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Graphviz vs PlantUML: catalog facts
Graphviz	PlantUML
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Windows, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, Command line
Diagrams generated automatically from plain text Exports to PNG, SVG, PDF and PostScript	Covers far more diagram types than most text-based tools Integrations for nearly every editor, wiki and documentation system
Requires learning the DOT language Limited manual control over automatic layouts	Requires Java and, for some diagram types, Graphviz The syntax is inconsistent between diagram types
Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Web application
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.