What's the best UML diagramming tool?

Question

I'm trying to choose a tool for creating UML diagrams of all flavours. Usability is a major criteria for me, but I'd still take more power with a steeper learning curve and be happy. Free (as in beer) would be nice, but I'd be willing to pay if the tool's worth it. What should I be using?

The best usable in my opinion is yUML, see http://askuml.com — Rebol Tutorial, Jun 20 '10 at 08:20
[IBM Rational Modeler](http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/modeler/) has a free version, and if you want more features, you can pay for the corporate version. I'm quite satisfied with it. — , Aug 31 '10 at 13:31
You can try the [Eclipse Modeling Tools](http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/eclipse-modeling-tools/junor) distribution. It's Eclipse, and it's Free! — amateur barista, Aug 01 '12 at 19:18
For text-based visual model generation I would recommend yuml.me or plantuml. — A T, Jun 09 '13 at 09:27

score 353 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 14 '13 at 16:46

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Some context: Recently for graduate school I researched UML tools for usability and UML comprehension in general for an independent project. I also model/architect for a living.

The previous posts have too many answers and not enough questions. A common misunderstanding is that UML is about creating diagrams. Sure, diagrams are important, but really you are creating a model. Here are the questions that should be answered as each vendor product/solution does some things better than others. Note: The listed answers are my view as the best even if other products support a given feature or need.

Are you modeling or drawing? (Drawing - ArgoUML, free implementations, and Visio)
Will you be modeling in the future? (For basic modeling - Community editions of pay products)
Do you want to formalize your modeling through profiles or meta-models? OCL? (Sparx, RSM, Visual Paradigm)
Are you concerned about model portability, XMI support? (GenMyModel, Sparx, Visual Paradigm, Altova)
Do you have an existing set of documents that you need to work with? (Depends on the documents)
Would you want to generate code stubs or full functioning code?(GenMyModel, Visual Paradigm, Sparx, Altova)
Do you need more mature processes such as use case management, pattern creation, asset creation, RUP integration, etc? (RSA/RSM/IBM Rational Products)

Detailed Examples: IBM Rational Software Architect did not implement UML 2.0 all the way when it comes to realizes type relationships when creating a UML profile, but Visual Paradigm and Sparx got it right.
Ok, that was way too detailed, so a simpler example would be ArgoUML, which has no code generation features and focuses on drawing more than the modeling aspect of UML.
Sparx and Visual Paradigm do UML really well and generate code well, however, hooking into project lifecycles and other process is where RSM/RSA is strong.
Watch out for closed or product specific code generation processes or frameworks as you could end up stuck with that product.

This is a straight brain dump so a couple details may not be perfect, however, this should provide a general map to the questions and solutions to looking into.

NEW - Found a good list of many UML tools with descriptions. Wiki UML Tool List

edited Aug 14 '13 at 16:46

Xaelis

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answered Oct 22 '08 at 05:32

Ted Johnson

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could you please include a link to your evaluation if it is able to be published. I recently did a simpler evaluation for a client and picked Sparx EA (for models, codegen, code import, drawing, extensible) which is lean enough it still runs very nicely on low-spec Macs under Virtual PC. – Andy Dent Feb 02 '09 at 05:51
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Sorry for the delay. I actually did research informally around the tools. For my main research I did not even use a UML tool, just paper and a pencil. I have continued looking a these tools. Each have their strengths. RSM/RSA in my opinion would not run very well on low spec macs for example. – Ted Johnson Mar 24 '09 at 02:40
ArgoUML == NO SUPPORT to Sequence Diagrams – Lucas Pottersky Jul 21 '10 at 01:27
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@Lucas & Ted: ArgoUML has the sequence diagram feature, as well as code generation. (0.30) – solotim Aug 11 '10 at 07:33
For a handy UML diagram editor for Windows see [Cadifra UML Editor](http://www.cadifra.com) – Adrian Buehlmann Nov 28 '11 at 22:07
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Excuse me but what is the difference between modeling and drawying ? Or do you mean that modeling is drawing different types of diagrams that are connected to each other while drawing is just drawing static diagrams that has no effect on other diagrams if modified and vice versa ? – Muhammad Gelbana Aug 07 '12 at 11:12
Hey Ted, you mention that you studied this in a grad school project. did you end up publishing a paper / report, and is it available? – MedicineMan Oct 17 '12 at 20:32
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I saw that GenMyModel is cloud-based, the models are designed in a web-browser. I'm convinced the collaboration should be another relevant item in this answer: sharing, real-time modeling, version management, repository... I tried out most of the mainstream desktop uml tools. Not easy for several team members to work together on the same model. Hopefully online modeling is going to change the way many IT people evaluate and use (UML) modeling in their day-to-day development projects. I'd gladly read more about online modeling. Does anyone know if it's an ongoing trend? – Georges Aug 15 '13 at 09:05
Hi @Georges! Does GenMyModel fully implement UML specification?and which version of specification? – Chriss Aug 17 '13 at 11:41
Hi @Chriss, GenMyModel presently implements a part of the UML 2 (3.0.0) specification. It supports class diagrams and use case diagrams :) – Georges Aug 17 '13 at 13:04

