A classic Microsoft app might be better at making visuals than AI

Jeri kim June 09, 2025

Nobody told me how many jobs would require me to be good at making graphs. Marketing? That’s like 90% making graphs with the occasional chart thrown in. Teaching? Oh, you better believe we’re in graph country every time admin wanted reports about grades. The thing is, I’m really garbage at making graphs, charts, really anything to do with making numbers look pretty. That’s why I started using Microsoft Visio. I don’t want to spend years training to be a designer. I just want to be able to load up my data and click and drag elements to make a pretty visual, and Visio does it. It’s also only $14.97 on sale (reg. $249.99).

The easy way to do data visuals

Visio makes data-heavy work easier to understand and, honestly, a little nicer to look at. Whether you’re building an org chart, sketching out a network, or trying to map out a process flow for your team, Visio gives you tools that make the job easier. You can start with one of the dozens of built-in templates, or choose from more than 250,000 shapes and icons that are already available in Visio’s online ecosystem.

One of my favorite parts is how simple it is to connect Visio with Excel. If you’ve got a spreadsheet full of data, you can import it and automatically generate things like org charts or diagrams. And if you’re on a touch-enabled device, you can even draw or annotate with a pen or your finger. You don’t need to be a designer, and you don’t need to pay for a Microsoft 365 subscription just to use it. It’s a one-time purchase, and you own it for life.

This version is Visio Professional 2021, so you’re getting all the features of Visio Standard along with extras like industry-standard diagram support (BPMN 2.0, IEEE, UML 2.5) and more collaboration options.

It’s only $14.97 to get a Microsoft Visio 2021 Lifetime License.

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