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it_user1599150 - PeerSpot reviewer
People Performance & Culture - Generalist at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Jul 12, 2021
Makes things simpler and helps us in looking at the processes in a different light
Pros and Cons
  • "The flow chart is most valuable. It is a very user-friendly and simple-to-use product. Quite quickly, I was able to understand how to use it and just get on with my process flow."
  • "This process flow has really helped all the regions in understanding how onboarding works across all the regions."
  • "It can have more colors or graphics. Currently, it is a little boring. It can have a little bit more fun factor."

What is our primary use case?

We are mainly using it for flow charts, organization charts, and process flows. In terms of deployment, we have a subscription for it. It has a login and a password, and we have to log in.

How has it helped my organization?

I joined my new company at the beginning of May. I'm in HR, and it is called the People Performance and Culture (PPC) team. One of the things I was told to do was figure out the process flow for onboarding. Because it is APAC and we have some people in India, Japan, China, and Singapore, it was confusing to understand who comes under which part during onboarding. My manager wanted to make a process flow, so I decided to make a flow chart. I literally just searched for flow chart software or easy-to-use tools on the web, and I came across Lucidchart. I really enjoyed using it. I was quite quickly able to understand how to use it and get on with my process flow. This process flow has really helped all the regions in understanding how onboarding works across all the regions. In the future, we can easily see how the process works rather than thinking it is too complicated, and we don't want to get into it. It just makes things simpler. Now, more people use it, and obviously, I can add more features to it if I want to. I think we have used it for our org chart as well. We've just rolled out a new org chart. I wasn't part of that, but I can see that they've used Lucidchart for that.

It is very useful for documenting things such as processes, systems, new teams, etc. because it has everything. It is very easy to document, and it is very easy to see the date you created or gave access to something.

It provides real-time collaboration among users so that everyone is accessing and working on the same version of a document. This real-time collaboration has affected our project development process. I was able to get someone to look at the org chart while I was working on it. As opposed to making changes at the end, I could make changes as I was working on a document. Its real-time collaboration has saved us time. It has approximately saved an hour worth of work.

The ability for people to look at a diagram rather than reading through written documents has also saved time, and as a result, money. It has saved about an hour.

It has definitely helped us in realizing efficiencies in our projects. It has made everything more visual. Once things are more visual, it becomes easier for me to see whether there are glitches in the process, whether there is a better way of doing things, and whether we have too many steps for one thing. The visual aid has definitely helped us look at the processes in a different light.

We use Microsoft Teams in our company, and one of the reasons for using Lucidchart is that you can integrate it with Microsoft Teams. If I need to send somebody a document through Microsoft Teams, it is very easy. This integration is highly important for our operations because otherwise, we will have to use another solution or way to do the same thing. We are already using Microsoft Teams, so it is much easier to tag it on to Microsoft Teams.

What is most valuable?

The flow chart is most valuable. It is a very user-friendly and simple-to-use product. Quite quickly, I was able to understand how to use it and just get on with my process flow. 

Its organizational charts are pretty good for visualizing and understanding team hierarchies and relationships. These organizational charts are very visual. The colors also help. It is also easy to create an organizational chart.

I use it for visualizing and understanding process flows or workflows, and I would rate it really high from this aspect because I found it very easy to use. It has some suggested themes, so I can make them look pretty. There was access to videos or tutorials if I got stuck. That was really good as well.

What needs improvement?

It can have more colors or graphics. Currently, it is a little boring. It can have a little bit more fun factor.

Buyer's Guide
Lucidchart
October 2026
Learn what your peers think about Lucidchart. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have started to use it very recently. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is quite stable and reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is quite scalable. We are a small department. Currently, two departments have access to it. We have only about 30 people, and out of them, only four are using it.

I am pretty new here, and we're just figuring out APAC processes and hiring new people. I will be using Lucidchart a lot more in the coming months because we're trying to figure out all the processes and the process flows amongst all the regions.

How are customer service and support?

It is pretty good. They were videos available for any questions that I had while I was using the solution. I'm more of a visual person, so the videos really helped.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward. It took just a few minutes.

What about the implementation team?

I did it on my own. I was using the free account because you can use a free account. It turned out that we had a company account with Lucidchart. My manager gave me access to that, and then basically, I uploaded the flow chart that I had created over there.

For its deployment and maintenance, probably only one or two people are required.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I did come across Visio, but I looked at Lucidchart first. Visio wasn't as user-friendly.

What other advice do I have?

I have definitely told people to use it. It really makes things easier. The visualization is really good, simple, and neat. For me, visuals work much better, and it is easier to spot mistakes when you can see it all in one go rather than in different steps. I would definitely advise people to integrate it and use it as much.

In my organization, we currently only use PCs, but it is good that it is compatible with Mac and PC. I have not used its ability to compare versions of documents. I have also not used any other product from their suite.

I would rate Lucidchart a nine out of 10. It just needs a little bit more fun factor.

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_user1598886 - PeerSpot reviewer
Marketing Director at a construction company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Jul 12, 2021
Intuitive, designed in a way that it gives you what need, and saves time and money
Pros and Cons
  • "The ease of creating some of the maps and diagrams is most valuable. Lucidchart is just simpler and works more intuitively than other solutions that I have used in the past, such as Microsoft Visio. I am not in a creative role, but I know how to use Adobe Illustrator and other solutions like that. If I need to map out something that I've never mapped out before, and it is going to need a totally custom graphic, eight times out of 10, I'm going to go to Lucidchart rather than trying to build it in Illustrator. Its intuition and flexibility are really big features for me."
  • "Lucidchart is just simpler and works more intuitively than other solutions that I have used in the past, such as Microsoft Visio."
  • "I would really like to be able to set default appearance settings for new documents because I have a set of appearance settings that I always use. I end up setting that manually every time. There may be a way to do that, and maybe I am not able to find it. This is my only major point of feedback for improvement. There are other little nitpicky things, such as being able to lock layers without them looking like a big red line around them would be nice, but every graphic design software does that, so I understand why they have that. All my concerns are nitpicks. They're not big."
  • "I would really like to be able to set default appearance settings for new documents because I have a set of appearance settings that I always use."

What is our primary use case?

There are a few different things. The main one, obviously, is creating business workflows. 

I've been using its web-based version.

How has it helped my organization?

It is excellent for documenting things such as processes, systems, etc. We have a guy who is a salaried commission salesperson who was doing very dry due diligence work on real estate deals. I took what he was doing and mapped it out so that a $12 an hour temp person can do it. It is very good for that. It is also good for mapping out things like marketing campaigns to explain to clients. I also run an agency on the side, so having here's what we're going to do and let me visualize it for you has been extremely useful as well.

It is important for us that Lucidchart accommodates both MAC and PC users. We have a mix at our current company, and I have guys who work from an iPad. We're currently in the process of transitioning everyone to MAC. It has been a headache because some of the software products that we can get on a Windows computer are not available for MAC. We're a construction company first and foremost, and a lot of construction software is designed around Windows. Lucid is a huge part of my day-to-day work. I use it almost every day. It is very helpful that it is web-based, and it accommodates both MAC and PC users. 

The ability for people to look at the diagram rather than reading through written documents has absolutely saved so much time, and as a result, money. For our due diligence process, I can't give a written manual to the kind of employee I have for this work and expect that employee to follow it. There's no way. Without Lucidchart, the whole project of having that employee do due diligence kind of dies because I don't have a way to show them that this is how to follow this workflow. If I'm paying somebody $12 an hour, I'm not going to expect them to be proficient at reading a technical manual. That would be a huge learning curve, but almost anyone can read a flow chart. I worked at fast food when I was 16, and I had flow charts on how to do stuff. You can give that to somebody who's very low-skilled and have them working above their skill level. It is a tool for employee growth in a way because you're able to give somebody a task that might be out of their pay grade and grow them into that role because you're able to explain it more simply.

It has definitely helped us in realizing efficiencies in our projects. Just yesterday, I was working on this due diligence project. We buy land, and when we get any land under contract, we have a period of time where we have to go and assess the land and decide if we want to buy it. It seems like you have to be an expert to do it, but it's really following a mental checklist. I got with my guy who does that, and I said, "I need you to tell me every question that you need to be answered in order to tell me if we can buy this land." He was like, "Well, this one, no." I was like, "No, you need to tell me every single question, and we'll get it on the chart." Doing that, I realized that sometimes, he's sending people out to look at stuff that he knows we can't build on. I was like, "They shouldn't be going out to look at that if you know that we can't build on it." That's an employee who is more highly paid than the person is who is going out to look at the land. That person is wasting two to three hours of their time to drive out and look at a lot that may not be buildable. That was just yesterday, and that's going to save us thousands of dollars. That's a huge time saving, which is time and money.