score 99 · Answer 2 · edited Feb 08 '17 at 14:08

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For sequence diagrams, only, try websequencediagrams.com. It's a freemium (free for the basic tasks, paid for advanced features) product, and lets you quickly bang out a diagram without any fussing around with lines and stencils.

Alice->Bob: Authentication Request
note left of Bob: Bob thinks about it
Bob->Alice: Authentication Response

edited Feb 08 '17 at 14:08

Community

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answered Sep 27 '08 at 05:07

Steve Hanov

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It's interesting but I'm not sure I see the value of it being web based - surely it would be better to have it on your PC and you can save files etc - and a GUI, drag and drop is surely easier than scripting you have to know. – Vidar Mar 25 '09 at 19:00
Really great site! However, for real usage I'm with Simon: can't see me using it on a live project. – Sean Kearon Mar 29 '09 at 21:59
@Sean/Simon: It has PDF export andpermalinks – aleemb Apr 14 '09 at 13:13
@Simon - it's hardly scripting. You type in a simple text description of the interaction. And you can easily copy and paste the text description to your PC, export PDFs and/or save the images by right-clicking in the browser. I use it on work projects. – MarkJ Apr 20 '09 at 19:54
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Why is this voted so high why it does not answer the question? Oh well, I agree it is a nifty website. The first line in the question says "creating UML diagrams of all flavours.". I would vote it down, but I am weak, so I will just comment. – Ted Johnson May 22 '09 at 16:59
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+1. I came in to share this one as well, realizing that it doesn't answer the question in full. Sequence diagrams have always seemed a little awkward / out-of-place when juxtaposed with the rest of UML, but they're UML nonetheless. In my opinion, sequence diagrams are the most immediately valuable part of UML. – Justin Searls Dec 04 '09 at 01:35
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How do you tell it "No, your other left."? – Matt Brunell Dec 22 '10 at 16:20
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An anonymous user suggests that you could also use [PlantUML](http://plantuml.sourceforge.net/), which is a free Java/Graphviz tool for generating UML diagrams from text. It's very likely that's the tool that this website uses behind the scenes. – Cody Gray - on strike Feb 03 '12 at 04:54

score 46 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 24 '08 at 09:28

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For me it's Enterprise Architect from Sparx Systems. A very rounded UML tool for a very reasonable price.

Very strong feature list including: integrated project management, baselining, export/import (including export to html), documentation generation from the model, various templates (Zachman, TOGAF, etc.), IDE plugins, code generation (with IDE plugins available for Visual Studio, Eclipse & others), automation API - the list goes on.

Oh yeah, don't forget support for source control directly from inside the tool (SVN, CVS, TFS & SCC).

I would also stay away from Visio - you only get diagrams, not a model. Rename a class in one place in a UML modelling tool and you rename in all places. This is not the case in Visio!

answered Aug 24 '08 at 09:28

Sean Kearon

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After trying a dozen or two UML tools, I've also settled for EA by Sparx. I'm using only 5-10% of its capabilities, though... :-) – Yarik May 20 '09 at 21:14
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Is it just me or is layout management in EA terrible at least with UML classes? Hard to resize things and show only what i want. Using default layouts puts classes all over the place. Tool looks amazing but layout is really giving me a hard time. – Mark Feb 23 '12 at 22:41
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I use Visio for physical database modeling (admitting it's not perfect for the task) and this is not true. If I rename a table its name is replaced in all diagrams (inside the same VSD of course). BTW I use Sparx for UML modeling. – Lluis Martinez Jul 04 '12 at 13:32

score 45 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 27 '13 at 06:34

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For my simple & short UML working, I've used this tool:

StarUML - http://staruml.sourceforge.net/en/

Great free software for UML drawing.

