A Visio alternative built for BPMN
Visio is a general drawing tool that happens to ship BPMN shapes. Swimdraft is a BPMN tool: it generates diagrams from your notes, validates them against the OMG 2.0.2 spec, and lets anyone edit them in the browser: no licence, no desktop install.
No credit card required · Export SVG, PNG, and .bpmn
Teams leave Visio for BPMN work for three recurring reasons. First, drawing is manual: every pool, lane, and gateway is dragged by hand, and a fifty-step process is an afternoon of alignment work. Second, Visio checks whether shapes are connected, not whether the diagram follows BPMN's normative rules, so structurally invalid diagrams look perfectly fine until they hit an execution engine or a pedantic reviewer. Third, collaboration needs licences: the person with the process knowledge often is not the person with Visio installed.
Swimdraft flips the workflow: start from what the team already wrote (meeting notes, transcripts, spreadsheets) and generate a diagram that is checked against 19 rules of the BPMN 2.0.2 specification before you ever see it. Then refine it in a browser-based editor that re-validates on every change, and export standard .bpmn XML that opens anywhere, including Visio.
Swimdraft vs Visio for BPMN
| Feature | Swimdraft | Visio |
|---|---|---|
| Generate BPMN from notes, transcripts, or spreadsheets | Yes | No |
| Validation against BPMN 2.0.2 normative rules, with clause citations | Yes | Connectivity checks only |
| Runs in the browser, nothing to install | Yes | Desktop app (web version is limited) |
| BPMN 2.0 .bpmn interchange export | Yes | Yes |
| Live re-validation while you edit | Yes | No |
| Auto-layout of pools, lanes, and flows | Yes | Manual placement |
| Pricing | First 5 diagrams free, then from £0.53/diagram | Per-user subscription (Plan 1/Plan 2) |
Frequently asked questions
Can I open my existing Visio BPMN diagrams in Swimdraft?
If you export them from Visio as BPMN 2.0 XML (.bpmn), yes. Open them in the free BPMN viewer or validator on this site, or import the flow into the studio for editing. Native .vsdx files need to be exported to BPMN first.
Does Swimdraft replace Visio for everything?
No. Visio is a fine general diagramming tool for org charts, floor plans, and network diagrams. Swimdraft replaces it specifically for BPMN process mapping, where generation from source material and spec validation matter.
Is the output real BPMN or a proprietary format?
Standard BPMN 2.0 interchange XML, plus SVG and PNG for documents and slides. The .bpmn file opens in Visio, Camunda Modeler, Signavio, Bizagi, and any other compliant tool. There is no lock-in.
What does "spec-validated" actually mean?
Every diagram is checked against 19 normative rules from the OMG BPMN 2.0.2 specification (start/end event constraints, gateway fan rules, pool boundaries, token flow, branch conditions), each reported with the exact clause and page number, and auto-repaired during generation until it passes.
We have Visio licences already. Why switch?
The cost is rarely the licence. It is the hours spent drawing and correcting diagrams by hand. If your source material is workshop notes and transcripts, generating a validated draft in seconds changes the economics regardless of what your current tool costs.
Try it on a real process
Paste your notes, transcript, or spreadsheet and get a spec-validated BPMN 2.0 diagram in seconds. Your first 5 diagrams are free.
Start freeNo credit card required