What is most valuable?

The ease of creating some of the maps and diagrams is most valuable. Lucidchart is just simpler and works more intuitively than other solutions that I have used in the past, such as Microsoft Visio. I am not in a creative role, but I know how to use Adobe Illustrator and other solutions like that. If I need to map out something that I've never mapped out before, and it is going to need a totally custom graphic, eight times out of 10, I'm going to go to Lucidchart rather than trying to build it in Illustrator. Its intuition and flexibility are really big features for me. 

It is very flexible. I use it for creating flow charts, processes, checklists, and if this/that or decision trees kind of things. I also use it for creating social media posts such as how to have a sales conversation with a prospective client. I like tools where you start from scratch. I know there are some great templates, but I don't really use those. I'm mostly using the start from the scratch feature, but I have used templates for things like customer journeys or to get inspiration for how complicated my campaigns should be. They have been useful situationally.

In terms of user-friendliness for someone who is more of a viewer, such as a client whom I just met or who isn't technical, I'm pretty confident about sending a Lucid link or even a PDF of the document to them. They're going to understand it. It is very well designed, which makes the UI elements of Lucidchart easy for people to understand.

What needs improvement?

I would really like to be able to set default appearance settings for new documents because I have a set of appearance settings that I always use. I end up setting that manually every time. There may be a way to do that, and maybe I am not able to find it. This is my only major point of feedback for improvement. There are other little nitpicky things, such as being able to lock layers without them looking like a big red line around them would be nice, but every graphic design software does that, so I understand why they have that. All my concerns are nitpicks. They're not big.

For how long have I used the solution?

Overall, I have been using this solution for two or three years. My user account is only three or four months old because I started with a new company.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've never had an issue with it being down or unavailable. I've never had an issue where somebody was on a device and couldn't access it.

Performance-wise, I've never really had a problem. I can't even think of a time that it had slowed down, or I've had to refresh.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Extendability-wise, I don't know how many third-party plugins or additional integrations are there, so I can't speak about that too much. 

Scalability-wise, I could easily see a future where every one of our employees has a license and is using it. It would actually make our lives easier as opposed to more complicated. In that sense, I would say that it is super scalable.

Currently, I'm the only one using it as a creator or editor. Our land acquisition guy is also using it. He is just looking at it; he is not editing. Our two co-founders, our VP of operations, and our VP of construction are using it as viewers. All four people at the executive or VP level are using it. I'm a director, so I'm not quite at the VP level, and everyone else above me is using it, which is cool. We'll very soon be at a place where there are people under me who are using it. That's definitely going to happen soon, so I would say across all levels of our company, it will be used. We have maybe six people right now, but in the next couple of months, we'll be at a point where we have 10 to 15 more people using it. As we get up to that point, we would probably have more editors too.

How are customer service and technical support?

I don't think I've ever used their tech support. I haven't had a problem where I've needed it.

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

I have used Visio very recently. I basically told my boss, "We either have to buy a Visio subscription or a Lucid subscription. I'm buying a Lucid subscription because I don't want to work in Visio." We're on the 365 stack, and they like us to use as much of that as possible, but I was like, "No, I'm using Lucid." I didn't have to migrate anything over.

The ease of use is the main reason for using Lucidchart. I know that Visio and Lucidchart can do similar things. For my purposes, I wouldn't even touch some of the more advanced stuff that can be done in Visio, so it doesn't make sense to me to use something that's clunkier.

One of my complaints with Visio is that it gives you a thousand different tools, but most people need just five tools. Lucidchart is designed in a way that it gives you what need for a task, and if you need more, it tells you where to find it. It's very well organized and user-friendly, so that's great. With Visio, you have a box with no organizers, shelves, or anything in it, and everything is just thrown in there. You have to know where your stuff is to know how to use it. Lucidchart provides you a little shelf for workflows if you're doing a workflow. 

Another thing that I do for people is CRM object mapping, where I define the custom objects that we're going to have in a CRM and all the attributes of those objects, including other objects that an object can have in it. This would even be useful for object-oriented programmers, such as Java or C# programmers. They can also use it for such things. That's how flexible it is. I use the same tool that I use to do my workflows and process maps. It is intuitive to map out what an object has in it because it can have other objects. With Visio, I'd be spinning my wheels a lot more and looking for the right tools for that end product. Capability-wise, they are the same or very similar, but in terms of getting to that end product, it is going to be faster if I use Lucidchart.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup is very straightforward. It is just a matter of you basically going to the website, and it is right there. You don't even need to have used any graphic design software such as Visio. If you've used any document management tool, such as Microsoft Word, you can go into Lucid and set it up and use it very easily. It is so simple.

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

Pricing-wise, it is pretty fair. I don't really know what group pricing looks like, but right now, I pay $10 a month for my Lucid subscription. One thing I would say is that I do worry about my bosses being okay with paying $10 a month for every single employee because we would have around 20 people. It makes me a little nervous about whether they are going to pay $200 a month for people to be able to use this software. At the same time, from where I'm sitting, it's totally worth it. We save a thousand dollars from using this software. It's still a no-brainer.

What other advice do I have?

It is definitely for most businesses. I've worked in a couple of different industries in my professional career. I've been a teacher. I've been in construction. This is my second time in construction. I've also been in marketing for a marketing company. I've been a business owner, and it has always been useful, so I can't really think of an industry where you wouldn't benefit from using it.

I used to use it with Slack. We have Teams now, which I hate. I like Slack much better than Teams, and when I use Slack, I integrate it. I don't know if I ever used the direct integration, but we definitely used to bounce stuff back and forth in Lucid when we were using Slack as our communication platform. These two tools are pretty complementary. They're both SaaS products. I tend to prefer the SaaS experience to having to download something.

I am currently not using Lucidchart for real-time collaboration among users because generally, I'm the document owner. I have done that in the past with my business partner for agency work, but never with a team or with more than one other person. This is something that I would like to do in the future. I see that as a huge plus. I just haven't used it yet. When I used it with my business partner, the development process was much faster because he didn't have to tell me first what needs to be changed and then I would change. It was so much easier. That's what I'm dealing with now. I'm going to slowly roll it out and start giving some of my co-workers access to Lucidchart because if they have feedback on a document, they have to be over my shoulder telling me what to change, whereas I could be sending them the link, and they could be changing it themselves if they have the feedback. That's obviously more preferable to what we're doing now.

I have very briefly touched Lucidspark. I don't think I've created a complete document in Lucidspark. It's something that I would like to use more, especially as we get into using more of these tools for strategic planning as opposed to mapping existing processes or improving processes. Right now, Lucidchart does pretty much everything we need, and I'm even using Lucidchart for things where I might use Lucidspark. For example, for the object mapping solution, I should be using Lucidspark, but Lucidchart does what I need, and so I don't have to use Lucidspark. That's why I haven't felt the need to move over to Lucidspark.

I would rate Lucidchart a 10 out of 10.

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
October 2026
Learn what your peers think about Lucidchart. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user1597488 - PeerSpot reviewer
Salesforce Solution Architect at a consultancy with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Jul 4, 2021
Salespeople can organize ideas and brainstorm with it
Pros and Cons
  • "It is important to me that the solution accommodates both Mac and PC users because the developers in our company use Mac, then the business people use Windows. The technical people create the technical architecture using Lucidchart. So, it is important that it is compatible with both the systems."
  • "The ability for people to look at a diagram, rather than reading through written documents, has saved us a lot of time, and as a result money."
  • "I would like to have more text boxes to write more comments so I can write a small note below a picture. I would like some flexibility."

What is our primary use case?

We use the data models. We create technical architecture and system architecture, usually for technical diagrams that we need processed.

How has it helped my organization?

On my team, there are business and technical people who all are using Lucidchart. It gives us really clean, professional-looking diagrams that we have tried to make in PowerPoint. Also, if you can leverage their templates, then you aren't starting from a blank canvas.

What is most valuable?

The templates are very useful. We get the templates for technical systems, which are helpful.

There is a connection to the system where you can directly pull the data model. There is a Salesforce Connector that you can use, which pulls out your diagram from the system. That is really cool. When we click on the data model, you can connect to your technical system, like Salesforce or AWS. This helps create a data model that you would otherwise have to do manually in a better looking format, like PowerPoint. It pulls the data model into a kind of presentation mode. You don't have to drag and drop lines and relationships between objects.