Although the original Star UML is no longer maintained, there's now a fork called White Star UML, which is actively developed.

edited Jun 27 '13 at 06:34

Jose Faeti

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answered Aug 18 '08 at 23:32

popopome

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is staruml still under active development? – fawce Nov 18 '08 at 20:36
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Unfortunately looks like it is Windows-only. Being cross-platform is one of my first requirements when it comes to choosing a tool for my team. – Adam Byrtek Jan 01 '09 at 20:54
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Unfortunately the project seems to be dead. Check the recent discussion at source forge for more details: http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?thread_id=1879127&forum_id=510442 – Piotr Czapla Apr 23 '09 at 19:11
StarUML doesn't recognize the new syntax of java1.6. It's dead. – solotim Aug 11 '10 at 07:37
yes it is...but i think it doesnt have Sequence Diagram... – vs4vijay Aug 11 '10 at 14:14
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someone picked it up: http://sourceforge.net/projects/whitestaruml/ – fehrlich Jun 12 '13 at 16:25
StarUML is unusable. Crashes on start up on WinXP. – robson3.14 Aug 13 '13 at 22:20
I've been using this tool for several years, and get really excited that some one has pick it up and keep releasing new versions. Wonderful tool! +1 – solotim Aug 17 '13 at 11:13

score 31 · Answer 5 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:33

As I usually use UML more as a communication tool rather than a modeling tool I sometimes have the need to flex the language a bit, which makes the strict modeling tools quite unwieldy. Also, they tend to have a large overhead for the occasional drawing. This also means I don't give tools that handle round-trip modeling well any bonus points. With this in mind...

When using Visio, I tend to use these stencils for my UMLing needs (the built in kind of suck). It could be that I have grown used to it as it is the primary diagramming tool at my current assignment.

OmniGraffle also has some UML stencils built in and more are available at Graffletopia, but I wouldn't recommend that as a diagramming tool as it has too many quirks (quirks that are good for many things, but not UML). Free trial though, so by all means... :)

I've been trying out MagicDraw a bit, but while functional, I found the user interface distracting.

Otherwise i find the Topcased an interesting project (or group of projects). Last I used it it still had some bugs, but it worked, and seems to have evolved nicely since. Works great on any Eclipse-enabled platform. Free as in speech and beer :)

As for the diagramming tool Dia, it's quite ugly (interface and resulting drawings), but it does get the job done. An interesting modeling tool free alternative is Umbrello, but I haven't really used it much.

I definitely agree with mashi that whiteboards are great (together with a digital camera or cellphone).

Probably some of the nicest tools I've used belong to the Rational family of tools.

+1 for Dia - it's a nice little tool, and is absoloutely _great_ for flowcharts. However, Umbrello crashes on me quite a bit (that and Qt is a mound of cruft anyway). — new123456, Apr 10 '11 at 01:15

score 24 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 15 '08 at 16:33

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You may be looking for an automated tool that will automatically generate a lot of stuff for you. But here's a free, generally powerful diagramming tool useful not only for UML but for all kinds of diagramming tasks. It accepts as input and outputs to a wide variety of commonly used file formats. It's called yEd, and it's worth a look

answered Sep 15 '08 at 16:33

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The layout looks great, it is fast and it seems to be usable in 5 minutes. One great feature is that you can choose how to lay the diagram out: hierarchical, organic, UML style, circular or tree like. It does it in a blink of an eye. So far I have some reservations for software written in Java but this just changed my belief :) – J Pollack Feb 17 '12 at 19:42

score 21 · Answer 7 · answered Aug 26 '08 at 12:25

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Visual Paradigm for UML http://content.usa.visual-paradigm.com/websiteimages/images/products/vpuml60/vpumltitle.gif

I'm very fond of Visual Paradigm for UML It's very powerful and has a free Community Edition and cheap Personal Edition as well.

