Lucidchart
Lucidchart is a versatile intelligent diagramming application that empowers you to visualize complex ideas, systems, and processes through collaborative flowcharts, technical maps, and real-time data-linked visuals.
Smaply
Smaply is a visual journey mapping software that helps you centralize customer insights, create detailed personas, and map complex ecosystem maps to improve your overall customer experience strategy.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Lucidchart | Smaply |
|---|---|---|
| Website | lucidchart.com | smaply.com |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 7 days free trial | ✓ 14 days 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 | 2010 | 2012 |
| Headquarters | South Jordan, USA | Innsbruck, Austria |
Overview
Lucidchart
Lucidchart is a visual workspace where you can turn complex ideas into clear, actionable diagrams. Whether you are mapping out a new software architecture, designing a business process, or brainstorming with your team, you can use the drag-and-drop interface to build professional flowcharts and technical models. It helps you bridge the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders by providing a shared visual language that everyone can understand and contribute to instantly.
You can work together in real-time with your colleagues, seeing their cursors move as you co-create diagrams from any device. The platform integrates with your existing tech stack, allowing you to embed diagrams directly into apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Confluence. It scales from individual freelancers to global enterprises, offering a free version for basic needs and tiered paid plans starting at $9.00 per month for advanced features.
Smaply
Smaply is a dedicated journey mapping tool designed to help you visualize and manage your customer experience in one central place. Instead of scattered spreadsheets or static slide decks, you get a dynamic environment where you can build detailed journey maps, develop rich user personas, and visualize stakeholder relationships through ecosystem maps.
You can use the platform to identify pain points in your current service delivery and collaborate with your team to design better future-state experiences. It is particularly effective for UX researchers, service designers, and CX managers in mid-market to enterprise organizations who need to transform raw qualitative data into actionable visual insights that stakeholders can actually understand.
Overview
Lucidchart Features
- Real-Time Collaboration Work simultaneously with your team on the same document with live cursors, in-editor chat, and collaborative commenting.
- Intelligent Shape Libraries Access thousands of shapes for flowcharts, network diagrams, wireframes, and UML models to build professional visuals quickly.
- Data Linking Connect your diagrams to live data in Google Sheets or Excel to see your business metrics update automatically.
- Automated Diagramming Generate complex visuals like org charts or ERDs automatically by importing your existing data files or database schemas.
- Conditional Formatting Apply visual rules to your shapes so they change color or style based on specific data triggers or statuses.
- Extensive Integrations Embed your diagrams into the tools you use daily, including Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, and Atlassian products.
Smaply Features
- Journey Map Editor. Create multi-layered journey maps with text, images, and storyboard icons to visualize every step of your customer's experience.
- Persona Editor. Build detailed profiles of your target users to ensure your team stays focused on real human needs and behaviors.
- Ecosystem Maps. Visualize the complex relationships between stakeholders, processes, and technologies that happen behind the scenes of your service.
- Live Collaboration. Invite your teammates to edit maps in real-time and leave comments to speed up your design and approval process.
- Dynamic Data Linking. Link personas directly to your journey maps so you can see how different segments experience the same service differently.
- Export Options. Generate high-resolution PDF, PNG, or Excel files of your maps to share professional reports with your stakeholders.
Pricing Comparison
Lucidchart Pricing
- 3 editable documents
- 60 shapes per document
- 100 professional templates
- Basic collaboration features
- Integrations with Slack and MS Teams
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited editable documents
- Unlimited shapes and items
- 1 GB of storage
- Premium shape libraries
- Presentation mode
Smaply Pricing
- 1 active project
- 3 journey maps
- 3 personas
- 1 ecosystem map
- Basic export options
- Everything in Free, plus:
- 3 active projects
- Unlimited journey maps
- Unlimited personas
- Unlimited ecosystem maps
- Premium export formats
Pros & Cons
Lucidchart
Pros
- Extremely intuitive drag-and-drop interface for all users
- Excellent real-time collaboration tools for remote teams
- Massive library of pre-built templates and shapes
- Works seamlessly across different operating systems and browsers
Cons
- Free version is quite limited for complex projects
- Mobile app experience is less fluid than desktop
- Can become laggy with very large, data-heavy diagrams
Smaply
Pros
- Intuitive drag-and-drop interface for quick mapping
- Professional export quality for stakeholder presentations
- Specialized tools for personas and ecosystem maps
- Generous free tier for individual practitioners
Cons
- Learning curve for complex multi-lane maps
- Limited integrations with external data sources
- Performance can slow down with very large maps