I use Visio for pretty much all of my landscape diagrams and for anything for management reporting, particularly on the technical side.
Executive Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Provides a lot of options and functionality for technical reporting
Pros and Cons
- "It is ideal for putting out flowcharts and swim charts. It's really good. It has all the various options to use, particularly depending on what kind of audience you have. It provides you different kinds of options to insert the pictures and explain things."
- "One thing that I always felt was missing was the ability to integrate with other Microsoft products, particularly with things like SharePoint or other Excel Office tools. It may be available, but it is not as good as it could be."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
Visio has been something that I've been using for many, many years. It is ideal for putting out flowcharts and swim charts. It's really good. It has all the various options to use, particularly depending on what kind of audience you have. It provides you different kinds of options to insert the pictures and explain things. It really suited my requirements and I love it.
I have been able to get most of my things done using what's already been provided. It comes with a lot of functionality.
Another good thing I like about it is that it is already in the cloud. It's well integrated and I don't have any additional requirements at this point.
What needs improvement?
One thing that I always felt was missing was the ability to integrate with other Microsoft products, particularly with things like SharePoint or other Excel Office tools. It may be available, but it is not as good as it could be. There are some other tools that are very well integrated, but maybe they bought the product from a different company but it looks like the integration is not as seamless as other products that I work with.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Visio for many years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I really have not encountered any issues. It is very simple to use. I never had formal training or anything of that kind. I just started using it and I learned it as I was using it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of scalability, Visio is single user, right? There's no challenge in terms of scalability.
It's open for everybody. It's a part of a package that we negotiated as a part of our licensing agreement with Microsoft. It's available to more or less all the users.
How are customer service and support?
We have Microsoft support but I have never had a need to reach them. I think they're doing a pretty good job. There is a quarterly business review that we do for any issues that we have. That's not for Visio as such, but it is for all the enterprise products that we have from Microsoft.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have never used anything else. I've always been using Visio.
We have multiple options available in the organization and Visio is one of them that I use. Of course, I use a lot of PowerPoint too, but Visio is among my favorite ones.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't know pricing in particular for Visio, but since it is a deal that is negotiated, I'm assuming it's good. It's a part of the package that we have from Microsoft for all the tools that we procured from them.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to anyone would be to try it out. Not many people are very familiar with it. A lot of people probably use PowerPoint. All the people who use PowerPoint should try it out, particularly if you are using a lot of detailed pictures. It's good for the techies, primarily for explaining things to the management. I think people who are into the techno-functional and mid-management level, who also have a technical background and are moving up to the management roles, it's a great tool for those people. It is pretty flexible. It provides a lot of options and it is very user friendly and it definitely provides a lot of value.
Particularly for enterprise architects and for people who are looking at drawings or putting together landscape diagrams and trying to document things at a high level, it is very good. Not necessarily at a very granular level, but at a high level, it's a great tool.
On a scale of one to ten, for me Visio is a 10. I don't think I've ever encountered a situation where I couldn't do something with it.
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?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Lead architect at Tech Mahindra Limited
Useful and easy to use
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is how easy it is to use."
- "Visio could be improved by adding more features. If you look at draw.io, they have more features. Also, if you want to design something for the cloud, Microsoft Azure still isn't enabled, so you need to install the plugin. This prototype is easily available, though."
What is our primary use case?
My primary use case is for designing the architecture diagram and the network diagram.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is how easy it is to use.
What needs improvement?
Visio could be improved by adding more features. If you look at draw.io, they have more features. Also, if you want to design something for the cloud, Microsoft Azure still isn't enabled, so you need to install the plugin. This prototype is easily available, though.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for almost ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is quite good. There is not much maintenance really required. If it's on your desktop and something goes wrong, it is usually available to repair again. You don't need anyone else to maintain it.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used the Sparx System Enterprise Architect, but my experience with it was limited. It was discontinued because they stopped the licensing.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was straightforward. It takes about five to ten minutes and you can do it yourself.
What about the implementation team?
I implemented myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I pay for the license and it is very expensive. If you're only going to use this tool from time to time, you can save money by just using the available online tools. But if you plan on using it heavily, then it's worth it to invest.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this product an eight out of ten. I recommend this product to others because it's a useful tool for designers and architects.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Visio
September 2025

Learn what your peers think about Visio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
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Group DWH and BI Senior Manager at Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa
Easy to use, flexible, and responsive support
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to understand with some hands-on experience."
- "Microsoft should include Visio as part of their Office 365 offering."
What is our primary use case?
Visio is mainly used for documentation purposes. For example, drawing flow charts or network diagrams. It can also be used for defining schemas or application development.
