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 →Why AV people look for a Visio alternative
Microsoft Visio and Lucidchart are excellent general diagramming tools. A lot of AV signal flow has been drawn in them over the years, and for good reason: they are flexible, familiar and often already paid for through work.
The trouble starts after the diagram is drawn. A box labelled "Switcher" with a line to a box labelled "Projector" is just a picture. It cannot tell you that you have plugged an SDI output into an HDMI input, how many 10m XLRs you need, or which cable is V07. Someone still has to count cables by hand and type up a patch list in a spreadsheet, and the two drift apart the moment the plan changes.
H2R Gear is built for this one job. Every item comes from a gear library with real, named inputs and outputs. You drag a cable from an output to an input, choose from 25 cable types (HDMI, SDI, SMPTE, XLR, Ethernet, fiber, DMX, PowerCon and more, plus 5 custom types), and add a label and length. The packlist and patch list build themselves from that.
Who each tool is for
Visio suits organisations already on Microsoft 365 who need one tool for flowcharts, network diagrams, org charts and the occasional AV schematic, and who value desktop editing and Microsoft integrations.
Lucidchart suits teams who want a collaborative, browser-based whiteboard and diagram tool with real-time co-editing, comments and integrations across many business apps.
H2R Gear suits people whose diagrams exist to get a show built: live event AV crews, streamers, church production teams, corporate event techs and touring crews.
Lucidchart AV signal flow vs H2R Gear
Lucidchart is often the first stop for a quick AV signal flow because it is in the browser and easy to share. It works well for a sketch. For a real show, the gaps are the same as Visio: no port awareness, no cable types, no automatic counts. You can add text for cable labels, but nothing collects them into a list.
In H2R Gear, cable labels (up to 7 characters, like "V01") and lengths show on the canvas and in the patch list, and lengths also appear in the packlist. Crossing cables get small bumps so you can follow them, and in Left to Right mode you can hide long routes as labelled stubs to keep busy diagrams readable. See the cable docs.
Key differences
- Connection checks. H2R Gear only lets cables connect between compatible port types, with a per-plan override when you need it. General tools let any line join any shape.
- Documentation from one source. Change a cable in H2R Gear and the patch list and packlist update. In Visio or Lucidchart, you update the spreadsheet by hand.
- Collaboration style. Lucidchart and Visio have real-time co-editing and comments. H2R Gear focuses on team plans, team libraries, projects with file uploads, and read-only share links anyone can open without signing in.
- Breadth. Visio and Lucidchart draw anything. H2R Gear only draws AV and live production plans, and has no integrations with other software.
Pricing comparison
Visio is sold as a paid subscription, on its own or as part of some Microsoft 365 business plans. Lucidchart has a limited free plan and paid subscriptions for individuals and teams. Both change pricing from time to time, so check their pricing pages for current figures.
H2R Gear (USD, at the time of writing): Starter is free with 2 active plans. Personal is $5/month ($50/year) with sharing and export. Pro is $15/month ($150/year) with patch lists, zones and projects. Small Team is $25/month with 3 members included, and Growth Team is $80/month with 10. A one-time event pass is $12 for 10 days of Pro. See pricing.
Feature comparison
| Feature | H2R Gear | Visio | Lucidchart |
|---|---|---|---|
| General diagrams (org charts, flowcharts, floor sketches) | No | Yes | Yes |
| AV gear with real, named inputs and outputs | Yes | No (shapes or stencils) | No (shapes) |
| Cables only connect to compatible ports | Yes | No | No |
| Built-in AV cable types (HDMI, SDI, XLR, fiber, DMX...) | Yes (25 plus 5 custom) | No | No |
| Automatic packlist from the diagram | Yes (all tiers) | No | No |
| Automatic patch list with CSV export | Yes (Pro and Team) | No | No |
| Cable labels and lengths tracked per cable | Yes | Partial (manual text) | Partial (manual text) |
| Runs in a web browser | Yes | Yes (web version) | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | Yes (Windows) | No |
| Free tier | Yes (2 active plans) | No (paid, or bundled with some Microsoft 365 plans) | Yes (limited) |
| Real-time co-editing and comments | No | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations with other software | No | Yes | Yes |
| Read-only share link, no login to view | Yes (Personal and up) | Partial | Yes |
| Vector PDF export | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Comparison based on publicly available information as of September 2026. "Partial" means the feature exists in a limited or different form. Third-party stencils and add-ons may extend Visio and Lucidchart. Check each vendor's site for the latest details.
When Visio or Lucidchart is the better choice
- You need one tool for every kind of diagram, not just AV.
- Your company already pays for it and requires documents in that format.
- You need real-time co-editing, comments or integrations with other business apps.
- You need a Windows desktop app (Visio).
- You are drawing an installed system's rack or room layout, which H2R Gear does not do.
When H2R Gear is the better choice
- Your diagram needs to become a packlist and a patch list without retyping.
- You want the software to catch wrong connections before show day.
- You plan live events, streams, church services or tours and want dates, Job IDs and plan status for each one.
- You want a free tier or a $12 one-off pass rather than another subscription.
Moving from Visio or Lucidchart to H2R Gear
There is no Visio or Lucidchart import, so you rebuild the diagram. Keep your old drawing open next to H2R Gear and work through it:
- Sign up free and start a plan.
- Press G and search the community library for each device. Build anything missing once in the Builder.
- Drag cables between ports and add labels and lengths as you go.
- Group areas with zones (Pro), add text labels for notes, then export a PDF or share a link.
Our signal flow diagram guide covers layout conventions, and the ATEM Mini setup diagram shows a finished example.