Best Organizational chart software

Beyond a certain employee strength, it is not possible to know what others do in an organization? What are the reporting protocols, or what roles and responsibilities each one has? The challenge amplifies when there are different departments, divisions, locations, shifts, time zones, etc. Therefore, businesses need org charts that provide a snapshot of their organization and supply details such as structure, empowered supervisors, and staff roles. However, the traditional methods of drawing org charts such as paper, excel, or PowerPoint fails when it comes to the complex organizational structures of modern companies. Also, they are not safe and secure and are highly prone to human errors.

This is where organizations need an org chart software that can assist organizations in charting their organizational structure with minimum efforts and provides impenetrable security. However, selecting the best org chart on your own is a laborious task. You need to analyze multiple parameters before you can finalize the top org chart software that suits your organizational structure and comes within your budget. Therefore, this buyer’s guide provides valuable data, analysis, and information to org chart software seekers. Read this guide to know all essential aspects, features, functionalities, and factors before investing in an org chart software application.

Organizational charts are a visual representation of an organization's structure, including divisions, reporting relationships, and span of control. An organizational chart is an integral part of people management systems and corporate culture. Organizational charts represent companies' structure, employee roles, and processes. Organizational Charts tell us a lot about an organization's work culture, hierarchy levels, types of communication, and reporting systems. 

Org chart solves a lot of questions about organizational structure:

• Whether the organization is centralized or decentralized?
• If the structure is flat or distributed?
• What type of communication (Upstream or Downstream) is followed? 
• Whether the organization is product-centric or customer-centric?
• Where is the talent located?
• Does the organization have talent diversity?

Organizational charts are the guiding force for employees and provide them the clarity about their reporting process, grievance redressal, responsibilities, limitations, and powers. Org charts are important to strike a balance between leadership tasks and day-to-day operations. It reduces complexity, eliminates silos, and ensures dynamic resource allocation across groups. They demarcate the line of authority, eliminate cross-departmental confusions and provide a visual representation of the structural stability of the organization.  Org charts provide competitive intelligence. Companies within the same industry groups often use organizational charts to understand their competitors. Businesses can infer from the competitors’ org chart about their hierarchical structure, setup, centralization, bureaucracy, and divisions and see if that has benefited them or not. 

• It prevents miscommunication, creation of duplicate resources, or conflicts
• It keeps the organization from falling into an anarchic situation 
• It motivates employees to work hard to reach the top positions in the structure
• It provides everyone a clear picture of leadership roles or the chain of command. 
• It eliminates functional barriers and silos
• It also helps in efficient workforce planning, resource allocation, and restructuring. 
• It eliminates the issues created due to unclear reporting relationships

Matrix structure

In Matrix organizational structure, employees with similar skills are shown in a grid or matrix-like structure. This happens as employees may be reporting to multiple supervisors. For example, all digital marketing executives working on a project may report to one digital marketing manager. However, the same executives may be assigned other projects also, and they may be reporting to another digital marketing manager for that project. 

Hierarchy Structure

The hierarchy organizational structure represents the organization like a pyramid. The different levels of the pyramid depict variations based on authority, functions, powers, or management roles. The top-level represents the members with the highest designation and functional powers. In a hierarchy, employees who come at lower levels report to the supervisors just above them. 

Network Structure

The most agile and decentralized organizations that work on the principle of social networking and open and flexible communication choose to describe their organization with a network organizational structure. This type of organizational structure makes sense when companies have centralized services and are dealing with a multitude of internal and external partners, vendors, freelancers, contractors, etc. It makes it easy for the organization and its employees to visualize the complex workflows, processes, and on-site and off-site relationships. 

Horizontal or Flat Structure

In organizations where there are fewer levels between the top and bottom level, employees, horizontal or flat organizational structure fits well. Startups, small enterprises, etc., use horizontal structure to represent the levels between upper management and staff level employees. In such organizations, the staff level employees are directly involved in the decision-making process as the middle-level management is eliminated. 

Team-based Structure

A team-based structure cuts the hierarchy by empowering employees working on similar goals to work together with more control over their functions. For example, a team that works for a manufacturing company may consist of a project manager, finance manager, designer, technician, and workers. Working as an autonomous unit, the team focuses on maximized collaboration, reporting, and problem-solving. 

