Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Creately VS DrawSQL

Compare Creately VS DrawSQL and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Creately logo Creately

From Idea to Execution - 10x Faster with AI Diagrams

DrawSQL logo DrawSQL

Easy database diagrams. Create, visualize and collaborate on your database entity relationship diagrams.
  • Creately Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-08

Creately is an online visual collaboration platform that helps teams brainstorm, plan, and map processes in real time. With AI powered shapes and templates, and seamless integrations, you can turn complex ideas into clear, actionable visuals.

From brainstorming and project planning to workflow mapping and UX wireframing, Creately makes complex work simple through:

  • AI powered templates and visual collaboration
  • Supports Flowcharts, Org charts, Genograms, Mind Maps, UML diagrams, etc.
  • Industry first templates based AI diagram generation for advance diagram types.
  • DrawSQL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-03

DrawSQL is a simple, beautiful database diagram editor for developers to ๐Ÿšง create, ๐Ÿ’ฌ collaborate and ๐Ÿ‘€ visualize their entity relationship diagrams.

Creately

$ Details
freemium $5.0 / Monthly (Unlimited canvases and items)
Platforms
Microsoft Teams
Release Date
-
Startup details
Country
Sri Lanka

DrawSQL

$ Details
freemium $15.0 / Monthly
Platforms
Browser
Release Date
2018 November

Creately features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Creately offers an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, making it simple for users to create diagrams with minimal training.
  • Collaboration Features
    Allows multiple users to collaborate in real-time, making it ideal for team projects and remote work scenarios.
  • Template Library
    Comes with a vast library of templates for various diagram types, such as flowcharts, UML diagrams, and organizational charts, which can save users time.
  • Integrations
    Integrates seamlessly with other popular tools such as Google Drive, Slack, and Microsoft Teams, enhancing its functionality.
  • Cross-Platform Availability
    Available as a web application, which means it can be accessed from any device with an internet connection without the need for downloads.

Possible disadvantages of Creately

  • Limited Free Version
    The free version has limited features and functionalities, which may not be sufficient for more complex or extensive projects.
  • Cost
    The premium plans can be expensive, particularly for larger teams or organizations needing advanced features.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users have reported performance issues, such as lagging, especially when working with large diagrams or in real-time collaboration.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic functionalities are easy to grasp, mastering more advanced features can require a steeper learning curve.
  • Export Limitations
    The free version has limitations on exporting diagrams in certain formats and resolutions, which can be restrictive for professional use.

DrawSQL features and specs

  • Easy to Set-up and use
  • Clean UI
  • Free Trial

Analysis of Creately

Overall verdict

  • Creately is a good choice for individuals and teams seeking an intuitive, collaborative diagramming solution. It offers a range of features that accommodate different use cases and industries, making it a flexible tool for both professional and educational purposes.

Why this product is good

  • Creately is a versatile diagramming tool known for its easy-to-use interface and collaboration features. It allows users to create various types of diagrams, such as flowcharts, mind maps, org charts, and more, making it a valuable tool for visualizing ideas and processes. The platform supports real-time collaboration, making it suitable for teams working together remotely. Additionally, its integration with other tools like Google Drive, Slack, and Confluence enhances productivity.

Recommended for

  • Project managers who need to create and share project plans and workflow diagrams.
  • Educators and students looking for a tool to assist with teaching materials and learning projects.
  • Teams working remotely who need to collaborate on visual documents in real time.
  • Business analysts and consultants who require a tool for visualizing complex business processes and data.
  • Individuals interested in personal organization and planning through visual maps and charts.

Creately videos

Creately Review by Lois Myung and Weston Ding

More videos:

  • Review - Creately - Diagramming Software for Super Fast Diagrams
  • Review - Introducing Creately 4.0- The New Interface For Work.
  • Tutorial - Creately for Microsoft Teams
  • Tutorial - Create Swimlane Diagram Online

DrawSQL videos

DrawSQL: Create and visualize beautiful database entity relationship diagrams.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Creately and DrawSQL)
Diagrams
84 84%
16% 16
Database Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Flowcharts
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Creately and DrawSQL. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Creately and DrawSQL

Creately Reviews

Best Database Diagram Tools โ€“ Free and Paid
If youโ€™re prototyping, teaching, or diagramming casually, free data modeling software like ERD Plus, QuickDBD (free tier), or Creately (free plan) may cover your needs. But for production systems, audits, or CI/CD workflows, paid tools like dbForge, SqlDBM, or Lucidchart offer advanced features, support, and scalability that free versions canโ€™t match.
Source: blog.devart.com
10 Best Visio Alternatives for Cost Effective Diagramming [2022]
The next software tool in our list of Visio alternatives is Creately. It is a visual diagramming and design tool capable of collaboration between team members and it is designed by Cinergix.
Best 8 Free Visual Paradigm Alternatives in 2022
A great graphic design tool, Creately also doubles as a good replacement for Visual Paradigm. Another online tool, Creately works perfectly for those who are looking for a good quality graphic designer. The high-quality graphics that you can make using this tool is far greater compared to the ones made from Visual Paradigm. There are also templates here for those who want to...
Source: gitmind.com
Best Mind Mapping Software For Classrooms and Learning
Createlyโ€™s real-time collaboration feature allows students and teachers to add and edit the mind map in real time. Teachers can see the changes without being in the same room as the student. It works on the Creately Online and Desktop and is designed for in-house use and external use. Students can manage, collaborate, and view their diagrams on their iOS and Android devices...
The 10 Best UML Diagram Tools 2020
Just as the name of the platform suggests, Creately lets you create without any inhibition. If you have been looking for a platform that aids simplified diagramming of the UML along with the collaboration option, this is the one.

