Choose an editor

Six editors sounds like a lot until you realise they are answers to different questions. This page is the shortest path to the right one.

#Decide in four questions

Editor	You gain	You give up
draw.io	Total control of layout, huge shape libraries.	Changes are manual; no diffable source.
Excalidraw	Speed, and a look that invites feedback.	Precision, and a professional finish.
Text editor	Diffable source, layout done for you.	Control over exact placement.
Mermaid visual editor	Mermaid's source without writing syntax.	Some of the rarer Mermaid features.
BPMN	Real process semantics and validation.	Freedom; it will refuse invalid models.
DMN	Decision rules that stay checkable.	Only suits decision logic.

You are not locked in. Several formats convert, and the original source is kept. See Reference.

Start from the diagram, not the tool.

The underlying trade-off.

See each editor's output.

Answer four questions, get the right surface.