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Lucidchart vs SciFig

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Free plan
Both have one
Public API
Both have one
Higher Trust score
Lucidchart — 90 vs 64 for SciFig
Best fit
Lucidchart: Engineering and ops teams documenting systems · SciFig: Researchers who need a journal-style diagram without illustration skills
Platforms
Lucidchart: Web, iOS, Android · SciFig: Web

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

LucidchartBrowser diagramming for flowcharts, org charts and architecture, with data-linked shapes and AI generation.SciFigTurns a plain-language description into a publication-ready scientific diagram in a chosen journal style.

Side by side

FactLucidchartSciFig
CategoryDiagramming & WhiteboardsDiagramming & Whiteboards
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at—$8.33/mo
Public APIYesYes
Trust score90 / 10064 / 100
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, APIWeb, API
CompanyLucid Software Inc.—
Last verifiedOct 15, 2026Oct 15, 2026

What our research says

Lucidchart

The default choice for team diagramming: data-linked shapes and layers handle diagrams that outgrow a whiteboard tool, and the integration list means the diagram ends up where the work already happens. Per-seat pricing with a three-user minimum on Team makes it expensive for small groups, and Lucid keeps moving the product's URLs around.

Pros

  • Data-linked shapes with conditional formatting
  • Layers for managing dense diagrams
  • Lucid AI generates and summarises diagrams from prompts
  • Over 100 integrations including Jira, Confluence, Slack and AWS

Cons

  • Free tier caps editable documents to a handful
  • Team plan carries a three-seat minimum
  • Per-seat pricing, and published figures differ across Lucid's own pages

SciFig

Handy for researchers who need a clean mechanism or pathway diagram fast and would otherwise fight with a general vector editor. The credit system rewards light, occasional use; anyone producing figures constantly for a lab will burn through the free tier quickly and need to budget for a subscription.

Pros

  • Six input modes and six publication styles to match journal conventions
  • Every element stays editable after generation, not a flat image
  • Exports to PPTX, layered SVG, and 8K PNG/JPG
  • Public API and MCP server for generating figures from code or an AI assistant

Cons

  • Credit-based pricing makes heavy use expensive to predict
  • Company behind the product is not disclosed on the site
  • Best experience requires a desktop browser, not mobile

Which one fits

Choose Lucidchart if you need

  • Engineering and ops teams documenting systems
  • Org charts driven from an HR spreadsheet
  • Companies already on Jira, Confluence or Teams

Choose SciFig if you need

  • Researchers who need a journal-style diagram without illustration skills
  • Turning a described process into an editable figure for a slide deck or paper

Lucidchart vs SciFig: the questions people ask

Is Lucidchart cheaper than SciFig?

SciFig starts at $8.33/mo. Lucidchart has a free tier; what its paid plans cost is not confirmed by us yet.

Does Lucidchart or SciFig have a free tier?

Both: Lucidchart has a free tier, and SciFig has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Lucidchart or SciFig?

Both ship a public API, so either can be built on; the fact table above shows the platforms each one runs on.

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