Divisional Structure

In very large organizations, its various divisions may have a self-sufficient status. They may have the power and authority to utilize their resources, manage their employees, operate in a standalone way by making their own decisions. Such divisions may be compared to small companies operating with their own departments, marketing teams, salespeople, IT teams, etc. 

The divisions are based on factors such as market, products, geographies, industry type, customer segment, etc. For example:

• a conglomerate that sells in various countries may have independent units in each country
• an organization selling petroleum products and textile may have two divisions that operate independently. 
• a large organization may have separate divisions for logistics, marketing, and sales

Circular Structure

In a circular organizational structure, the organization is seen from a center and drawn in a circular form. It represents hierarchy in a circular form rather than the vertical form. Managers, employees, management, etc. are shown as part of circles. The innermost and central circle represents the people with the highest power and authority. The outer circles represent employees, vendors, and other stakeholders.

Functional Structure

In functional organizational structures employees in the same department are grouped together and boxes in charts represent one department. This clubs the employees with similar functional responsibilities together. 

Charts are an important visual aid in project management. It is an operationally-focused system that can keep every department aligned as per the business goals. Today’s actionable organizational charts are like comprehensive corporate biographies with reliable information. They bring order to data chaos by organizing the company’s structural data into an intelligible form. 

• An organizational chart is a type of Who’s Who Resource for the workforce. Using photos of the employees, different colors for divisions, various shapes to depict workgroups, department-wise icons, etc., make it visually appealing and easy to understand. 
• It delineates the managerial span of control by detailing all the members who report to a particular manager
• Chart clearly defines the responsibilities, and everyone knows who can participate in a decision-making process (hiring, terminations, promotions, supervisions, training, strategic decisions, etc.)
• Employees know who will and who can delegate the tasks to them just by seeing the chart. They also know where to report issues, requests, or proposals. 
• It acts as an onboarding tool where new employees can be added to the chart

In a recent survey, 56% of senior executives revealed that their organizational structures don’t create clear accountability. One reason highlighted is the use of outdated charting methods to create organizational structures. Organization charts are the blueprints that define roles and responsibilities, departments, divisions, and how they are interconnected to make an integrated functional unit. However, when companies undertake to make organizational charts using traditional charting methods, they face a lot of challenges such as:

• Static Charts: When your organization uses paper charts, it is not feasible to edit them on a regular basis. Adding headcounts, removing employees or job roles, and making changes in the layers are not possible on paper charts.
• Design Issues: When you use excel sheets or simple computer programs to chart your organizational structure then, you may end up with an unattractive and poorly designed chart. Creative and progressive charts require modern tools that are not available in excel sheets or paper-based charts.
• Detailing: Excel sheets or paper charts have limitations when it comes to deep detailing. You can add notes; however, adding multiple layers to illustrate specific details in a visually appealing way is not possible with excel sheets.
• Time-consuming: The traditional methods are not user-friendly, and therefore it takes a lot of time and effort to make organizational charts.  
• Storage and distribution: With paper-based charts, storage and distribution to all employees are always an issue. 
• Security: Org charts also contain confidential information that cannot be shared with everyone. For example, HR won’t want all employees to see each other's salary. Therefore, such charts will require layer-wise access controls and permissions.

Organizations can easily overcome these challenges with the aid of the best Org Chart Software.

Org chart software is an application tool that assists organizations in creating, managing, editing and updating organizational charts without any hassle. Org chart solutions transform the raw data procured from various data sources into a graphical depiction. It comes packed with the top elements that you need to create the best organizational charts for your company, such as pre-built templates (industry-specific), drag and drop functionality, intuitive interface, design options, premium support, backup, security features, and set up modules.

You can use an online organizational chart software to create org charts online. You need to sign up for an online org chart software and follow the below steps for creating interactive org charts: 

• Create Charts: Most online org chart software have a create button to enter into the chart maker interface. 
• Select Template or Shape: You may choose from already existing pre-built templates and shapes (ovals, rectangles, circles, etc.).
• Formatting: Select fonts, font size, background color, graphics, etc. 
• Build: Using the drag and drop functionality start adding the levels, hierarchy, and data into the shapes. Connect sections, add pages, and images of employees, etc. 
• Preview: Once the chart is complete, preview the chart and share it with anyone for approval, suggestions, edits, etc. 
• Launch and Share: After approvals and edits, you can share the final chart with easy sharing options. You can also embed charts on your company website. 
• Download: You can also download the chart in PDF or other formats.

