OmniGraffle vs SmartDraw

OmniGraffle

• Mac, iPad and iPhone users who want a native diagramming app
• Designers drawing wireframes and precise vector diagrams
• Buyers who prefer a perpetual license to a subscription
• People who need to open or hand over Microsoft Visio files

SmartDraw

• Floor plans, site plans and other scaled layouts without CAD software
• Police and fire departments documenting scenes and pre-incident plans
• Organizations replacing Visio or Lucidchart across many users
• Teams that keep files in OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Drive

OmniGraffle

• OmniGraffle runs only on Mac, iPhone and iPad; there is no Windows, Android or web version.
• Mac and iOS perpetual licenses are sold separately; only the $129.99 yearly subscription covers all three devices.
• Visio import and export, shared layers, artboards and automation need a Pro license or the subscription.
• A perpetual license covers one major version; the next major version is a paid upgrade, offered at a discount.

SmartDraw

• There is no free plan; the free trial lasts 7 days.
• SmartDraw is sold only as an annual license, and the vendor says it does not offer a monthly payment plan.
• The $7.95 and $6.95 prices on the buy page are introductory prices for new customers; the regular price shown is $10.95.
• The Team plan has a 3-user minimum, and SSO and multiple shared folders need the Enterprise license.

OmniGraffle

Diagramming tools

Shapes connect with straight, orthogonal, curved or Bézier lines that stay attached, and on the Mac an outline tab builds a flowchart from an indented list.

Stencils and templates

The Resource Browser on Mac holds a collection of stencils and templates and searches Stenciltown, the vendor's library of stencils shared by users.

Canvases and layers

A document holds several canvases in fixed, flexible or infinite size modes, organized with layers. Shared layers and artboard layers are Pro features.

Wireframing and vector drawing

A pen tool, a point editor, and grouping, snapping and alignment tools support wireframes and vector graphics. Pro adds shape combinations and blend modes.

Visio import and export

Pro reads Microsoft Visio files, templates and stencils in formats such as .vsd and .vsdx, and exports diagrams in Visio's XML format.

Automation

Pro runs JavaScript automation and plug-ins on both Mac and iOS, plus AppleScript on Mac, and objects can trigger actions such as switching canvas.

SmartDraw

Floor plans and scaled drawings

Draw a plan to scale from scratch, or import a PDF or a Google Map and add a scaled layout on top, using libraries of industry-standard symbols.

General diagramming

Templates cover flowcharts, org charts, mind maps, project charts, and engineering and IT diagrams, and they adjust connections and layout automatically as items are added.

Diagrams generated from data

Built-in data visualizers produce AWS and Azure architecture diagrams, org charts, ERDs, class diagrams, timelines and Jira reports from imported data.

Collaboration and whiteboarding

People invited by link edit the same document with labeled cursors, and whiteboarding tools add sticky notes, emojis, a pen and highlighter, and a session timer.

Storage in your own systems

Files can be saved directly to OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox or Box, using the folders and permissions an organization already has.

SmartDraw AI and MCP server

SmartDraw AI generates diagrams from natural-language prompts, and an MCP server lets Claude or ChatGPT create floor plans and diagrams that stay editable in SmartDraw.

OmniGraffle

• v3 Standard License (iOS)$59.99

  one-time purchase

  Perpetual license for OmniGraffle 3 on iPhone and iPad with the standard feature set and all 3.x updates.

• v3 Pro License (iOS)$119.99

  one-time purchase

  Perpetual iPhone and iPad license with the Pro features, such as Visio import and export, shared layers, artboards and JavaScript automation.

• Annual Subscription$129.99

  per year

  The latest Pro version on Mac, iPhone and iPad, with no charge for major version upgrades. Renews automatically until canceled.

• v7 Standard License (Mac)$149.99

  one-time purchase

  Perpetual license for OmniGraffle 7 on Mac only, including all 7.x updates. Later major versions are a discounted upgrade.

• v7 Pro License (Mac)$249.99

  one-time purchase

  Perpetual Mac license with the Pro features: Visio import and export, SVG export, shared layers, artboards, subgraphs and automation.

SmartDraw

• Individual$10.95

  per month, billed annually

  A single-user license. New customers are shown an introductory price of $7.95 a month in place of the regular $10.95.

• Team$10.95

  per user / month, billed annually

  3-user minimum, with team admin controls, 1 shared team folder, document retention and premium support. Introductory price of $6.95 for new customers.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Everything in Team plus SSO, multiple shared folders, a custom company theme and a dedicated success manager. Advertised from $99 per user per year.

OmniGraffle

• Lifetime license

  Perpetual licenses for Mac and iOS

  A one-time purchase owns the current major version: $149.99 Standard or $249.99 Pro for Mac, and $59.99 Standard or $119.99 Pro for iPhone and iPad.

• Education

  Educational pricing on Mac licenses

  Staff, faculty and students of accredited educational organizations get discounted Mac licenses through Omni's Educational Store. Subscriptions and App Store purchases are excluded.

• Other savings

  Quantity discount on perpetual licenses

  Each license beyond the first in one order takes a further 5% off the whole order, up to 30%. The discount does not apply to subscriptions.

SmartDraw

• Other savings

  Introductory price for new customers

  The buy page offers new customers $7.95 a month for Individual and $6.95 per user a month for Team, billed annually, against a crossed-out $10.95. No end date is given.