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Senior Financial Analyst at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Jul 14, 2021
Provides real-time collaboration among users so that everyone can access and work on the same version of a document
Pros and Cons
  • "Documenting things such as processes, systems, and new teams has been my primary use case. Lucidchart is really, really valuable for its ability to create a process chart from start to end. The web app makes it easy because everything is similar to other tools like Visio but Lucidchart feels a little bit more intuitive. It has been easy to use the web app. I definitely have learned a lot about how to bring in my own graphics or images in place of some of the shapes and I'm able to create and use the arrows within the processes, so it definitely has been useful for me."
  • "My advice would be to be open to another product that, in the end, is just a whole lot more intuitive and easy to adopt and so much more valuable for collaboration."
  • "They should continue to bring in more shapes. For example, I saw something cool the other day that was a timeline and in between each step, there was a circle. I thought that that was very clean and that's something that I could see myself using. Lucidchart could come up with more visualizations. I'm not a designer so I would like to have more visuals. That would make my job easier because it would make my job much more professional looking but without having to be a designer myself."
  • "They should continue to bring in more shapes. Lucidchart could come up with more visualizations."

What is our primary use case?

I've been using Lucidchart to create process flow charts. I've been using the shapes, swimlanes, and arrows. I haven't really been doing anything too formal, but it definitely has a lot of value for our team.

I only use the diagrams. I don't really use all of the features.

How has it helped my organization?

I recently created a technology roadmap for our department, which is the finance department. We really needed a tool to be able to show what our current finance ecosystem looked like and what the future state would be. Lucidchart really allowed me to easily and independently create the before and after state so that our 10 person organization was able to visualize what our technology state is and actively collaborate on that. I was able to share the document as a PDF or as a web link. Being able to collaborate on that live was crucial for our 10 person organization.

The tool was able to let me do this particular project in half the time as Visio or half the time if I decided to do something old school in Excel. The tool is definitely empowering me to do my job more quickly and better.

Lucidchart provides real-time collaboration among users so that everyone is accessing and working on the same version of a document. 

It speeds up the product development process because everyone is able to access the document in real-time and there's no issue for version control because everyone is working on the latest and greatest version at all times.

It's saved about three hours in the past month because I don't have to flip back and forth on versions. I don't have to send versions. It really just allows everything to happen in real-time.

I don't use the integration with Slack but it's a great idea. I definitely could see myself integrating it with Slack. I think that's a great feature to take advantage of.

The ability for people to look at a diagram rather than reading through written documents saves time. To put a number on it, it has probably saved around two hours because someone doesn't have to pour through a written narrative or other loose documents. This definitely has saved a lot of time for us collaborating as a team.

It has definitely helped to realize efficiencies in the project that we use it for. It visually gives us an idea of how our technology should work. It gives us a great starting place from which to then project manage our development.

What is most valuable?

The shapes are the most valuable feature. Being able to copy my own images and pasting them from outside has also been a good feature. Some of the collaboration features like exporting to PDF and then also presenting have all been pretty cool. For the price, I definitely have gotten a lot of value out of it so far.

Documenting things such as processes, systems, and new teams has been my primary use case. Lucidchart is really, really valuable for its ability to create a process chart from start to end. The web app makes it easy because everything is similar to other tools like Visio but Lucidchart feels a little bit more intuitive. It has been easy to use the web app. I definitely have learned a lot about how to bring in my own graphics or images in place of some of the shapes and I'm able to create and use the arrows within the processes, so it definitely has been useful for me.

Lucidchart's organizational charts for visualizing and understanding hierarchies and relationships are definitely something I would love to take advantage of. I understand that there are a lot of other templates ready for me to use. When I have other kinds of processes or relationships to map out, like hierarchies, I think using some of the templates would be a good use case, but I haven't had a need for that so far. I know it's there to take advantage of.

I have a good understanding and impression of the processes and workflows. It feels more intuitive than, for example, Microsoft Visio. I've used both, but I would say that Lucidchart is more intuitive, has less of a learning curve, and it especially helps me collaborate with my team because I can quickly share this as a web link. That's another feature I haven't mentioned, but that's pretty cool because even if someone doesn't have a Visio license, a Lucidchart account can also collaborate with me by looking at what they need to on the web link. That's been pretty cool so far.

I haven't yet used Lucidchart to create database schemas or modify existing data structures but as part of my role, I definitely would love to take advantage of that some time. There are a lot of cool templates that are available. I would love to take advantage of that.

I don't yet use the integrations with Atlassian, Salesforce, Microsoft, or G Suite but that's something I would also love to take advantage of. I know that a lot of those features are available.

What needs improvement?

Truly the only improvement I can think of is having the ability to export it to a PowerPoint file or slide. That would be nice to have. There are other workarounds for that, but just to be able to have that feature would be good for us. I think you can do it with the integration but I haven't taken advantage of it yet.

They should continue to bring in more shapes. For example, I saw something cool the other day that was a timeline and in between each step, there was a circle. I thought that that was very clean and that's something that I could see myself using. Lucidchart could come up with more visualizations. I'm not a designer so I would like to have more visuals. That would make my job easier because it would make my job much more professional looking but without having to be a designer myself.

Buyer's Guide
Lucidchart
August 2026
Learn what your peers think about Lucidchart. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for two and a half years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability seems good. There's been one time so far where I didn't have my file, or I had to recover my file, so I had to refresh the browser, but overall, it's definitely very stable. Definitely much more stable than Microsoft.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's very scalable because it's called a browser-based product. It is browser-based and it is a collaboration-centered tool. So it definitely is very scalable.

It is just myself and my boss who's a director of finance that uses Lucidchart. We got the product on our own. We own it. We don't get any support from IT. It's pretty much just me and her that use it to be able to collaborate and provide feedback on what I need to do.

It does not require any maintenance that I can think of. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I switched from being a Visio user. I had used Visio a few years ago and when I started to have a need to do more diagrams, I learned about Lucidchart. I found it on my own and then I started using the free version and am now paying for it. I do find it a better experience than Visio.

It was an easy migration. I didn't really have any files to migrate, but as far as adopting it, it was easy as a user.

Lucidchart is definitely more favorable than Visio. Visio is a solid product, but from what I remember, when you're doing connectors on a diagram, you have to choose the connector in Visio, whereas, in Lucidchart, you just pick the start and the endpoint. That to me is a whole lot more useful.

How was the initial setup?

I don't have too formal a setup. As far as setting up, it's pretty much plug-and-play. Lucidchart makes it easy to adopt the product. You're not really twisting and turning and setting things up. It's plug-and-play. 

It took me around five minutes to set up. 

I'm a beginner. I'm using around 15% of the product but there's a lot more for me to use. That's definitely exciting.

What was our ROI?

I feel like I've gotten a lot of value. It's saved around five hours of work. Given what I make, it's probably delivered five hours of savings for not having to do other work or for not having to do other work on other tools. I would quantify it as a total savings of about five hours of work.

In the last two months, it's saved me about five hours of work.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I pay $95 a year for it. It seems like a reasonable price. 