On-Premise Org Chart Software

These types of org chart software are licensed, and organizations can install them within their IT infrastructure. On-Premise org chart solutions are mostly deployed by companies seeking to keep their data on their own local servers.

Web-based Org Chart Software

These types of online org chart software solutions are hosted by third-party solution providers. Web-based online org chart maker can be accessed from anywhere with a user login ID and 2-factor authentication. 

Cloud-based Org Chart Software

These types of org chart software are hosted through cloud solution providers. These are popular with large business organizations that require extensive charting solutions and features, massive data storage capacities, and extreme flexibility. The cloud-based org chart solution is a SaaS (Software as a Service) product that allows organizations to access the services through internet-enabled devices. 

Open Source Org Chart Software

These types of org chart software allow users to customize source code for more features, modify inbuilt settings to suit internal needs, and add extra plugins to enhance the capabilities, usability, and functionality of the software. When companies need to accommodate specific features in their org chart solutions that are unavailable with any vendor, then open source org chart software can be deployed. 

Easy Workforce Planning: With extensive knowledge of the organization on a single chart, org chart software provides organizations with the power to plan their workforce easily, see trends, identify gaps, analyze metrics, etc. No doubt, org charts are ubiquitous to the workforce ecosystem. 

Scale: Whether you are a 100 employee company or 10000 employee organization, org chart software lets you chart your organizational structure with ease, flexibility, and scalability.

Automation saves your time: Modern org chart software solutions are designed to save time and effort involved in charting the organizational workforce. Org chart software can automate the creation, addition and deletion, and maintenance of the chart based on its integration with HR tools. It can take employee data automatically from HR software or employee databases and update the chart automatically when employees join or leave the organization. 

Provide Essential Workforce Metrics: Org charting software provide essential workforce information and metrics such as Headcount calculations (total number of employees in an organization), Job type (title, position, job code, classification), Job Role (roles and responsibilities, functions, and power), etc. 

Provides Intelligent Analytics: With organization chart software’s intelligent analytics coupled with AI, companies can spot patterns in the talent ecosystem, identify critical gaps, and fix them to be more competitive. 

Keeps data safe: Most org chart vendors keep data centers at multiple locations to keep your data safe and available in real-time. 

Creates Transparency: Org charts software makes the chart available online on companies’ web properties, allows authorized collaboration, and displays open and occupied positions allowing more transparency for timely talent acquisition. 

• HR Managers: Org chart software is used by HR managers for workforce planning and employee onboarding. Org chart software can also highlight open job roles and help in the recruitment and hiring process. 
• Higher Management: People in leadership positions use organizational chart software to create versions of business scenarios that depict promotions or changes in leadership roles. It helps them to visualize the organizational structure before decisions take concrete shape. Both HR teams and upper management use org chart software for succession planning. 
• Admins: Company’s administrative team uses org chart software as a staff directory that contains a list and critical information of all employees. 
• Cross-Department Teams: Cross-functional teams can use org chart software to know other team members for better collaboration. 
• Sales and marketing departments: Sales and marketing departments use org charts to understand external relationships with potential clients.  
• Budgeting and Finance Department: By gaining a complete view of an organization's workforce and functional roles through organization charting software, financial managers can allocate resources based on team size and roles. 
• Consultants and Investors:  Organizational chart software is used by analysts, consultants, investors, strategy consulting firms, hedge funds, etc., to gain insights from organizational charts about the company's culture, employee retention, structural stability, vastness, etc. Such insights help them in making better strategic and investment decisions. A well-structured organization with optimal talent distribution and organized divisions is worth investment. 

