The Lucidchart Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about Lucidchart in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPAOctober 2026

Lucidchart

The Insider’s Guide

Browser-based diagramming for flowcharts, org charts and systems

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among whiteboard and mind map tools, read from Lucidchart’s own pages.

Made by Lucid Software Inc. · checked Oct 5, 2026 · toolgpa.com

2.6GPA

01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Lucidchart’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Lucidchart’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 5, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

2.6

GPA, above 13 of the 30 other whiteboard and mind map tools we grade

Lucidchart is a browser-based diagramming tool from Lucid Software for flowcharts, process maps, org charts and technical diagrams such as UML, ERD and cloud architecture. Diagrams can be drawn from shape libraries, generated from text prompts with Lucid AI, or built from data linked from Google Sheets, Excel or CSV files. Lucidspark, the company's whiteboard, has its own plans and is included with Lucidchart only on Enterprise.

To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Lucidchart, taken from its own pages and our grades.

1
Best for flowcharts and technical diagrams in a browser
There's no desktop app, and the iOS app needs Team or Enterprise.
2
Paid plans start at $9 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $9 per month, billed annually.
3
There is a free plan
3 editable Lucidchart documents, 75 shapes per document and 100 templates, with basic data linking, presentation mode, commenting and Lucid AI.
4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
5
Shape libraries for technical diagrams
Libraries cover flowcharts, process maps, org charts, UML, ER and network diagrams, plus AWS, Azure and GCP shapes. Premium libraries need a paid plan.
6
Lucid AI
Text prompts generate diagram content on the canvas, and AI can refine a prompt or summarize a document. Lucid AI is listed on every plan, including Free.
7
Data linking
Connect a diagram to Google Sheets, Excel or CSV data to build visuals from the source, then use conditional formatting to highlight patterns in it.
8
A 2.6 GPA, above 13 of 30
That is against the other whiteboard and mind map tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
9
Keep it
The plain part of Lucidchart you could make: mind mapping and templates. What surrounds it you could not. The 6 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.

Lucidchart at a glance

Pricing: Free plan, from $9 per month, billed annually
Free plan: Yes
Free trial: 7-day free trial of Individual or Team; payment details are required at sign-up
Runs on: Web, iOS, Android
Made by: Lucid Software Inc., since 2010
Category: Whiteboards & Mind Maps
Our grade: 2.6 GPA, good
Store rating: 4.6 on the App Store, 5,321 ratings

The report card

Best for flowcharts and technical diagrams in a browser

Lucidchart draws flowcharts, org charts, UML, ERD and cloud architecture diagrams in the browser, and can build one from a text prompt or a spreadsheet. The free plan stops at 3 documents with 75 shapes each, the trial wants payment details, and revision history and the Jira and Confluence links wait for Team. There's no desktop app, and the iOS app needs Team or Enterprise.

ToolGPA report cardLucidchartGraded Oct 10, 2026

Subject	Grade	Comment
Value for money	C	Individual is $9 a month billed annually, which is the middling-to-dear part of this category, and Team is $10 a user before you get revision history or the Confluence, Jira and Microsoft 365 integrations. The pricing page won't even quote a monthly rate.
Free plan and trial	C	Free forever, and Lucid AI, commenting and presentation mode are all in it. The caps are what you'll notice: 3 editable documents and 75 shapes per document, which one large process map can use up on its own. The 7-day trial of the paid plans wants payment details up front.
Features	B	The diagramming job, covered: libraries for flowcharts, UML, ER, network, AWS, Azure and GCP, AI drafting from a prompt, data linking from Google Sheets, Excel or CSV, UML markup for people who'd rather type, and Visio import and export on paid plans.
Ease of use	B	4.59 from 5,321 App Store ratings, just shy of our line for top marks. Nothing to install, and you start from one of 100 templates and a ready-made shape library rather than an empty page.
Platforms and integrations	B	Web, iPhone and Android, with Jira, Confluence, Microsoft 365, Slack, Teams, Notion and Google Drive wired in and a developer platform on Team. There's no desktop app, and the iOS app needs a Team or Enterprise subscription to work at all.