It is good for documenting processes. I see the salespeople organize ideas and brainstorm with it.

I use Lucidchart to create database schemas and modify existing data structures. Lucidchart is pretty good in its ability to support these processes. I would rate it as a four out of five.

We use Lucidchart's integration with Salesforce for getting the ER diagram and enterprise relationship architecture. We need it to connect to the database, which is very important.

It is important to me that the solution accommodates both Mac and PC users because the developers in our company use Mac, then the business people use Windows. The technical people create the technical architecture using Lucidchart. So, it is important that it is compatible with both the systems.

Lucidchart has helped us realize efficiencies in the projects that we use it for. The leveraging of templates has been a great help. Previously, I was creating an ER diagram in PowerPoint, which was very tedious to do. Now, I just connect to the Salesforce database and have to pull the data model. The Salesforce Connector pulls the relationship automatically, which is a very big help. It is a great feature.

What needs improvement?

I would like to have more text boxes to write more comments so I can write a small note below a picture. I would like some flexibility.

For how long have I used the solution?

I started using it this month.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My team consists of five people. In my company, there are a lot of people who use it. We get our licenses on an as-needed basis, e.g., if we need to run a project, then we use it. Not everybody in the company uses Lucidchart. If we need it for a project, then your credentials are created and you are enabled access. 

Only people who are a little bit in the middle management level of leadership use it. Not even our leadership uses it because they have people working for them.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not contacted Lucidchart's tech support.

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

We previously used PowerPoint.

How was the initial setup?

I need to tell my company's IT that I need access to Lucidchart. There is a single sign-on that gets enabled, then I just need to set my password. It is pretty self-explanatory. It doesn't take much time. I just had to explore and browse a little bit to see what templates were available. It is pretty easy to navigate and use.

What was our ROI?

The ability for people to look at a diagram, rather than reading through written documents, has saved us a lot of time, and as a result money. In our clients' requirements, they need to see what our deliverables are and we have to produce these pictures, which is also better now.

What other advice do I have?

Go for it. Try it. The solution is good.

I do have plans to increase my usage. I just use it for deliverables and to generate a few diagrams and documents. I have not explored the full features of Lucidchart so much.

I would rate Lucidchart as an eight out of 10.

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?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
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
Principal Solution Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Jun 29, 2021
I'm able to diagram process flows and articulate them to others, while centralizing subject matter so I'm not searching for things
Pros and Cons
  • "The collaboration, hands-down, is the top feature. It is valuable because our company doesn't believe in working in silos... While I may be the one leading the efforts, it's very important that my team gets buy-in on decisions being made when we're designing. It's critical, especially in this virtual environment, when we're not in an office to have a team meeting and able to whiteboard something. Lucidchart is an extremely useful tool for our team."
  • "It does everything I need it to do."
  • "If you're trying to expand a comments box that is sitting on top of the chart, it automatically defaults to assuming you're trying to connect it to the next step in the process, when all you're trying to do is make the box bigger. It automatically goes to the arrow, but I just want to resize the box. That gets a little cumbersome because it does it every single time. It's not just a bug."

What is our primary use case?

Primarily, since I'm a solution engineer, I use it to create mock-ups of ideas for building out demo instances; what they should look like based on what we currently have in inventory. I take screenshots, throw them in there, and do all the diagramming. That is not my core responsibility, but it's one of things I am responsible for. I use Lucidchart to build out those mock-ups and to collaborate with the team so that they can have input on the layout, how things should look, and on behind-the-scenes processes.

How has it helped my organization?

The real-time collaboration within Lucidchart saves time. It keeps things centralized to the subject matter so I'm not having to go dig something out of email or to look for things in some other tool we utilize.

What is most valuable?

The collaboration, hands-down, is the top feature. It is valuable because our company doesn't believe in working in silos. It's not just "my show" all the time. I work with a team and they all have valuable insights and input. While I may be the one leading the efforts, it's very important that my team gets buy-in on decisions being made when we're designing. It's critical, especially in this virtual environment, when we're not in an office to have a team meeting and able to whiteboard something. Lucidchart is an extremely useful tool for our team.

In addition, it gives me the flexibility to diagram process flows so that I can articulate to someone else, "This is our idea of how things should flow." Then we'll pull in developers if needed so that our product will match something I have built using Lucidchart.

Because it integrates with Slack, it's super helpful with the way we work. We have Lucidchart set up to integrate with the tools that we use for communication all day long. Most of us are in Slack as our primary chat tool. Slack is a lot more powerful than just a chat. Instead of copying a link to everybody directly from Lucidchart, I'm able to push everything to a group Slack, rather than having to remember individuals. They can access the document and I can give them read/write privileges. And if I send it to somebody in the group that doesn't have Lucidchart, I love the fact that they can easily request access and I get that pinged over Slack, so I don't have to seek it out through Lucidchart. They work nicely together. It's pretty seamless. Our company has guided us to really lean away from emails as a form of communication. They're really trying to get us more focused on utilizing Slack as our primary communication tool.

It is also important to me that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users because my company issues equipment agnostically. We get to choose. If you are more of a Samsung/PC person, or if you want a Mac, you can choose your device. My team and I are on different devices. It's hugely important that Lucid is operating in a system-agnostic way as well.

What needs improvement?

If you're trying to expand a comments box that is sitting on top of the chart, it automatically defaults to assuming you're trying to connect it to the next step in the process, when all you're trying to do is make the box bigger. It automatically goes to the arrow, but I just want to resize the box. That gets a little cumbersome because it does it every single time. It's not just a bug.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have only been using Lucidchart for about three to four weeks.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not experienced any downtime. My impression, so far, is that it's up the typical 99.9 percent of the time, as it's cloud-based. I've had zero issues regarding it being down or being latent in performance. It's been great.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

For my team, it's scalable for the things that we need it to do. We have a little bit more of a narrow focus on what we utilize it for, but I could see using it for other things besides what I actually have to use it for regularly. My core focus is delivering demos, so using Lucidchart is not a core function of mine; it's a tool for me. But it's my go-forward tool for anything that's related to process flows: needing to capture a process flow or diagram or mock-up of how we want to design an instance, for a demo in the future. I won't use anything else. And if they make me, I'll probably pitch a fit.

From what I have seen, it seems like it's pretty scalable. It must be because our company is so huge. It has to be scalable for a company of our size.

Obviously, anything that is that big can always go down too, as far as the number of users that are hitting it goes. 

In terms of extensibility, they should continue to keep integrating it with other cloud apps, the way that it's been integrated with Google Suite and Slack, as those are helpful to us.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've had no need to use their technical support. We have an internal layer of support within our company, so I've only had to deal with them. And the only instance in which I did was requesting a license.

How was the initial setup?

Everything was straightforward, but in part that is because of the way our organization does everything. Lucidchart lives in a tile on a landing page where we access tools. I hit that and then it said, "You'll have free access for seven days, but to get a license click here." When I clicked for a license it went through our company's process and then they added me to the enterprise license and I got an email. It was just seamless. I didn't have to talk to anybody and didn't have to download anything. It was just done.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

When it comes to visualizing and understanding process workflows, I like it better than Visio so far. My impression of it is very high, and that's despite the fact that Visio is a pretty standard and dominating tool. I had never heard of Lucidchart until I came to my current company, and right off the bat, I said, "All right, I love it." It was very easy to use. I didn't have to go through training. It was self-explanatory. Very user-friendly.

Visio is the only comparable tool that I've used. To me, it was a lot of steps and it was cumbersome. I can't say anything bad about Lucidchart right now. I am definitely all in favor of giving feedback for improvement but the only one I've given is about changing the way that you work with the tools to create what you need to create. I would like that to be a little bit less binding than it is. But it's still not bad compared to what I've experienced with Visio or when having to hand-create something using Microsoft Word.

In other companies I worked for, I would make stuff with Microsoft tools, dragging shapes, when they didn't provide me with tools. That was really painful, but it makes using Lucid like getting a dessert and eating ice cream. You're happy, it's easy. You get done what you need to get done.

What other advice do I have?

Get a trial and try to recreate exactly what you want to create. See if it's going to work. Obviously, you need to get feedback from whoever is making the purchase, so get a trial to make sure it meets your needs before you dive on in. It's pretty powerful and it's definitely worth the purchase, but it's a competitive landscape. I knew I needed the license right away, so I didn't wait seven days to request a license. But for most people, the evaluation during a seven-day free trial is critical. Also, talk to comparably sized companies as a reference to see how they implemented it and to gauge their success with it.

