# AI Diagram Maker MCP vs draw.io + MCP

> draw.io scores 64.5 (B) to AI Diagram Maker MCP's 43.8 (E) for diagram creation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-drawio
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-drawio.md (~5,050 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

draw.io + MCP scores 64.5 (B) on agent readiness against AI Diagram Maker MCP's 43.8 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. AI Diagram Maker MCP leads on agent ergonomics. Both do diagram creation.

- AI Diagram Maker MCP: grade E, 43.8/100, rank #1225 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ai-diagram-maker-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ai-diagram-maker-mcp.json
- draw.io + MCP: grade B, 64.5/100, rank #464 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/drawio.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/drawio.json
- Best diagramming APIs and diagram-as-code for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/diagramming/index.md
- All 147 diagrams comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagramming/index.md

## Which one, for what

### AI Diagram Maker MCP (E)

Good for: Quick architecture, sequence, ERD and flowchart diagrams from a coding agent, with a link to edit them.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 66 against 59

Watch for: Last release 3.0.8 on 10 April 2026, and the registry entry still says 1.0.0

### draw.io + MCP (B)

Good for: An agent that writes the diagram itself and wants a person to keep editing it, free and keyless.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 45 against 30
- Schema & documentation, 87 against 75
- Security & auth, 55 against 45
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 86 against 17
- Transparency & trust, 81 against 35

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: No REST API to save, list or render diagrams


## Why the edge

### Maintenance & community: draw.io + MCP +69

- AI Diagram Maker MCP (17): Last release v3.0.8, published to npm on 10 April 2026, 210 days before this check (0). No release since 8 August (0). Four issues in all. The two open ones, from 4 May (hosted MCP credit usage) and 13 October 2026, show no reply, and one closed issue had a comment (5 of 25). In the official MCP registry under the GitHub-verified namespace io.github.erajasekar, but the entry is 1.0.0 from 19 March 2026 while npm is on 3.0.8 (10 of 15). The only workflow publishes to the registry. No tests or CI, and the MCP SDK floor is ^1.9.0 (2 of 10). 0 + 0 + 5 + 10 + 2 = 17.
- draw.io + MCP (86): The hosted App went to 1.4.7 on 31 October 2026 and was published to the official registry that day, @drawio/mcp went to 1.10.1 on 30 October, and core v32.6.9 was tagged the same day (30). The tool server went from 1.6.3 to 1.10.1 and the App server from 1.0.6 to 1.4.7 in October, and the core repository tagged 20 versions from v31.1.8 (7 August) to v32.6.9 (20). Commits land most days, with weekly triage fixes. The core repo doesn't take pull requests, and we couldn't read issue replies because github.com refuses our requests (15). In the official MCP registry as io.draw/mcp under the draw.io domain namespace, at 1.4.7 with mcp.draw.io as its remote (15). Description-size and tool tests exist, but run only in the manual npm publish workflow, not on every push (6). 30 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 6 = 86.

### Transparency & trust: draw.io + MCP +46

- AI Diagram Maker MCP (35): The MCP server is MIT (package.json and LICENSE, added 18 March 2026). The service is closed, under terms last updated 24 September 2025 that name the operator only as AI Diagram Maker (20 of 30). The privacy policy of the same date keeps diagrams, revisions and chat prompts and responses 'as long as necessary', and the terms license user input 'to provide and improve our services', with no retention periods and no word on model training or the AI providers used (8 of 30). No deprecation policy or dated notices (0). No subprocessors or data locations named (0). The MCP server's source sends no telemetry of its own. 20 + 8 + 0 + 0 = 28.
- draw.io + MCP (81): Apache 2.0 (30). The privacy policy, v2.3.1 of 18 October 2026, says diagrams are processed and not kept, sets retention for logs (30 days) and user counts (24 months), and lists where data goes. A separate policy for the hosted MCP server (v1.1, 13 October 2026) says diagrams and requests aren't stored or logged, gives retention per item and names Cloudflare and Google Cloud as sub-processors. The two agree, and the 2023 policy's UK-only statement is gone. Neither policy publishes a DPA or says one is available, so the line sits with pen-dev (24) and pushary (25), whose retention tables and sub-processor lists come with a DPA on request (24, 15 on 1 October). No deprecation policy found, though the core ChangeLog records changes such as the Dropbox removal in 32.5.1 (3). Providers and data locations are listed in both policies, with Cloudflare processing in the data centre nearest the caller, which may be outside the UK. We found no telemetry in the MCP tool definitions (18, 10 on 1 October). 30 + 24 + 3 + 18 = 75.

### Payments & pricing: draw.io + MCP +40

- AI Diagram Maker MCP (20): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Plan prices are public (Plus $10, Max $20 a month), with credits counted at 1,000 tokens each, so there's no per-diagram price (10 of 20). Basic is free forever with 50 credits a month, but the page doesn't say whether a card is needed or whether API and MCP calls are included (10 of 20, half as with an unstated card rule). A person signs up in the app and creates the key (0). 0 + 10 + 10 + 0 = 20.
- draw.io + MCP (60): Free and Apache 2.0, nothing to buy for the MCP servers or the editor, so the self-hosted rule applies. No payment protocol (0). Nothing to price (20). Free with no account or card (20). Keyless, an agent can connect with no signup (20).