• Create Chart: With plenty of options, tools, drag and drop functionality, and templates, create powerful organizational charts that suit your company type and easily update whenever you need them. 
• Share: For teams building the chart, this option allows collaboration with the viewing, editing, and sharing rights.
• Predefined Themes: Use pre-built themes, shapes, logos, diagram types, styles, formatting options, templates, structures, etc., to make your chart visually appealing. 
• Intelligent Formatting: Add, delete or move shapes or edit pre-existing templates.
• Automatic Spacing: It can automatically add or remove space, perfect the alignment, resize shapes for consistency, and give the final touch for color schemes. 
• Add Photos: Organizational charts with photos of the workforce provide a better understanding of the organization and make it easy for employees to know and communicate with each other. This feature lets you easily add photos in shapes by a simple browse and upload feature.
• Preview: You can preview your work as many times as you wish.
• Publish: Integrations with multiple publishing tools makes it possible to publish your completed and approved charts on your website and other online properties. 
• Auto pagination: Split your charts into multiple pages with the auto pagination feature and view each page separately for better understanding.
• Draw multiple types of Charts: Allows to make all types of charts such as hierarchy, matrix, network, line, flat, etc.
• Advanced Search: This feature allows you to search an individual on the chart using various search filters such as name, designation, department, title, etc. 
• In-depth Profiles: You can add extensive data to each profile. For instance, clicking on each profile may provide data such as skills, interests, awards, and links to more information about the employees. 
• Restructuring: In case of restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, or division shut down, the org chart software provides easy scenario planning and chart modification. 
• Download and Printing: The organization chart can be downloaded in PDF form and can be printed if required. 
• Import from Excel Sheets: Create charts in minutes by one-click data import from excel sheets. 

Before you select the top org chart software, you need to understand what factors to consider to make the best buying decision. Below are some critical factors that you need to consider meticulously: 

Organization’s Size: While most of the org chart systems are scalable to adopt any number of employees/members on the chart, some might be more suitable than others based on the size and type of the organization. There are software particularly designed for small companies, mid-sized businesses, or large organizations. One should consider and check this with the vendor before purchasing the software. You can also select plans that suit your organization type. 

Organization’s Structure: Select a software solution that goes well with your organization’s structure. There are some software vendors who have specialized org chart software solutions for different types of organizational structures. 

• Can the org chart software integrate with other applications such as Google Workspace, MS office, collaborative tools, etc.?
• Whether the software can work with all types of operating systems?
• How secure is the organization chart software from data theft? And what are the privacy features?
• Does the software provide the required storage, sharing, and collaboration capacity? 
• Is the org chart software system intuitive and easy to work on?
• Can integrate with databases such as SQL, active directory, excel, etc., for auto-population? 
• Is the org chart application scalable to accommodate more features?
• Is the org chart solution accessible on multiple operating systems and devices?
• How many users are licensed to use the software?
• What is the pricing structure for the org chart software? Is it available for a monthly subscription, annual pricing, or one-time pay?
• Are there any installation costs and software training charges? 
• Can the online org chart tools work smoothly with low bandwidth internet connectivity?
• Whether it provides 100% compliance to the existing data privacy and local regulations?Whether the below functionalities and services are available?
• 24/7 customer support
• Free software upgrades
• Free trial or Free demo

The costs of  the best org chart software depend on a large number of factors such as:

• Features 
• Quality of service and customer support offered 
• User-friendliness and interface
• Auto Formatting features
• Security features 
• Ease of configuration
• Deployment: Cloud-based, Web-based, on-premise software, or open-source

Org chart software comes in the price range of $2-$199 per month per user. You can also get free org chart software with limited features. Let us discuss both the paid and free plans. 

Paid Plans: 

PingBoard organization chart software comes at $99 per month for 50 users, and its company plan costs you $199 per month for 100 users. ($2 per user).  For the professional plan of Gliffy, you need to pay $7.99 per user. The single-user plan of SmartDraw costs you $9.95 per month when billed annually. For more than five users, you can get SmartDraw at $8.25 per user per month.  

Free Plans

If you need free org chart software, check out the free version of Lucidchart, Creately, or Canva. If you need free and open source org chart software, check out our article on free and open source org chart software that lists some of the best open source org chart software.
For other org chart software solutions such as OrgChart, PeopleBoard, Built For Teams, and Originio, you need to contact the vendors. Get the updated list of org chart makers and their complete information from the GoodFirms org chart page’s product section.

Goodfirms is a frontline software research company popular in the Information Technology sector for its comprehensive lists of thousands of software products and IT services.  GoodFirms has a rich tradition of providing buying guidance and assistance to aspirants of B2B IT products and services. GoodFirms regularly updates the listings of software products based on market situations, new tech research, and relevance. GoodFirms also gives software ratings based on their performance, feature updates, and user reviews. Currently, GoodFirms houses a massive list of 60000+ software products and services. GoodFirms has also collected 30000+ reviews of these services and products from genuine users. You are advised to go through the list of extensively researched best org chart software to find the best one for yourself.