New in H2R Gear v2.12
A rewritten cable engine that routes around your gear, plus cable shortcuts and a long list of fixes.
Read more →How we picked
There is no single best AV diagram software. A church volunteer planning a Sunday stream, a freelancer running a conference, and an integrator designing a university lecture theatre need very different tools. So instead of a ranking, each tool below gets a best for verdict.
We looked at what matters for AV signal flow in practice: does the tool know about real devices and ports, can it produce a patch list and packlist from the drawing, does it handle racks, how easy is it to share with a crew, and what does it cost. Full disclosure: we make H2R Gear. Competitor details are from public information at the time of writing, and prices change, so check each vendor's site before you buy.
AV diagram software at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Price | Platform | Racks | Packlist | Patch list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H2R Gear | Live events, streaming, churches and touring crews on a budget | Free tier, $5 and $15/month plans, teams from $25/month, $12 event pass | Browser | No | Yes | Yes (Pro) |
| draw.io | Free, quick sketches and mixed diagram types | Free | Browser, desktop | No | No | No |
| Lucidchart / Visio | Organisations that need one general diagram tool for everything | Paid subscriptions (Lucidchart has a limited free plan) | Browser, Windows (Visio) | No | No | No |
| Vectorworks ConnectCAD | Large installs and broadcast facilities that need CAD-grade drawings | Paid, professional CAD pricing | Desktop | Yes | Unclear | Yes |
| D-Tools | Integrators managing the whole job from quote to install | Paid, sales-led | Desktop and cloud | Yes | Unclear | Unclear |
Comparison based on publicly available information as of September 2026. "Unclear" means we could not confirm it from public information. Check each vendor's site for the latest details.
1. H2R Gear: best for live events, streaming, churches and touring crews on a budget
H2R Gear is a browser-based planning tool. You add real gear from a community library, drag cables between real inputs and outputs (25 cable types plus 5 custom), and it builds a packlist you tick off as you pack, plus a patch list on Pro that exports to CSV. Read-only share links open without signing in, and team plans share plans, a gear library and projects with riders and call sheets attached.
Watch out for: no rack elevations, no floor plans, no proposals or costing, no import, and no offline mode or desktop app. It is built for show planning, not installation design.
Price: free Starter plan, Personal $5/month, Pro $15/month, teams from $25/month, or a $12 one-time pass for 10 days of Pro. See pricing.
2. draw.io: best free general diagram tool
draw.io is free, runs in the browser or on the desktop, and does not need an account. For a quick sketch of a small rig it is hard to beat on price.
Watch out for: it does not know what an HDMI port is, so there are no connection checks, packlists or patch lists. Read draw.io AV diagrams vs H2R Gear.
3. Lucidchart and Visio: best for organisations that need one diagram tool for everything
Both are polished general diagramming tools with strong collaboration and integrations. If your company already pays for one, it is a reasonable place to draw signal flow.
Watch out for: the same gap as draw.io. The drawing is a picture, and all AV paperwork is manual. Read Visio and Lucidchart vs H2R Gear.
4. Vectorworks ConnectCAD: best for large installs and broadcast facilities
ConnectCAD works inside Vectorworks, a professional CAD package, and is aimed at detailed system design for broadcast and installed AV, with racks and cable scheduling alongside drawings.
Watch out for: it is desktop software with professional CAD pricing and a steep learning curve. Overkill for most live events.
5. D-Tools: best for integrators managing quote to install
D-Tools is business software for systems integrators, covering estimating, proposals, project management and system documentation.
Watch out for: it is expensive, sales-led and built for integration businesses. If you do not sell and install systems, you are paying for a lot you will not use.
What about rental and inventory software?
Tools like Current RMS, Rentman and Flex come up in these searches, but they manage rental stock, quotes and scheduling rather than signal flow. Many companies use one of them alongside a diagram tool.
How to choose signal flow diagram software
- Installing permanent systems with racks and proposals? Look at D-Tools or ConnectCAD.
- Planning shows, streams or services and want the packlist and patch list done for you? Try H2R Gear free.
- Just need a sketch? draw.io will do.
Whichever you pick, a clear drawing matters more than the tool. Our signal flow diagrams guide and cable labelling guide apply to all of them.