Grade point averageGood, out of 4.02.6

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who Lucidchart is for

Fits if you document processes as flowcharts or draw UML, ERD or cloud architecture
Works for org charts built from a spreadsheet you already have

Who it is not for

Tight if you're staying free, because 3 documents and 75 shapes each run out quickly
Watch out: the 7-day trial asks for payment details at sign-up, and monthly prices aren't published
Skip it if you're on Free or Individual and want the iOS app, which needs Team or Enterprise
Pricey if you need revision history or the Jira, Confluence and Microsoft 365 links, as those start at Team, $10 a user
Not for you if you want sticky-note brainstorming, as Lucidspark is separate and only bundled on Enterprise

Good to know

Good for

Documenting processes as flowcharts and process maps
Engineers drawing UML, ERD and cloud architecture diagrams
Teams that embed diagrams in Confluence, Jira or Microsoft 365
Org charts built from imported data

Worth knowing

The Free plan is limited to 3 editable documents and 75 shapes per document.
The iOS app requires a Team or Enterprise subscription; Free and Individual accounts are pointed to the browser version instead.
Revision history, the developer platform and the Microsoft 365, Confluence and Jira integrations start at Team; SAML is Enterprise only.
The pricing page shows only annual-billing rates. Its FAQ says monthly billing is available but gives no monthly price.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

A month to start. There is a free plan too

Lucidchart has a free plan. Paid plans start at $9 per month, billed annually.

The pricing page won't even quote a monthly rate.

From our grade for value for money

Free
$0
3 editable documents, 75 shapes per document, 100 templates, basic data linking, presentation mode and commenting.
Individual
$9
per month, billed annually
Unlimited editable documents and objects, 1 GB of storage, Visio import and export, and premium shape libraries and templates.
Team
$10
per user / month, billed annually
Adds revision history with versioning, password-protected publishing, the developer platform, and Microsoft 365, Confluence and Jira integrations.
Enterprise
Custom
Adds Lucidspark whiteboarding, team hubs, SAML authentication, enforceable sharing restrictions, advanced data and automation, and Salesforce integration.

The free plan

3 editable Lucidchart documents, 75 shapes per document and 100 templates, with basic data linking, presentation mode, commenting and Lucid AI.

Trying it first

7-day free trial of Individual or Team; payment details are required at sign-up

Read from lucid.app on Oct 5, 2026.

Ways to pay less

Annual discount
Lower price with annual billing
Lucid's pricing FAQ says paid plans can be paid monthly or, at a saving, annually. The listed rates are the annual ones and the page does not state the size of the saving.
Stated on lucid.app

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android

Browser-based diagramming for flowcharts, org charts and systems. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, real-time collaboration, templates, mind mapping, diagrams.

There's no desktop app, and the iOS app needs a Team or Enterprise subscription to work at all.

From our grade for platforms and integrations

Shape libraries for technical diagrams: Libraries cover flowcharts, process maps, org charts, UML, ER and network diagrams, plus AWS, Azure and GCP shapes. Premium libraries need a paid plan.
Lucid AI: Text prompts generate diagram content on the canvas, and AI can refine a prompt or summarize a document. Lucid AI is listed on every plan, including Free.
Data linking: Connect a diagram to Google Sheets, Excel or CSV data to build visuals from the source, then use conditional formatting to highlight patterns in it.
Diagram from markup: UML markup generates a sequence diagram from text, and ERD markup and diagram-as-code options let technical users edit the source instead of dragging shapes.
Collaboration and versioning: Several people can edit a diagram at once and leave comments. Revision history with versioning is added on the Team plan.
Visio import and export: Paid plans open and export Microsoft Visio files, and the Android app can import and view VDX, VSD, VSDM and VSDX formats.

Where it runs

Web
iOS
Android

What it works with

Jira
Confluence
Microsoft 365
Slack
Microsoft Teams
Notion
Google Drive
Salesforce

Lucidchart is made by Lucid Software Inc., and has been around since 2010.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

13/30

Other whiteboard and mind map tools it is graded above

Lucidchart's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 13 of the 30 other whiteboard and mind map tools we grade, and level with 7.

It stands best on ease of use (B, above 17 of 30) and worst on free plan and trial (C, above 1).

Its paid plans start at $9 a month, against a middle price of $8.29 for the category: 14 of the 23 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4. 2 tools score higher and cost less.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 31 whiteboard and mind map tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Lucidchart’s own letter is outlined.

