Gliffy vs yEd (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, yEd grades higher than Gliffy: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
yEd grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
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 yEd if
- Fits if you lay out large graphs or networks
- Works for people who want a free desktop diagram editor
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want people editing the same diagram live
- Skip it if you want phone or tablet apps, as none are listed
- Watch out: you must accept a license agreement before the installer is offered
- Watch out: the paid side of its maker is the yFiles SDK, so don't expect support from a plan
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAGliffyFair | 2.8GPAyEdGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AFree to download, against $5 to $10 a month for most whiteboards. |
| 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. | AThe whole editor is free on Windows, macOS and Linux, and there's a browser version, yEd Live. |
| Features | CFlowcharts, UML, BPMN, network and Mermaid diagrams with AI generation. It covers diagrams only, and only inside Confluence. | CAutomatic layout, Excel and XML import and several export formats. The product page describes no live multi-user editing. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It adds to a Confluence page, but you still draw each diagram yourself. | CNo store rating on record, and you work out the layout tools and data import yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CIt runs only inside Atlassian's Confluence and Jira, with Visio and draw.io import. No standalone app is listed. | CDesktop on three operating systems plus yEd Live in a browser. The only integration listed is Excel. |
| Best for | diagrams inside Confluence pages | a free desktop graph editor |
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 yEd. 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. yEd has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and yEd starts $3.80 a month lower. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, 8 score higher than Gliffy for less, and none scores higher than yEd 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
- Gliffy also covers templates.
At a glance
| Gliffy | yEd | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $3.80 per user / month, billed annually (Confluence Cloud, 11 to 100 users) | Free |
| Free plan | Gliffy Diagrams for Confluence is free with no time limit for instances of up to 10 users. | yEd is freely available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and a browser version, yEd Live, is offered. |
| Free trial | 30-day evaluation in Confluence Cloud and Data Center | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Perforce Software | yWorks |
| Price read from | gliffy.com | yworks.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
yEd
- It is a desktop editor first; the product page describes no live multi-user editing.
- The download requires accepting a license agreement before the installer is offered.
- yWorks's paid business is its yFiles SDK, and its Confluence editor Graphity is sold separately in the Atlassian Marketplace.
- The latest release shown is 3.25.1.
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.
yEd
- Automatic layout
- Layout algorithms arrange the elements of even large diagrams at the press of a button.
- Data import
- Diagrams can be built by hand or from imported Excel (.xls) or XML data.
- Export formats
- Diagrams export as PNG, JPG, SVG, PDF and SWF.
- Diagram types
- The product page shows BPMN diagrams, semantic networks, family trees, flowcharts and social networks as examples.
- yEd Live in the browser
- The download page links to yEd Live, a version that runs in a browser without installing an app.
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.
yEd
Free$0
The yEd desktop editor, free to download after accepting the license agreement.
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.
yEd
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Gliffy or yEd?
As of Nov 12, 2026, yEd is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $3.80 a month for each person for Gliffy. Gliffy starts at $3.80 per user / month, billed annually (Confluence Cloud, 11 to 100 users), and yEd is free.
Which has a free plan, Gliffy or yEd?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Gliffy and yEd have a free plan.
Which platforms do Gliffy and yEd run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only yEd lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. 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.