In my organization, people from multiple departments use it, especially the IT team. They prepare documentation on the network architecture. Additionally, the data team uses it to create flow charts, sequence diagrams, and schemas.
What is most valuable?
The solution is easy to understand with some hands-on experience.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft should include Visio as part of their Office 365 offering.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Visio for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable and flexible.
We have approximately 15 people using the solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
Microsoft technical support is convenient. They have an online community for Visio and if we have created a ticket with the support they always respond promptly. We have not had any problems with the support.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is easy, it only takes approximately five minutes. You only need to go to the vendor website and download an executable file and then it is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation ourselves. The solution does not require a technical team for implementation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You can purchase a corporate license for more users to use the solution. We have purchased a stand-alone license and which could be cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Visio a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Sr. Industrial Hygienist at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Helps with organization by facilitating diagramming of complex procedures
Pros and Cons
- "It works really well for flowcharting, it can label."
- "It should be easier to transition into a new version without having to spend so much time in just one area."
What is our primary use case?
I am a health and safety professional. I use it for flowcharting, but I also use it for drawing diagrams.
I will do a technical assessment of a workplace scenario of equipment as well as noise measurements, and I will use Visio to draw out the scale.
There are many images that you can put in there and data to create images of workplace exposures.
How has it helped my organization?
It has improved the way our organization functions.
It's a tool that helped me diagram complex procedures. More as a picture versus words.
It also for training and letting other people know how to do that same procedure.
What is most valuable?
It works really well for flowcharting, it can label.
Also, being able to pull the finished drawing out and put it in a Word document is easy, and very useful.
It allowed me to do some things and save them really well. And I found many different things to do with it. It's beyond flowcharting.
The latest version has taken some transitioning and it's a bit of a workaround, but it's also been good. I found the ctrl 1,2,3 buttons that I didn't know about and have been very useful. If you hit ctrl 3 it lets you do your line draw.
What needs improvement?
I just uploaded the latest version and using it now, and I'm struggling with it. It's very different than the other version I have used, and I haven't done any tutorials.
The previous version was easier. It was easy to intuitively figure out what it did. I learned it on my own and it didn't require the review of tutorials. But with this updated version, I am definitely struggling with it. I need to go through the training and go through the tutorials. So far it seems more complex, but maybe it's just different.
It may handle images well, but I don't know yet. It is something that I would like to see in this solution.
It should be easier to transition into a new version without having to spend so much time in just one area. Providing information on what has changed and how to do it would be very helpful.
I would like the option of going back to the way of doing things in the previous version. I don't understand the block system. I had the favorites that I have to build again because somehow they got lost with the upgrade.
In my favorites, I had shapes, fans, and other things. You pull up all of your basic images or search for them, and you could drag them over into your diagram.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Visio for approximately eight years.
We are using the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have not had any issues with stability. It's a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is easy to scale this solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have never contacted technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, I did not use another solution. It was a discovery.
I came across Visio, I saw what I could do with it, and I just continued to expand my uses.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. With this new version, it is a bit confusing.
With the previous version, I was able to have all of my favorites, I was able to pull objects and do an arrow as a connector, and I had to stop and learn how to do that.
I like the way it was earlier, but it could be just my learning curve.
What other advice do I have?
If you have a need for flowcharting, organizing, or creating diagrams, I think you should check it out. It's worthwhile.
Based on my previous experience with the previous versions, I would rate Visio a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Business Process Manager at a maritime company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Flexible and easy to use, but it should have a better connection to the workflow
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the set of diagramming tools."
- "The big downside to Visio is that it's very difficult to push the design through to Power Automate, to become a workflow that you can use."
What is our primary use case?
I primarily use Visio for creating mind maps and other visualizations.
I also use it for process modeling, but we are searching for a specific business process modeler because Visio doesn't have the full scope of capability that we need.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the set of diagramming tools.
It is quite flexible and easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The big downside to Visio is that it's very difficult to push the design through to Power Automate, to become a workflow that you can use.
The process modeling capability would benefit from a quick modeler tool, such as one where you use a table that is populated using the BPMN 2.0 format.
In the future, I would like to see a connection with the workflow so that you can create your model and then execute it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Visio for about ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is something that needs to be improved.
The models are not linked together, so unless you're using SharePoint or you've defined your own workflow, there is no version control. This makes it more difficult to collaborate, link models, and make sure that everybody is using the latest version. Essentially, you have to build your own framework from scratch in order to do that.
