Introduction
Microsoft Visio is a popular drawing software for creating business, educational and industrial drawings. It can be used for creating flowcharts, architectural plans, org charts, network diagrams, mind maps, etc. Interestingly, Visio was not developed by Microsoft; it was first launched by Shapewear Corp, later renamed Visio Corporation. Microsoft acquired Visio in 2000 and included it in the Office suite. Though Microsoft Visio is a popular software for drawings and diagrams, it is unavailable for Windows platforms. So, eventually, we need a program that can work as Visio for Mac and Linux. We have studied many available programs that are coined as Visio for Mac, but we recommend EdrawMax as the best alternative. Let us discuss this software in detail.
What is EdrawMax
EdrawMax is a drawing and diagramming software for drawing technical, industrial, business, and teaching diagrams, just like Visio. EdrawMax is recommended as Visio for Mac because this software is available for all popular platforms, including Windows, Linus, macOS, and Online. EdrawMax is an excellent alternative for Visio because it has an extensive toolkit, symbol library, templates collection, and team collaboration support. Following are some salient features of EdrawMax that are popularly known as Visio Mac in the technical drawing fraternity.
EdrawMax Features
EdrawMax is a comprehensive software that supports 280+ diagram types with a strong foundation of extensive libraries, tools, and templates. Interestingly, EdrawMax is evolving rapidly because of its commitment to continuous improvement and because it allows users to contribute to its templates library. Apart from EdrawMax’s continuous improvement culture, what makes it such a popular alternative Visio for Mac.
Operating Systems Support
EdrawMax is very popular because it is not restricted to one operating system, unlike Microsoft Visio and other such tools. Since Visio is part of Microsoft Office Suite, it is understandable that it has support for Windows. So, EdrawMax, a.k.a Microsoft Visio for Mac, is an excellent alternative because it has comprehensive support for almost all popular operating systems. Following is the detailed list of supported platforms with versions and editions.
Windows
- Windows XP users should use EdrawMax Version 8.4
- Windows 2000/2003/2008/Vista/7/8/10
- Windows 32 bit/64-bit versions
Mac
- Mac OS X 10.10 and later
- Linux
- Linux OS X Debian
- Ubuntu
- Fedora
- CentOS
- OpenSUSE, Mint, Knoppix, RedHat, Gentoo, and more.
Web
Easy to Use
EdrawMax is very easy to use because it has a familiar user interface that matches with Microsoft Word. So, this standard UI makes it very easy to use for beginners. It has symbols drag and drops feature, data to diagram feature for Gantt Chart, Chart, and Org chart, lines auto connection and all these tools improve productivity.
⦁ Drag and drop features allow users to pick and add it to their canvas.
⦁ EdrawMax allows you to connect shapes automatically as you add them to your drawing. This tool is called line auto connection. You can also turn off this feature if not required.
⦁ You can also import your data from Excel, Google Sheets, or CSV and convert it into different types of charts automatically. This feature is a solid reason for recommending EdrawMax as Visio for Mac.
⦁ EdrawMax has a comprehensive library of templates that includes both advanced and simple diagrams as samples. EdrawMax has 15,00+ professional built-in templates and 5,000+ user-sharing diagram templates. You can use these templates in the existing form or customize them according to your requirements. It gives an easy head start for beginners.
⦁ You can also drop your drawings in the templates library for other users and your reference in the future.
280+ Types of Diagrams are supported
EdrawMax is an alternative Microsoft Visio for Mac platform for almost all existing types of diagrams across all fields. EdrawMax has complete support for more than 280 diagrams, supplemented with symbols, signs, connectors, and pre-built templates. The range of supported diagrams includes but is not limited to industrial drawings, civil structure diagrams, maps, engineering diagrams, architectural plans, teaching aids, organizational charts, business diagrams, and many more.