CValue for money
Above 4 of 30
CFree plan and trial
Above 1 of 30
BFeatures
Above 15 of 30
BEase of use
Above 17 of 30
BPlatforms and integrations
Above 5 of 30

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 28 whiteboard and mind map tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Lucidchart is the marked dot.

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Keep it

The plain part of Lucidchart you could make: mind mapping and templates. What surrounds it you could not. The 6 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.

It costs $108 a year.

What you could make

Mind mapping and templates: an app builder makes these well.

What you could not

A diagram editor.
A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
Several people working in it at the same moment.
It plugs into other products, Jira, Confluence and Microsoft 365 among them, and has an API.
AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

What this rests on. Lucidchart’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Microsoft Visio, draw.io, Miro, Creately and SmartDraw

The 5 tools Lucidchart is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

2.4GPA
Microsoft Visio
Free trial · from $5.00/mo
Diagramming software for flowcharts, org charts and floor plans.
- Lucidchart has a free plan. Microsoft Visio does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Lucidchart lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Microsoft Visio lists a Windows app.
Lucidchart and Microsoft Visio compared in full
3.2GPA
draw.io
Free
Free diagram editor that saves files to storage you choose.
- Only Lucidchart lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only draw.io lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- draw.io is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
Lucidchart and draw.io compared in full
3.0GPA
Miro
Free plan · from $8/mo
Online whiteboard for team brainstorming, diagrams and planning.
- Only Miro lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Miro also covers whiteboard.
Lucidchart and Miro compared in full
2.6GPA
Creately
Free plan · from $4/mo
Visual workspace for diagrams, whiteboards and planning.
- Only Lucidchart lists iOS and Android apps.
- Creately is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Creately also covers whiteboard.
Lucidchart and Creately compared in full
2.2GPA
SmartDraw
Free trial · from $10.95/mo
Floor plans, scaled layouts and business diagrams in the browser.
- Lucidchart has a free plan. SmartDraw does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Lucidchart lists iOS and Android apps.
- SmartDraw also covers whiteboard.
Lucidchart and SmartDraw compared in full

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is Lucidchart free?

Lucidchart has a free plan. 3 editable Lucidchart documents, 75 shapes per document and 100 templates, with basic data linking, presentation mode, commenting and Lucid AI.

How much does Lucidchart cost?

Lucidchart lists 4 plans. Free: $0.

What platforms does Lucidchart work on?

Lucidchart is available on Web, iOS and Android.

Does Lucidchart offer any discounts?

Lucidchart publicly lists the following: Lower price with annual billing.

How is Lucidchart rated?

Lucidchart's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5,321 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 5, 2026.

Does Lucidchart have a Windows app?

No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Lucidchart is listed for Web, iOS and Android.

Does Lucidchart have a macOS app?

No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Lucidchart is listed for Web, iOS and Android.

Is Lucidchart open source?

Lucidchart is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 5, 2026.

Does Lucidchart have an API?

Yes. Lucidchart offers a public API, according to its own site.

What does Lucidchart integrate with?

Lucidchart's listing names Jira, Confluence, Microsoft 365, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Notion, Google Drive and Salesforce.

Does Lucidchart have a free trial?

Yes. 7-day free trial of Individual or Team; payment details are required at sign-up.

Who makes Lucidchart?

Lucidchart is made by Lucid Software Inc. It dates from 2010.

What are the alternatives to Lucidchart?

The closest alternatives to Lucidchart in our directory are Microsoft Visio, draw.io, Miro, Creately and SmartDraw.

How does Lucidchart compare with other whiteboard and mind map tools?

Lucidchart's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 13 of the 30 other whiteboard and mind map tools we grade, and level with 7.

Is Lucidchart good value for money?

ToolGPA grades Lucidchart C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $9 a month, against a middle price of $8.29 for the category: 14 of the 23 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of Lucidchart?

The plain part of Lucidchart you could make: mind mapping and templates.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Lucidchart’s own pages on Oct 5, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Lucid's own pages on 5 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-02-02.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Lucid Software Inc. Prices change, so check lucid.co before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

3,189

Tools graded, in 94 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Lucidchart: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/lucidchart

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See our other guides

The best-graded whiteboard and mind map tools after Lucidchart, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

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Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Lucidchart’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Lucidchart is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Lucid Software Inc. Prices and plans change: check lucid.co before you buy.