Flowchart software turns the logic of a process into a visual sequence of actions, decisions, and handoffs. With Creately, teams can build online flowcharts, review them together, spot missing steps, clarify ownership, and keep processes current as they change. Common uses include:
You can create process flowcharts, swimlane flowcharts, decision trees, workflow diagrams, user flows, system flowcharts, onboarding flows, and PRISMA flow diagrams. Start with a template, a blank canvas, or an AI-generated draft, then customize every step and branch.
A good flowchart tool should make it quick to add and rearrange steps, keep connectors readable, support standard flowchart symbols, and let teammates review the same diagram together without creating duplicate files.
Operations teams use the flowchart builder for SOPs and process improvement, product and engineering teams map user flows and system logic, and HR teams create onboarding, approval, and training workflows.
Yes. Creately's flowchart app lets teams build online flowcharts together, comment directly on the diagram, and share view, comment, or edit access so feedback stays connected to the process.
Why teams switch
Creately removes the repetitive drawing work and keeps the context people need attached to the diagram. That means less time formatting boxes and more time improving how the work gets done.
Describe the process in plain language and the AI Flowchart Generator drafts the shapes, connectors, and branches for you to refine.
Add the next shape and connector in one click instead of dragging, dropping, and lining things up by hand.
Insert a step mid-flow and the connectors re-route themselves — no chasing broken lines after a change.
Attach owners, instructions, links, and files to individual steps so people can act on the process, not just view it.
One click adds the next shape and connector already aligned, so you're not dragging, dropping, and manually lining things up for every step.
They re-route automatically, so adding or removing a step doesn't leave broken or crossed lines behind.
It runs continuously as you build, keeping spacing and alignment clean even as a simple flow grows into a dense, branching one.
Yes — every shape, connector, and label stays fully editable, so automation speeds up the first pass without locking in the result.
AI Flowchart Generator
Describe the participants, steps, decisions, and outcome in plain language. Creately AI turns them into a structured flowchart you can check, correct, expand, and style. AI gives you a head start; your team keeps control of the final process.
"New hire completes paperwork, IT provisions laptop, manager runs first-week check-in."
Generate flowchart →Yes — describing a decision point in plain language (e.g. "if approved... if rejected...") is enough for the generator to add the diamond shape and both branches.
Usually just light edits — relabeling a step or adjusting a branch — since the generator handles shape choice, connectors, and layout automatically.
A plain-language description of the process works best — the steps involved, who's responsible for each, and any decisions or branches along the way.
Yes — once generated, it's a normal editable diagram, so Quick-Create, auto layout, and manual adjustments all still apply.
Flowchart software compared
They differ most in how each flowchart tool behaves during day-to-day building and editing — not in feature lists. The table highlights where Creately’s flowchart builder reduces manual work and keeps complex online flowcharts structured as they change.
Creately Creately Creately CreatelyCreately's free plan covers the full shape library and templates with no card required, and paid tiers are generally positioned below Lucidchart and Miro for comparable team features.
Miro is built first for whiteboarding, so flowchart layout and connector routing stay manual; Creately is built for flowcharts, so auto layout and re-routing happen as you edit.
draw.io is free and simple but offers limited real-time collaboration compared to Creately, which supports live cursors, comments, and simultaneous editing.
Visio remains common in enterprises already on Microsoft tooling, but cloud-based tools like Creately typically offer easier real-time collaboration and no desktop install.
Start from a template
Pick one close to your process in the flowchart creator, then tailor it — every shape, label, and branch stays editable, giving you a faster way to create polished online flowcharts without starting from scratch.
Yes — shapes, labels, colors, and branches on any template stay fully editable, so it's a starting structure rather than a fixed layout.
Match it to the shape of the process — a Basic Flowchart for a simple linear sequence, or a Complex Process Flowchart if multiple decision points are involved.
Yes — a finished flowchart can be saved as a custom template so the same structure is ready to reuse for similar processes later.
Yes — templates like the Complex Process Flowchart and PRISMA Flow Diagram are built for multi-branch, technical, or research-style processes rather than only simple flows.
What teams say
Customers value being able to build polished diagrams, collaborate in one place, and keep supporting notes and files connected to the work.
From blank canvas to export
A useful flowchart starts with clear boundaries and ends with ownership. Use these five steps to create something your team can understand, review, and maintain:
Define where the process starts, where it ends, and who needs to use it.
Use a template, a blank canvas, or an AI prompt based on what you already know.
Add actions, decisions, owners, and exceptions—not just the ideal path.
Invite teammates to comment, correct gaps, and agree on responsibility.
Publish one accessible version and update it when the process changes.
No — starting from a template and using Quick-Create to add each step is usually enough to build a working flowchart without prior experience.
A simple process can be mapped in minutes with Quick-Create; more branching or detailed flows take longer mainly because of the review and decision-mapping, not the drawing itself.
Yes — live cursors and comments let teammates edit the same flowchart together in real time rather than working on separate copies.
Edits update instantly for anyone with the link, and version history keeps a record of what changed, so shared copies never go stale.
Yes. Creately offers a free plan for creating and collaborating on flowcharts. Check the pricing page for the current limits and features included in each plan.
It depends on the work around the diagram. Compare how each tool handles fast edits, collaboration, ownership, process documentation, permissions, integrations, and version history—not just shapes and templates.
Yes — live cursors, comments, and mentions let teams review and edit the same flowchart together instead of passing files back and forth.
Ovals mark start/end points, rectangles mark process steps, diamonds mark decisions, and arrows show the direction of flow between them.
Yes — export to PDF, PNG, SVG, or JPEG, or present straight from the workspace in meetings and reviews.
Yes. Quick-Create adds shapes and connectors automatically, so new users can build a working flowchart from a template without learning the full shape library first.
Yes. Creately's flowchart tool runs entirely online in the browser — nothing to install, and diagrams save automatically to your account.
Security and privacy capabilities vary by provider and plan. Review Creately's current security information and confirm that its access controls, data handling, and compliance options match your organization's requirements.
Start with a template, a blank canvas, or an AI-generated first draft.
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