In terms of documenting things such as processes, systems, and new teams, on a scale of one to 10, I would put the solution at an eight, only because I just haven't gotten into the depth of all the features yet, as I've only been using it for about four weeks. I definitely see potential for it pushing toward a 10.

We've got G Suite (Google Workspace) in place and I know Lucid works with it, but I try to stay out of G Suite. It has nothing to do with Lucid, it's that I'm not a big fan of G Suite.

I haven't had a need for Lucidcharts' ability to compare versions of documents yet, but it will actually be useful. Versioning is huge. It's one of the things we tout into our own products' capabilities as well.

In my role as an engineer, I use it pretty heavily and like it. It gives me the option to save something as a PDF if somebody doesn't have access to Lucidchart or doesn't have a license, if they just need a picture instead of actual collaboration access. We're a large company with 55,000 employees. There are so many levels of users who might use it differently. But obviously, if it wasn't useful, our company would be getting rid of it. It's a preferred tool whenever we bring up org charts.

It does everything I need it to do. I'm on the excited end of things as far as being a user goes. I really love 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
Continuous Improvement Manager at a consumer goods company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Jun 29, 2021
I get better and more productive engagement from team members and I get through mapping processes more quickly
Pros and Cons
  • "It is important that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users because if you support Mac, that means you also support the mobile applications on the iPad... Some of the other employees have access to an iPad, but not all of them do. When we're trying to talk through a process with them on-the-fly, or at the point of occurrence, it's so much nicer if we can both have it up on the iPad. That's why I would say the Mac support is essential."
  • "Visually it is the best application that I've used."
  • "One of the things that I find frustrating is that all of our Tableau information is on a server, so when I send that out people can't open it and use it. I then have to go back and do extra work to convert everything into an Excel format that everybody can use. It would be really important to me, if I send something out to somebody who doesn't have a Lucid account, that they can just click and see it, instead of having to log in and create an account."
  • "One of the things that I find frustrating is that all of our Tableau information is on a server, so when I send that out people can't open it and use it."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use it for process improvement in a factory setting. What I am primarily using it for is making process flow diagrams—with the rectangles, circles, diamonds, arrows, and whatever else you would build into a process flow. 

We've had discussions about using it to build engineering-type stuff, as well. For example, "Here's the room, here are the dimensions. Here's what it would look like if we moved this piece of equipment, what space it would open up. Here are other constraints or barriers that it might create." We've had discussions on that, but we haven't really delved into that yet. 

I have the web-based for my laptop, and I have the app downloaded on my iPad Air. I've been using it on both of them.

How has it helped my organization?

We're primarily using it for process mapping and it's much quicker than trying to do it in Excel. 

Doing things digitally means that if I'm on a Teams or a Zoom meeting, I can get input from people and they can see it as we go. I'm a pretty big user of whiteboards. I have two in my office and those are great. But what I hate sometimes is when it comes to, "All right, let's take this away. Let's run with it," I have to take a picture and send it out. Then, at nine o'clock at night, someone on the team will say, "Oh, I just thought of this step that we completely overlooked..." I can't do anything about it because it's on my whiteboard. But using Lucidchart, I've been able to say, "Okay, I've got my iPad, let me add that in really quickly." I like the convenience and the user interface.

It is so great for understanding process flows or workflows. With the prior training that I had, doing things on whiteboards and in Excel or Word to manually build stuff was clunky. Because it was clunky, it was slow. When it's slow and you have a meeting, you lose people's attention. Because this is fast and not clunky, people are able to say, "Oh, okay. This is the next step and the next step." I get better engagement and I get through mapping the processes quicker. Because it has the different shapes and the explanations of what things mean, I'm able to get more out of it. Visually it is the best application that I've used.

I'm also getting productive engagement and productive challenge from my teams. Someone will say, "Well, that step shouldn't really be represented by a diamond. It's more a case that somebody has to go and get things and that causes a delay, but it's not necessarily a decision because it's built into the process." 

Per week, I probably do two of these exercises, and each one would take three-plus hours to get through when dealing with some of our more complicated processes. Now, we can get them done in about an hour. That's a huge improvement because of the software itself, but it has also helped us to see, "Wow, we have a lot of excess steps and waste in our process." For example, we were working on it with a team over the last two days and we got two new maps up in the span of an hour and a half or two hours. We're getting much quicker at process mapping and understanding what we need to address.

Lucidchart has also helped with training and developing standard operating procedures. Before, we would just use a piece of paper, and maybe it would have a picture of what is going on. And on that piece of paper would be a list of sequential steps. We still have to do that for FDA regulations of having and maintaining SOPs. But having printed out flowcharts benefits us because you can just flip over the piece of paper and see, "All right, here are the four or five little steps I take before I get to a decision, and here are the two branches from that decision." That extra context helps us in building a development tool. And we can post the process flow map for, say, operating a hopper, right on the equipment. That way, people can see things. And if they need more context or deeper instruction, they can bring up the actual SOP with all the words. But a quick little chart that shows the flow: "This is what I do. This is what I do if this fails, et cetera," is something that we're getting a lot of immediate benefit from.

What is most valuable?

It is important that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users because if you support Mac, that means you also support the mobile applications on the iPad. Because of the kind of factory setting we're in, all of the office personnel and management have laptops, but they also have iPads. Some of the other employees have access to an iPad, but not all of them do. When we're trying to talk through a process with them on-the-fly, or at the point of occurrence, it's so much nicer if we can both have it up on the iPad. That's why I would say the Mac support is essential.

It's easy to click and drag and automatically insert shapes. And once you have selected an arrow to move to a new location, it auto-associates the shape with it and you can right-click and change. There's no copy, paste, make next steps, start typing. It's all seamlessly integrated.

What needs improvement?

Integrations with third-party software are pretty important. I do a lot of work out of Tableau for data analysis. One of the things that I find frustrating is that all of our Tableau information is on a server, so when I send that out people can't open it and use it. I then have to go back and do extra work to convert everything into an Excel format that everybody can use. It would be really important to me, if I send something out to somebody who doesn't have a Lucid account, that they can just click and see it, instead of having to log in and create an account. I can understand if they can't edit it; that makes sense, to restrict that behind the paywall. But in terms of actually being able to open up the data, it would help. With Tableau, for our data management systems, it's a big constraint. The user interface across other software is very important to me.

Something that would also be nice—and maybe it's just a feature I haven't explored yet—would be to be able to link the data from other sources, whether Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, or even straight from Excel. That way, if we build processes we could immediately assign data, whether its defective units, operational uptime or operational downtime, changeover time, et cetera. It would help to be able to put it in there so that we can have the data collected and then somehow integrate it to each step of the process. For example, if this step of the process fails, it causes X minutes of operational downtime and Y number of defective units coming out of the machine. I understand that it might be a little advanced, but right now I'm taking the charts and correlating them to existing data from Tableau and from Excel. If there were a way to make it seamless, so I could click on my flow chart and show, "This decision point, this diamond, is potentially responsible for X number of minutes operational downtime, and Y number of defective bottles," that would be the continuous improvement dream.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for close to a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've only had one or two issues where the performance of it was delayed. I don't know if the cause was the internet connection or if it was because I was trying to fill out the charts on the iPad. But using the Apple Pencil, there were time delays between drawing lines between different process steps and getting things entered in. It was a little awkward on the timing. When you build something on the iPad, its performance might just not be as effective as building it on the computer.

Other than that, every time I build something there's no buffering or issues with it deleting my work or not saving things. It seems to be doing all the things that it needs to be doing. The iPad issue is the only little snafu I've had.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I can't speak too much abou its scalability. We could probably expand it and get multiple supervisors at my plant using it. But in terms of getting the information made and sharing it out, it's pretty quick and pretty easy. If we were to add a company server for it and 18 people working on it at the plant, I don't know if there would be scaling or server issues.

I hope we have plans to increase usage of Lucidchart. Our business is split up into four plants across the country. In the Continuous Improvement department there are four of us. We each have a license. There are plans to bring one more person onto the team. I'm hopeful that we would then be looking at getting it at least for our operations and production managers, which would potentially be an additional two licenses per site.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not needed to use the technical support yet. I've not had any major issues.

