Creately
Creately is a visual collaboration platform that combines whiteboarding, diagramming, and data-driven modeling to help teams plan, design, and manage complex workflows and systems in a single workspace.
Figma
Figma is a collaborative interface design tool that allows teams to create, test, and ship designs together in real-time through a browser-based platform for modern product teams.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Creately | Figma |
|---|---|---|
| Website | creately.com | figma.com |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 7 days free trial | ✘ No free trial |
| Free Plan | ✓ Has free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2008 | 2012 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia | San Francisco, USA |
Overview
Creately
Creately provides you with a flexible infinite canvas where you can brainstorm ideas, design complex systems, and manage entire projects visually. Unlike basic drawing tools, it uses a data-linked approach that allows you to attach metadata, tasks, and statuses to any shape or icon. This means your diagrams aren't just static pictures; they become living documents that track progress and store critical information for your entire team.
You can jumpstart your work with thousands of specialized templates for IT architecture, HR planning, software engineering, and marketing strategy. The platform supports real-time multi-user editing, allowing you to follow your colleagues' cursors as you build out wireframes or flowcharts together. Whether you are mapping out a simple process or architecting a massive cloud infrastructure, it scales to meet your technical requirements while remaining simple enough for non-technical users.
Figma
Figma is a collaborative design platform where you can build interfaces, prototypes, and design systems in a single, shared workspace. Unlike traditional desktop tools, it runs in your browser, meaning you and your teammates can work on the same file simultaneously without worrying about version control or file syncing. You can move from initial brainstorming in FigJam to high-fidelity UI design and interactive prototyping without ever switching applications.
It solves the friction between design and engineering by providing a single source of truth for your entire product team. You can share live links with stakeholders for instant feedback and use Dev Mode to give developers everything they need to translate designs into code. Whether you are a solo freelancer or part of a global enterprise, it scales to meet your needs with a robust free plan and advanced organization features.
Overview
Creately Features
- Infinite Canvas Expand your workspace in any direction to map out large-scale systems and complex project timelines without hitting boundaries.
- Data-Linked Shapes Add custom data fields and task statuses to your diagrams to turn simple shapes into actionable project items.
- Real-Time Collaboration Work simultaneously with your team on the same canvas and see everyone's changes instantly with live cursor tracking.
- Smart Connectors Create professional flowcharts faster with automated connectors that snap into place and stay aligned as you move objects.
- Multi-Perspective Views View the same data as a Kanban board, a roadmap, or a technical diagram without redrawing your work.
- Extensive Template Library Access over 10,000 professional templates for everything from AWS architecture to organizational charts and value stream maps.
Figma Features
- Real-time Collaboration. Work together on the same design file simultaneously with your team and see changes happen instantly in your browser.
- Advanced Auto Layout. Create responsive designs that automatically resize as you add content or change screen sizes, saving you hours of manual adjustments.
- Interactive Prototyping. Turn your static designs into clickable prototypes with realistic transitions and animations to test user flows before writing code.
- Shared Design Systems. Build and manage a library of reusable components and styles to ensure visual consistency across all your company projects.
- Dev Mode. Give your developers a dedicated space to inspect designs, grab CSS snippets, and export assets without changing the original file.
- FigJam Whiteboarding. Brainstorm ideas, map out user journeys, and run retrospective meetings with your team using an online whiteboard built for collaboration.
Pricing Comparison
Creately Pricing
- 3 Canvas documents
- Limited shapes and library
- Basic collaboration features
- Folder management
- Storage up to 100MB
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited canvas documents
- Unlimited shapes and libraries
- 5GB cloud storage
- High-resolution image exports
- Priority email support
Figma Pricing
- 3 Figma and 3 FigJam files
- Unlimited personal files
- Unlimited collaborators
- Mobile app for viewing
- Basic prototyping
- Everything in Starter, plus:
- Unlimited Figma files
- Unlimited version history
- Shared team libraries
- Private projects
- Advanced prototyping
Pros & Cons
Creately
Pros
- Extensive library of specialized shapes and templates
- Unique ability to link data to visual elements
- Intuitive drag-and-drop interface for quick diagramming
- Affordable pricing compared to major competitors
- Strong real-time collaboration for remote teams
Cons
- Performance can lag on very large diagrams
- Mobile app experience is less fluid than desktop
- Steeper learning curve for advanced data features
Figma
Pros
- Seamless real-time collaboration for remote teams
- Browser-based access works on any operating system
- Powerful auto-layout features for responsive design
- Excellent community marketplace for plugins and templates
Cons
- Requires a stable internet connection to work
- Performance can lag with very large files
- Learning curve for advanced prototyping features