There are no additional costs to standard licensing. 

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be to be open to another product that, in the end, is just a whole lot more intuitive and easy to adopt and so much more valuable for collaboration. It's good to be open to new products, especially outside of Microsoft or Google Suite. Have an open mind to other products outside of my main technology stack.

I don't yet use the other products in the Lucid suite but I definitely would. It's just going to be one at a time for me, but I definitely will be taking advantage of other features and products.

I would rate Lucidchart a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Project Manager at Freelancer
Real User
Jan 17, 2023
The ease of use, clarity, and different functionalities make this one incredibly useful tool
Pros and Cons
  • "Lucidchart is a 10 out of 10 when it comes to documenting things such as processes, systems, and new teams. It's just so user-friendly. The fact that even if you've never used Lucidchart, if you take a template and adapt it, you'll inevitably find something to fit your needs, but it's also perfect for building from scratch. It's the ease of use, clarity, and the different functionalities that make it incredibly useful."
  • "What I do find extremely frustrating is that when I've sent the sheet to non-license holders, you have to create an account. You create a username and password. The path taken to create that account is so confusing that everyone thinks that they have to give their credit card number, and then they're reluctant. They don't want to go through the sheet."

What is our primary use case?

I have used Lucidchart for many things, but the biggest piece that ended up generating the most work was process mapping. 

I have done Kanban charts. I've used it for organizational charts. I've even used it for describing business entities to describe relationship management, which isn't necessarily a process. 

How has it helped my organization?

Lucidchart has been an outstanding visualization tool when words aren't enough. Ensuring you understand your business' fundamentals is essential.

What is most valuable?

Lucidchart is a 10 out of 10 when it comes to documenting things such as processes, systems, and organizational charts. Even if you've never used Lucidchart, you'll inevitably find a template to fit your needs, but it's also perfect for building from scratch. It's the ease of use, clarity, and different functionalities that make it incredibly useful.

Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC which is important to me because I work in a Mac environment but when it relates to business, a lot of people work on a PC. Accounting and Business Development teams are typically PC users and they've had to see process charts or have needed to manipulate them.

I have used Lucidchart to collaborate among users in real time when accessing and working on the same version of a document. It has positively affected the project development process by creating efficiencies because, especially in our new hybrid reality, we're not all at the office and we can't all be in one room working on a sheet together. So it's allowed us to be able to work remotely on one document.

The ability for people to look at the diagram rather than read through written documents has saved significant time, and as a result, money. In some cases it's invaluable. If there was a hole in the process and things were falling in the cracks, it could have cost the company millions, but it didn't.

What needs improvement?

You don't need to have a Lucidchart account or license in order to view a sheet if you're just a viewer. However, I found it frustrating when non-license holders created their accounts, which should only consist of creating a username and password, the setup process lead them to believe that they needed to give their credit card numbers to proceed. I have at least two colleagues who did put in their credit card information and then they forget to cancel the subscription, and they ended up getting charged for a license that they don't use.

To me, the confusing setup for non-license holders is a barrier to entry. If you want new people to see this tool, the process shouldn't be that confusing to view a sheet for non-users. But as a user myself, it truly is perfect. For non-users, this is a pain point.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Lucidchart for six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is impeccable. I've never had any issues, hiccups, or any problems at all.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It scales well. One of the strong points of Lucidchart, beyond the actual tool creation of sheets itself, is the organization: the fact that you can create folders, and that you can share those folders or share sheets. That portion of it is an added bonus.

Because I work on different projects at different times, in this current project, I haven't needed Lucidchart much yet. However, in my last project, it was one of my central tools that added value in many areas of the business, because the nature of the business was heavily process-oriented. It was a government-regulated environment, which means the process is everything. So it was one of my top two tools. 

Every project is unique and the tool scales well for each one. 

How are customer service and support?

In five years, I've never had any problems with the tool so I guess I'm happy to say I can't speak to the quality of Lucidchart's service/technical support.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I used to be a big fan of Visio, but when I found Lucidchart, it just blew Visio out of the water.

I tried importing Visio sheets once but it didn't work that well. It was faster for me to start over, which is what I did, and it looked better anyway. I also tried the web version of Visio recently and I just couldn't figure it out. To me, Lucidchart is a clear winner. It's more attractive, intuitive, and just overall better.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward and easy. I taught myself to use the tool by following tons of tutorials online.

There are so many cool functions that learning the tool is ongoing. You don't need a tutorial to start since you just drag and drop shapes but there's a world to discover! To this day, I still look up better ways to use the tool and love to learn new functionalities. 

What about the implementation team?

I was initially introduced to the tool when our company shifted from Visio to Lucidchart (five year ago).

What was our ROI?

I've ended up looking like a superstar so many times, especially when it comes to, for example, how a business is structured. In one instance, it took me 30 minutes to put together a chart to show business entity relationships that solved weeks of conversation in a moment. Suddenly I look like a genius in the room because I had the ability to put a scenario in images.

The same with hyper-complex processes; you can draw inputs, outputs, roles, and responsibilities in one sheet, and then highlight holes by colour-coding to quickly identify "This is a hole, this is an issue."  Then you focus on what's important.

My return on investment is that this tool has made me more efficient and dare I say, more competent at my job.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I think the pricing is fair. It's competitive with other tools so the price is a non-issue. I hope it doesn't increase though!

There are no additional costs to standard licensing. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I may have looked at other solutions. But ever since I discovered Lucidchart, I haven't tried anything else.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Lucidchart a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Lucidchart
August 2026
Learn what your peers think about Lucidchart. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user1631475 - PeerSpot reviewer
Talent Acquisition Specialist at eDreams ODIGEO
Real User
Aug 8, 2021
Easy usability, great real-time collaboration capabilities, and works on both Mac and PC
Pros and Cons
  • "In general, the usability is great. You have a ton of customization options with different colors, different borders, different thicknesses of lines, different types of arrows, et cetera. There's so much variety. You can really make a chart with all sorts of color-coding, and color charts in different colors, link them together, for example, or use different types of arrows for different types of links between the chart elements. That variety, while not a specific feature, is really useful. If you want to make a chart, you can basically do anything."
  • "Lucidchart's capabilities for visualizing and understanding those flows and processes are absolutely excellent."
  • "I've had an issue is when you create, let's say, a rectangle box. You can write some text in it and give it a name, and, depending on how you shape the size of the box, the text will rearrange itself to fit. That is, except if your box is very, very narrow, but very long, like a long, narrow rectangle in a vertical position. In this case, the text will always go out of the rectangle."

What is our primary use case?

I've used Lucidchart much more on a personal project than at work, just by coincidence. Mainly at work, we've used it to create a very simple diagram chart, some squares, some circles, and arrows connecting them. It's for HR purposes. I work in human resources. We basically map out the process that a candidate goes through when they're hired in the company. We made some squares saying all the steps that need to be done to onboard someone and we connected them with some arrows and made a flow chart.

