# Free alternatives to Microsoft Visio

> Microsoft Visio (Visio Plan 1) costs $60 a year. Free alternatives: draw.io Desktop and LibreOffice. Data checked 2026-10-17.

- Page: https://stoprenting.dev/apps/visio/
- Category: Whiteboards & Diagrams (https://stoprenting.dev/categories/whiteboards-and-diagrams/)
- Vendor: Microsoft
- Plan: Visio Plan 1
- Price: $5/month, $60/year
- Billing: per user per month, paid yearly
- Price quote from the vendor's page: "Visio Plan 1 Create professional diagrams collaboratively Best value for your money $5.00 user/month, paid yearly (Annual or monthly commitment)"
- Price source: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/visio (checked 2026-10-17)

## Alternatives

### draw.io Desktop

- Website: https://www.drawio.com
- Repository: https://github.com/jgraph/drawio-desktop (63,540 stars, last push 2026-10-16)
- License: GPL-3.0
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: desktop app
- Linux: Arch extra: drawio-desktop
- Self-hostable: no
- Install: `sudo pacman -S drawio-desktop`
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/draw-io-desktop/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

### LibreOffice

- Website: https://www.libreoffice.org
- Repository: https://github.com/LibreOffice/core (4,483 stars, last push 2026-10-17)
- License: GPL-3.0
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: desktop app
- Linux: Arch extra: libreoffice-fresh; Flathub: org.libreoffice.LibreOffice
- Self-hostable: no
- Install: `sudo pacman -S libreoffice-fresh`, `flatpak install flathub org.libreoffice.LibreOffice`
- Note: Draw opens and edits Visio files, but has far fewer diagram stencils than Visio.
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/libreoffice/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

## FAQ

### Is there a free alternative to Microsoft Visio?

Yes. The 2 free alternatives are draw.io Desktop (open source, GPL-3.0) and LibreOffice (open source, GPL-3.0).

### How much does Microsoft Visio cost?

Microsoft Visio's Visio Plan 1 plan costs $5 a month, which is $60 a year (per user per month, paid yearly). Source: the official pricing page at microsoft.com, checked Oct 17, 2026.

### Which Microsoft Visio alternatives run on Linux?

draw.io Desktop (Arch extra: drawio-desktop) and LibreOffice (Arch extra: libreoffice-fresh; Flathub: org.libreoffice.LibreOffice).

### Can you self-host a Microsoft Visio alternative?

draw.io Desktop and LibreOffice are desktop apps that run on your own machine, so there's nothing to host.

### Are these Microsoft Visio alternatives open source?

Yes. All 2 use OSI-approved open-source licenses: draw.io Desktop (GPL-3.0) and LibreOffice (GPL-3.0).

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Source: Stop Renting (https://stoprenting.dev). Methodology: https://stoprenting.dev/methodology/