Agilian http://content.usa.visual-paradigm.com/websiteimages/images/products/ag10/agtitle.gif

For Agile modeling there's also Agilian which is a bit more flexible, adds extra features to support smartboards and knows mind-mapping as well.

The thing I like most about their products is the flexibility. I'm using Enterprise Architect at work nowadays but I think it's not smart enough. I want to be able to quick-brainstorm some sequence diagrams and have the application keep my model up-to-date in the background, something VPUML does a very good job at.

In my opinion it's way better than Enterprise Architect, though that is a great tool as well :)

answered Aug 26 '08 at 12:25

Huppie

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I've used most of the major UML Tools (most of which extensively)(Rational Rose, Tau, Rhapsody, Enterprise Architect, Visio, and several others) and accidentally stumbled upon Visual Paradigm, which I had never heard of. It blows all the others out of the water. It has its' quirks but it is not that annoying to work with (compared to the others which are very annoying) and is very powerful. – Dunk Jun 07 '10 at 20:13
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Definitely Visual Paradigm. I have been using it for some time now, and also recently evaluated other UML modelling tools (free and commercial ones), and Visual Paradigm is simply the best when it comes to usability and clear UI structure. Also, all the diagrams seem to be absolutely standards compliant (sadly, not all modeling tools are). I can tell, as I have also recently worked through the UML, MOF, XMI standards. VP is the absolute favourite to me. – Kissaki Feb 24 '11 at 10:23

score 19 · Answer 8 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

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Take a look at BOUML: multiplatform (QT), works pretty well and supports colaborative work.

BOUML is a free UML 2 tool box (under development) allowing you to specify and generate code in C++, Java, Idl, Php and Python.

BOUML runs under Unix/Linux/Solaris, MacOS X(Power PC and Intel) and Windows.

From Wikipedia:

The releases prior to version 4.23 are free software licensed under GPL. BOUML 5 and later is proprietary software.

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Sep 15 '08 at 16:21

@Silvia +1 for recommending BOUML. It's a shame that that the developer has been driven to stop developing it. Unlike other tools which look more like toys and are incomplete, this one is actually capable of reading existing code (reverse-engineering) in several languages and also import from Rational (IBM) Rose and other UML tools. It is our loss that he ceased developing it. – WinWin Jul 18 '11 at 21:12
In fact, development has just been stopped in his free form, the main developer now uses fee licenses, keeping the tool updated. – kikeenrique Nov 02 '12 at 08:55
In fact, there is a fork of last open-source release currently in development. Although it's still not quite there, some stuff is working and working better than in the original. Google "Douml" – Zeks Feb 24 '13 at 14:13
Also, I'd very much like some help in development 'cause there's a ton of stuff to fix/do and there is only one me :( Atm the project is fully Qt4 compatible, but not all plugouts are working due to porting bugs which are kinda hard too weed out not being original developer. – Zeks Feb 24 '13 at 14:29

score 18 · Answer 9 · answered Aug 24 '08 at 10:27

18

If you're looking to get out the door and working on UML without having to learn a complex new tool I would check out Violet UML. I've used it to some pretty great success in the past.

answered Aug 24 '08 at 10:27

Eric Scrivner

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Screenshot: http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/2069/violeti.jpg .It's by far the best free uml tool in my view – Chris S Apr 01 '09 at 15:18
Wow, just tried that out and it is awesome. Only thing on my wishlist is some way to redirect arrows. Ie give them a draggable mid point. – sixtyfootersdude Jul 17 '10 at 17:20

score 17 · Answer 10 · answered Mar 15 '10 at 08:56

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PlantUML is an open-source markup-language-to-UML-diagram tool in Java that deserves to be mentioned here. It ranks high on the usability scale because of its intuitive syntax for the various diagrams and diagram components.

answered Mar 15 '10 at 08:56

andreas buykx

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score 14 · Answer 11 · answered Aug 19 '08 at 00:29

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Dia is a possible choice. It's definitely not the best tool, but it is functional.

