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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. Lucidchart starts at $7.95, SciFig at $14. Both have a free tier. Only Lucidchart ships a public API.

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$7.95 seat_month$14 month
Public APIYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, APIWeb
CompanyLucid Software Inc.—
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 1, 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

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

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