On the other hand, I've actually used it very extensively for a personal project of mine, which is a video game. Since I'm developing a video game, I'm using Lucidcharts to organize all the different pieces of the game, including the levels, the maps, and how they all interact with each other. That's also basically a giant flow chart and diagram with loads of connecting pieces.

How has it helped my organization?

My company uses Lucidchart way more in the product, tech, and other departments that work directly on our product. Being in HR, we only use it for a few things, however, I know that they use it for all sorts of flows and processes in terms of tech development. They do have it integrated with Jira, and I'm sure that they make use of that integration as well.

What is most valuable?

In general, the usability is great. You have a ton of customization options with different colors, different borders, different thicknesses of lines, different types of arrows, et cetera. There's so much variety. You can really make a chart with all sorts of color-coding, and color charts in different colors, link them together, for example, or use different types of arrows for different types of links between the chart elements. That variety, while not a specific feature, is really useful. If you want to make a chart, you can basically do anything.

I've mainly used it as a chart. What I've appreciated the most is the variety of options. I use the different types of blocks that they offer as well. You can use a normal rectangle, however, you can also use a post-it block note that I use for different purposes, for example. With all that variety, you can really organize yourself however you want. That's the most powerful part of this tool for sure.

Lucidchart's capabilities for visualizing and understanding those flows and processes are absolutely excellent. I'm very happy with it. Even in a work setting, as soon as we actually used it and put these flows into a visual format, everything was much smoother. We started understanding everything much better. As a visual tool, I would say it is excellent.

There have been many efficiencies achieved using Lucidchart. For example, in the professional project, once we mapped out the flow, it allowed us to identify pain points. Seeing the flow so visually, when we moved from step A to step B we were able to pinpoint the exact pain points and when they happened during the flow.

It's important that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users as I do really use both, especially for the kinds of projects I'm working on. I usually use the Mac as the side of the screen with Lucidchart, and then I use the Windows big screen to work on the actual project. I don't know if it's common to be in my situation, however, for me, it's absolutely important that I can use the product on either operating system.

I have used Lucidchart to collaborate among users on the same version of a document in real-time. The flow that I have been working on, that we did for each chart, was done in real-time. It was great. Obviously, people need to be a little organized and not start moving things around altogether. We were well organized and it worked great. Everyone could see what everyone else was doing in real-time. It's really good. It works perfectly.

Real-time collaboration has saved us time. We were genuinely stuck until we did that, and it's something that completely unblocked our process. We didn't know how to proceed, due to the fact that pre-Lucidchart, everything was unclear. Nothing was really organized and nothing was visually presented. We were completely stuck. This product really allowed us to move forward.

It's a bit hard to assess how much time was saved. That said, considering we had about one meeting per week to work on this specific project and the first three or four weeks, we basically made zero progress. Then, on the week we started using Lucidchart, we made a lot of progress, and two weeks went by, and we already made way more progress than in the first four weeks. You could say it doubled our efficiency. 

What needs improvement?

Mostly, for what I use it for, it has absolutely everything I need. I use it for 99% visual presentation, as I'm working on a project that has 70 moving pieces. If I didn't put that into a visual format, I would be completely lost. That's really all I use it for and that functionality to me is absolutely perfect. In all the time I've used it, I've never been in a situation where I thought, "Oh, damn, I wish they had this feature." I really can't think of any time it's happened. That's why, for me, really, it has everything I need.

There is a tiny detail, however, that is a minor feature. Possibly the only time ever I've had an issue is when you create a rectangle box, for example, you can write some text in it and give it a name, and depending on how you shape the size of the box, the text will rearrange itself to fit. Except if your box is very, very narrow like a long, narrow rectangle in a vertical position. In this case, the text will always go out of the rectangle. It could be nice to just have the option to rotate the text, for example, 90 degrees so that the text fits perfectly in the vertical rectangle. That said, it's really a minimal feature and I wouldn't call it a pain point at all. It's really just a small detail.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for two months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product runs great. Even though my personal project with the charts is really big, it still loads very fast, and there's no lag. There are no delays. It never fails in saving or any of that.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have to admit I've hit the maximum, however, for my personal project, it might be due to the fact that I'm using the free version. I did get a warning that told me that I reached the limit, the maximum number. Honestly, it is a decent number. It's around 300, and my chart is definitely very, very big. There is a limitation, however, for the free version.

At my company, there are different teams using the product, and I don't have visibility on everyone. The product team definitely uses it. The team that uses it the most is product owners and product designers, and anyone who's really working directly in how the product flow works would use it. For example, they would be mapping customer journeys through our products - how they enter into our platform and what they do, which steps could they follow for conversion, et cetera. All of that is very much done on Lucidchart, and that's the product team mostly. There are also some engineers, probably the more senior ones that intervene more in the actual product development steps. 

The big users and the ones who installed and set up Lucidchart and promoted it through the whole company are our agile coaches. We have a whole team of agile coaches due to the fact that our engineering team is 600 people. We are a very large organization with a very complex structure, and we have an entire team of 10 agile coaches whose role is to really help the engineering department run smoothly. They're really the biggest fans of Lucidchart and the first advocates of the product.

In the case of HR, we really only used it for that one very specific project, and we will never use it again. I really wouldn't say it's due to the product at all. It's simply due to the fact that we haven't really had any project that requires that as of now. That said, I would definitely be recommending it if we start a project that would really need some good visual representation. That would be my first recommendation to the team.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't contacted technical support, however, I'd tell them it's great. I would tell them how useful it was for me. Honestly, I'm a big fan. I would just tell them they've done a pretty good job, as it's a great product.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I'm really not familiar with any proper charting tools. I used PowerPoint and Microsoft Word until now. I've definitely not used specialized tools. Anything else would be considered very inconvenient to use for something like the tasks I've worked on compared to Lucidchart. It's not even comparable.

How was the initial setup?

On my personal project, the initial setup was super easy. I just logged in and I started using it. I have to say we had a little bit of difficulty when we used it with my company because for some people, when the person who created the chart started inviting us to the chart, we had a few difficulties in getting the permission and access we needed. That's probably related to the fact that we are using the company's Lucidchart account. Therefore, we had to get some special admin permissions. That said, it took us a little while to get everyone on it and authorized to start working on it.

To set everything up took a couple of days due to the fact that there were six of us working on a specific project. It was created by one person, and out of the six of us, three of us had some issues, as in, we received the invitation, we accepted it, and it redirected us, and yet we were sent to a blank board instead of the board we needed. What happened is the admin of our Lucidchart account either triggered permission or sent us a link, and we accessed it directly and we ended up being fine. It was nothing very problematic.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I'm not the most expert or knowledgeable in terms of product prices and what companies usually consider expensive or not. If I base it, for example, on my knowledge of typical HR tools that charge you for user licenses, the team package for Lucidspark to get users collaborating together, I wouldn't say it's exactly cheap, however, it's within a reasonable amount. I've seen much more unreasonable products that really weren't worth their price. In comparison, it's relatively fair. I wouldn't say it's a great deal, however, it's definitely worth it if you make use of it.

