Buying outright is $309.99 or $579.99. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree with no time limit for up to 10 users on Confluence Cloud, with unlimited diagrams. A 30-day evaluation covers bigger instances. | DThere's no free plan at all. The one-month trial covers Plan 1 or Plan 2 only, and it wants both a work or school account and a credit card. The one-time 2024 versions have no trial whatsoever. A basic web app does come with Microsoft 365 commercial plans, if your employer pays for one. |
| Features | CFlowcharts, UML, BPMN, network and Mermaid diagrams with AI generation. It covers diagrams only, and only inside Confluence. | AThe parts no other diagrammer here has: P&ID, electrical and engineering drawings, floor plans, AutoCAD files and 250,000+ shapes, with shapes linked to live data in Excel, SharePoint or SQL Server. The ordinary stuff is all there too, flowcharts, network maps and co-editing on the web and in Teams. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It adds to a Confluence page, but you still draw each diagram yourself. | CNo rating on record. Templates and starter diagrams come with every version, but getting going means a work or school account, since personal Microsoft accounts aren't supported, and picking between five ways to buy before you draw a box. |
| Platforms and integrations | CIt runs only inside Atlassian's Confluence and Jira, with Visio and draw.io import. No standalone app is listed. | BA web app and a Teams app, tied into Excel, Power BI, Word, PowerPoint, OneDrive and SharePoint. The desktop app runs on Windows only, so on a Mac you're stuck with the web version, and there are no phone apps at all. |
| Best for | diagrams inside Confluence pages | technical diagrams in a Microsoft 365 workplace |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Gliffy and Microsoft Visio. How we grade
Price against what you get
Gliffy starts at $3.80 a month for each person and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Microsoft Visio starts at $5 a month for each person and scores 3.0.
Microsoft Visio scores higher, and starts $1.20 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, 8 score higher than Gliffy for less, and 1 scores higher than Microsoft Visio for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Microsoft Visio can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Microsoft Visio also covers mind mapping.
At a glance
| Gliffy | Microsoft Visio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $3.80 per user / month, billed annually (Confluence Cloud, 11 to 100 users) | $5.00 per user / month, paid yearly (Visio Plan 1) |
| Free plan | Gliffy Diagrams for Confluence is free with no time limit for instances of up to 10 users. | None |
| Free trial | 30-day evaluation in Confluence Cloud and Data Center | One-month free trial of Visio Plan 1 or Plan 2 with a work or school account; a credit card is required |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Perforce Software | Microsoft Corporation |
| Price read from | gliffy.com | microsoft.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Microsoft Visio
- The desktop app's system requirements list only Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019; on other systems Visio is limited to the web app.
- Visio Plan 1 is web and Teams only. The desktop app, BPMN 2.0, floor plans, engineering diagrams and data linking need Plan 2.
- The web app bundled with Microsoft 365 has limited templates and needs a work or school account; personal Microsoft accounts are not supported.
- Trials cover only Plan 1 and Plan 2 and require a credit card. Visio Standard 2024 and Professional 2024 have no trial version.
Key features
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.
Microsoft Visio
- Templates and shape libraries
- Templates, starter diagrams and stencils come with every version. Plan 1 adds thousands of shapes and Microsoft product icons, and Plan 2 opens more than 250,000 shapes.
- Technical and business diagram types
- Plan 1 covers cross-functional flowcharts, network, Azure and AWS, ERD and UML diagrams. Plan 2 adds BPMN 2.0, floor plans, P&ID, electrical and engineering diagrams.
- Co-editing on the web and in Teams
- Visio for the web and the Visio app in Microsoft Teams support real-time collaboration, commenting and sharing. Teams itself is licensed separately.
- Data-linked diagrams
- The desktop app links shapes to Excel workbooks, Access databases, SharePoint lists, SQL Server and other sources. The web app can only view data-linked diagrams.
- Microsoft 365 integrations
- Data Visualizer turns Excel process data into diagrams, Visio Visual embeds diagrams in Power BI dashboards, and diagrams can be exported to Word and PowerPoint.
- Desktop app with offline support
- Plan 2 includes the Visio desktop app with local file and offline support and AutoCAD file support, installable on up to five Windows PCs per user.
Plans
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.
Microsoft Visio
Visio in Microsoft 365Included
with Microsoft 365 commercial plans
Web and Teams app for viewing and basic editing, with limited templates for general diagrams and basic flowcharts. Not sold separately.
Visio Plan 1$5.00
per user / month, paid yearly
Web and Teams apps with thousands of shapes, cross-functional flowcharts, network, Azure and AWS, ERD and UML diagrams, mind maps and 2 GB of OneDrive storage.
Visio Plan 2$15.00
per user / month, paid yearly
Adds the Windows desktop app with offline support, 250,000+ shapes, BPMN 2.0, floor plans, P&ID and electrical diagrams, and two-way data connectivity.
Visio Standard 2024$309.99
one-time purchase
Non-subscription Windows desktop app with templates, thousands of shapes, in-app commenting, DWG import and org charts generated from data sources.
Visio Professional 2024$579.99
one-time purchase
Adds diagram validation against BPMN 2.0 and UML 2.5 and links to live data from Excel, Access, SharePoint, SQL Server and other sources.
Ways to pay less
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.
Microsoft Visio
- Lifetime license
Visio 2024 one-time purchase
Visio Standard 2024 at $309.99 and Visio Professional 2024 at $579.99 are sold as one-time purchases of the Windows desktop app, with no subscription.
- Education
Visio web app in free Office 365 A1 for schools
Microsoft donates Office 365 A1 to eligible educational institutions at no cost, and Visio's FAQ lists Office 365 A1 among the plans that include the Visio web app.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Gliffy or Microsoft Visio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Gliffy is cheaper to start with: $3.80 a month for each person, against $5 a month for each person for Microsoft Visio. Gliffy starts at $3.80 per user / month, billed annually (Confluence Cloud, 11 to 100 users), and Microsoft Visio starts at $5.00 per user / month, paid yearly (Visio Plan 1).
Which has a free plan, Gliffy or Microsoft Visio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Gliffy has a free plan. Microsoft Visio does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Gliffy and Microsoft Visio run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Microsoft Visio lists a Windows app. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.