answered Aug 19 '08 at 00:29

Doug

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Screenshots featuring UML mode here: https://live.gnome.org/Dia/Screenshots – Janus Troelsen Feb 01 '12 at 01:35
It's an easy to use tool and ideal for my purposes anyway (diagramming only, no code generation/integration, primarily class diagrams). Runs on Linux, Winodws and MacOSX - the file format can be used across platforms. – dodgy_coder Apr 10 '12 at 05:33

score 13 · Answer 12 · answered Aug 19 '08 at 00:59

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Enterprise Architect from Sparx systems is the best tool I've used. A bit expensive at $199 (professional edition), but IMO it's worth it.

answered Aug 19 '08 at 00:59

André Casteliano

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I really enjoy using Enterprise Architect. I don't consider it all that expensive, especially for professional use. And when you compare it in price and features to rational rose it wins hands down. – Ajaxx Jan 09 '09 at 21:26
having just done an eval for a client, I agree - $199 is superb value considering it includes code import and codegen! Nothing came close in cost-effectiveness. – Andy Dent Feb 02 '09 at 05:52
btw, professional Visio costs MUCH more – Boris Treukhov Mar 21 '10 at 19:17
For a company 200$ is just half day-man. Really cheap. – Lluis Martinez Jul 04 '12 at 13:34

score 13 · Answer 13 · answered Dec 31 '08 at 11:40

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I will add UMLet which I haven't tried yet, but have been selected at my office to start doing diagrams.
Looks simple, diagrams aren't sexy, but it seems quite complete with regard to the kind of diagrams you can do. Seems to have good export capabilities too (important!), is flexible can support custom components) and can be used as Eclipse plugin.

answered Dec 31 '08 at 11:40

PhiLho

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I just started using UMLet today - in short, it's simple, fast and easy. – Dolph Feb 24 '11 at 14:15

score 11 · Answer 14 · edited Nov 04 '11 at 08:19

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Astah UML (ex-JUDE) is pretty good.

edited Nov 04 '11 at 08:19

SFSJ

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Henry

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Missing features: naming of initial and final state, nesting of hierarchical statemachine diagrams in the same diagram (w.o. linking diagrams). Whats good: Continuous improvements, author commited to UML spec, more than just a drawing tool. Runs on UNIX. Has a long way to go, to bring it to the "Enterprise Architect" level of functionality. – user77115 Sep 14 '10 at 07:14

score 10 · Answer 15 · answered Aug 19 '08 at 00:06

I haven't been able to find a top-notch free UML diagramming tool, but if you're interested in pure diagramming, as opposed to round-trip-engineering, I'd go with Microsoft Visio. If you want full round-trip engineering, Rational Rose.

This list of UML tools on Wikipedia might also come in handy.

score 10 · Answer 16 · answered Oct 19 '08 at 00:26

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Pen and paper. If you can get the scan into a vector format, that may be useful when making minor amendments.

answered Oct 19 '08 at 00:26

Marcin

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With the same pen you can write the code on another paper and scan it. Thank to the available `OCR` technology, you can convert it to the text later for the further use! (BTW, I also use pen & paper for diagrams just because it's faster and I also like drawing very much from childhood!) – Mahdi Jun 11 '13 at 19:40

score 10 · Answer 17 · answered Feb 15 '10 at 12:43

10

You should try Creately. Runs in your browser and can do team collaboration.

supports sequence diagrams, class, ER, usecase etc. works great and has a free version available.

Creately.com

answered Feb 15 '10 at 12:43

Chands

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score 9 · Answer 18 · answered Jan 14 '11 at 17:33

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You can also check out Lucid Chart for uml and other types of diagramming.

answered Jan 14 '11 at 17:33

nemophrost

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Wow. LucidChart is awesome for this. I've seen their flowcharting stuff before, but these UML tools are easy to use and pretty complete for what I need. – xiaoqun Apr 02 '11 at 14:11
I also found LucidChart to be great for drawing up quick, nice looking UML diagrams. The free account lets you have an unlimited amount of diagrams, also you can export to PNG, JPEG, PDF, area selection or entire document. Impressed! – Cam Nov 02 '11 at 08:52

score 8 · Answer 19 · answered Jul 07 '10 at 21:40

8

Don't forget yuml.me, I love it.

answered Jul 07 '10 at 21:40

Sean Gough

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I find it difficult to represent anything complex using yuml. – Biswanath Jun 27 '11 at 17:47

score 4 · Answer 20 · edited Jul 31 '13 at 09:48

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I like VisualParadigm mentioned before in this thread. It's powerful and easy to use I think it gives most power comparing to other tools.

