Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PlantUML VS Notion Charts

Compare PlantUML VS Notion Charts and see what are their differences

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PlantUML logo PlantUML

PlantUML is an open-source tool that uses simple textual descriptions to draw UML diagrams.

Notion Charts logo Notion Charts

Generate embeddable charts, beautifully optimized for Notion
  • PlantUML Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-22
  • Notion Charts Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-24

PlantUML features and specs

  • Simple Syntax
    PlantUML uses a plain text language that is easy to learn, making it accessible for both technical and non-technical users.
  • Quick Diagram Creation
    Due to its straightforward text-based syntax, diagrams can be created and modified quickly without the need for a graphical interface.
  • Version Control Friendly
    Diagrams are stored as text files, making them easy to manage with version control systems like Git.
  • Integrations
    PlantUML integrates well with many other tools and platforms including IDEs (e.g., IntelliJ, VSCode), documentation generators (e.g., Doxygen, Sphinx), and project management tools.
  • Wide Range of Diagrams
    PlantUML supports a variety of UML and non-UML diagrams, including sequence diagrams, use case diagrams, class diagrams, and more.
  • Open Source
    PlantUML is an open-source tool, which makes it free to use and allows for community contributions and extensions.

Possible disadvantages of PlantUML

  • Learning Curve
    While the syntax is simple, users unfamiliar with text-based diagramming may need time to become proficient.
  • No GUI
    PlantUML lacks a graphical user interface (GUI), which might be a disadvantage for users who prefer drag-and-drop diagram creation.
  • Complex Diagrams
    For very complex diagrams, the text-based syntax can become cumbersome and hard to manage.
  • Rendering Limitations
    The style and formatting options are less flexible compared to some dedicated graphical diagramming tools.
  • Performance
    For large diagrams, the text-to-diagram rendering process can be slow.
  • Security Concerns
    Using PlantUML with remote server options might raise security issues, particularly when dealing with sensitive information.

Notion Charts features and specs

  • Integration with Notion
    Notion Charts seamlessly integrates with Notion, allowing users to create, view, and manage charts directly within their Notion workspaces.
  • Real-time Updates
    Charts automatically update in real-time, ensuring that users always have access to the most current data without needing to manually refresh.
  • Ease of Use
    The user interface is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy for users of all skill levels to create and customize charts.
  • Customization Options
    Notion Charts offers a variety of customization options, allowing users to tailor the appearance and functionality of their charts to meet specific needs.
  • Variety of Chart Types
    The platform supports multiple types of charts including bar, line, pie, and more, giving users flexibility in how they choose to visualize their data.

Possible disadvantages of Notion Charts

  • Subscription Cost
    While there may be a free tier, advanced features likely require a subscription, which could be a barrier for some users.
  • Dependent on Notion
    Users must be active Notion users to fully benefit from Notion Charts, limiting its utility for those who do not use Notion.
  • Limited by Notion’s Features
    The capabilities of Notion Charts are inherently tied to Notion’s feature set, which might limit some advanced functionalities available in standalone charting tools.
  • Learning Curve
    While the interface is user-friendly, there may still be a learning curve for users unfamiliar with chart customization and data visualization.
  • Performance Issues
    In cases of large datasets or complex charts, users might experience performance issues, such as longer load times or slower updates.

PlantUML videos

PlantUML - beautiful quick diagrams to explain your models

More videos:

  • Review - Folge16 - PlantUML und IntelliJ
  • Tutorial - PlantUML Gizmo Tutorial: Google Docs Add-on
  • Review - Mermaid vs PlantUML vs HackerDraw: Which One Is Best For You?
  • Review - Using PlantUML For Diagrams In A GitLab Wiki

Notion Charts videos

Notion Charts: Add Interactive Charts to Notion Pages

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PlantUML and Notion Charts)
Diagrams
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100
Flowcharts
100 100%
0% 0
Data Dashboard
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using PlantUML and Notion Charts. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare PlantUML and Notion Charts