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

Before Lucidchart, we were building process diagrams in Excel.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Lucidchart is a pretty straightforward process. There is still stuff I'm learning as I go, when it comes to knowing what to look for with different templates. But if the most basic function you need is to make process maps, and to do it quickly, and then figure out what you've got to improve, it's very effective at that.

What was our ROI?

While it's not directly saving money, because it is a paid-for service, it saves us money in the sense that we have a better understanding of our processes, what can be changed, and what we need to attack. We then go out and attack it, do it, update the maps, and then we get the return on the investment.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I used Visio here and there when I worked for another company, but I was not the main user of that application. Still, between it and Lucidchart, I prefer Lucidchart. It is a lot simpler and a lot more accessible.

In my current company, we have not evaluated any other solutions. I think our engineers do have CAD for facility layout, but in terms of competitors to this, we have not looked at any directly.

What other advice do I have?

Watch some of the tutorials, check the reviews, and definitely talk to folks who are using it. Figure out what they like, what they don't like, and what they would want changed. There's a lot that I like about it. I find it to be a pretty good service. Get involved and play around with it, especially if you're working on facility layouts. I have printouts for some of the areas where we're implementing 5S and changing processes in. It's nice having something that the engineers have printed out, like a schematic or a blueprint for us.

Also, if you're going to try it out, try to make a simple process that you already know all the steps for; one you've already done it in Excel or in something else. See how much faster you can do it on this. That would be the big selling point. Trying to make some of these process maps in Excel, because it's so clunky and so slow, could take me 35 minutes just to get a 15-step process properly built, connected with the decision points in the lines, and for us to really understand where the pain points are. Taking something as simple as a 15-step process, timing out how long it takes to build it in Excel or PowerPoint, and then comparing it to this may show you, "Wow, with Lucidchart it took, maybe, five minutes."

I've been discussing getting this implemented in other departments at my facility.

In terms of its integrations, we've used it with some of the Microsoft suite for sending things out. I haven't used it for Slack yet, although I do use Slack for a nonprofit that I'm in. That actually might be a good opportunity because then I could just make some process maps for some of the nonprofit stuff that I do. And could then just send it out that way.

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
Director, People Systems and Data at a wellness & fitness company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Jun 27, 2021
Easy to use, facilitates real-time collaboration, and works well in a remote environment
Pros and Cons
  • "One of the features that I really like is the collaboration aspect of it. During the pandemic, it's very important that we're able to collaborate virtually."
  • "Overall, we've been very happy with the product and it is being used across the organization, but there are always opportunities to improve."
  • "If it could be a little more visual, in terms of being able to make it stand out a little bit more, then that would be helpful."

What is our primary use case?

I have been using Lucidchart for process flows and diagrams of our business processes for a system that we've implemented called Workday. We have been building out our process flows to communicate them to our end users in a more digestible format.

It is used on the technology side of the business in several departments, including the help desk, service center, and others.

How has it helped my organization?

With respect to documenting processes, Lucidchart has been very helpful, especially for our team in a remote setting. We've tried other platforms and by far, Lucidchart has been the most beneficial to us, especially since it's been integrated into our organization. We're able to work cross-functionally on various projects, even outside of our team.

My impressions of Lucidchart's capabilities for visualizing and understanding process flows have been really good. It's pretty straightforward and Lucidchart does a really good job at simplifying the process flows for the end-user in a very digestible format. You don't need to have a project management background to understand the flows. It comes down to ease of use, and the fact that it can present things in a very digestible format has been very beneficial.

It is important to our organization that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC Users because we have hybrid users who might prefer to use one over the other, or both. Due to the nature of our organization, we definitely have Mac users but for the most part, we use PCs. That said, having Mac users adds a little more credibility.

In our collaborative efforts, people simultaneously access and work on the same version of a document. In addition, we have other team members that are working on various process flows. The real-time updating allows us to drill into documents in real-time, and pick up where people leave off. The related security feature is also very beneficial, as you can prevent users from editing the document if you don't want them to, while at the same time, giving them visibility.

This ability has enhanced our project development process because it allows us to meet and work on the same document in real-time if needed. If there are any takeaways or any additional work that needs to be done on a particular document, the ease of use allows us to do that.

The real-time collaboration capability definitely saves us time. I would estimate that we save at least 15% of the time that it would take otherwise.

The ability for people to look at a diagram, rather than reading through written documents, is another way that we have saved time. It is difficult to estimate how much money this may have saved but we do work at a very visual organization where people prefer diagrams and visuals, rather than written or documented processes. As such, it's definitely saved us time, especially when it comes to explaining what the process is. The visuals definitely help.

Lucidchart helps us to realize efficiencies in the projects that we use it for. We're working on a Workday implementation, and one of the key reasons for using Lucidchart is to make the information that we're passing along to our end-users a little more digestible. By using Lucidchart, we can explain our process flows visually, and this has definitely saved us time.

What is most valuable?

I really like the setup and the ease of use. One of the good things is that everything is fairly editable, to the point where you don't have to really start over. You can just pick up where you left off.

One of the features that I really like is the collaboration aspect of it. During the pandemic, it's very important that we're able to collaborate virtually. Our organization is a remote-first company. As such, while we're not in the office, it's very important that we have access in real-time to the information that we need and that we're able to collaborate on various projects without any lags.

What needs improvement?

If it could be a little more visual, in terms of being able to make it stand out a little bit more, then that would be helpful. I'm not sure how to accomplish this because the configuration is fairly straightforward, but if there are additional bells and whistles that could be added to make it more interactive then that would help. Ideally, I would like a way to make it "pop" a little bit more, rather than what you see is what you get, out of the box.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Lucidchart for approximately one month.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

From a stability standpoint, it's been great. The performance has been very good as well. I don't really have any issues from a stability or performance standpoint when I'm using the product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We are working toward scaling and increasing our usage of this product. I think that's where we're trying to get to but it's a matter of finding the use cases throughout our organization to continue scaling and applying it a little bit more. I'm not really sure how many licenses we have to use it, but I think once you showcase the product, there are always opportunities to expand usage and apply it to individualized use cases, depending on what you're working on.

I don't know exactly how many users we have across the organization but it is probably fewer than 100.

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?

We have used Visio and have also tried creating process flows in Excel.

Migrating from Visio to Lucidchart was not difficult, as it is a SaaS solution. We are a Google company from a product standpoint, and we used Google integration to assist with the transition. It was pretty seamless.

Being able to import everything from Lucidchart was very important for us because Lucidchart is a collaboration tool. One of the limitations when working with Visio compared to Lucid is it's pretty static, but here, we are able to do the work in real-time. One of the things that really helped with our import is how integrated it is with Google. The learning curve was fairly low in terms of understanding how to use it and share and collaborate using the tool.

How was the initial setup?

I was not involved in the initial setup. When I wanted to start working with it, I was provided with an administrative license to accomplish what we needed.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Lucidchart has good organizational charts for visualizing and understanding team hierarchies and relationships. I always look at it in terms of the other products that are out there and I think one of the close competitors is Visio. But in this situation, I think the fact that Lucidchart has a lot of different features integrated into the solution, enhances ease of use.

For example, if you're using decision planes, it automatically populates with information as you're outlining your business processes. The ability to edit swimlanes and remove swimlanes and keep everything right in front of you, without having to really do too much, makes it a lot simpler to use.

I would definitely say that Lucidchart is a lot more intuitive and a lot easier to use than Visio. I think with Lucidchart, you don't necessarily need to be an expert to use the tool, because it's a little bit more straightforward with fewer opportunities to make mistakes.

What other advice do I have?

I primarily use this product for HR technology. For example, I have not used it to create database schemas or modify existing data instructions. However, I do know that it's being used by the technology team to layout different schemes and things like that.

We use Atlassian products but we haven't integrated Lucidchart directly into them yet, at least on my side of the organization.

We do not use Lucidchart's ability to compare versions of documents because we're constantly working on the same document of a particular type. Essentially, our version control is usually refined to the document that we're working on.

Lucid has other offerings in its product suite. One of them is Lucidspark, and we are looking to compare it against another product that we are currently using. 

Overall, we've been very happy with the product and it is being used across the organization, but there are always opportunities to improve.

I would rate this solution an eight 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
Product Manager at Technogise
Real User
Jun 27, 2021
Enables us to remotely collaborate in real time and be more efficient, but the UI and UX need work
Pros and Cons
  • "Lucidchart is very visual in nature, and it is something that we do use extensively for stakeholder mapping, for example. If you want to build graphs for things like who the decision-makers are in a particular organization, Lucidchart can be used for that."
  • "The team could not operate without it."
  • "There is a premium for the use of certain elements in Lucidchart... It becomes very annoying, especially if you are a first-time user of Lucidchart and you don't have a premium plan. It feels a little too restrictive, in terms of using very basic shapes and icons. It asks you to sign-up for the premium account, which I think shouldn't be the case."
  • "There is a premium for the use of certain elements in Lucidchart, like a drop-down. These features come at a premium and are only accessible in the premium plan."

