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How ArchLens differs
There are good tools for architecture diagrams, and they make different trade-offs. This page explains where ArchLens sits next to three well-known ones, so you can pick what fits your team. For each product's current features and prices, see its own site.
At a glance
| Approach | Where the architecture lives | |
|---|---|---|
| ArchLens | a collaborative web app built around the C4 model, edited on a canvas | one shared model per workspace; diagrams are views of it |
| Structurizr | "diagrams as code", from Simon Brown, who created the C4 model | a text model (Structurizr DSL or code) from which views are generated |
| IcePanel | a collaborative web app built around the C4 model | a shared model, edited visually |
| draw.io / diagrams.net | a general-purpose diagramming tool, with C4 shapes among its libraries | each diagram is its own drawing |
ArchLens and Structurizr
Structurizr treats the architecture as code: you write the model in the Structurizr DSL, keep it in version control, review it like code, and the diagrams are generated. That suits teams who want the architecture to live with the source.
ArchLens is canvas-first: people edit the model by drawing, together and live, without learning a syntax, and the layout is theirs to arrange. The two work together: ArchLens imports Structurizr DSL (people, systems, containers, components, relationships and dynamic views) and exports a diagram back as DSL, so a team can move a model between them.
ArchLens and IcePanel
IcePanel and ArchLens share the main idea: a single model of your systems that many diagrams show, edited visually by a team. If you are choosing between them, compare them on what matters to you on icepanel.io and by trying both.
What ArchLens brings to that comparison:
- a remote MCP server, so Claude, ChatGPT or an IDE agent can read diagrams and draw new ones into a draft you review;
- Structurizr DSL import and export, plus Mermaid C4 and PlantUML C4 text of any view;
- drafts you merge, named versions with a compare view, and a nightly snapshot;
- replayable flows and sequence diagrams over the connections you drew, and data stores that describe their tables (ER diagram, SQL import and export);
- a free plan, sign-in with Google or GitHub, and an interface in English and Thai.
ArchLens and draw.io (diagrams.net)
draw.io is a free, general-purpose diagramming tool. It draws almost any kind of diagram, keeps diagrams as files you control, integrates with many tools, and includes C4 shapes. For a one-off picture, or a diagram that is not about software architecture, it is a fine choice.
The difference is the model. In a drawing tool a box is a shape: the "Orders API" on one diagram and the "Orders API" on another are separate, and renaming one leaves the other behind. In ArchLens the Orders API is one object in the workspace's model; every diagram that shows it changes when it does, connections roll up from containers to systems, and you can ask what depends on it. That matters once a team keeps many diagrams of the same systems over time.
When ArchLens fits
- A team wants to keep C4 diagrams of its systems up to date together, in the browser, without writing a DSL.
- Several diagrams show the same systems and must stay consistent.
- You want an AI assistant to help draw or explain the architecture, with a person reviewing every change.
- You already have Structurizr DSL and want a visual, collaborative place for it, or the other way round.
Structurizr, IcePanel, draw.io and diagrams.net are names of their respective owners. This page describes them only in general terms; their own sites are the reference for what they offer.