Cursor
Focus: coding, ai editor and developers. Also in Automation and Workflows, like Kroki. A desktop app, not a web app. Freemium (Kroki: Free). Adds macOS and Windows. Rated 4.6 (Kroki: 4.5).
Desktop AppFree planmacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
Web App
Kroki
A free open-source API that turns text into diagrams from dozens of tools.
Rating
4.5 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Advanced
Works on
Web, Linux, Cross-Platform
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Kroki?
Kroki gives you one simple API for diagram languages like PlantUML, Mermaid, GraphViz, D2, BPMN, Excalidraw and many more, returning SVG or PNG from plain text. The public service is free, the code is open source on GitHub, and you can self-host it with Docker.
Pros: what Kroki does well
- One API for many diagram types
- Free public service
- Self-hostable
Cons: where it falls short
- You need to know a diagram language
- Public instance is best effort
Who Kroki is for
Developers and technical writers who keep diagrams next to their docs.
Who can skip it
People who prefer drawing diagrams by hand.
Kroki alternatives
Not sold on Kroki? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Insomnia Mockbin
Focus: mock server, http and testing. Shares api with Kroki. Rated 4.6 (Kroki: 4.5).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.6Visit
Random User Generator
Focus: test data, placeholder and mock users. Shares api with Kroki. Rated 4.6 (Kroki: 4.5).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.6Visit
readme.so
Focus: readme, markdown and developer tools. Shares documentation with Kroki. Rated 4.6 (Kroki: 4.5).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.6Visit
Supabase
Focus: Open Source, Backend and Development. Shares API with Kroki. Freemium (Kroki: Free). Rated 4.6 (Kroki: 4.5).
Web AppFree planWeb
4.6Visit
Text Blaze
Focus: text expander, snippets and templates. Also in Automation and Writing, like Kroki. A browser extension, not a web app. Freemium (Kroki: Free). Adds Chrome, Windows and macOS. Rated 4.6 (Kroki: 4.5).
Browser ExtensionFree planChrome, Windows
4.6Visit
Free alternatives to Kroki
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
OpenWA
Focus: whatsapp, self-hosted and messaging. Shares api with Kroki. Same 4.5 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb, Linux
4.5Visit
Superstreamer
Focus: video streaming, ffmpeg and hls. Shares api with Kroki. A website, not a web app. Rated 4.7 (Kroki: 4.5).
WebsiteFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.7Visit
Vale
Focus: writing checker, style guide and open source. Shares documentation with Kroki. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds macOS, Windows and Offline. Rated 4.6 (Kroki: 4.5).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
Sentio
Focus: email, ai agents and rust. Shares api with Kroki. A framework, not a web app. Same 4.5 rating.
FrameworkFreeWeb, Linux
4.5Visit
AFDocs
Focus: agent-friendly docs, cli and audit. Shares documentation with Kroki. An AI tool, not a web app. Rated 4.4 (Kroki: 4.5).
AI ToolFreeCross-Platform
4.4Visit
Opendray
Focus: ai agents, self-hosted and claude code. Shares api with Kroki. An AI tool, not a web app. Rated 4.3 (Kroki: 4.5).
AI ToolFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.3Visit
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