What is our primary use case?

As a product manager, I often use these infinite canvases for coming up with ideas and  for brainstorming. I also use it for defining workflows of new products or features that we are brainstorming on.

Now that remote working has become so prominent, these types of tools come in handy when you are collaborating with a lot of folks and you need their input quickly, in a manner that is manageable. That is where I have used Lucidchart.

It's a SaaS-based service, through the browser. Things are automatically saved over the cloud.

How has it helped my organization?

We are a very visual organization. We are an Agile team and we practice XP (extreme programming). When we were on the floor in the office, we used to use whiteboards to create and visualize flows. The whiteboard was always stuck in front of the team's table so that we would know where we were up to as a team and the decisions that had been taken on that flow. When we all started working from home, in March 2020, those meetings became extensive and intense. That resulted in a little bit of Zoom fatigue. Being on a call for so long ends up with people tuning out. That is when we started looking at products with infinite canvases, and Lucidchart came in handy. It enabled us, once again, to work as a team. We could sketch out ideas and brainstorm on things collaboratively and comment on things in real time. We could see where and how things are moving in real time. It almost emulates the in-person meetings. Of course, it cannot replace the feeling of being on the same board, writing with felt markers. But it's a good enough replacement. 

The team could not operate without it. We were actually collaborating on Google Slides, which sort of worked. You can obviously edit a Google document in real-time, but it did not give us the same feeling of an infinite canvas, where the team could contribute and people could express their opinions on every step. I wouldn't say it improved the processes that we already had in place, pre-lockdown, but once we started working from home, it certainly aided us in doing something that we used to do. 

The solution also helped us be more efficient because we were using Google Slides. It's efficient in the sense that the information is percolated to everyone better. Everybody is on the same page and that is the most important thing when you are in the development stage of a project. Having everybody rowing in the same direction is very important. With Lucidchart, there is a document that everybody is able to look at and contribute to at the same time. It maintains the document well and in a very lucid manner so that the decisions are very clearly chalked out. That improves efficiency. Every member spends less time figuring out in which document decisions were taken or where that email is where they can get a sense of what the outcome was of a certain meeting. Instead of that, they can just look at Lucidchart and get the answers.

It saves time and money, at the end of the day.

What is most valuable?

The basic valuable feature is the infinite canvas, because that gives you the space to come up with anything. 

There are a few templates as well, for things like brainstorming or coming up with a mind map, although I haven't explored them much. I usually opt for a free-form canvas where I can build my flows from scratch and the team can collaborate at the same time.

Lucidchart is very visual in nature, and it is something that we do use extensively for stakeholder mapping, for example. If you want to build graphs for things like who the decision-makers are in a particular organization, Lucidchart can be used for that. It's a use case for which you might use a Google Doc or a Google Slide, but if you want to get everything on a single canvas, Lucidchart does come in handy.

We design flows and wireframes and models and we put in where the data would flow.  I have used Lucidchart to create the diagrams and flows of system architecture, and how the data would flow downstream and upstream. One thing that I really appreciate about Lucidchart, a standout feature, is that whenever you attach a Google Sheet link, to signify the data flows in a particular sheet, it actually captures a particular DB or Google Sheet with its link. If you double-tap on it, it redirects you to that particular sheet. I don't know if that feature is available in other products. I really like that in Lucidchart. It comes in handy if you don't want to have to bookmark that sheet separately. You can get it from within Lucidchart itself, which helps you to keep everything neatly in one place.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Lucidchart for about two months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have had no issues with the stability. Everything is saved in real time and whenever I access it, what I have worked on is there. I have no complaints. It almost works with the reliability of Google Sheets and Google Docs. Google is the gold standard for real-time saving of edits. Lucidchart is pretty much the same in that respect.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I haven't really thought of Lucidchart in terms of scalability. From an enterprise perspective, if 1,000 or 2,000 people were collaborating on a particular canvas in Lucidchart, it would probably become a mess. It works well for smaller teams, perhaps a maximum of eight to 10 people. Beyond that, it's not really practically possible. Even in physical settings, we do not do whiteboarding with more than 10 people. If there are 20 or 30 people in a meeting, on a whiteboard, it becomes very messy. A small, nimble team, like an XP team or a scrum team, can use Lucidchart.

Whether we will expand our usage depends on how Lucidchart evolves as a product. If the product gains enough momentum and enough industry adoption, where more and more people end up using it, then everybody ends up using it. So it is dependent on the adoption of the product itself and is not necessarily something related to the product's features. If it provides better value through its pricing, people will start adopting it. That is the same curve that we saw with Google Suite. They provided immense value to organizations and now everybody is using Google Suite. There might be better products than Google Suite, but the adoption of Google Suite has spread. In the three organizations I have worked at during my career, I haven't seen any using Microsoft Outlook.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't used their technical support.

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

We tried using draw.io as a stop-gap solution, but that didn't work that well. While draw.io looks very similar to Lucidchart in terms of its UI, I don't think it has evolved much.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was done by our client's organization, so I wasn't involved. But because it is a cloud-based solution, I don't think there was any kind of deployment needed. I expect it is a plug-and-play solution that they paid for and we started using.

It doesn't really require any day-to-day maintenance because everything is stored in the cloud. It doesn't require any kind of configuration.

We have six or seven folks right who are using it. There are developers, people on the QA team, the product manager, and the engineering manager.

What was our ROI?

Right after the lockdown started, meetings were really long. That is when we felt the need to select something like Lucidchart. As a result, on average we have saved one and half hours per day in meeting time. That translates to value.

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

I wasn't involved in the purchase of Lucidchart, but Lucidchart does the same things that other products do, like Miro and MURAL. The way I would make the decision is that if Lucidchart is cheaper than those products I would pick it. Maybe the UI is not the most modern, but it helps you achieve the same goals. If there is a major difference in price, I would definitely go with Lucidchart. Otherwise, I would take Miro or MURAL, because they are more modern looking and have better UIs.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I do really appreciate that Lucidchart is actually on par with draw.io. That is a tool that I have been using for a very long time, and it is a free tool as well. Lucidchart can pretty much do what draw.io can do. It has been structured in a very similar manner. draw.io doesn't give you as many ready-made templates. Lucidchart can pretty much do what you ask of it, in terms of building workflows. draw.io is primarily used for creating architectural diagrams, to show how systems interact in a software program, for example.

But I feel that there is a premium for the use of certain elements in Lucidchart, like a drop-down. These features come at a premium and are only accessible in the premium plan. Most of draw.io's icons and clip art are free. It becomes very annoying, especially if you are a first-time user of Lucidchart and you don't have a premium plan. It feels a little too restrictive, in terms of using very basic shapes and icons. It asks you to sign-up for the premium account, which I think shouldn't be the case. I realize that companies need to make money, but first impressions are important. Without completely communicating the value of the product, people might switch to something else. After a while, my organization did take the premium account, so that problem was solved, at least for me. But this was one of my biggest gripes with Lucidchart in the beginning.

With the unpaid version of Lucidchart, where you can get a feel for the user experience, when you try to drag a premium icon into a chart, a pop-up says that you have to buy the premium account. There is a product called Canva. It's an online platform for designing. Something they do, which is really smart, is that they call out premium elements very clearly in the menus. If something is premium, you already know that you can't use it without a premium account, and that saves you time, instead of ending up with a premium element and seeing a pop-up. In Lucidchart, there's no clear demarcation that something is a premium element, unless you try to bring it into your chart. That is annoying at times.

I have been using a couple of other products, such as Miro, which is also an infinite canvas, as well as MURAL. What I have found is that Miro and MURAL certainly have better UIs compared to Lucidchart. Lucidchart emulates draw.io in terms of its UI. It's a little dated. A user will be able to find their way through Lucidchart and draw.io, but Miro and MURAL have a much more modern look.

Other than the visual aspects, Lucidchart can be used to achieve the same goals as the others when it comes to functionality. You can collaborate on the same canvas in real time and you can see other peoples' cursors.

What other advice do I have?

