Org charts in Lucidchart, and the alternative
Lucidchart draws org charts well, and it will build one from a spreadsheet. The catch is the shape of the deal: a free plan that an org chart outgrows at about thirty people, then a subscription per person who edits, for a tool most of those people will use for one diagram. Here is what Lucid's own pages say it does and costs, and what a chart from the same spreadsheet looks like when it is free.
Drawn from a spreadsheet, here
How Lucidchart builds an org chart from data
From Lucid's help centre.
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Import Data
Lucidchart's org chart import lives under Import Data in the org chart shape library, or under File, Import Data, Org Chart. Choose the data source: a CSV, an Excel file or a Google Sheet to upload, cells copied and pasted from a spreadsheet, or, on Enterprise plans, BambooHR.
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Format the data first
The file has to be formatted the way the importer expects before it will build the chart; Lucid's help article on importing from a CSV, Excel file or Google Sheet describes the layout. Then Lucidchart organises each role into the hierarchy.
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Know whether your data is linked
Lucid draws a distinction worth knowing. An uploaded CSV or Excel file is static: changes to the file on your computer are not reflected in the chart unless you replace the data with a new upload. A linked Google Sheet or Microsoft 365 workbook is dynamic, and changes are reflected when you refresh the data.
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Then pay attention to the object count
Org chart creation is available on every Lucid plan, including Free. What the Free plan limits is the document: 60 objects, with lines and text boxes counting. That is the part of the deal the next section is about.
What the free limit means for an org chart
Sixty objects per document sounds like plenty for a flowchart. An org chart is boxes joined by lines, and Lucid's help centre says lines and text boxes count toward the limit. If a box and a line each count as one, thirty people and their twenty-nine reporting lines are fifty-nine objects, with nothing left for a title, a department key or a note. The charts on this site run from eleven to thirty-one people; the one drawn above, at twenty-nine, has three objects to spare, and the two largest would be over the limit before a single label.
So for a company of any size, an org chart in Lucidchart is a paid document. Lucid lists the Individual plan at $9.00 a month plus tax; the Team plan is priced per user, and the number is on Lucid's pricing page rather than in its help centre, so it is not repeated here. Both are per person who edits, every month, for as long as the chart exists.
When Lucidchart is the right answer
When the org chart is one diagram among many. Lucidchart is a general diagramming tool, and a team that draws its flowcharts, wireframes and network diagrams in it should draw the org chart there too, in the same style, in the same folder. If you are on an Enterprise plan, the BambooHR import means the chart can follow the HR system.
When it is not: when the only diagram you need is the org chart, when the people who need to see it outnumber the people who edit it, and when the chart has to stay current without anyone re-importing a file. A per-seat diagramming subscription is a lot of tool for one picture.
Side by side
| Lucidchart | orgchart.live | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A general diagramming tool; org charts are one of its diagrams | Org charts only |
| Free plan | 60 objects per document; lines and text boxes count | Unlimited people and charts; PNG export with a footer line |
| Paid | Individual $9.00 a month plus tax; Team priced per user; Enterprise | $4.99 three-day pass, $49 a year Pro, $199 a year Business |
| From a spreadsheet | Import Data: CSV, Excel, Google Sheets, or cells pasted from a spreadsheet | Import CSV or Excel, paste cells, or a PDF or screenshot read by AI |
| Keeping it current | A linked Google Sheet or Microsoft 365 workbook refreshes; an uploaded file is static | Re-import, edit live, or HRIS sync every six hours on Business |
| HR system sync | BambooHR import, on Enterprise plans only | BambooHR, Gusto and Rippling on Business, $199 a year |
| Dotted lines, staff, open roles | Shapes and lines you place | Columns in the spreadsheet |
| Getting it out | Lucidchart's export formats | PNG free; PDF, SVG and editable PowerPoint on a pass or plan |
Lucid facts from Lucid's help centre and community pages, read on 5 September 2026; the Team plan's per-user price was not on those pages and is not guessed here. If Lucid changes a plan or a limit, this page is wrong until it is updated. The right-hand column is what the code does today; the pricing page is the source for what is paid.
Questions people ask
- Can Lucidchart make an org chart from Excel or a Google Sheet?
- Yes. Lucid's help centre documents importing an org chart from a CSV, an Excel file or a Google Sheet: open Import Data from the org chart shape library, or File, Import Data, Org Chart, then upload the file or paste the cells. An uploaded CSV or Excel file is static, so changes to it are not reflected until you replace the data; a linked Google Sheet or Microsoft 365 workbook refreshes. Org chart creation is available on every Lucid plan, including Free.
- Is Lucidchart free for org charts?
- Free to start, with a limit that an org chart hits early. Lucid's help centre and community give the Free plan 60 objects per document, with lines and text boxes counting toward the limit. If a box and a line each count as one, a chart of thirty people and their twenty-nine lines is fifty-nine objects before a title, a label or a colour key. Past that, the document needs the Individual plan, which Lucid lists at $9.00 a month plus tax, or a Team plan priced per user.
- Does Lucidchart sync with BambooHR?
- It imports from BambooHR, and Lucid's help centre says that import is available on Enterprise plans only. Here, sync from BambooHR, Gusto or Rippling every six hours is part of the Business plan at $199 a year, with your own edits kept as overrides when the HR data changes.
- When is Lucidchart the better choice?
- When the org chart is one diagram among many. Lucidchart draws flowcharts, wireframes, network diagrams and process maps, and if your team already lives in it, the org chart belongs with the rest. If the only diagram you need is the org chart, a tool that does nothing else is cheaper and draws it better.
- How do I move a Lucidchart org chart here?
- From the spreadsheet you imported into Lucidchart: import the same file here, and the chart is drawn from it. If the chart was drawn by hand, type the names and who they report to into two columns, or take a screenshot of it and import that; the screenshot is read into a chart with every guess listed for you to check.
Same spreadsheet, no object limit
Import the file you would have imported into Lucidchart. The chart is drawn from it at any size, everyone can look at it without a seat, and you pay only for a clean file out.