If you need something simple, quick and easy (and free) there is a great tool called UMLet - I highly recommend this. I've tried many of UML diagramming tools and this the simplest one (and it still allows to do great diagrams). This is my choice:)

edited Jul 31 '13 at 09:48

Morgan

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answered Jun 17 '10 at 21:08

dzida

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score 4 · Answer 21 · answered Mar 18 '11 at 13:18

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http://plantuml.sourceforge.net/index.html

answered Mar 18 '11 at 13:18

bora.oren

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Why? Because of i need uml in code – bora.oren Nov 21 '11 at 06:30

score 4 · Answer 22 · answered Aug 02 '11 at 17:10

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In my practice i use Sequence Diagram Editor. it is really fast and helpful tool. the one thing i don't like about it is that it is commercial product, not free.

answered Aug 02 '11 at 17:10

alexander.o.krutyakov

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score 3 · Answer 23 · answered Dec 04 '09 at 01:25

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I recently conducted a poll "What UML Tools do you use?" in my blog. NetBeans UML was was the top opensource choice and Enterprise Architect was the top commercial choice.

answered Dec 04 '09 at 01:25

James

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score 3 · Answer 24 · answered Aug 21 '08 at 20:02

Obviously if you are serious about UML in the long run you need to use a software UML tool like the ones suggested in the other answers, but I've found that a whiteboard is one of the best tools for UML diagramming, especially during the design phase, or when you are exploring different alternatives. Nothing beats a whiteboard for speed/flexibility in my mind. They are also great for collaboration assuming you are collocated physically.

score 3 · Answer 25 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:10

You can create UML class, sequence, component, use case, and activity diagrams in Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate. You can link these diagrams to Team Foundation work items so you can plan and track development and test work. You can also create sequence, dependency graphs, and layer diagrams from code and use Architecture Explorer to browse and explore your solution.

I've posted more links on my profile for more info.

score 3 · Answer 26 · answered Dec 02 '08 at 08:12

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In my opinion StarUML is the best.

answered Dec 02 '08 at 08:12

Veera

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score 3 · Answer 27 · answered May 13 '09 at 22:02

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I can't believe no one has mentioned NetBeans UML Editor, it's great and satisfied all of my Java based UML requirments.

This after I tested JDeveloper UML, ArgoUML and StarUML.

answered May 13 '09 at 22:02

Maxim Veksler

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score 2 · Answer 28 · answered Oct 03 '08 at 12:12

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For sequence diagrams you can also try Trace Modeler. It's not free but it has a great interface, very friendly and productive. You can use it on any platform.

answered Oct 03 '08 at 12:12

Andrei Savu

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score 2 · Answer 29 · answered Aug 21 '08 at 19:59

You might want to take a look at MagicDraw or Visual Paradigm for UML. Both offer community editions that, of course, don't span the full feature range, but may well be sufficient if you want to create diagrams only and not generate code or do full round-trip engineering.

score 2 · Answer 30 · answered Sep 15 '08 at 16:40

Rational and Together/J are best-of-breed products, but expensive.

In my experience, I've enjoyed Eclipse Omondo and Sparx Enterprise Architect. Omondo integrates nicely with Eclipse for code generation, and has a very intuitive feel. However, it is strongly tied to Java. Sparx is a good tool for the price point, but lacks the full range of UML 2.0 diagrams.

Do NOT bother with Poseidon. It is buggy, bloated, and unusuable for all intents and purposes.

score 1 · Answer 31 · answered Aug 26 '08 at 12:15

Try alt text http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/images/products/logos/EA.png

But, It is NOT free

It has amazing features.. Check the screenshots here.