There's the individual license, which is seven euros per month. That one is really targeted to non-professional users, or at least to people who use it individually. In my case, I wouldn't be willing to pay that, as I can do everything I want with the free version. Also, my buying power is slightly limited to be paying a monthly subscription for this. 

That said, for example, if I was working as a freelancer, working on projects like these every day, every week, I would definitely pay the monthly cost. Considering how much easier it can make your life, seven euros a month also seems quite acceptable. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Considering how much I like Lucidchart, I'm really curious to look into the other products that are part of the Lucid suite. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm using the web-based version of the product.

I have not used Lucidchart's integrations with third-party solutions like Atlassian, Salesforce, Microsoft, or any others, however, I am aware this is a possibility. 

In our case, we haven't used the solution with Slack, however, I'm sure they do on the tech side, as we use Slack and it's integrated with everything we can integrate it with.

I would advise potential users to really make the most of it. For me, for example, being a very visual person, I really made the most of it in terms of using the color code. I have six different shapes of blocks to indicate different types of events. I have four different types of arrow connections to describe different types of connections. I have different types of post-its to use to leave notes. Make the most of it and don't be shy. Really go for it. Explore all the features and really make the most of it. That's the best advice I have.

For me, I'd rate the product at a ten out of ten. I've been super happy with it since I started. 

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1615497 - PeerSpot reviewer
Professional Services Consultant at a energy/utilities company with 11-50 employees
Consultant
Aug 8, 2021
Affordable, easy to use, and gets things done quickly
Pros and Cons
  • "Its ease of use is most valuable. As compared to draw.io, connecting the lines and doing things like that are much easier in Lucidchart. It has been great for some of the process flow diagrams and data flow diagrams. I can export these diagrams as PDFs and share them with team members."
  • "Based on my experience, Lucidchart is better in terms of functionality and ease of use, and it is the tool to go for."
  • "When you log in the first time, they ask you a lot of questions, such as what are you going to use it for. Half of the things weren't applicable to me. I couldn't see the skip button, so I picked random things because none of the given options was applicable to me. It is a tech startup, and I am in a consultant role. I use it for a variety of things, but the questions were tailored for HR professionals who are creating org structures or IT professionals who are doing data flow diagrams. What if I do both of them depending on the project I'm working on? I just felt that I am wasting time with those questions and just wanted them to stop asking me these questions and get into charting."
  • "I just felt that I am wasting time with those questions and just wanted them to stop asking me these questions and get into charting."

What is our primary use case?

I worked as a business analyst before, and now, I am a consultant. I am mostly using it for data flow diagrams and process flow diagrams. I don't constrain myself to just CAD diagrams. I also create ad-hoc charts and diagrams for Apex user stories and things like that.

I am using the web-based application of Lucidchart.

How has it helped my organization?

It makes it easy to get things done quickly. That was the only reason why we asked our management to get Lucidchart. With draw.io, it is impossible to get things done quickly. Lucidchart keeps your peace of mind. It is very annoying when you're trying to do simple things, and they don't happen easily. 

I have briefly used Lucidchart to collaborate with users in real-time so that everyone is accessing and working on the same version of a document. It saves time. The saved time is proportionate to the number of people collaborating. It isn't linear. draw.io also has a similar feature for collaboration, so it isn't a feature that makes Lucidchart stand out.

The ability for people to look at a diagram, rather than reading through written documents, saves time. Yesterday, I presented a diagram that I created to our president and co-founder. He complimented that it looked good. Creating a diagram saved me 1,000 words in explanation. I can show the diagram and give a two-sentence description, and then just answer the follow-up questions.

It has helped us in realizing efficiencies in our project. There is a big difference in the ease of use of Lucidchart as compared to draw.io, which is probably the only sophisticated drawing tool that I've used before. The ease of use of Lucidchart is just incomparable.

What is most valuable?

Its ease of use is most valuable. As compared to draw.io, connecting the lines and doing things like that are much easier in Lucidchart. It has been great for some of the process flow diagrams and data flow diagrams. I can export these diagrams as PDFs and share them with team members.

Its capabilities for visualizing and understanding process flows or workflows are great. I've been using it quite a bit. I try not to constrain myself to CAD diagrams. I look at what's there, and then I do my own thing. Lucidchart is not just about UML, and once you know about the shapes for the depiction of different processes, you can easily create a data flow diagram. You've got it all there, and it is just a matter of picking the right shape and the right box.

I have used it a couple of times in my previous job for peer relationship diagrams (PRDs), and it worked great.

It accommodates both Mac and PC users. I've always been a PC user, but in this company, we only have Macs. It is great that I can use it on either computer.

What needs improvement?

When you log in the first time, they ask you a lot of questions, such as what are you going to use it for. Half of the things weren't applicable to me. I couldn't see the skip button, so I picked random things because none of the given options was applicable to me. It is a tech startup, and I am in a consultant role. I use it for a variety of things, but the questions were tailored for HR professionals who are creating org structures or IT professionals who are doing data flow diagrams. What if I do both of them depending on the project I'm working on? I just felt that I am wasting time with those questions and just wanted them to stop asking me these questions and get into charting.

For how long have I used the solution?

I used it in my previous job for half a year, and in this job, which I started two months ago, I have been using it for a month.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, there are no issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't tried to scale it. There are three team members in my team who are using this solution.

I use it almost on a daily basis but typically, not for massive diagrams. I typically use it when I have to deliver something or when I need to collaborate with peers. I expect its daily use going forward.

How are customer service and technical support?

I didn't have a need for it.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

When I started with this company, I used draw.io because they had a subscription for that. I've also used it a couple of times previously. There is a night-and-day difference between these two solutions. The features are similar, but the usability is at a completely different level in Lucidchart. Lucidchart is easy to use for connecting the lines and doing other such things, and that makes 50% of what I'm doing with it. I didn't want to spend most of my time drawing diagrams and trying to connect things, which was the case with draw.io.

I have also used Visio with another employer a while ago. Visio is not as bad as draw.io. Based on my experience, Lucidchart is better in terms of functionality and ease of use, and it is the tool to go for, but they might have improved Visio. Lucidchart is definitely ahead of the game.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup takes a couple of minutes. When you log in the first time, they ask you a lot of questions, which is the longest part of it.

What was our ROI?

Our pitch to the management was that we spend more time trying to connect the dots with draw.io. If they think about our hourly rate, we're going to pay off the cost of Lucidchart in half an hour.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

One of the reasons we were able to get approval within two hours from our management was that it was cheap enough. We have a 3% or 10% collaboration package, which comes out to be 70 bucks a year. It was very cheap, and we had no issues actually getting the full version. It was very affordable for a business.

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be to just get it and use it. You'll love it. Play with the tool, and as long as you know what you're trying to build, you'll find a way to implement it in Lucidchart. I'm not the most advanced user. In terms of functionality, it has been great for what I've been using it for.

