Diagrams from a prompt
Describe a system, paste code or upload a file, and frontier AI models draft the diagram in seconds. Visio has no AI diagramming.
The AI-native Visio alternative
Generate any diagram in seconds, from AI or your live systems, and bring your Visio files with you.
Eraser vs Visio
How Eraser compares to Microsoft Visio
Visio is a drawing tool tied to Microsoft 365. Eraser drafts diagrams with frontier AI models, lets agents edit them over MCP, and draws them from your live cloud accounts, CMDB and code. It still reads and writes Visio files.
| Compare | Eraser | Microsoft Visio  |
|---|---|---|
| AI diagramming | Supported: Yes Powered by frontier models: architecture, network, cloud, process and more | Not supported: No |
| Edit with AI | Supported: Yes Describe the change; the diagram updates | Not supported: No |
| AI follows your standards | Supported: Yes Presets of rules, templates, reference architectures and brand styles | Partially supported: Templates only Templates and stencils, with no AI to apply them |
| MCP server for AI agents | Supported: Yes AI assistants and coding agents, like Claude, Copilot and others, can create, read and update diagrams | Not supported: No official server |
| Generate diagrams from live cloud environments |
| Not supported: No Diagrams are drawn by hand |
| Generate diagrams from CMDBs and EA tools |
| Partially supported: Manual data linking Link shape data from Excel, SQL Server or SharePoint lists to shapes you draw (Plan 2) |
| Generate diagrams from codebases |
| Not supported: No |
| Expandable views | Supported: Yes Click into any box to open its own view, then move from a system overview down through layers of detail | Partially supported: Page links only Hyperlinks jump between separate pages |
| Animations | Supported: Yes Animated flows show how a request or data moves step by step, so processes are easier to follow | Not supported: No Presentation mode is static |
| Real-time collaboration | Supported: Yes On every plan, in the browser, with comments and unlimited free guests | Partially supported: Partial Web and desktop users can’t edit the same file at once; desktop co-authoring needs Plan 2 and OneDrive or SharePoint |
| Docs and diagrams in one file | Supported: Yes A note editor with embedded diagrams and wikilinks | Not supported: No Diagrams only |
| Diagram as code | Supported: Yes Edit as text, or drag on the canvas | Not supported: No |
| Deployment options |
| Partially supported: Microsoft 365 cloud Plus an offline Windows desktop app (Plan 2); no private hosting |
The difference
Why teams choose Eraser over Visio
Diagrams of what actually exists
Connect AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, a CMDB, a codebase or any other data source and Eraser draws what is really running. In Visio, every box is drawn by hand.
Built for AI agents
Claude, Copilot and other agents create, read and update Eraser diagrams over MCP. Visio has no official MCP server.
Switching
Bring your Visio diagrams with you
Moving off Visio does not mean redrawing years of diagrams by hand, or leaving Visio users behind.
Drop a .vsdx file into AI chat and Eraser redraws it as a native, editable diagram, here as an AWS architecture. Screenshots and PDFs of old diagrams work the same way.
Frequently asked questions
-
Can I import my Visio files into Eraser?
Yes. Upload a Visio (
.vsdx) file to the AI sidebar and file-to-diagram converts it into a native, editable Eraser diagram, not a flat image. Files can be up to 10 MB. Screenshots and PDFs of older diagrams can be redrawn the same way. -
Can I export Eraser diagrams back to Visio?
Yes. Cloud architecture, flowchart, freeform and BPMN diagrams export to
.vsdx, so teammates who still use Visio can open them. Visio export is available on paid plans. -
Is there a Visio alternative for Mac?
Eraser runs entirely in the browser, so it works the same on Mac, Windows and Linux. The Visio desktop app is Windows only.
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Can Eraser generate diagrams with AI?
Yes. Eraser AI runs on frontier models. Describe a system, paste code or upload a file, and it drafts an architecture diagram, flowchart, ERD, sequence diagram, BPMN process or almost any other diagram, and you can keep editing it by prompt, as code or on the canvas.
-
Can Eraser draw diagrams from my live infrastructure?
Yes. Connect AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, a CMDB such as ServiceNow, VMware, Cisco networks, a Git repository and other data sources, and Eraser draws architecture diagrams from what you actually run. Live data sources are available on paid plans.
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Does Eraser provide an MCP server?
Yes. The Eraser MCP server lets an agent create, search, read, update and export diagrams from clients like Claude, Cursor, VS Code and ChatGPT. It is free to use, subject to the AI credit limits of your plan. See the MCP client catalog for setup instructions.
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Can I trust my data with Eraser?
Eraser is committed to enterprise-grade security. We are SOC II type 2 certified and annually penetration tested. Security documentation is available on our trust portal, or reach out to hello@eraser.io. Additionally Eraser will never use user data for training models. Nor will our LLM API providers.
Diagram in seconds with Eraser
Stop dragging boxes. Import a Visio file or generate your first diagram for free.