We have about 100 users, most of which are end-users. It requires minimal administration.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not had to contact the vendor for support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
This was the first proper diagramming tool that we have used.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. Our IT department installed it, and I think that it took a couple of hours to deploy.
What about the implementation team?
Our in-house team is responsible for the deployment, maintenance, and providing support.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Our license for Visio is including with the Office 365 subscription.
What other advice do I have?
This is a product that I can recommend, albeit for limited use. If you just want to draw basic models and create systems diagrams, and not do anything too clever and link it together, then it will work well because it's quite flexible and easy to use.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Principal Consultant at Lexington Consulting
Provides a quick way to spruce up client reports and proposals with rudimentary yet impactful visuals.
Pros and Cons
- "Visio has improved my workflow by making it easy to create charts, diagrams, and basic illustrations that I can use in my client reports and proposals. It has saved me a lot of time I would otherwise spend creating visuals for clients by hand."
- "There could be better integration between Visio and Word, especially when it comes to importing graphics from the one to the other."
What is our primary use case?
I use Visio when I'm writing a client report in Microsoft Word, and I want to put in a simple graphic to supplement the text or better explain something. Visio's graphics are not complicated. They're quick and easy to create, so I use them mainly for what I would call static graphics, like simple charts and diagrams.
How has it helped my organization?
Visio has improved my workflow by making it easy to create charts, diagrams, and essential illustrations to use in my client reports and proposals. It has saved me a lot of time I would otherwise spend creating visuals for clients manually.
What is most valuable?
One of the most valuable features is the online support from Microsoft. Whenever I'm stuck with a problem, I can contact customer support. They will almost certainly get back to me within a reasonable time frame. They're good with that.
It is easy to use online tutorials and training videos provided by Microsoft and elsewhere, such as on YouTube. So, if I want to create a new diagram, add some shapes, or increase the weight of a connection from one object to another in my graph, I can easily find out how to do that.
Another aspect that I enjoy is the seamless online integration. For example, there's the ability to download all sorts of extras like different shapes, stencils, objects, etc., for free directly from Microsoft into Visio. Also, I like that you can drag and drop online pictures straight from the Web into Visio.
What needs improvement?
There could be better integration between Visio and Word, especially when it comes to importing graphics from one to the other. Visio's graphics don't seem to play well with other applications. Sometimes I move a business process graphic to a Word document. It doesn't copy the picture correctly, or it leaves some of the connectors off. Or it puts the wrong one in or changes the font for no apparent reason. That's a pain in the neck, and it's one of my biggest complaints about Visio.
Moreover, when I connect a caption to a drawing and move the drawing, sometimes the caption gets left behind. And if you shrink the size of a drawing, I'd like Visio to scale the font automatically. Small details like this would significantly improve the product.
Aesthetically speaking, the graphics can be a bit crude and simplistic. The graphics are sufficient for most purposes, though dated in their appearance. Visio is a static program that tries to keep things simple for most users. However, I would appreciate it if Microsoft made an allowance for at least slightly more complicated graphics. As they are now, they do not inspire or motivate interest in the subject. People don't look at the graphics and say, "Wow, that's a great graphic." They look at it and say, "Uh-huh, move on. Next!" It's a lot of the sameness.
I would also love to see Visio with a more intuitive and reliable data linking feature. I shouldn't have to program or develop any complicated code. Just press a button, connect to the spreadsheet, and update it. For me, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You should trust your application so that when you need it to link, it links. It would help to know that Visio is using the latest data, mainly because you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of a customer with wrong or outdated data especially when you have a time crunch and have little time to verify if an application worked as you wish it would.
I like dynamic programs. I want to take inputs from other places and have the application automatically update my chart and know that it's correct. And not only do I want it updated, but I wish to document updates, so I can see what updates were selected and used. So, if the document references a spreadsheet or an Access database, it shows where the data came from, what version it is, and the date. If you're doing a nice bar chart in Visio and you want all the bells and whistles, you can see the source material and revision of the chart so that you don't have to go back and say, "Is this right?"
I want to create my objects and my object library more easily. I think you can do some of that, but it's not that simple. I haven't had a lot of experience creating objects, but when I did tried, it was awkward.
The support is okay, though not super great; I wouldn't expect it to be. Visio is not a program where you need a lot of hand-holding for most tasks. It's quite suitable for those who want to drag and drop, so support isn't too crucial, though there is room for improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Visio since it first came out in the early 1990s. It hasn't improved much in that time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable. I have never had a crash in Visio ever.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
For my use case, there's not much need to scale it up in any meaningful sense. When I'm writing a proposal or preparing a report for a client, I try only to put in a sufficient number or well-considered graphics to get my point across.
