The ultimate Lucidchart guide

Lucidchart is the intelligent diagramming application built for collaboration, developed by Lucid Software. With Lucidchart, you can quickly and easily create powerful diagrams for mapping processes, visualizing your organization or critical systems, and creating blueprints for your digital transformation. You can easily share your documents with your team to collaborate in real time. Features like advanced data linking, strong integrations with tools you already use, and AI-powered automation make Lucidchart the most intelligent diagramming solution of its kind.

Functionalities within Lucidchart

Lucidchart offers a range of features that support every phase of your workflow and help you move faster from idea to execution.

An overview of the functionalities:

• Lucid AI: Use AI to instantly generate diagrams based on textual descriptions or optimize and summarize existing diagrams.

• Assisted layout: Assisted layout automatically organizes and aligns shapes and lines, ensuring you always maintain an optimized structure.

• Collaboration features: Real-time collaboration is at the core of Lucidchart. Work simultaneously in the same document with features like comments, in-editor chat, and version control to keep everyone on the same page.

• Shape libraries: Lucidchart offers extensive libraries for specific needs, such as UML, BPMN, ER diagrams, network architecture, and more.

• Data linking: Link your diagrams to live data sources such as Google Sheets, Excel, or Salesforce. Your diagrams update automatically when your data changes.

• Integrations: Lucidchart is a product of Lucid Software and, together with Lucidspark, forms the Lucid Visual Collaboration Suite. In addition to the Lucid Suite, Lucid Software also offers airfocus for product roadmapping. Lucidchart integrates seamlessly with tools you already use, such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, Jira, and Confluence.

• Templates: Lucidchart offers hundreds of templates for various use cases, so you can get started immediately with a flowchart, organizational chart, or network diagram.

The ways you can use Lucidchart

Due to the versatile tools Lucidchart offers, the possibilities for creating diagrams and process descriptions are endless. Here’s an overview of the ways users most frequently use Lucidchart.

• Flowcharts: Visualize process steps to identify bottlenecks and improve efficiency.

• Organizational charts (org charts): Map your company structure and keep it up to date by importing data directly.

• Network diagrams: Design and document complex IT networks and cloud infrastructure (e.g., AWS, Azure, or GCP).

• UML diagrams: Visualize the structure and behavior of software systems for better development.

• ER diagrams (ERDs): Design databases by visually representing the relationships between different entities.

• Process mapping: Document business processes in detail to facilitate compliance and training.

• Value stream mapping: Analyze the flow of materials and information needed to get a product or service to the customer.

• Business process Modeling (BPMN): Use standardized symbols to make business processes understandable for all stakeholders.

• Wireframes: Create simple blueprints for websites or applications before starting the design.

• Data visualization: Use features like Smart Containers to automatically group data and make it visually insightful.

Comparable Lucidchart tools

There are multiple diagramming tools on the market. Although they may seem similar at first glance, there are important differences in functionality and depth.

• Microsoft Visio: The traditional desktop application for diagrams. Visio is powerful but often complex and less flexible for real-time collaboration in the cloud compared to Lucidchart. Moreover, unlike Visio, Lucidchart works on every platform.

• Draw.io (diagrams.net): A free tool for simple diagrams. While it works well for basic use, it lacks the advanced automation, data integrations, and enterprise security that Lucidchart offers.

• Miro: An online whiteboard that has also added diagramming features. The big difference is that Lucidchart is specifically built for intelligent diagrams with strict shape logic and data linking, while Miro focuses more on free-form brainstorming (similar to Lucidspark).

• Gliffy: Often used within Confluence for technical diagrams. However, Lucidchart offers a richer experience outside the Atlassian environment and has more powerful data features.

Advantages of Lucidchart

The biggest advantage of Lucidchart is the combination of user-friendliness and technical depth. Where other tools stop at drawing lines, Lucidchart goes further with intelligent automation and data linking. Thanks to the universal canvas in the Lucid Visual Collaboration Suite, you can convert a brainstorming session in Lucidspark into a structured process diagram in Lucidchart with one click. This way, your team moves faster from idea to realization.

Lucidchart and Lucidspark pricing

Lucidchart is part of the Lucid Suite from Lucid Software. You can easily sign up for a free Lucidchart subscription to access basic functionality. For more complex projects and extensive shape libraries, various licenses are available.

Additionally, you can combine Lucidchart with Lucidspark, the online whiteboard within the Lucid Suite from Lucid Software. With this combination, you have access to all the functionalities you need to support every phase of your workflow.

Lucidchart pricing

• Free
  • Price: €0,-
  • Functionality: 3 editable documents, 60 shapes per document, 100 templates, basic Visual Activities, basic data linking, Lucid AI
• Individual
  • Price: €9,-
  • Functionality: unlimited documents, unlimited shapes, premium shape libraries, premium templates
• Team
  • Price: €10,-
  • Functionality: developer tools, revision history with version control, integrations with MS 365, Jira, Confluence, LeanIX, and Ardoq

Lucidspark pricing

• Free
  • Price: €0,-
  • Functionality: 3 editable documents, unlimited shapes, Lucid AI, basic Visual Activities
• Individual
  • Price: €9,-
  • Functionality: unlimited editable documents, premium Visual Activities
• Team
  • Price: €10,-
  • Functionality: developer tools, advanced collaboration tools, guest contributors

Lucid Suite pricing (bundle discount)

• Free
  • Price: €0,-
  • Functionality: 3 editable Lucidchart documents, 3 editable Lucidspark whiteboards, 60 shapes per Lucidchart document, 100 templates, Lucid AI
• Individual
  • Price: €13.50,-
  • Functionality: unlimited documents and whiteboards in both apps, all premium shapes and templates, advanced Lucid AI features
• Team
  • Price: €15,-
  • Functionality: All features of the individual plans plus advanced collaboration tools (chat, voting, timers in Lucidspark) and extensive admin management options.

Visit our pricing page for a comprehensive overview of all functionalities per license.