OmniGraffle vs Whimsical

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

Whimsical

• Product teams sketching flows, wireframes and specs in one place
• Teams with many occasional viewers, since only editors are billed
• Linux users: the desktop app ships as DEB and RPM packages
• Students and teachers, who can apply for a free year

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.

Whimsical

• The Free plan allows 50 new board objects and 50 doc blocks a month and puts a watermark on exports.
• There is no dedicated mobile app: on a phone, files can be viewed and commented on in a browser, and iPad use is browser-based.
• AI credits are a one-off 10 per account on every plan; more are sold in bundles starting at 250 credits for $25.
• Private teams, SAML single sign-on and SCIM are limited to Business, at $20 per editor / month billed annually.

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.

Whimsical

Boards on an infinite canvas

One board type covers flowcharts, mind maps, sequence diagrams, sticky notes and freehand sketches. Voting and a timer are included on every plan.

Wireframes

Wireframes are assembled from drag-and-drop components, as a quick way to explore product ideas and iterate on them.

Whimsical AI

A prompt generates a flowchart, a branched mind map or an editable wireframe. Each account gets 10 one-off AI credits; more are sold separately at $0.10 each.

Docs

Docs hold notes, project plans, briefs and specs next to the boards they describe, with Markdown support, toggles and embedded content.

Multiplayer editing and comments

Several people can edit a file at once and leave comments on it. Share links can grant view, comment or edit access on every plan.

Embeds and AI tool connectors

Boards embed live in Notion and Obsidian and preview in Slack, Jira and Google Docs. An MCP server and connectors let ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor create diagrams.

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.

Whimsical

• Free$0

  50 new board objects and 50 doc blocks a month, 5 MB uploads within 1 GB of storage, watermarked exports and 7-day version history.

• Pro$10

  per editor / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)

  Unlimited board objects and doc blocks, exports without a watermark, 90-day version history, password-protected files and 100 GB of storage.

• Business$20

  per editor / month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly)

  Private teams, SAML single sign-on, SCIM, content security lock, unlimited version history, invoicing, priority support and storage from 2 TB.

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.

Whimsical

• Annual discount

  2 months free with annual billing

  Pro is $120 per editor billed annually against $12 a month, and Business is $240 against $24. The pricing page shows this as a 17% saving.

• Education

  Free for a year for students and teachers

  Teachers and students can apply for the education plan, which provides the same features as Pro free of charge for a year.

• Nonprofit

  20% off for nonprofits

  Whimsical offers a 20% discount to non-profit organizations that apply through its form.

• Other savings

  Free for life for YouTube creators

  Creators with a public YouTube channel of at least 1,000 subscribers and a video published in the past 30 days can apply for a plan that is free for life.