Diagrams

Diagram tools in this list are either a text language or a drawing canvas. A text language belongs in git. A canvas belongs in a meeting. Treating them as the same alternative is how teams pick a tool they will not use.

MermaidPriceOpen sourcePlatformsWeb, Markdown
PlantUMLPriceOpen sourcePlatformsLocal, Web
ExcalidrawPriceOpen sourcePlatformsWeb
diagrams.netPriceOpen sourcePlatformsWeb, Desktop
D2PriceOpen sourcePlatformsLocal
nomnomlPriceOpen sourcePlatformsWeb
GraphvizPriceOpen sourcePlatformsLocal
LucidchartPriceFreemiumPlatformsWeb
StructurizrPriceFreemiumPlatformsWeb

Open source rows can be checked into a repo and rendered in CI. Proprietary canvases are accounts and sharing links. If the diagram has to survive a vendor shutdown, prefer the row whose license lets you keep the source. The since-year is a hint about how much syntax and how many examples already exist.