Collaboration is the key. For teams to move faster, they need to make decisions in real time and keep everybody in the loop. As a scrum team or an XP team, these are the things that we valued even before Lucidchart. But then, we needed something that would aid our discussions in the absence of a whiteboard.

My advice would be to visit product review sites, like IT Central Station, and see how the products in the category compare to each other. You might unearth certain features which are not very evident from a product website itself. Word of mouth is something that
will give you an unbiased opinion. It's actual users who can articulate the value proposition. If your own use case matches that of somebody who has already used it, read the reviews and evaluate it yourself.

Lucidchart is not seen as a tool that can be used for documentation purposes. It is primarily seen as a tool that can come in handy for things like brainstorming and when sketching out new processes. It is basically a replacement for a whiteboard, and the processes that we used to do at the office around that, such as collaboratively sketching. That is what it has replaced. It has not replaced Google Docs or other things that are primarily used for documentation.

We use Lucidchart's Slack integration, so if you share Lucidchart in Slack, it will automatically pop up if you want to share it with somebody who is on Slack. When you want to integrate Lucidchart with Slack, it asks for certain permissions. After that, if you want to share a particular file, it will start showing it to all the people who are on the Slack channel. Once you share that file for collaboration, it pops up on their Slack channel, and they can open it from there. That is a neat feature I would say. But if I had to use some other product that has better features than Lucidchart, but lacked this particular integration, I would be fine with it.

I would rate Lucidchart a seven out of 10. It achieves what it says in the value prop. But there is a lot of scope for improvement in making it easier and more modern in terms of the look and the experience for new users.

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_user1591971 - PeerSpot reviewer
Paid Search Lead Marketer at a wellness & fitness company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Jun 27, 2021
Helps us to realize efficiencies in the projects we use it for
Pros and Cons
  • "There is no alternative to Lucidchart if you want to describe a five-step process with bullet points. I believe every person who ever worked with PowerPoint on any type of documentation and then thought about which tool would actually help to describe what they're trying to do but without the words, would come up with Lucidchart."
  • "This is the one tool I want to use; I don't care how much it costs; it's the best tool for the stuff I'm working on, it fulfills my needs, and for this sake, it can cost 10 times more."
  • "They should make it more user-friendly. The only option is either to use the existing template with already existing colors and gradients. If you want to do custom colors and gradients, then it's too complicated to use and should be simplified."

What is our primary use case?

I mostly use Lucidchart to describe projects, processes, process descriptions, and project flows. I also use it for mind mapping a little bit. I cannot imagine working on a presentation for my manager without using Lucidchart. It's handy. It enables me to clear my mind in terms of how the process should look, what the necessary steps are, what the flow should be, how the flow should look, and all the beautiful stuff.

How has it helped my organization?

Lucidchart definitely helps us to realize efficiencies in the projects we use it for.

There is no alternative to Lucidchart if you want to describe a five-step process with bullet points. I believe every person who ever worked with PowerPoint on any type of documentation and then thought about which tool would actually help to describe what they're trying to do but without the words, would come up with Lucidchart.

I discovered Lucidchart by accident. Someone in my previous company had used it before. I requested access, found it useful, and tried to learn how the tool works. I knew from the beginning, once I learned how to use it, it would be the tool I would want to use forever. It helps every time I need to squeeze a huge amount of information into something short and simple. The flows and diagrams help with exactly that.

What is most valuable?

Documenting things like processes and systems is pretty simple. I open up the blank diagram and start from scratch. In the beginning, it's more like mind mapping, meaning I just put on the screen what I want to achieve, what I have in mind, and then try to figure out what is missing. I consider what the best way to actually describe what I'm working on is, what the dependencies are so that the person I will be presenting it to later will understand what I'm working on. With words, it's all about the economy and time-saving. Lucidchart is a tool that allows me to squeeze a few slides into one slide.

I've been using Lucidchart for three to two years, at least, and I don't remember when the last time was that I was working on a presentation where there were no slides involved. I remember how difficult it was at the beginning. You have one or two slides reserved for you in a presentation for management, and you're trying to squeeze in as much information as possible. You can then play with the formatting. It's annoying that Google slides or PowerPoint don't simply allow you to do the same thing as Lucidchart does. 

Lucidchart is fully integrated with PowerPoint and other documentation tools I'm working with. I know that if I start with Lucidchart and spend some time there, there will be no problem with adding this to Confluence and to PowerPoint presentations.

The integrations are the most valuable features. 

I use templates as a reference, but even if I start with a template, I provide many notifications where the purpose of the template is different. I like the template because of the colors of those flows. The way the flow was presented was nice. It just looked better than anything I could do on my own.

It's important to us that Lucidchart accommodates both PC and Mac. In most cases, I work on a Mac, and the whole company works on the same devices, but there was a moment in time where I was on a PC and I was really happy with the fact that I didn't have to find another tool for the PC.

What needs improvement?

I'm not a designer. Most of the diagrams and flows I create are blank, black, and white. And sometimes I hate it but trying to work with different colors costs me too much time to figure out what color I should use and in what gradient I should use the color. That's the painful part. I would like my matches to do better. I'm trying to learn something from the templates in terms of appearance, but a grading tool, a tool that would allow me to choose between different gradients of the same color is currently unavailable. 

For example, on templates, I see a different set of colors being used, and I don't know which colors there are, which is why I use different templates sometimes. They offer better colors and look better. There's an option to ultimately change the color of your shapes using conditional formatting, but it looks very complicated. I would like to know more. I would like to know how to create those rules easily. At the end of the day, in the last step, I need to pick the color myself. I would like this tool to pick the colors for me.

They should make it more user-friendly. The only option is either to use the existing template with already existing colors and gradients. If you want to do custom colors and gradients, then it's too complicated to use and should be simplified.

If I would like to use the color green for any reason, the tool currently offers three gradients of green. There should be two fewer. It's the same for every other color.

I actually provided this feedback once directly in a survey to them some time ago. The current audience, I understand, based on the templates in Lucidchart, is tech people. I'm a marketer. I have slightly different needs. I want the stuff to look better and have better clarity. I don't need to know how to use a template for Amazon services and how to set up a server or whatever. The set of icons look impressive but are absolutely useless for a marketer.

It would be nice to have something role-based. They should target more people like me, mid-management, people who we need to present a lot, create a lot of documentation, pitch products to other people, explain what the necessary steps are. And I believe this tool is perfect for that. It could also be much simpler than it is right now.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for at least two years but I joined my current company two months ago. I discovered Lucidchart before, in my previous company at least two years ago.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's absolutely stable. I never had any problems with it. I like the fact that sometimes I close the tab or close the whole window and there would be something I didn't save or forgot to save. I reopen the tool, and my stuff is always there, up to date. I love it.

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

I tried using Visio but my experience was horrible. I also used a free solution from GitHub, a mind mapping tool from GitHub. I remember the appreciation for Lucidchart really increased the moment I realized how different it is to combine two shapes. 

I saved a project but then I couldn't access it for some reason. I lost it and had to start from scratch. The customer support said, "It's a free tool, what do we expect?"

I didn't have any expectations from the tools I was using. I just needed an hour with an online tool for free. But then I didn't know that Lucidchart had a free option, so I didn't turn where I needed to go. I didn't use Lucidchart and it was a mistake.

How was the initial setup?

In my first week, there was a presentation. A manager shared his deck with a Lucidchart diagram in it. I immediately recognized the tool and thought that it was great that my new company uses Lucidchart and I didn't have to request it. I tried to open a new account for myself because it was free, and then I saw the presentation and realized that the company uses a paid version, so my account was upgraded immediately.

The CEO and his team use it. I have no idea who else is using it unless I see a chart in a presentation, and this is also why we're not working on this together. When I see the button "Share" it means to me that I'm sharing this tool with other tools, not a person.

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

I forgot how much it costs but if the tech team were to ask if we really needed it and they tried to dump the tool, I would definitely refuse, because I really like it.

This is the one tool I want to use. I don't care how much it costs. It's the best tool for the stuff I'm working on. It fulfills my needs, and for this sake, it can cost 10 times more. I don't care.

What other advice do I have?

We have a different tool for collaboration with our colleagues. If I create a business case and I need some feedback from the data team, I present the flow as I imagined it should look, and then I let the data person or the specialist tell me how to improve it, what needs to be different, and what needs to be changed. But I never thought about allowing anyone to have access to Lucidchart, simply because most of the people, especially the marketers, do not know about Lucidchart.