I haven't used its organization charts, but I used a similar idea. I work for a software company, and we have three main hubs in our software. I'm working on one of the hubs. So, I just draw one hub, and it is similar to the chart hierarchy or personnel hierarchy. I have the hub at the top, and then it branches off into Apex and user stories. It worked great for me.

I wasn't aware of its ability to compare versions of documents. Similarly, I didn't know about its integration capabilities with other solutions, such as Atlassian, Salesforce, Microsoft, and Slack. We have Slack and Atlassian, and I will find out what we can do with those.

I would rate Lucidchart a nine out of 10. There are probably some areas of improvement, but I'm super happy with it.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
it_user1613313 - PeerSpot reviewer
Engineering Student at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Aug 1, 2021
Good collaboration capabilities, efficient, and has a user-friendly interface
Pros and Cons
  • "The interface is very user-friendly and it is not a hassle to use the site at all. They did a really good job in that regard."
  • "Lucidchart is a free application and it is very helpful for documenting processes and workflows."
  • "The UML diagram that it gave me initially was a huge flow with a bunch of UML tables, and I wasn't going to need that many. If it was a more simple linkage between the tables then it would be easier to finish projects, instead of having to select unnecessary tables and delete them."

What is our primary use case?

I am an engineering student at college and I was using Lucidchart for a research project. I was using it to create flow diagrams.

How has it helped my organization?

Lucidchart is a free application and it is very helpful for documenting processes and workflows. It is very easy to use and it can assist in every possible way.

It's important that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users because due to today's technology, not every person is going to be situated on a Windows, or Linux, or iOS platform. Lucid's accessibility on any type of platform allows more users and therefore more downloads. With more users, it leads to more reviews. With the additional coverage and scrutiny, it means that the product will be expanded and better maintained. 

My classmates and I were using real-time collaboration and it had a positive impact on our development process. It made things very easy for everybody to understand and it was super helpful. 

The real-time collaboration saved me time, considering other projects took much longer. Lucidchart allowed me to enter information and shape my project very effectively, probably shaving off more than 20 minutes per chart.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is developing flowcharts and being able to collaborate on them.

Using the product to create charts is efficient. It meant that I didn't have to rely on Microsoft Word or another application to draw them from scratch.

Lucidchart is really good and very informative.

The interface is very user-friendly and it is not a hassle to use the site at all. They did a really good job in that regard.

What needs improvement?

When you start the software, it requests what type of diagram you would like. In one instance, I chose UML because I needed it for an assignment. The UML diagram that it gave me initially was a huge flow with a bunch of UML tables, and I wasn't going to need that many. If it was a more simple linkage between the tables then it would be easier to finish projects, instead of having to select unnecessary tables and delete them.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Lucidchart a handful of times.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Lucidchart is a very stable application, and at the moment I see not too many bugs or errors, so it's running very effectively.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability was not a problem. It did exactly what I needed to do and it didn't require that I spend several hours to figure it out.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not been in contact with technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I tried some other applications and websites, such as Draw.io, and I found that Lucidchart was very efficient compared to the others.

Lucidchart and Draw.io are fairly similar applications and I have used them both for creating charts. I found that it was more difficult to draw and work with charts using Draw.io.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is a straightforward process. It took me under a minute to complete it, and it explained every step, very well.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I was using the free version of Lucidchart, which was very helpful.

What other advice do I have?

This is a well-rounded application and I have recommended it to my classmates.

If Lucid could make a deal with universities, where it was free for students to use for projects over the duration of their courses, then it would be very good because many more people would become familiar with the platform. It is user-friendly to the point where it is easy for anyone to understand and use the platform, and Lucid is a top company because of that. I also think that for business owners, Lucid should have a bulk package that is available for multiple workstations.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1609938 - PeerSpot reviewer
Web Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Aug 1, 2021
Quick to set up and easy to use, but each shape should be accompanied by hints on usage
Pros and Cons
  • "Using Lucidchart for documenting processes is great. The elements are ready to use and it is quick to do."
  • "Using Lucidchart, I was able to save between two and three hours on my project."
  • "When I download a flowchart as a PDF file, it breaks it up. I would like to see the continuous display of flow charts, even if they are larger than one page."
  • "Overall, I would rate this product somewhere in the middle. Not bad, but not good."

What is our primary use case?

I am using Lucidchart to help me with learning about flowcharting and workflows. Essentially, I was creating flowcharts.

How has it helped my organization?

Using Lucidchart for documenting processes is great. The elements are ready to use and it is quick to do. Sharing the chart with somebody else can also be very effective.

Using Lucidchart, I was able to save between two and three hours on my project. Using other software would have required some customization but Lucidchart has some ready-made functionality that made the design process very fast, as well as easy to use.

Having people look at a diagram, rather than reading through written documents, saves me between two and three hours for a small task that might take one or two days.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the ease of use. When I was working on a chart and wanted to add arrows or new lines, I just had to drag and drop or copy and paste. These operations make it simple.

Being able to share my chart with a colleague is a feature that I really like.

What needs improvement?

When I download a flowchart as a PDF file, it breaks it up. I would like to see the continuous display of flow charts, even if they are larger than one page. What happens is that when my layout is four to five pages long, it looks like it is cut from one page to the next. Having no space would make my design look better.

After I started my subscription, I was billed and payment was automatically deducted two times. Because I was not using the product regularly, I did not plan on continuing my subscription so I raised a ticket with them regarding the cancellation. Ideally, there should be a reminder before there is a payment taken for renewal.

The software should provide additional information about the shapes that are available. For example, if I use a round shape, then the software should suggest or point out that it is normally used to represent a database. This would help new users to draw layouts that follow the standard. Explaining the purpose of each shape will make it easier, overall.

For how long have I used the solution?

I only used Lucidchart for a short time. I was able to complete my task in between four and five hours. I will continue to use it based on my requirements.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, this platform is good. It provides a space to work where we can share it with others, and data can never be lost. It's great.

The performance is good. My project was saved online in less than a minute.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I did not notice any problems with scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

I did not contact technical support for issues regarding functionality.

Rather, I contacted them one time because I had canceled my account and wanted them to refund my last payment. It had been withdrawn without any warning. Yesterday, they responded and told me that I would receive my refund within two or three days. However, I still have not received it, nor any updates about the status of it, so I am not very happy with the support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to Lucidchart, I used Figma. I switched because the free version of Lucidchart provided more features.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not too complex. After I logged in, I found the starting stages a little bit confusing. However, once I figured out how and where to start, it became easier to do.

It took approximately half an hour to set up.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There is a nominal charge for the paid version of the product. It is suitable for a normal-sized budget. They have a free version available and from what I could see, there was not much difference between it and the pro version.

I think that they should add more features so that the paid users have more. There was definitely a difference but it did not affect me. However, it will affect people who work on larger projects.

For example, a user might be able to finish 80% of their work but then, to move on to 81%, they need the pro version. A user might work for between four and five hours before hitting the limit, and without warning. I think that it would be better if the limit was declared at the beginning so that the users properly understand the differences with the free version.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I evaluated both Figma and Adobe XD before choosing Lucidchart.

