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Microsoft Visio is a cloud-based professional flowchart and diagram creation program.
I've looked into the discount and free methods to get Microsoft Vision on the internet and found that there are 2 methods to get it for free and 2 methods to get it with great discounts.
Microsoft official provides 4 versions of Visio, Plan 1, Plan 2, Standard 2021, and Professional 2021.
Users can pay monthly or yearly for the subscription plans, and one-time purchase for Standard and Pro 2021.
Similar to Microsoft Office, the difference between the subscription plans and the one-time purchase versions is about upgrades. Although the 2021 versions can be used for lifetime and will automatically receive security updates, they cannot always be kept up to date with new features but subscription plans can.
For non-profit organizations, may check Microsoft Nonprofit Plans to enjoy a (41% - 100% off) discount to get Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3, and Office 365 E5. All those 365 editions come with Microsoft Visio.
Additionally, nonprofits can also through Techsoup to get Visio with discounts. Techsoup provides several editions of Visio Standard and Visio Professional:
- Visio Professional - $423 Admin Fee (Need to accept and electronically sign a Volume Licensing Agreement, and can install new releases of it.)
E-commerce Store / Trusted Site - 94% OFF 🔥
Similar to Office 2021, Visio 2021 is available for purchase at a very cheap price thanks to OEM and Volume Licensing on the market. These low-cost keys are fully functional and secure to use, for the personal or small amounts of purchases, which is not a problem.
But for companies that want to buy a large number of Licenses, it is recommended to contact the official for bulk purchase.
Office 365 A1 comes with Visio. Thus, if you are a student, you can first apply for Microsoft 365 free and then use Visio without a cost. However, the Visio in Microsoft 365 is a simplified version. There are still some missing features compared to Visio Plan 1 and Plan 2. You may check the table below.
Visio Viewer / Draw.io
If you are not a student, and do not have any license that comes with Visio, you can use Visio Web Online to view and comment on Visio diagrams.
Simply log in Office.com, then drag Visio File to OneDrive and open it. You can also search "Visio Viewer" for iPad and mobile devices and use it for free. To view Visio files, explore, share, print, and comment on Visio diagrams, it can be all for free in Visio for the web without the need of a license.
There is also a powerful open source software - Draw.io that is 100% free, no registration required, and can be used for both viewing and editing without any additional costs, highly recommended.
Best Cheap Alternatives
There are many great alternatives to Visio, some are more flexible in price than Visio, some are even for free, and they have far more templates than Visio. With these excellent drawing applications, you can get various results.
Besides, Visio alternatives are gradually becoming more trendy than Visio, as shown by the Google search index, so we suggest giving them a try.
Is Visio included in Microsoft 365 Personal and Home Edition❓ No, but Microsoft 365 Commercial and Edu plans include Visio. Please refer to Microsoft 365 plans include the Visio web app.