PlantUML Reviews

Top 7 diagrams as code tools for software architecture
PlantUML is a tool that allows you to write diagrams such as sequence, object, component, usecase, class diagrams and more.
5 great diagramming tools for enterprise and software architects
PlantUML is an open source tool and syntax that allows you to make sequence, use case, class, object, and other diagrams from code. It also supports non-UML diagrams like JSON and YAML. In addition, it enjoys support from ArchiMate, ERD, Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), and other common notation styles. Its simple, plain-text definitions make creating, sharing, and...
Source: www.redhat.com
Software Diagrams - Plant UML vs Mermaid
For C4 Models, Mermaid support is still experimental. This shows as you have little control over the way the diagram is rendered, and some parts are unreadable (i.e., arrows over nodes). PlantUML works as you would expect and has support for more advanced setup like sprites. Not even close on this one. Winner: PlantUML
9 Best UML Software For Mac & PC
PlantUML is another free open source sequence diagram software that uses text input to build UML charts. PlantUML requires using a specific PlantUML Language to construct sequence charts but once learned it’s very flexible.
Source: machow2.com
40 Open Source, Free and Top Unified Modeling Language (UML) Tools
PlantUML is a component that allows users to quickly write sequence diagrams, usecase diagrams, class diagrams, activity diagrams, component diagrams, state diagrams, deployment diagrams, object diagrams and wireframe graphical interfaces. Diagrams are defined using a simple and intuitive language. Images can be generated in PNG, SVG or LaTeX format and it is also possible...

Notion Charts Reviews

We have no reviews of Notion Charts yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, PlantUML should be more popular than Notion Charts. It has been mentiond 12 times since March 2021. 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.

PlantUML mentions (12)

  • Owning my own data, part 1: Integrating a self-hosted calendar solution
    That particular diagram seems to have been generated by https://plantuml.com according to the image's metadata. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Common Mistakes in Architecture Diagrams (2020)
    I have to confess I am guilty of this — I used to just draw some unstructured circles and arrows on a whiteboard and call it enough. Lately I've been trying to work my way through lots of different diagram types from https://plantuml.com/, and it does help to wrap my mind around the existing options. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • LLM + Mermaid: How Modern Teams Create UML Diagrams Without Lucidchart
    Today, tools like Mermaid and PlantUML have taken center stage, thanks to their ability to generate diagrams with text-based commands. Even better, AI-powered assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and GitHub Copilot have made generating diagrams even easier. These tools work directly within a developer's environment, creating diagrams that are version-controlled and integrated seamlessly into workflows. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Blockdiag – simple diagram images generator – blockdiag 1.0 documentation
    While inactive blockdiag was small and nice for automatically annotating documentation. As you can see it hasn't been maintained for a few years. https://github.com/blockdiag/blockdiag With complex diagrams, I find good old PlantUML diagrams more useful if not as initially pretty as mermaid. Plus it will output archimate without having to touch that UI https://plantuml.com/ But really it is horses for courses.... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Introduction to Haskell Diagrams
    Use a high-level language like Plant UML, D2, Graphviz which are good for the purpose they are designed for, but not for generic purpose diagramming. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
View more

Notion Charts mentions (2)

  • Notion Charts isnt working anymore
    Hey guys, anyone having trouble with https://uno.notion.vip/charts/ charts? I cant create any. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Notion Charts 404 Error
    Anyone experiencing the same problem as me? I created my charts via https://notion.vip/charts/ and embedded them in Notion and all of my charts are not loading. The error states that "The page you are looking for doesn't exist or has been moved." I also noticed that the URL turned to https://uno.notion.vip/charts/ (with uno). Source: about 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing PlantUML and Notion Charts, you can also consider the following products

draw.io - Online diagramming application

Notion Template Gallery - Built by our community, editable by you

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.

Notion Finance Tracker - A Notion template, but with superpowers. Track investments and net-worth, budget smartly, and analyze with charts. Multi-currency ready. All inside your Notion workspace.

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.

Notion2Charts - Notion2Charts is an easy to use online tool to generate beautiful embeddable charts from your Notion databases.