I found that the flowcharting capabilities were more accessible and had better performance in Lucidchart. 

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anybody who is considering Lucidchart is to first study the basics, and how it can be used in projects. The product is good, but my usage in the future will vary depending on my projects and requirements. Overall, I would rate this product somewhere in the middle. Not bad, but not good.

I would rate this solution a six out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
it_user1627065 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Eng Program Manager at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Aug 1, 2021
Fairly intuitive, has a low learning curve, and it's easy to get immediate output
Pros and Cons
  • "When it comes to documenting things like processes, systems, and new teams, I'd give it an eight or nine out of ten. It's very high because it's fairly intuitive, there's a low learning curve, and it's easy to get immediate output. You can get results very quickly without a lot of direct effort. You don't usually take a week-long series of training. You don't need to go through a lot of hoops to make it work."
  • "Lucidchart is fairly intuitive, has a low learning curve, and makes it easy to get immediate output, so you can get results very quickly without a lot of direct effort."
  • "The main improvement I would like to see is for them to improve the help section on the flow charts or on the formatting."

What is our primary use case?

We use Lucidchart for the lateral flow charts.

How has it helped my organization?

I've used Lucidchart for a status report. I gave it a particular format and was able to set it up in minutes.

What is most valuable?

It's fairly intuitive. It has a fairly low learning curve. The only tricky part, and it's only because I have not spent time on it, is some of the formatting. They should enhance the help section on the formatting.

When it comes to documenting things like processes, systems, and new teams, I'd give it an eight or nine out of ten. It's very high because it's fairly intuitive, there's a low learning curve, and it's easy to get immediate output. You can get results very quickly without a lot of direct effort. You don't usually take a week-long series of training. You don't need to go through a lot of hoops to make it work.

I would also rate Lucidchart's capabilities for visualizing and understanding process flows or workflows a nine or ten out of ten. It's much easier to use than Visio.

I plan to use Lucidchart to create database schemas or modify existing data structures. That's the next step, but I'm still at the beginner's level.

We have used Lucidchart in real-time collaboration among users. The solid collaboration has saved us time.

I have received good feedback about its ability for people to look at the diagram rather than reading through written documents.

Lucidchart has helped us realize efficiencies in the projects we use it for. I did use it for a status report. It saved emails, but I can't quantify how many emails we would have sent.

What needs improvement?

The main improvement I would like to see is for them to improve the help section on the flow charts or on the formatting.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've only been using Lucidchart for a few months. I use the web-based application.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's highly available. Once you have all the users on the same licenses, it's very available.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

All of us are in the project. There are multiple users.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not actually had to call up support yet, which is a good sign. I haven't really had any calls with them.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used PowerPoint, Word, and templates. It seems like Lucidchart is the most intuitive out of the entire set. 

The intuitiveness is the main difference. The ability to get to see it very quickly seems to be the big advantage for Lucidchart.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very straightforward, except for the formatting. It took a little bit more to try to add bullets or anything to touch it up.

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be to give it at least a good hour to try it before you make any decisions. It shouldn't take that long, but if you put in effort for an hour, I think that you will get immediate results to see the benefits.

A nice thing is that this platform's very forgiving, so I would say to learn to experiment.

Overall, I like it. I just need to find some dedicated time to learn some of the nuances of using the tool. 

I would rate Lucidchart an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
it_user1625619 - PeerSpot reviewer
Research Analyst at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Jul 25, 2021
Enables us to collaborate among users in real-time so that everyone is accessing and working on the same version of a document
Pros and Cons
  • "I've been using Lucidchart for quite simple things, but it's definitely much easier making process maps using Lucidchart than it is using Google Docs for basically everything. It's much simpler in terms of how easy it is to use Lucidchart. The way that you can get the arrows on the flow charts, based on the process mapping, you can drag the arrows from one box to another and it automatically shows you where you can put it. It makes decisions for you in terms of if you have a decision diamond, then the line is automatically a yes or no. This just makes it so much easier."
  • "Its capabilities for visualizing and understanding these types of workflows are really good."
  • "One of the issues has been that, as far as I understand, even to view it, the other person needs a Lucidchart account unless you send them a PDF. That's been a bit of an issue because some people in our organization don't have Lucidchart accounts, only certain people have logins. If we just want to collect comments from people, that's been a bit complicated."

What is our primary use case?

I've been using Lucidchart for process mapping and creating organograms. Primarily surface researchers use it. We're setting up a new service and that's what we're using it for.

How has it helped my organization?

The process mapping has improved my organization. It would have looked very messy to do it on Google Docs. We wouldn't have been able to cover such a range of things in our process mapping. We've managed to get in rows for different organizations and how they fit into the process mapping. We just wouldn't have been able to have space for that using Google Docs and it would have taken so long with the formatting.

It saves us about two hours. It only took us about an hour doing it on Lucidchart, so it probably would have taken about two and a half hours on Google Docs.

We use it to collaborate among users in real-time so that everyone is accessing and working on the same version of a document. It has been great for our project development process. In a way that's similar to Google. It's not that new for us, because we use G Suite throughout our whole organization. So we expect things to be able to do that because we do that a lot where we're all working on the same document at once. But in the same way that it does G Suite, it's really useful. It would be a real big drawback if we couldn't do that because you have to get the Word document, then you save your changes, then you send it back. It saves a lot of time being able to do it at the same time as someone else.

It's not necessarily saving time, but more saving the admin from sending it back and forth and trying to make sure that we're working on it at separate times. It probably would have taken us the same amount of time. It's more the ease of doing it.

It's hard to say whether it's saved money. It's definitely saved time. If you tried to put a process map in writing, I don't think anyone would read it. I don't know if it would save time and money, because no one would even look at it.

What is most valuable?

I've been using Lucidchart for quite simple things, but it's definitely much easier making process maps using Lucidchart than it is using Google Docs for basically everything. It's much simpler in terms of how easy it is to use Lucidchart. The way that you can get the arrows on the flow charts, based on the process mapping, you can drag the arrows from one box to another and it automatically shows you where you can put it. It makes decisions for you in terms of if you have a decision diamond, then the line is automatically a yes or no. This just makes it so much easier.

I use Lucidchart to document process workflows. We're setting up a new service. So we needed to map how the old service worked, as the exact processes of the old service, and then map how we want the new service to look.

Its capabilities for visualizing and understanding these types of workflows are really good. It's been really easy in the way that when you do a Google Doc, it's all about if it will fit on the page if you're doing a process map or something like that. Whereas Lucidchart, you can make it as big as you want, but then still when you convert it to a PDF, it will all be on one page and then you can send that PDF to people. I found that really useful.

We integrate it with G Suite. Its ability to do so is definitely important. At the moment, that's been fine, because we link it when we're doing a Google Doc, for example, and we have it find the process map and then we would just link into the Lucidchart there. As long as we can do that, I don't think that would be a problem for us. But we'd want it so that when people open Lucidchart if we were sending a paper saying, "This is how our service is going to look. Please see here," and we've linked in the Lucidchart, we would want it so that when they open the Lucidchart, it's a final copy and it doesn't come up with where it says shapes and it has all the editing toolbars. We would want it to just link to a copy of the actual process map.

