Etione vs draw.io: free diagrams-as-XML or AI-generated architecture?
draw.io (diagrams.net) is a free, open-source diagram editor with a Git-friendly file format, native Confluence and Jira embedding, and a new bring-your-own-key AI generation tool. It has no built-in AI and no ArchiMate stencil in its shape library, confirmed against its own public source. Etione is narrower by design: ArchiMate 3.2, C4, UML, and BPMN, with AI built into the product and nothing external to configure. Facts verified 2026-09-13; we re-verify competitor claims at least every 90 days.
What Etione supports
- draw.io: free forever, open source, Git-friendly XML diagram files, native Confluence/Jira/GitHub embedding
- Etione: ArchiMate 3.2, C4, UML, and BPMN generated from plain language, AI built in with no external API key needed
- draw.io ships no ArchiMate stencil in its own public shape-library source, checked 2026-09-13
What is draw.io (diagrams.net)?
draw.io is a free, open-source (Apache 2.0) diagram editor made by draw.io Ltd, renamed from JGraph Ltd in September 2025. It started as Gaudenz Alder's JGraph thesis project at ETH Zurich in 2000, became the mxGraph JS library in 2005, and launched as a hosted tool in 2011, rebranded draw.io in 2012.
Is draw.io really free?
Yes — the browser and desktop editor is free forever, open source, and requires no account. The official Confluence/Jira app is sold separately through the Atlassian Marketplace under Atlassian's own pricing; exact current figures were not confirmed via static fetch.
Does draw.io support ArchiMate?
No dedicated ArchiMate stencil ships in draw.io's own shape library — checked directly against the public source (github.com/jgraph/drawio), which has BPMN, AWS, Azure, GCP, Cisco, and network stencils but no ArchiMate file. Etione supports ArchiMate 3.2 natively.
Does draw.io have AI diagram generation?
Yes, as of an update on 2026-08-04: a "Generate" tool that lets you bring your own API key from Claude, Gemini, or OpenAI. It's a bring-your-own-key integration, not a bundled AI feature the way Etione's is.
Can multiple people edit a draw.io diagram together?
Not natively inside the editor itself. When embedded in a host like Confluence, co-editing is mediated by that host's own page permissions, not by draw.io's own canvas. Etione also has no real-time multiplayer editing today.
Can draw.io diagrams live in Git?
Yes — every diagram is a plain XML file, storable in GitHub, GitLab, Google Drive, OneDrive, or local disk, with direct GitHub and VS Code integrations. Etione diagrams export to XML/JSON but aren't a native Git-diffable workflow.