DrawSQL Reviews

Best Database Diagram Tools โ€“ Free and Paid
Web tools like dbdiagram.io, DrawSQL, and SqlDBM are ideal for remote teams, quick access, and easy sharing. They run in the browser, require no setup, and often include real-time collaboration. Desktop tools like dbForge Studio and DbSchema, on the other hand, offer deeper control, live database integration, and richer offline capabilitiesโ€”ideal for complex enterprise...
Source: blog.devart.com
8 Best Database Design Tools in 2025
DrawSQL is a fast and user-friendly tool designed for creating, visualizing, and designing ER diagrams. It enables users to analyze relationships among database objects and generate SQL (DDL) scripts to convert diagrams into databases. Additionally, users can export live documents of their database schemas for future reference. DrawSQL suits both individual users and...
Source: www.devart.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Creately might be a bit more popular than DrawSQL. We know about 14 links to it since March 2021 and only 12 links to DrawSQL. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Creately mentions (14)

  • Visualize Before You Build: Why Developers Should Use Creately for Planning
    ๐Ÿ› ๏ธCreately is a visual collaboration and diagramming tool that Iโ€™ve recently started using. Unlike traditional diagramming tools, it's built with structure in mindโ€”think of it as a mix between a whiteboard and a smart database. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Best User Flow Diagram Tools for Seamless UX Design in 2025
    Creately's drag-and-drop interface simplifies the process of visualizing user flows. One can start with its pre-built templates and then progress to use its context-aware shape swapping, auto-arranging connectors, and freehand sketching. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Building and Testing the Gemini API with CI/CD Pipeline
    Check out Creately's customizable CI/CD pipeline templates here. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • 7 Best AI Diagram Generators for Effortless Visuals
    5. Creately Creately is an intelligent diagramming experience powered by AI, appropriate for both individual and enterprise use. AI-powered suggestions for shapes, connections, and layouts make diagramming much faster on this platform. Be it flowcharts, Gantt charts, or mind maps, Creately is the right tool to create these and many more visualizations that one needs with project planning and workflow mapping. The... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Diagramming and Database Design๐Ÿ“Š๐Ÿ”๐Ÿ’ก
    Creately: A versatile online diagramming and design tool that supports various diagram types. Access thousands of templates and collaborate with team members effortlessly. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
View more

DrawSQL mentions (12)

  • AI assistance in Development
    With this, I went for designing the db. I went to http://drawsql.app/ and created my first draft. Then exported the DDL and did a bit of back and forth with AI. This is the final draft of the database:. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • How Changing Requirements Shape the Infrastructure of a Software Project
    So I started designing the DB using this cool tool. The project has 2 tables, users and categories . The user can create many categories as he wants so the first approach I took was creating a third table, a union table to store user_id and category_id. With this solution the users are able to create x numbers of categories and we can see assign the category to the user. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Creating Diagrams and Databases with Online Tools
    Once you have generated the SQL code, you can convert it into a relational schema (the graphical table model) using DrawSQL. This tool offers:. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • ๐Ÿ–Œ๏ธ 5+1 Online Tools for Sketches, Wireframes, Drawings, and Diagrams
    DrawSQL makes it easy for teams to collaborate on creating and maintaining schema diagrams. With a single source of truth, there's no need for manually syncing diagram files between different developers and offline tools anymore. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Newbie: Trying to use Supabase Auth fully with its database.
    To be honest, since you are just getting started, I think you should reconsider simplifying this app to begin with. Built something easier and get some more experience before jumping in the ocean. Maybe start by focusing only on the parent company and sub-companies. However, I strongly recommend you to try and make a diagram of your database with relations and columns as it can you a lot of time. I personally use... Source: about 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Creately and DrawSQL, you can also consider the following products

LucidChart - LucidChart is the missing link in online productivity suites. LucidChart allows users to create, collaborate on, and publish attractive flowcharts and other diagrams from a web browser.

DBDiagram.io - Free database diagrams designer for analysts & developers ๐Ÿ› 

draw.io - Online diagramming application

Azimutt - Next-Gen ERD to Design, Explore and Document real world databases (big and messy ones ^^)

yEd - yEd is a free desktop application to quickly create, import, edit, and automatically arrange diagrams. It runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Unix/Linux.

MySQL Workbench - MySQL Workbench is a unified visual tool for database architects, developers, and DBAs.