We use the solution mainly for designing purposes. It helps us design activity charts, sequential charts, and other diagrams.
Integration developer at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Initial setup is straightforward, but customer support service needs to be improved
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is finely stable."
- "Its support team could be well-equipped with the required information."
What is our primary use case?
What needs improvement?
They should improve the solution's customer support service.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for more than twenty years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is finely stable.
Buyer's Guide
Visio
January 2026
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881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's customer service team could be well-equipped with the required information.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used PowerDesigner earlier.
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You have to purchase a license to use the solution.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the solution as a six.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Operations Manager Uganda at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
It's flexible and comes with icons, plus it gives you more powerful options when creating diagrams
Pros and Cons
- "What I like best about Visio is that it's flexible. Sometimes, if I need to draw quickly, I use Microsoft PowerPoint, but if I need icons, which Visio has, I use Visio. I also like that the solution gives me a much more powerful range of options."
- "The improvement I want to see in Visio is being able to edit it more quickly, particularly when pulling it out of another software and then editing it on that non-Visio software. Currently, the process affects the overall performance because it's not as quick as I want it to be."
What is our primary use case?
I'm into designing, so I'm using Visio for creating diagrams. Mostly it's for network, architecture, or data flow diagrams, depending on what the customers need.
What is most valuable?
What I like best about Visio is that it's flexible.
Sometimes, if I need to draw quickly, I use Microsoft PowerPoint, but if I need icons, which Visio has, I use Visio.
I also like that the solution gives me a much more powerful range of options.
What needs improvement?
The improvement I want to see in Visio is being able to edit it more quickly, particularly when pulling it out of another software and then editing it on that non-Visio software. Currently, the process affects the overall performance because it's not as quick as I want it to be.
If I were to add a new feature in Visio, and if I went wild, it's the feature of creating new diagrams from Visio, even if I'm on another document. If Visio is running in the background while I have another document open, it would be interesting to be able to draw diagrams on that document.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Visio for a few years now.
How are customer service and support?
I didn't contact the Visio technical support team, and from what I know, the IT team didn't have to contact support either. Once, there was a bug, and the IT team couldn't do the installation until the next day, but even then, there was no need to contact the Visio support team. As a product, it's intuitive.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up Visio is easy because you just need to check the block, click, and then it'll be set up, but that's because my company uses Microsoft 365. Setup-wise, I'm rating it as eight out of ten.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm not involved in the licensing of Visio for my company. However, for Visio licenses for my customers, I am.
What other advice do I have?
Around fifty people use Visio within my company.
People in the company use Visio whenever necessary, but I use it more frequently. I talk to customers a lot, and I'm part of the sales process, which means I need to create diagrams, so I use Visio a few times a week. My usage is usually greater than other developers in my company.
I don't have any particular advice for people who want to use the solution, but Visio is a user-friendly product and easy to use.
My rating for Visio is eight out of ten because it's a good product.
My company is a Microsoft user.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Visio
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Visio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.
SQL Server Developer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Stable and lets you create data models and diagrams
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Visio is diagram creation. If you have a presentation, you can create your data model using Visio."
- "An area for improvement in Visio is pricing. It's a costly tool for my company because it only uses Visio occasionally."
What is our primary use case?
The company uses Visio for a maintenance project occasionally. I use Visio for infrastructure architecture and create data models on it.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Visio is diagram creation. If you have a presentation, you can create your data model using Visio. The tool has Microsoft components you can find in Microsoft Power BI, particularly the drag-and-drop functionality and link creation between the two components.
What needs improvement?
An area for improvement in Visio is pricing. It's a costly tool for my company because it only uses Visio occasionally.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've only used Visio four or five times in the ten years it's been in my company.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, Visio is an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I didn't see the option to scale Visio because it's one user at a time and installed on your local machine, so I'm not sure about its scalability.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for Visio is easy because it's a Microsoft product.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Visio is a pricey tool. It's a five out of ten, cost-wise. It would be great if it had a pay-per-use licensing model because my company uses it sparingly. If Visio had a two-day use license, that would be helpful.
What other advice do I have?
My company uses Visio, but not very frequently.
My rating for Visio is eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Executive Director at a non-profit with 51-200 employees
It's stable and the setup is straightforward, but the price is too high for some South American markets
Pros and Cons
- "Installing Visio is straightforward."
- "The price could be lower because it is too expensive in South America when paying in dollars or euros."
What is our primary use case?
I use Visio to go to meetings on Zoom.
For how long have I used the solution?
I use Visio all the time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Visio is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Visio is scalable.
How was the initial setup?
Installing Visio is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price could be lower because it is too expensive in South America when paying in dollars or euros.
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.
Facility director at a aerospace/defense firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Very fluid, very interactive, designed to reduce the manual work for basic flowcharts
Pros and Cons
- "Very interactive with an intuitive interface."
- "As a user, it, unfortunately, lacks recognition by Microsoft products."
What is our primary use case?
My primary use case of this solution is for process mapping and a little for organizational charts. We are customers of Visio.
What is most valuable?
The solution has a fairly intuitive interface. When it comes to process mapping, the best thing about it is that it's already configured for swim lanes and for drag and drop and easy manipulation of the objects and connection lines. It makes it a very easy-to-use solution. In comparison, if you're using PowerPoint, you have to manually size things and then adjust the font and it's very tedious trying to get everything connected. In contrast, Visio is very fluid, very interactive, and designed with features that reduce the manual work for basic flowcharts.
What needs improvement?
As a user, it would be helpful if Visio was in a native format recognized by Microsoft Word products, but that's not the case.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this product for 20 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. We're a global company although I'm not sure how many in the company use this product on a regular basis.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward and the solution is intuitive enough that you can begin using it immediately.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution eight out of 10.
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.
Power Electronics Engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
User-friendly with a good interface and fairly simple installation
Pros and Cons
- "The scalability is good. We can reuse it as a model. It can be modified."
- "I can't speak to any missing features. It's been fine so far."
What is our primary use case?
I'm using only this tool for our full architecture block diagram development. We're using it for our action projects, what are we are running.
How has it helped my organization?
It's a part of our process where architecture and detailed document development are needed. That's it. From the architecture and flow diagram preparation perspective, when it comes to detailing the documentation before implementing other components can be done in Visio.
What is most valuable?
The solution is stable.
The scalability is good. We can reuse it as a model. It can be modified.
The tool is user-friendly.
We are able to bring out what we want in terms of our architectural or detailed block diagrams.
The installation is easy.
I'm now used to the user interface. I like it.
What needs improvement?
I can't speak to any missing features. It's been fine so far.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for a while.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable and the performance is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found the solution to be scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so.
Most people in our organization use the solution. It is meant for all engineers and then architects. Managers also use it when it comes to representing some project flow processes from the point of view of management.
How are customer service and support?
We haven't dealt with technical support. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are.
How was the initial setup?
The initial implementation is very easy. However, I cannot recall how long it took to actually deploy it.
What about the implementation team?
Our IT team handled the implementation in-house. We did not need outside assistance from integrators or consultants.
What was our ROI?
It's just a supporting tool. I can't speak to any direct ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
While I know that we do have to pay a licensing fee, I can't speak to the exact details. I don't handle that aspect. I'm not sure if there are extra costs on top of the license itself.
What other advice do I have?
We're a customer and an end-user.
We're using the latest version of the solution.
I'd recommend the solution. It's always a useful tool. Instead of using other drawing tools, I'd say that this one is likely the best option.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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?
I use Visio for pretty much all of my landscape diagrams and for anything for management reporting, particularly on the technical side.
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.
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 a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
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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Updated: January 2026
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