Archboard vs Lucidchart

Archboard is the architecture canvas you keep open: an infinite workspace with domain node packs (Kubernetes, C4, cloud, network, flowchart, UML, and the rest of the built-in catalog) plus structured JSON you import, export, and snapshot as the system changes. You drop a Namespace frame, a Deployment, a Service, and an Ingress instead of dressing a rectangle with a label. Ports and edges stay consistent as the map grows. Snapshot export (SVG, PNG, JPEG, PDF) matches what you drew on the canvas. That fidelity is the product.

The workspace is hosted. Sign in with Google or GitHub. Organizations, seats, and roles live in the cloud. Free needs no credit card and includes every built-in pack and branded public share; embed comes with Pro. Autosave and revision snapshots belong to the document, not a file you email around. Enterprise adds SLA and dedicated support on the same hosted product at getarchboard.app.

Lucidchart is a general business-diagramming suite. Its surface is templates, a large stencil library, and Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace add-ins that put a flowchart next to a Word document or a Sheet. Archboard does not ship those add-ins. Architecture teams need nodes that look like the cluster, a JSON document they can trust, and a workspace the product team can open without Visio. They do not need an office plugin.

On price, independently checked in 2026 against public pages: Lucidchart Individual lists around $9 per month, and Team lists $10 per user per month on the annual catalog (a three-user minimum is commonly reported for Team). Enterprise is a custom quote. Archboard Free is $0 for one seat. Archboard Pro is $10 per seat per month or $96 per seat per year for one to five seats. Archboard Enterprise is $24 per seat per month or $230 per seat per year for six or more seats, with SLA and dedicated support. Seat for seat, Lucidchart Team and Archboard Pro sit in the same $10 band; they are not interchangeable products.

Subscribe to Archboard when the diagram has to look like Kubernetes, C4, or cloud topology and survive as JSON in a team workspace. The snapshot below is factual about the office plugins we do not ship, and about the architecture packs, canvas, and hosted org we do.

Archboard wins this comparison on architecture, not on office plugins. Kubernetes, C4, cloud, and network packs are first-class nodes with ports, not a generic flowchart stencil pasted into Word. The document is structured JSON you can import, export, and snapshot. The canvas is the one you keep current: pan, zoom, edges that mean traffic, and export that matches what you drew.

The workspace is the other advantage. Google or GitHub sign-in, organizations and seats, autosave, revisions, branded public share on Free, embed on Pro, and a published path to Enterprise. Lucidchart sells Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace add-ins; Archboard sells a hosted architecture workspace. If the requirement is a living systems map, subscribe here.