And they have alt text http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/images/products/logos/MDGIntVS-268x73.png and alt text http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/images/products/logos/MDGIntEclipse-223x73.pngtooo..

score 1 · Answer 32 · edited Nov 14 '12 at 14:01

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Visual Paradigm for UML or Dia are good options

edited Nov 14 '12 at 14:01

vainolo

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answered Jul 04 '10 at 22:23

sebastiano.dimartina

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score 1 · Answer 33 · answered Jan 29 '11 at 18:17

I have been working on UML standards since 1999 and may tell you that Sparx Enterprise Architect should not be considered as a UML tool as it does not follow UML 2 specification. Its diagrams look as UML but names of the properties and the way as they specified are not following UML standard. MagicDraw and IBM RSA are the true UML tool on the market so far.

score 1 · Answer 34 · edited Jun 11 '13 at 19:59

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You should try Modelio Free Edition. It support UML2, BPMN, SOA and XMI. It is simple to use and their forum is very active.

edited Jun 11 '13 at 19:59

Mahdi

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answered Mar 18 '11 at 12:27

titchagui

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score 0 · Answer 35 · answered Jun 20 '09 at 08:01

Just throwing in my two bits here, but I found ArgoUML to be very useful. It takes a little while to get used to it and its a bit buggy (last I checked it was in version .29 or so) but it works pretty well once you get used to it. It handles all types of UML diagrams, which is why I prefer it. Also, its made by tigris, the same people who made subclipse, an SVN repository plug-in for Eclipse.

score 0 · Answer 36 · answered Aug 19 '08 at 00:13

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You might want to check out ArgoUML. It's not the best tool I've ever used, but it's one of the better free ones I've seen. It's a little slow because it's written in Java, but it let's you do some basic UML diagrams with relative ease.

answered Aug 19 '08 at 00:13

Kibbee

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I would say nay on that, I butted my head against that wall for a month and there's got to be something better. Far too clunky and an un-intuitive UI. – George Mauer Sep 09 '08 at 14:37
Argo is still primative but is the only truely open source UML tool available. – Martin Spamer Oct 27 '08 at 16:59
it's not slow because it's written in Java, it's slow because it's a work in progress and I believe the developers have had any time to work on performance issues. – Eldelshell Dec 31 '08 at 11:45
@Martin: refresh your research on actual OS UML tools, there are new tools, especially BoUML, which is great. – Jun 04 '09 at 09:02
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ArgoUML cannot copy-paste objects and even undo! – viam0Zah May 19 '10 at 08:45
Been working on it for a few days and the lack of undo is a real pain ! Specially I ctrl+s all the time. – Jla Nov 15 '10 at 09:29

score 0 · Answer 37 · answered Mar 15 '10 at 16:19

If you want to model at diagram level and also have a clean metamodel the new Omondo build allows live synchronization between MOF and UML Diagrams. Just amazing to see my diagram and the xmi live synchronized each time I change something in my diagram and the model is changed. What is most incredible is that the model is also the metamodel and the MOF because everything is lived synchronized. Very powerful new concept for my point of view.

I also like Java code annotation and JPA support in the class diagram and in the model. I don't know any other tool having these 2 incredible features !!

score 0 · Answer 38 · answered Mar 21 '10 at 18:31

0

Take a look at the Sybase PowerDesigner

http://www.sybase.com/products/modelingdevelopment/powerdesigner

Description:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerDesigner

It is a vary powerful tool but so is the price!

answered Mar 21 '10 at 18:31

Dr Casper Black

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score 0 · Answer 39 · answered Mar 31 '10 at 00:54

0

The TopCoder UML Tool is a very good free UML tool.

answered Mar 31 '10 at 00:54

Seth

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score 0 · Answer 40 · answered May 13 '10 at 08:46

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For sequence diagrams there is free java based Quick Sequence Diagram Editor. The sequence is written in text editor and then rendered by QSDE engine. It exports to variety of vector and bitmap file formats.

answered May 13 '10 at 08:46

andrej

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score 0 · Answer 41 · edited Oct 29 '10 at 02:23

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Violet

Free, and very easy to use.

edited Oct 29 '10 at 02:23

hannson

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answered Jul 04 '10 at 22:29

Pieces

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score 0 · Answer 42 · answered Oct 13 '10 at 23:37

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I recommend Software Ideas Modeler. It has a lot of features and an intuitive GUI.

answered Oct 13 '10 at 23:37

Michaelus

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score 0 · Answer 43 · answered Dec 07 '10 at 15:10

0

I have tried MagicDraw and it is very good, only the community edition though.

