OmniGraffle alternative for Mac: SimpleDiagrams vs OmniGraffle

Both are native Mac apps you can buy once. OmniGraffle is a deep tool for precise work. SimpleDiagrams is a small, friendly one for quick, sketch-style diagrams.

Who each is for

SimpleDiagrams

People who want to sketch an idea, a process or a system in minutes, in an informal style, and move on.

OmniGraffle

Designers and technical users who want precise layout, on Mac, iPad and iPhone; Pro adds Visio import and export and automation.

Side by side

SimpleDiagrams compared with OmniGraffle
Feature	SimpleDiagrams 5	OmniGraffle 7
Runs on	Mac only: macOS 15 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.	Mac (macOS 14 or later), plus a separate app for iPad and iPhone (iOS 16 or later).
Price	US$39.99 once. No subscription. The licence never expires.	Mac: Standard US$149.99 or Pro US$249.99 once, for version 7. The iPad and iPhone app is sold separately. Or US$129.99 per year for Pro on Mac, iPad and iPhone.
Free trial	7 days with the download from this site. No card needed. The Mac App Store edition has no trial.	14 days
Works offline	Yes. The app has no network access at all.	Yes, once you've signed in to an Omni Account online to unlock it. A subscription connects again at each renewal.
Hand-drawn look	The whole app is built around it: sketch-style shape libraries, squiggly connectors, and a Pencil and an art Marker for freehand lines.	A Freehand stroke style for a rougher line.
Shapes	Eight built-in libraries, including UML and BPMN, plus more sketch-style libraries to download with a free account. Make your own. Import SVG, PNG and JPEG artwork. Free	Built-in stencils, community stencils on Stenciltown, and stencils you make yourself.
Containers and swimlanes	Containers that hold their shapes and take them along, and swimlanes you edit in place and turn between across and down, shapes and all.	Groups keep objects together, and Pro's subgraphs fold them away until you need them. No dedicated swimlane shape.
Shape data	Add fields such as owner, cost or status to library shapes. Edit them in the Shape Data panel, compare a whole page in the Page Data table, and export as CSV or JSON. Set up fields once for a whole library. Included	Pro: notes and key/value data on each object, in the Object Data inspector.
Visio files	Opens .vsdx, .vsdm, .vstx and .vstm drawings as new diagrams, and imports .vssx and .vssm stencils as libraries. Older .vsd and .vss files don't open, and it doesn't save Visio files. Included	Pro opens .vsd, .vsdx, .vdx and stencils, and exports Visio XML (.vdx).
Export	PDF, PNG, JPEG and SVG. Print.	PDF, PNG, JPEG, TIFF and more. SVG export needs Pro.
Automation and tables	Tables you type straight into. No automation.	Pro: JavaScript and AppleScript automation, and tables.
Team pricing	Published discounts from 5 licences, with a quote on request.	5% off the whole order for each one-time licence after the first, up to 30%.

OmniGraffle prices are in US dollars, as of October 2026. This page compares OmniGraffle 7, the current release; OmniGraffle 8 is in public testing.

Visio files, UML and BPMN

Open Visio drawings

Open .vsdx, .vsdm, .vstx and .vstm files as new diagrams you can edit. Shapes keep their outlines, colours, text and shape data. Flowchart and BPMN shapes become the matching SimpleDiagrams shapes, swimlanes and containers come across, and connectors stay attached.

Import Visio stencils

Import a .vssx or .vssm stencil and its shapes become a custom library, with their colours, connection points, shape data and tips. Lines and connectors in the stencil are left out.

UML and BPMN

A UML library with actors, activity nodes, class and database boxes, sequence diagrams and ten relationships. A BPMN library of 89 shapes in a hand-drawn style, each carrying its BPMN details as shape data, plus a pool, an expanded sub-process and six flows. See BPMN diagrams on your Mac.

Your Visio file is never changed, and macros never run. A summary lists anything that didn't come across exactly. Older .vsd and .vss files don't open; SimpleDiagrams says how to save them in the newer format. It draws UML and BPMN but doesn't check your diagram against either standard.

The user guide has the details on Visio drawings and stencils, UML and BPMN.

Why people choose SimpleDiagrams

It is small and quick to learn. Diagrams were never so easy.
It is designed around the hand-drawn look from the ground up.
One edition at one price, US$39.99. There is no Pro upgrade to buy.
Shapes can hold data you can edit, compare in a table and export, in the same edition.
It opens Visio drawings and imports Visio stencils in the same edition, too.
UML and BPMN libraries come built in, in the same hand-drawn style as everything else.
Containers, swimlanes you edit in place, tables you type straight into and callouts that stay pointed at a shape all come in the one edition.
It works fully offline, with no network access and no analytics. See our IT and security statement.

When OmniGraffle is the better choice

You need to open older .vsd Visio files, or send diagrams back to Visio users on Windows. OmniGraffle Pro opens .vsd files and exports Visio XML (.vdx), which Visio for the web can't open.
You want to draw on an iPad or iPhone too, with its separate app or the subscription.
You want to automate diagrams with JavaScript or AppleScript, in OmniGraffle Pro.
You need precise technical layout, automatic layout, or Pro's shared layers and subgraphs.

Download SimpleDiagrams 5 and try it free for 7 days

The free trial is in the download from this site. The Mac App Store edition is paid up front and has no trial.

Download the free trial Buy a licence

One licence covers one person on every Mac they use. Buying for a team? See team pricing.

Coming from Visio? Read Visio for Mac alternative: SimpleDiagrams vs Visio.

Considering Lucidchart too? Compare SimpleDiagrams and Lucidchart for Mac.

Sources

Competitor details checked 19 October 2026. Prices in US dollars; check the vendor's site for current terms.

BPMN is a trademark of the Object Management Group. These shapes are not endorsed by it. UML is a registered trademark of the Object Management Group. SimpleDiagrams is not endorsed by it.