I typically create my graphics and place them in a Word document. And then I hope they stay together as I move things around during the editing and review processes. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. So, in terms of scalability and accuracy, Microsoft could improve integration and consistency between their Office applications.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't had to use technical support very often at all over the years. I might have used it only once or twice in the past twenty-something years. I'd rate the support I received as a five out of ten. Not too good, not too bad. Thankfully, they've gotten rid of a lot of the need for that kind of tech support by putting better help and documentation online.
Microsoft offers training videos online that teach the basics of Visio well enough. I can also go on YouTube if there's something unique or unusual that I need to do. Frequently, somebody's already done it, and I can quickly learn how they did it.
Suppose you do want technical support. In that case, Microsoft has a reasonably active Visio user group. However, it's not real-time help, and you may have to wait a little while for a response. If you want somebody to help you live, you're going to have to pay a third-party company for that kind of support. I don't use Visio so much that it's worth going that route.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used a similar solution to Visio many years ago, designed for business flowcharts and business processing. The company that built the software went out of business.
How was the initial setup?
It's easy to get started with mocking-up simple flow charts and diagrams. Still, it can get very complicated when setting out anything a bit more detailed—especially when getting titles, labels, and font sizes to match up. Suppose you want to make a custom organizational chart or a product line chart with all the details and specifications. In that case, I suspect you'll need to set aside some time to learn the user interface more thoroughly.
What about the implementation team?
In-house.
What was our ROI?
I haven't actually calculated an ROI, but I would approximate that I save at least two hours' time of cumulative manual effort for each graphic built with Visio.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing process is a breeze. Buy the license and download the application from Microsoft. Enter the license key in Visio to activate the software.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No. I've used Visio for many years. It does what we need it to do and is good enough for the simple graphics we use, but perhaps, we could improve our graphics if we had a more dynamic and creative graphics application.
What other advice do I have?
I like to call Visio a program for the graphically impaired. I use it because I hate spending lots of time preparing graphics, especially when our clients don't spend a lot of time studying them. I would recommend skipping any fancier alternatives unless your business demands it. Most people might benefit from adding quality visuals to their documents but don't have design skills. In that case, I recommend using Visio instead.
As long as you don't have excessive expectations, it will do what you need it to do and do it for a reasonable cost.
I would rate Visio an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technical Sales Specialist at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Provides good stability, but its scalability needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "The product is stable."
- "The product only functions well professionally, with adding additional software for configuration."
What is our primary use case?
We use the product for business modeling and workflow design.
What needs improvement?
The product only functions well professionally, with adding additional software for configuration.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been Visio for more than 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is only scalable if utilized with additional software.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. However, it only fits a professional approach if you add additional software. It can be deployed on-premises and on the cloud.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Visio a seven out of ten. I recommend it for beginners. However, I advise others to use it along with additional software.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Lead Enterprise Domain Architects at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
A very easy-to-use tool that provides stability to its users at an affordable price
Pros and Cons
- "Visio is a very easy tool in general, making it easy for anyone to understand."
- "The export and import functionality from Visio to other tools and the import and export functionality from other tools to Visio are areas with shortcomings."
What is our primary use case?
Visio is used as a diagramming software for ITM.
What is most valuable?
Visio is a very easy tool in general, making it easy for anyone to understand.
What needs improvement?
Visio is a very good product.
The export and import functionality from Visio to other tools and the import and export functionality from other tools to Visio are areas with shortcomings. Widening the export and import functionality of Visio will be a great improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Visio for twenty years. I am using the solution's latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Visio is a very stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is used to buy a single user at a time because it is meant to be client-side software, so scalability does not apply to it.
For my company, we have around one hundred licenses.
I don't know what the license cost is, but we are not planning to extend the usage of the solution in our company.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I had previously used Sparx Enterprise Architect. Every company has its own standards, which is why you use what is meant for the company, provided by the company, which is not a big deal.
How was the initial setup?
Visio's setup phase was very straightforward and easy. I bought a license to use Visio at my home.
An hour at the most was needed to deploy the solution.
One needs just to purchase the license and download it from the internet as a part of the deployment process.
The solution is deployed on-premises.
What about the implementation team?
The installation phase of Visio was carried out in-house.
What was our ROI?
I never calculated the ROI, but Visio provides me with far better than what I am paying.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My company does pay toward the licensing costs of Visio. It is a cheap product based on my experience, and since I purchased Visio for my own use.
What other advice do I have?
To those planning to use it, I would say that it is the simplest tool.
Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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