Also I have tried omondo, it looks fantastic but it is very expensive for commercial use.

answered Dec 07 '10 at 15:10

Miguel

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score 0 · Answer 44 · edited Aug 01 '12 at 09:12

+1 for TopCoder UML Tool after I had tried most of other free tools.
My reasons are:

1) The tool can save UML diagrams in the human-readable format XMI, so the file can be fed to the version control system easily.

2) Support of Undo/Redo (this is the reason I've discharged ArgoUML).

3) The diagram is kept in one single file, and not linked tightly with "workspace" or "project".

StarUML is also good, though is old. Unfortunatley it is not developed/maintained any longer.

score 0 · Answer 45 · answered Dec 09 '10 at 10:09

In my career I often needed to draw UML diagrams and generate Java code. I found MagicDraw most appealing and I'm a happy user. I think their licensing model is fair because it allows to pay for what you need. I prefer it to other products I used in my (distant) past: ArgoUML, Poseidon, Rational Rose, Dia. Be aware that my experiences on other products are obsolete and have maybe significantly improved or changed their licensing model. Maybe you should start with an open-source tool and decide later whether to spend some bucks.

With MagicDraw you can document your code by generating diagrams from code. You can also model first, then generate the code. It also integrates well with several IDEs.

score 0 · Answer 46 · answered Jan 27 '09 at 16:28

0

ArgoUML.

I used this for my thesis and it is well-designed: maybe it has too much feature not very important but I prefer have some uselee feature than don't have some useful feature.

answered Jan 27 '09 at 16:28

alepuzio

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score 0 · Answer 47 · answered Apr 18 '11 at 15:23

I use gmodeler.com. It just does class diagrams.

Good things

Very simple feature set. Great UI. Very easy to use.
Attractive UI.
Don't have to login/create an account
Can save diagrams
Free

Bad things

Hard to collaborate -- have to export to xml (I don't care)
Can't access diagrams from any machine because it saves to your browser (I don't care)
Can't export as image or pdf (I can take a screen shot)
Can't generate code for most languages
Very simple feature set. (I don't care)
Each class has an 'Event' list which I don't need and I can't get rid of.

score 0 · Answer 48 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

0

As mentioned, ArgoUML is a decent tool for UML 1.4 and has recently (Autumn 2008) been receiving some much needed maintainance updates.

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Sep 15 '08 at 16:02

hishadow

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score 0 · Answer 49 · 2009-06-04T09:03:08.893

I strongly recommend BOUML. It's a free UML modelling application, which:

is extremely fast (fastest UML tool ever created, check out benchmarks),
has rock solid C++, Java, PHP and others import support,
is multiplatform (Linux, Windows, other OSes),
has a great SVG export support, which is important, because viewing large graphs in vector format, which scales fast in e.g. Firefox, is very convenient (you can quickly switch between "birds eye" view and class detail view),
is full featured, impressively intensively developed (look at development history, it's hard to believe that such fast progress is possible).
supports plugins, has modular architecture (this allows user contributions, looks like BOUML community is forming up)

Believe me, there is no better tool. StarUML is a retarded turtle compared to BOUML. ArgoUML simply doesn't work. Dia is a ergonomy^-1 software.

-1 "fastest ever created", "rock solid", "great", "impressively intensively developed", "no better tool" plus bashing other solutions... It's nice having a detailed description but there is way too much promotion in there. — Jla, Nov 15 '10 at 09:43

score 0 · Answer 50 · answered Mar 17 '12 at 16:15

I advice to use Pacestar UML Diagrammer. It helps you generate UML 2.0 diagrams quickly, easily, flexible AND commonly understood notation.

I used it in many projects and I'm very satisfied. And too it doesn't use much of memory and space just 6 Mo of Hard Disk.

And the most feature that I like it very much is that I can copy diagrams from the editor and paste them in MS Word... so when I need to edit a specific diagram, just I click on and it will be opened in the editor and by closing it, the updates had been done in MS Word document.

What's the best UML diagramming tool?

50 Answers50

Linked

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