The transition into using it as a collaboration tool will not happen instantly. I remember there was a period of time when I was simply struggling with how to use the tool, and it took a while until I was capable of presenting my thoughts in an efficient way. And it would be hard to imagine that. For the sake of using the tool, I would have to do a workshop with other colleagues to explain how things work.

We do not use Lucidchart to compare versions of documents. We use Spark for that simply by sending the link to the presentation. I can integrate Lucidchart into presentations or another form of documentation, like on Confluence, but we rarely work on Lucidchart itself. It's just a tool for me where I need to accomplish something and then move it forward, copy and paste it somewhere else. It's not very interactive.

We just saw a presentation someone created and it had 30 different slides. I would just say in one sentence that this presentation could say even more with fewer slides if the person would use Lucidchart instead. PowerPoint or Google slides are not perfect tools. They're just carriers. The content you provide to those slides should be created somewhere else in a more professional way, and Lucidchart is the tool everyone should at least consider using because it speeds up the work. 

Sometimes I use Lucidchart just for myself, to mind map everything I have in my mind to see what exactly is there and how to make it simple. With Lucidchart, you just do step one, step two, step three, done.

I would rate it a nine 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_user1593060 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Software Engineer at Gartner
Real User
Jun 27, 2021
We don't need documentation on how to use it because it is self-explanatory
Pros and Cons
  • "The interface is very good and easy to use. We don't need documentation on how to use it. It is self-explanatory, which is very convenient for a new user."
  • "It is a very interesting tool, I love using this tool and have recommended Lucidchart to my colleague and other developers in different companies because it is a good tool that is easy to use with a good UI and is also easy to understand."
  • "I am not quite sure what different functionalities it provides as well as the difficulties other people are facing. When I have a better understanding of the solution, I will increase my rating of it. No solution is perfect, so I am sure that I will be facing some problems in the future."

What is our primary use case?

I use it to filter data and create data models for applications.

We are in the starting phase. We are going step-by-step. We have just created our data diagram, and there is not much collaboration on this part. When we go to our architecture diagram, we will be having more collaboration.

I have used it for technical purposes and support.

I am still exploring the tool.

How has it helped my organization?

Our team asked me to create a data diagram for our applications. We have different tables in our applications and needed to come up with a diagram depicting the complete data structure in our applications, e.g., what are the different tables that we are using, what are the relationships between them, and how can we improve them. So, Lucidchart should easily help me to complete my work.

There are three more members on our team. We are sharing our document with team members, which is pretty good. Multiple users can add to it and comment on parts, e.g., whatever they want to ask. They can comment on the table structure or diagram. It is very easy to use. This real-time collaboration has saved us time.

What is most valuable?

Creating a collage diagram is the most valuable feature. 

Lucidchart is very good and convenient for creating database structures. I love it.

The interface is very good and easy to use. We don't need documentation on how to use it. It is self-explanatory, which is very convenient for a new user.

It is a very good tool that is easy to use. I can save time when collaborating with team members.

What needs improvement?

I am not quite sure what different functionalities it provides as well as the difficulties other people are facing. When I have a better understanding of the solution, I will increase my rating of it. No solution is perfect, so I am sure that I will be facing some problems in the future.

For how long have I used the solution?

I just started using Lucidchart a month ago.

My team has been using it for a long time. I just started using it.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. I have not faced any difficulties when using it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We are a growing team. My colleagues include managers, a Scrum Master, and a business user. 

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

This is the first time that I am using a tool of this kind, e.g., data modeling. I have never used other tools.

How was the initial setup?

My initial setup was very straightforward. My company already purchased the tool. When I tried to sign in with my company email, they automatically sent me an email with some steps, then I started using it.

It did not take me long to set it up. I just signed up for Lucidchart and my team provided me with the license. It was very easy to use.

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

I work for Gartner. They provide us with an account from the paid version.

What other advice do I have?

It is a very interesting tool. I love using this tool. I would rate it as an eight out of 10.

I have recommended Lucidchart to my colleague and other developers in different companies. It is a good tool that is easy to use with a good UI. It is also easy to understand.

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_user1592004 - PeerSpot reviewer
Change Analyst at a leisure / travel company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Jun 23, 2021
Documents processes and systems and has good visuals
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are the different templates that they have already created, as well as all the different shapes you can use in the process charts because each shape stands for a different element or thing that's being done. It's easy to distinguish between different steps using the already set-out shapes."
  • "Real-time collaboration has definitely saved us time; I haven't had to call people back and forth and make changes like that, whereas we're both just editing in a single document and it saves around an hour or two a day."
  • "In terms of improvement, they should make it very clear, whether it's a single A4 page or two A4 pages, it should be mapped out. Either I don't know how to use it, or it's not there, but having to stick to margins so I can see what's going to be on different pages when I print it or move it to a PDF has been my only challenge so far."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is to document processes in the business organization.

How has it helped my organization?

One way we benefit from it is that multiple different people can be working on a single document and they can also make comments from different points of the process. My manager will comment that something needs to change or be moved. Then I can edit that really easily, see exactly what they're referring to, and understand the changes. It's really collaborative as well.

For me, the biggest thing is that it has a really good visual representation of what's happening. It also easily exports to things like PDF and Microsoft Word so that you can send them easily. The collaborative element and how good the visuals are the best parts for me. I am referring to real-time collaboration among users and also comparing versions of documents.

Real-time collaboration has definitely saved us time. I haven't had to call people back and forth and make changes like that. Whereas we're both just editing in a single document. It saves around an hour or two a day.

The version comparison features are very important. I'll often analyze what the initial process is, and then how it's going to be in a new business situation. It's important to be able to see those changes because they need to be mapped in a different way for the original process. It's very useful.

Lucidchart has helped us to realize inefficiencies. You can see what seems like taking too long or what step in the process doesn't need to be there. It has definitely helped me to identify those and remove steps from a process, make recommendations to the client, and what doesn't need to be done or different areas that can be automated.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are the different templates that they have already created, as well as all the different shapes you can use in the process charts because each shape stands for a different element or thing that's being done. It's easy to distinguish between different steps using the already set-out shapes.

Their ability to document things like processes and systems is a ten out of ten. It's very easy to use and very user-friendly. You don't need a lot of training. I didn't get any training and I could use it from the get-go because everything's very clear. They have the tools you need to make all the changes you need, which are very clear, and a lot of the things just automatically fix up for you. If you drop an arrow, it will automatically connect it to another box, make sure it's straight, and adjust all those sorts of things. It's a massive time saver.

It's great for process flows and workflows because they use swimlane diagrams, which is really helpful. You can see who's responsible for different tasks, and at what different stages in the process they need to do different things. Visually, it's a really good tool to provide to clients and customers. I can clearly see what is happening and it has good use of the different shapes and colors. It's a really good graphic representation.

It's definitely important that Lucidchart accommodates both Mac and PC users. I am a PC user, but occasionally I'll be on a Mac and it's really important to be able to do it on both as well, just because people have their own preferences.

What needs improvement?

In terms of improvement, they should make it very clear, whether it's a single A4 page or two A4 pages, it should be mapped out. Either I don't know how to use it, or it's not there, but having to stick to margins so I can see what's going to be on different pages when I print it or move it to a PDF has been my only challenge so far.

In the next release, I would like to have good roles and responsibilities-type diagrams, like a table that's as a template. Because they have really good templates, but nothing for something like that.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Lucidchart for a few months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've never had a problem accessing it and it always updates quickly and works well.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It could definitely grow. It has been used in lots of different industries and areas. It's a really fantastic platform that, until this company, I didn't know about. I'd definitely use it for other areas of roles at different points in my life, I'm sure.

At this point, Lucidchart is being used all day, every day. I'm probably the main person using it, but there's someone who's a transformation specialist who uses it as well, who's above me. And anyone else who is a team specialist would use it as well.

How are customer service and technical support?

Lucidchart is easy to use so I haven't needed to contact technical support yet. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was super easy, it took me two minutes. I had a username and login, it was all there. My company shared the folders they needed to with me and I had instant access. They just have to give me permission. It really was a very quick process.

What was our ROI?

My company definitely thinks it's worthwhile. It's reasonably priced and they use it very easily and quickly. They recognize how much of a time-saver it is. Whereas, if we would have had to do this manually, in PowerPoint, or something like that, it would take around five times the time, or even more.

If you consider what you pay someone an hour, you've pretty much paid for the annual subscription probably within a week. 

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely advise purchasing it straight away. You will not regret it.

I would rate Lucidchart a ten 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
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Lucidchart Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: October 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Lucidchart Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.