It's important to us that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC because in our organization, since COVID, most people are using different types of computers. Our whole organization uses Chromebooks, but some people prefer to use their personal laptops for work. For example, my personal laptop now is a Macbook, so I would need to be able to access it when I'm at work, which is on a Chromebook, and also when I'm at home using my personal laptop for work.

What needs improvement?

Lucidchart has been pretty good. I've never used it before. I didn't read any instructions on how to use it, but I still just managed to pick it up. Anyone who's generally computer savvy would be able to just pick up to use it very quickly. Maybe it would be useful for people who don't process maps not that much to where it says containers and shapes. There is diamond, round and rectangle, maybe it could be explained in brackets that that's used for in-process mapping and flow charts.

One of the issues has been that, as far as I understand, even to view it, the other person needs a Lucidchart account unless you send them a PDF. That's been a bit of an issue because some people in our organization don't have Lucidchart accounts, only certain people have logins. If we just want to collect comments from people, that's been a bit complicated.

You can't put comments into a PDF that easily. We'd want them to be able to open it on Lucidchart without having to have an account themselves and then put comments for us and be able to tag us in comments and things.

That's not possible to do now, at least in a simple way that we've been able to tell. We've had people emailing back saying, "I need my Lucidchart login. I don't know what this is."

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for around two months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Web-based is much better because I'm using my personal laptop for work and loads of people are during COVID. I would never want to be downloading lots of applications onto my laptop. The fact that I can just open it in Google Chrome makes it much more accessible to me.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was really straightforward. I've never used it before and I didn't read any of the instructions. Someone just said, "We use Lucidchart for process mapping." So I clicked on it, made my account, and then it was just intuitive. I didn't need to do anything. I didn't need to learn or anything.

What other advice do I have?

I can only comment on process mapping and organograms because that's the only thing I've used it for. But I would definitely recommend using Lucidchart for this.

I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Solution Consultant at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consultant
Jul 25, 2021
The ability for people to look at a diagram, rather than reading through written documents, saved time and as a result, money
Pros and Cons
  • "Lucidchart helped us to realize efficiencies in the projects we use it for. I can show people pictures, and I can change things in a meeting and then email it by the end of the meeting. Because most places we go, especially now with everybody in-home office, I'm going to have great internet access, and that just makes it easier to be able to change things quickly while we're in a meeting and go, "Oh, you changed this. Oh, okay.", and then send it to them as a proof and send it as a PDF or send them a link. That works great. That saves time and accelerates a sale."
  • "Lucidchart is a really effective tool to help illustrate those pictures, to explain very complex technical ideas to other technical people."
  • "As far as I know, LucidChart can’t be automated with Visual Basic .Net like Visio."

What is our primary use case?

My primary use case is for drawing technical diagrams.

I'm an engineer so I create process diagrams. 

How has it helped my organization?

Before we had people on Visio and Lucidchart. Now we still have some people on Visio and we can seamlessly trade Visios between machines. I anticipate that we're all going to Lucidchart.

Lucidchart provides real-time collaboration among users so that everyone is accessing and working on the same version of a document. Most of what we do is document our platform and then change it to show what it would look like in the customer's world. We're a cloud company, and our customers want to know how they connect to our cloud. We changed those diagrams to show how things would fit into the customer environment, to go from access from the customer environment to ours, and we collaborate on that. We may have a voice architect, a data architect, and an end-user architect all on the same call, and we're chatting and changing things as we go, and sharing it through Zoom or doing it through version control. It really depends on what we're going to do.

The real-time collaboration has saved us time. I have collaborated on two diagrams so far and it made it easier.

The ability for people to look at a diagram, rather than reading through written documents saved time and as a result money. Nobody reads. People look at pictures. Imagine trying to read through a diagram that's typed out as an explanation versus looking at a picture. If you look at a picture you can just get it, but with a diagram, you just understand it right away because you can see where things connect. Trying to read that, the human brain doesn't work like that. We work looking at pictures and Lucidchart is a really effective tool to help illustrate those pictures, to explain very complex technical ideas to other technical people. We can do immediate sync and realize, "Oh, it connects like that. Okay. We're done. Next."

We're a cloud company, so we have to overcome technical objections to advance the opportunity and help the customer. If we make it right for the customer and we help them, the money comes. We don't need to focus on selling. We just explain, share, and solve, and then eventually money will come.

I was using Visio before because the benefits of graphic representation of data are obvious. The ability to import Visio diagrams is really helpful because a lot of customers that are on Windows are still on Visio. It's such a pain to install Visio on a machine. If it's a Mac there are requirements and it takes a lot of RAM and it bogs down a machine. This doesn't bog down anybody's machine. It's just to have this web.

Lucidchart helped us to realize efficiencies in the projects we use it for. I can show people pictures, and I can change things in a meeting and then email it by the end of the meeting. Because most places we go, especially now with everybody in-home office, I'm going to have great internet access, and that just makes it easier to be able to change things quickly while we're in a meeting and go, "Oh, you changed this. Oh, okay.", and then send it to them as a proof and send it as a PDF or send them a link. That works great. That saves time and accelerates a sale.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are: 

  • The network
  • Great network icons
  • It's easy to use.
  • It's simple.
  • It's easier than Visio.

Documenting things like systems and new teams is fantastic. It's even easier when you're doing process stuff. You just drag it out and use it.

Its capabilities for visualizing and understanding process flows ad workflows are very good. It's every bit the equal of Visio and that's a compliment because Visio has been developed for 20 years and Lucidchart is relatively new compared to Visio. It's every bit the equal of Visio. I haven't found any feature that I haven't needed yet.

I do not use it for integrations with Atlassian, Salesforce, Microsoft, or G Suite but I think that would be super handy. 

It's important that Lucidspark accommodates both Mac and PC users. We're a diverse company. I'm on Mac, other people on my team are on PCs and we just use whatever we're most comfortable with.

What needs improvement?

As far as I know, LucidChart can’t be automated with Visual Basic .Net like Visio.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is flawless. I haven't heard of any stability problems from anybody. And we're a cloud company, so we're uniquely sensitive to that. It has to work all the time.

There is no downtime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I haven't encountered any slowdowns at all. It's a modern web solution. It's going to scale. It uses the same technology like Google and Amazon and every other cloud provider. It's going to be fine. Scalability shouldn't be a problem.

There are at least 150 people like me using it. We don't require any staff for maintenance. It's a browser app, we don't have to do anything but grant access. It's access management, that's it. Zero. There's no install. It opens in a browser.

I'm sure we will increase usage. As we grow, there'll be more licenses added. I can't imagine why we wouldn't add licenses as we gain employees.

How are customer service and technical support?

We haven't had to contact their technical support. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I switched from Visio. I use a Mac and the migration was simple. I just imported old Visio into Lucidchart. It's simple and effortless. The ability to import all these files is important to us. 