### Reliability: draw.io + MCP +15

- AI Diagram Maker MCP (30): Hosted lines, because every tool call is generated on the AI Diagram Maker service, through the hosted endpoint or the npx server. No status page found on the site or in the README (0). No readable incident history (5). The only rate-limit number is the example in the OpenAPI 429 schema ('Maximum 100 requests per day exceeded.'), which isn't stated as the limit (5 of 15). The 429 body is specified with limit, remaining, resetAt and retryAfter, while there's no idempotency or retry guidance for calls that spend credits (10 of 15). No SLA found (0). Nothing labels the service or server beta (10). 0 + 5 + 5 + 10 + 0 + 10 = 30.
- draw.io + MCP (45): Better Stack status page at status.draw.io with 30, 60 and 90-day bars for app.diagrams.net and the Atlassian apps, but mcp.draw.io isn't one of the monitored components (15). Every bar reads 100 per cent bar one 99.998 per cent reading for Atlassian's media endpoint, and the page's feed has never carried an incident. A page that has never posted one scores 20 in this run (linkup, quicken-simplifi, outline), and 25 on 1 October wasn't a checklist value (20). No rate limits published, and none found in the hosted server's source (0). No 429 or retry guidance (0). No SLA found (0). The hosted MCP App (1.4.7) and @drawio/mcp (1.10.1) are released, not preview (10). 15 + 20 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 45.

### Schema & documentation: draw.io + MCP +12

- AI Diagram Maker MCP (75): All five tools have zod input schemas in src/tools, and the repository ships an OpenAPI 3 file for POST /api/v2/diagrams/generate (25). No llms.txt (404) and no docs site for agents beyond the README (0). Each description says what the tool does and when to use it, listing trigger phrases and the diagram types, without saying when another tool fits better (16 of 20). `content` has a minimum length and `diagramType` an eight-value enum; the OpenAPI adds `inputType` and `format` enums (13 of 15). Examples in the parameter descriptions and README, and the OpenAPI documents 400, 401, 402, 422 (D2 failed to compile) and 429 with typed error bodies (13 of 15). Git tags from v1.1.1 to v3.0.8 and a /api/v2 path, with no changelog or release notes (8 of 15). 25 + 0 + 16 + 13 + 13 + 8 = 75.
- draw.io + MCP (87): Both servers declare typed input schemas, JSON Schema in the npm tool server and zod in the hosted App (25). www.drawio.com/llms.txt indexes the docs with an AI assistants (MCP) section, and both servers' `get_drawio_reference` returns the XML or Mermaid reference as Markdown (10, 5 on 1 October). Descriptions say when to use and when not to. `create_diagram` tells the model to call `get_drawio_reference` once per format before the first diagram and `search_shapes` first for industry icons, and the npm `open_drawio_xml` says to prefer Mermaid outside stencil-based diagrams (20). Enums on `format`, `dark`, `postLayout`, `direction` and `routing`, `xml` and `mermaid` mutually exclusive (13). Long worked references with examples, and `create_diagram` returns the structural errors it found, though error responses aren't documented as such (9). Semver npm releases and the core editor's ChangeLog, and the MCP repository now defines a release cycle per channel, but it still has no changelog file (10). 25 + 10 + 20 + 13 + 9 + 10 = 87.

### Security & auth: draw.io + MCP +10

- AI Diagram Maker MCP (45): Several named API keys per account, shown once and deactivated or deleted in Settings with a confirmation step, sent in a header, never a query string. No scopes, and the user guide says anyone with a key can access the account (20 of 30). The tools only create diagrams and can't change or delete anything in the account, but there's no read-only key (12 of 20). Tools return diagrams built from the caller's own input. Image inputs can be any public URL (10 of 15). The privacy policy mentions credit usage history, and no per-call log or audit view is documented (3 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found (0). 20 + 12 + 10 + 3 + 0 = 45.
- draw.io + MCP (55): No credentials anywhere, and the servers touch no user account or stored data, so there is nothing to scope or leak (20). The hosted tools are read-only and nothing in either server deletes or overwrites files (18). Output is the agent's own diagram plus shape results from draw.io's index and icon service (10). No per-call log for the operator (0). No security.txt (404). The core repository's SECURITY.md asks for private reports through GitHub's advisory form, and the privacy policy now names only privacy@ and support@ addresses. No bug bounty or certification found. npm releases use Trusted Publishing with provenance (7).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | AI Diagram Maker MCP | draw.io + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 30 | 45 | draw.io + MCP +15 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 87 | draw.io + MCP +12 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 59 | AI Diagram Maker MCP +7 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 45 | 55 | draw.io + MCP +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 60 | draw.io + MCP +40 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 17 | 86 | draw.io + MCP +69 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 35 | 81 | draw.io + MCP +46 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **43.8 · E** | **64.5 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | AI Diagram Maker MCP | draw.io + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |
| Vendor | AI Diagram Maker (Rajasekar Elango) | draw.io |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.aidiagrammaker.com/mcp` | `https://mcp.draw.io/mcp` |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP, stdio | Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | API key | None |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT for the MCP server. The AI Diagram Maker service it calls is closed, under terms last updated 24 September 2025 | Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 5 | 3 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | `io.github.erajasekar/ai-diagram-maker-mcp` | `io.draw/mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-04-10 | 2026-10-31 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-09-24 | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-09-24 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 63 npm/wk | 8.5k stars, 25k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 4/5 (2) |