Wide Variety Visual Elements, Tools, and Templates
EdrawMax has thousands of graphical elements to cater to all these diagrams. It supports more than a thousand symbols and signs along with different connectors, lines, and layouts. The exact number currently is around 26,000 vector symbols. EdrawMax has a library of templates that has pre-built samples of a wide variety of diagrams. These templates support different levels of complexity, from simpler to the most detailed and advanced drawings. The exact number of templates is around 15,00+ professional built-in templates and 5,000+ diagram templates shared by users. This library is snowballing as EdrawMax, and the users are contributing to the library continuously.
Powerful Compatibility
EdrawMax is compatible with different programs at different levels. You can import Microsoft Visio files into EdrawMax and then use the same diagram and even customize it. Another level of compatibility is that you can export your EdrawMax documents in many popular formats such as MS Visio, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, SVG, Html, PDF, GIF, JPG, TIFF, etc.
EdrawMax also supports many languages, including English, French, German, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Korean.
Cloud-Based Software
EdrawMax is cloud-based diagramming software, i.e., it has a dynamic online storage system with three levels of data storage. These three stages are local storage on your computer, personal cloud, and Team cloud. Team cloud access makes EdrawMax excellent support for team collaboration.
Visio Vs. EdrawMax
Let us see the comparison of Microsoft Visio and EdrawMax.
System Platforms
Visio EdrawMax
⦁ Microsoft Windows
⦁ Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based limited ⦁ Microsoft Windows
⦁ Linux
⦁ macOS
⦁ Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
Features
Visio has the following salient features.
⦁ Microsoft Visio supports collaboration tools.
⦁ Data Import and Export support
⦁ Drag & Drop tool.
⦁ Templates library
⦁ Access controls
While EdrawMax does not fall behind by even a single step and offers;
⦁ 280+ diagram types
⦁ A vast library of templates & symbols
⦁ File compatibility across many programs, including Visio, PowerPoint, PDF, etc.
⦁ Share your designs anytime, anywhere in many popular formats.
⦁ Drag and Drop tool
Plans and Pricing
Visio has this price plan currently.
● Starting Price:
$99 per user per year
● Free Version Available.
● Free Trial available.
While EdrawMax has many plans, including student, individual, and business plans.
Plan Type
Students Monthly Plan
Billed monthly, cancel any time
US$15
Semi-Annual Plan
Billed every six months, cancel any time
US$62
Annual Plan
Billed annually, cancel any time
US$85
2-Year Plan
Billed every 24 months, cancel any time
US$139
Individual Subscription Plan
US$
99/Year
$8.25 per month, billed annually
Lifetime Plan
US$ 245
Lifetime Bundle Plan
US$ 312
Buy EdrawMax + EdrawMind Lifetime Bundle Plan NOW and Get EdrawInfo Lifetime License for FREE.
Team/Business Plan Annual Plan
Auto-renew, cancel anytime
US$119
For one user and goes higher as the number of users increases Perpetual Plan
US$ 199 for one user and goes higher with the number of users Team / Enterprise
Get a quote from the team.
How To Import/Export Visio Files Using Edrawmax
Since you are looking for an alternative to Visio for Mac, you might have some legacy Visio documents that need to be worked on. In that case, simply import the Visio files into EdrawMax. Here are the simple steps.
- Open EdrawMax program.
- Navigate to File> Import and choose the correct option. You can also import multiple Visio files with one click.
- Export the files from EdrawMax to other formats.
- The export option is more mature as you can export EdrawMax into many popular formats, including graphic formats, SVG, PowerPoint, PDF, and many more. The process only takes a few clicks.
- Go to File > Export & Send and choose the required option.
- Click the required format and the suitable parameters from the dialog box.
- Click the OK button.
Final Verdict
Microsoft Visio is a well-built drawing software; however, it does not support operating systems other than Microsoft Windows. So, EdrawMax comes in the limelight as the best alternative to Visio for Mac and Linux platforms.
EdrawMax is a befitting alternative for Visio because of its features, compatibility, and integration support. You can create more than 280 diagrams with over 26,000 symbols and shapes and 1500+ professionally designed templates and 5000+ user-sharing diagram templates. It is effortless to use, and both professionals and beginners can use it easily because of its user interface that is very close to Microsoft Word.
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