Best Org Chart Software Review
Finding the best org chart software for your team can be difficult. We spend a lot of time on org charts at OrgWeaver, so thought it’d be helpful to highlight the best review online.
Example online org chart
Our goal is that this comparison will help you sift through your options and make the choice that is best for your team.
Fit Small Business has a helpful review focused on small business needs. Written by Laura Handrick, the review takes a systematic approach and is updated regularly. As new online org chart tools prove themselves with customers, they are added to the review.
Here are the key criteria they use when choosing which org chart software platforms to include in their review:
- Import org chart data via spreadsheet
- Add photos to org chart boxes
- Print and share org charts
- Export org chart to be used in other software programs
To get a fuller picture of org chart software options, it’d be helpful if this review included these criteria as well:
- Full featured free version so customers can try before they buy
- Drag and drop org chart boxes to change reporting relationships
- Embed org chart online
- Automatic calculations (like Headcount or Personnel Costs)
- Directly edit data in the org chart (no need to re-upload a spreadsheet to make changes)
- Design org chart box size, color, data placement, & font size
- Automatic update of org charts from an existing HR, ERP, or IT system
- Option to pay monthly or yearly
Org Chart Software Comparisons
| Org chart software key features | Organimi | OrgChart4U | OrgPlus | OrgWeaver | Pingboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical price example
– 300 person org chart | $119 | $228 | $350 | $269 | $2,700 |
| Option to pay monthly | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Export to Excel/CSV or PDF | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Export to PowerPoint (not just an image, but actual PowerPoint shapes, text, and lines) | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Custom views | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom colors and branding | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Drag and drop boxes to change reporting relationships | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Org chart price examples from January 2018
Other software not included in this review
| Software not included | Reason for excluding from this review of best org chart software |
|---|---|
| PowerPoint | Great for presentations, but very time consuming to add data manually. |
| LucidChart | A good alernative to Visio, but not a dedicated org chart software. |
| Gliffy | Focuses on making general-purpose charts, not easy-to-update org charts |
| SmartDraw | Well-reviewed alternative to PowerPoint, but not possible to add long-form content like position descriptions |
| Visio | A traditional way to make diagrams, but frustrating to keep org charts updated, understandable, and easy to share |
Buyers Guide: Things to test before buying the best org chart software for your team
Org chart tools are meant to save you time. Instead of manually drawing and maintaining org charts, the software you choose should automate the most time-consuming tasks. Be sure to try these tasks for yourself before committing to a yearly subscription of an org chart software:
- Add a new org chart box manually. Check that you can add the data you need to the box.
- Upload new data from Excel. Check that the org chart boxes are created automatically into a hierarchy.
- Export a sample org chart to PowerPoint. Check that you can edit the org chart boxes from within PowerPoint.
- Search your org chart. Check that searching for something like “John” finds people named “Johnson” or “Johnston”
- Design a custom view. Check that you can add your own official colors and logo to your online org chart and a PDF export.
- Share your org chart with a colleague. Check that you both can edit the org chart at the same time.
- Upload an employee photo. Check that it looks good in an org chart box.
Bottom Line: Try before you buy
With all of the options you have to make org charts online, the best advice is to always try before you buy. Everyone has their own expectations of what a great org chart should look like, so take the time to make sure that the org chart software you choose can meet your expectations.
Ideally, you’ll be able to start with a free org chart, upgrade to a monthly plan if that works well, and then upgrade to a yearly plan so that you can save 10-20% once you’re sure you love the tool.
The best org chart software is the one that saves you time and works best for your budget and requirements.
