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Mermaid vs Swimlanes.io: catalog facts
Mermaid	Swimlanes.io
Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.	Free Free to use.
Web, Command line	Web
Diagrams are plain text, so they diff and review like code Rendered natively by GitHub, GitLab and most documentation generators	Live preview while typing Share a diagram just by copying the URL
Layout is automatic, so fine control over positioning is limited Complex diagrams become hard to read in source form	Only draws sequence diagrams The share URL changes with every edit
Web application, Downloadable app	Web application
Open source	Closed source
License: MIT	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

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