SmartDraw vs yEd (2026): which should you pick?

Pick SmartDraw if

• Fits if you need floor plans or site plans to scale but don't want CAD software
• Works for teams whose files have to stay in their own OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Drive

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to pay monthly, since it's sold only as an annual license
• Pricey if you're watching the bill, at a regular $10.95 a month when the middle here is $8.33
• Tight if you're a team of two, because the Team plan starts at 3 users
• Watch out: the $7.95 and $6.95 prices are introductory, and there's only a 7-day trial with no free plan
• Not for you if you want a desktop or phone app, or SSO below the Enterprise license

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

yEd

• Free$0

  The yEd desktop editor, free to download after accepting the license agreement.

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.

yEd

No public discounts listed.