They're both good products but I use Lucidchart because I'm on a Mac and it's easier to use.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was the simplest ever. A child could do it.

It's a web browser. If you can't do that, you don't need to do anything. If you can start a web browser, you can use this thing. The online help is really good.

The implementation consisted of me opening a web browser. Got it added to my Okta tile. That's about it.

What was our ROI?

We see ROI because it's cheaper than adding something to the Microsoft suite. Instead of getting Visio, we have Lucidchart. We're not buying Visio anymore.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I didn't evaluate other solutions. I went straight to Lucidchart because it came so highly recommended.

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be to just buy it. You don't need to look at anything else. I wish we'd done it a long time ago.

I would rate Lucidchart a ten out of ten. 

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
it_user1609554 - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Business Analytics at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Jul 22, 2021
Easy to set up, boosts efficiency, and the sticky notes facilitate collaboration
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a very effective tool for documenting processes and using it has improved our efficiency significantly."
  • "One of the major drawbacks is that we have to extract the work in Lucidchart as an image when we want to create a presentation."

What is our primary use case?

In this company, we are using Lucidchart as a mechanism for whiteboarding and creating flow diagrams, charts, and any other things that are required for my day-to-day work. I use Lucidchart in my company and I used it in my previous job, as well.

I work mostly as a business analyst, in a product owner role. I have to build up the requirements, convert them into charts, and explain everything to the business owners.

The Lucidchart platform is where I use graphics to create pictorial descriptions, which is better than using simple words. It is a very effective tool for documenting processes and using it has improved our efficiency significantly.

How has it helped my organization?

Lucidchart is effective when it comes to reducing the time required to complete projects. It has reduced our efforts and time spent on decision-making, including time spent at both the requirements and presentation stages. I estimate that our efficiency has increased by at least 30% to 40%.

This is a good product for creating visualizations of process flow and workflows. I mostly use it to create process flows.

Many team members are able to work on the same version of the document at once, which is a feature that has helped to improve efficiency. It provides the ability to compare versions of documents but since all of us normally work on the same version, we do not leverage this feature often.

Presenting people with a diagram, rather than have them read through pages of written documents, has helped to save us time. It definitely saves us in terms of hours, but it is difficult to estimate how much it saves us in terms of cost.

Another way that Lucidchart has helped to improve our organization is that it has become a whiteboarding tool that we use in meetings. It has improved our communication and people can more easily understand how the different components of a system connect to each other. It has definitely enriched the experience of the client for which the solution is being developed. This is one of the value-adds that we get from using it.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is putting up sticky notes to share information with the team members, working with them jointly. We have a similar feature in Google Docs and it makes the project team members work more interactively and collaboratively. It even expedites the time to complete the project.

We have used Lucidchart to create database schemas and the functionality is very good. It is something that has existed in other SQL platforms, where you can create a schema diagram, but now, we don't have to download additional software to do it. We can develop the schemas right in Lucidchart.

Lucidchart is able to accommodate both Mac and PC users, which is something that is very important to us. Our team will sometimes sit in a large conference room, where we can project any member's laptop onto the big screen. For situations like this, all of the different laptops need to be compatible.

What needs improvement?

One of the major drawbacks is that we have to extract the work in Lucidchart as an image when we want to create a presentation. If there were some interoperability, where the blocks that you have created in Lucidchart can be directly copied and then edited in a PowerPoint presentation, it would definitely be a value-add. For small diagrams, we just rely on PowerPoint because if we want to make just a small change, it takes too long to go back to Lucidchart to make the change and then re-export it.

We have integrated Lucidchart with Microsoft Teams but it is not working properly. It means that we have to open it in a separate browser and log in, rather than directly with Teams.

The interface and process for managing documents could be improved. By comparison, the experience provided by Google for document management is very simple, and I think that Lucidchart can learn something from that. The interface that they provide in Google Drive makes it easy to scroll through documents, create documents, and create the folder structure. In Lucidchart, you have to create placeholders in the dashboard and it's very complex to view what you have done recently. I also face challenges when I'm scrolling a document, where sometimes it jumps back to the first document.

I would like to see some improvements made to the Mind Map feature. Having more functions to make it more collaborative would be helpful. It is there, but it's just a standard format. There are some new ways of working with Mind Maps, so these features should be included.

There should be quick and continuous revisions on the different templates that are trending. This would be a good improvement for Lucidchart.

It seems that the list structure in the UI is better than a sliding structure. The sliding structure looks great, but as part of the user experience, it becomes hazy.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for between three and four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This product is 100% stable for us and we have never faced challenges with it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of it being scalable, we have gigabytes in documents and it has always worked fine. Scalability isn't a problem.

I have a team that works under me. I am the lead business analyst and I have several team members that are continuously collaborating on different projects. My team has increased in size.

The business analysts, product team, and technical analysts all use it.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have not needed to contact technical support beyond the assistance with our initial setup. We have not faced challenges since that time.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to using Lucidchart, I was using the SmartArt features in Microsoft PowerPoint. The advantage is that you don't have to copy your work from Lucidchart or elsewhere before presenting it.

I also have experience using Microsoft Visio and Draw.io. Visio is too complex compared to using Lucidchart or Draw.io, which both make this type of work very simple. 

I found it very easy to switch over from Visio. The Lucidchart interface is more user-friendly and lightweight. Visio has a very heavy interface.

I was able to import all of my files from Visio into Lucidchart and the process was very easy. This was definitely important because we have some existing documents from other products that we needed to continue working on. In fact, the reason that Lucidchart supports so many different formats is one of the reasons that we chose it.

When comparing Lucidchart with Visio and Draw.io, one of the things to point out is that Lucidchart and Draw.io are both lightweight and easy to launch. They do not consume much in terms of resources. Visio, on the other hand, is important because it comes as part of a suite of products. Since the release of Office 365, we began searching for replacements to Visio. Lucidchart is also much cheaper than Visio.

One of the differences with Draw.io is that we can't collaborate. Our increase in efficiency using Lucidchart is partly because of our collaboration, so this is an important difference..

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very straightforward. The folder structure is there, and we can create folders and manage them.

What about the implementation team?

Somebody from Lucid helped us with the implementation.

What was our ROI?

Our ROI is in terms of improved efficiency, definitely. We are receiving good feedback from our senior management, as we are better able to explain the requirements for projects.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We have a corporate-level subscription but we are also using it at the individual level.

The pricing is very competitive. It is more cost-effective than some competing products, such as Visio.

What other advice do I have?

Our company has explored Lucidchart's organizational chart capabilities but I have not worked with them majorly. It is the type of chart that is more often used by executives. I found that the functionality was similar to what Microsoft is offering in Word and what Google is offering in Docs.

My advice for anybody who is considering Lucidchart is that if they are used to working with Google Docs, this is the best way to work. It allows you to collaborate and you can put your thoughts into a diagram. There are one or two suggestions, such as having a more collaborative Mind Map, but overall, it is a good product. That said, there is always room for improvement.

I would rate Lucidchart an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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Updated: August 2026
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