## How the scores have moved

### AI Diagram Maker MCP

No score change since it was listed.

### draw.io + MCP

- +2.3 on 2 November 2026: terms, product, new evidence, correction
- -0.2 on 8 October 2026: checklist

## Verdicts

**AI Diagram Maker MCP.** Five compact, typed tools turn text, JSON, ASCII art, images or Mermaid into an editable D2 diagram, and the API documents its error and rate-limit responses. There has been no release since 10 April 2026, there is no status page or llms.txt, and the API key opens the whole account with no scopes.

**draw.io + MCP.** Free, keyless and Apache 2.0. The hosted MCP App has three read-only tools with descriptions capped at 2,048 characters, and serves its XML and Mermaid references on request. A privacy policy for the MCP server says diagrams aren't stored. No rate limits, SLA or status monitor cover mcp.draw.io, and the npm server's eight tools carry no annotations.

## Before you call either

### AI Diagram Maker MCP

1. Send the key in the `X-ADM-API-Key` header to https://mcp.aidiagrammaker.com/mcp, never in the URL
2. Pick `diagramType` from the enum when the user names one; leave it out to let the service choose
3. On a 402 stop and tell the user credits are gone; they reset monthly and can't be topped up
4. On a 429 wait for `retryAfter` seconds before the next call
5. Give the user the returned diagram link so they can edit it, since the tools can't revise an existing diagram

### draw.io + MCP

1. Call `get_drawio_reference` once per format before the first diagram, then pass `mermaid` to `create_diagram` for any type on its Mermaid list. Use `xml` for icons, mockups or hand-placed layouts
2. Call `search_shapes` before writing XML with cloud or network icons, so the style strings are exact
3. Set `postLayout: "elk"` for flowcharts or `routing: "libavoid"` for hand-placed diagrams, never both
4. Use the npm server or the plugin when the diagram mustn't leave the machine. The hosted App sends it to draw.io's server, which doesn't store it
5. Expect each reference to cost thousands of tokens when fetched. Fetch only the format you will use

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, AI Diagram Maker MCP or draw.io + MCP?

draw.io + MCP scores 64.5 (B) on agent readiness against AI Diagram Maker MCP's 43.8 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. AI Diagram Maker MCP leads on agent ergonomics.

### Do AI Diagram Maker MCP and draw.io + MCP need an API key?

AI Diagram Maker MCP needs an API key. draw.io + MCP needs no key.

### Can an agent call AI Diagram Maker MCP and draw.io + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. AI Diagram Maker MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.aidiagrammaker.com/mcp and draw.io + MCP at https://mcp.draw.io/mcp.

### Are AI Diagram Maker MCP and draw.io + MCP open source?

No open-source release is listed for AI Diagram Maker MCP. draw.io + MCP is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-drawio.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-drawio.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "ai-diagram-maker-mcp", "b": "drawio"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare ai-diagram-maker-mcp drawio`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ai-diagram-maker-mcp.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/drawio.json

## Other comparisons with AI Diagram Maker MCP or draw.io + MCP

- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs Cloudviz API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-cloudviz.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs D2](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-d2.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs Diagrams.so API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-diagrams-so.md)
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- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs Excalidraw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-excalidraw.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs Kroki](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-kroki.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs Lucid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-lucid.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs Mermaid Chart MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-mermaid-chart.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs Mumble](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-mumble.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs Mural MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-mural-mcp.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs PlantUML](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-plantuml.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs Structurizr + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-structurizr.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-tldraw.md)
- [AI Diagram Maker MCP vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-diagram-maker-mcp-vs-whimsical.md)
- [Cloudviz API vs draw.io + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-drawio.md)
- [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs draw.io + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-drawio.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs Eraser API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-eraser.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs ExcaliClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-excaliclaw.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs Excalidraw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-excalidraw.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs Kroki](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-kroki.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs Lucid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-lucid.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs Mermaid Chart MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-mermaid-chart.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs Mumble](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-mumble.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs Mural MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-mural-mcp.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs PlantUML](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-plantuml.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs Structurizr + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-structurizr.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-tldraw.md)
- [draw.io + MCP vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-whimsical.md)
- [D2 vs draw.io + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-drawio.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp