DGMO vs the rest

Syntax, features, and rendering, side by side.

Compare

Two tables: how the four tools stack up on key capabilities, and which chart types each one supports.

Feature comparison

How the four tools stack up across key capabilities.

Feature DGMO Mermaid D2 PlantUML
Interactive / clickable output ✓ — — —
No boilerplate / wrappers ✓ — — —
CLI tool ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
MCP / AI integration ✓ — — —
GitHub native rendering — ✓ — —
Dark theme built-in ✓ Config — —
Color palettes (one-line switch) 10 palettes CSS overrides — —
Price Free Free Free Free

Chart type support

Every diagram and chart type across all four tools — including types not yet supported by DGMO.

Type DGMO Mermaid D2 PlantUML
Business
Fishbone / Ishikawa — Beta — —
Journey map ✓ ✓ — —
Org chart ✓ — — ✓
Pyramid ✓ — — —
Quadrant ✓ ✓ — —
Ring ✓ — — —
Tech radar ✓ — — —
Venn ✓ Beta — —
Wardley map — Beta — —
Word cloud ✓ — — —
Cycle ✓ — — —
Data
Funnel ✓ — — —
Sankey ✓ ✓ — —
Area ✓ — — —
Bar / stacked bar ✓ Via XY chart — —
Chord ✓ — — —
Function plot ✓ — — —
Heatmap ✓ — — —
Line / multi-line ✓ Via XY chart — —
Pie / doughnut ✓ ✓ — —
Polar area ✓ — — —
Radar ✓ ✓ — —
Scatter ✓ — — —
Slope chart ✓ — — —
Treemap — ✓ — —
Arc diagram ✓ — — —
Project Management
Gantt ✓ ✓ — ✓
Kanban ✓ ✓ — —
PERT (project network + Monte Carlo) ✓ — — —
RACI / RASCI / DACI matrix ✓ — — —
Timeline ✓ ✓ — —
Software
Activity / BPMN — — — ✓
Boxes & lines ✓ — — —
C4 (architecture model) ✓ ✓ — Via library
Class ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Component / deployment — — — ✓
ER (entity-relationship) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Flowchart ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Git graph — ✓ — —
Infrastructure / network ✓ Architecture ✓ Via nwdiag
Mindmap ✓ ✓ — ✓
Packet — ✓ — —
Requirement — ✓ — —
Sequence ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Sitemap ✓ — — —
State ✓ ✓ — ✓
Timing — — — ✓
Use case — — — ✓
Wireframe ✓ — — Via Salt

See examples

The same diagram in DGMO and each competitor. Code on the left, render on the right.

Head-to-head

Diagram types every tool supports — compare syntax, boilerplate, and rendering side-by-side.

Sequence diagram

The same checkout flow in all four languages. DGMO infers participant types from names — User becomes a stick figure, WebApp renders as a frontend, DB becomes a cylinder. Mermaid and PlantUML force you to declare every participant up front before you can use it.

DGMO 21 lines 
sequence Checkout

tag Trust t
  Internal(green)
  External(orange)
  Customer(blue)

User | t: Customer
WebApp | t: Internal
API | t: Internal
DB | t: Internal
Stripe | t: External

User -checkout-> WebApp
WebApp -POST /orders-> API
API -charge card-> Stripe
Stripe -charge_id-> API
API -save order-> DB
DB -ok-> API
API -receipt-> WebApp
WebApp -confirmation-> User
CheckoutUserWebAppAPIDBStripecheckoutPOST /orderscharge cardcharge_idsave orderokreceiptconfirmationTrust
Mermaid 15 lines 
sequenceDiagram
    actor User
    participant WebApp
    participant API
    participant Stripe
    participant DB

    User->>WebApp: checkout
    WebApp->>API: POST /orders
    API->>Stripe: charge card
    Stripe-->>API: charge_id
    API->>DB: save order
    DB-->>API: ok
    API-->>WebApp: receipt
    WebApp-->>User: confirmation
DBStripeAPIWebAppDBStripeAPIWebAppUsercheckoutPOST /orderscharge cardcharge_idsave orderokreceiptconfirmationUser
D2 10 lines 
shape: sequence_diagram

User -> WebApp: checkout
WebApp -> API: POST /orders
API -> Stripe: charge card
Stripe -> API: charge_id
API -> DB: save order
DB -> API: ok
API -> WebApp: receipt
WebApp -> User: confirmation
UserWebAppAPIStripeDB checkoutPOST /orderscharge cardcharge_idsave orderokreceiptconfirmation
PlantUML 16 lines 
@startuml
actor User
participant WebApp
participant API
participant Stripe
database DB

User -> WebApp: checkout
WebApp -> API: POST /orders
API -> Stripe: charge card
Stripe --> API: charge_id
API -> DB: save order
DB --> API: ok
API --> WebApp: receipt
WebApp --> User: confirmation
@enduml
UserWebAppAPIStripeDBUserUserWebAppWebAppAPIAPIStripeStripeDBDBcheckoutPOST /orderscharge cardcharge_idsave orderokreceiptconfirmation

Flowchart

A decision flow. DGMO infers shapes from brackets — no manual declarations needed.

DGMO 6 lines 
flowchart

[Request] -> <Authenticated?>
  -yes-> [Load Dashboard]
  -no-> /Show Login/
/Show Login/ -> [Enter Credentials] -> <Authenticated?>
yesnoRequestAuthenticated?Load DashboardShow LoginEnter Credentials
Mermaid 6 lines 
flowchart TD
    A[Request] --> B{Authenticated?}
    B -->|Yes| C[Load Dashboard]
    B -->|No| D[Show Login]
    D --> E[Enter Credentials]
    E --> B

Yes

No

Request

Authenticated?

Load Dashboard

Show Login

Enter Credentials
D2 7 lines 
Request -> Authenticated?
Authenticated? -> Load Dashboard: Yes
Authenticated? -> Show Login: No
Show Login -> Enter Credentials
Enter Credentials -> Authenticated?

Authenticated?.shape: diamond
RequestAuthenticated?Load DashboardShow LoginEnter Credentials YesNo
PlantUML 12 lines 
@startuml
start
:Request;
if (Authenticated?) then (Yes)
  :Load Dashboard;
else (No)
  :Show Login;
  :Enter Credentials;
  :Retry;
endif
stop
@enduml
RequestAuthenticated?YesNoLoad DashboardShow LoginEnter CredentialsRetry

Class diagram

An abstract shape hierarchy with an interface. DGMO uses natural keywords — abstract, interface, extends X implements Y — instead of separate arrow declarations.

DGMO 19 lines 
class

abstract Shape
  + area(): number
  + perimeter(): number

interface Drawable
  + draw(): void

Circle extends Shape implements Drawable
  - radius: number
  + area(): number
  + draw(): void

Rectangle extends Shape implements Drawable
  - width: number
  - height: number
  + area(): number
  + draw(): void
TypeClassAbstractInterface«abstract»Shape+ area(): number+ perimeter(): number«interface»Drawable+ draw(): voidCircle- radius: number+ area(): number+ draw(): voidRectangle- width: number- height: number+ area(): number+ draw(): void
Mermaid 14 lines 
classDiagram
    class Shape {
        <<abstract>>
        +area() number
    }
    class Circle {
        -radius: number
    }
    class Rectangle {
        -width: number
        -height: number
    }
    Circle --|> Shape
    Rectangle --|> Shape

«abstract»

Shape

+color: string

+area() : float

Circle

+radius: float

+area() : float

Square

+side: float

+area() : float
D2 18 lines 
MyShape: {
  shape: class
  +area(): number
}

MyCircle: {
  shape: class
  -radius: number
}

MyRectangle: {
  shape: class
  -width: number
  -height: number
}

MyCircle -> MyShape: extends
MyRectangle -> MyShape: extends
MyShape+colorstring+area()floatMyCircle+radiusfloat+area()floatMySquare+sidefloat+area()float
PlantUML 17 lines 
@startuml
abstract class Shape {
    +area(): number
}

class Circle {
    -radius: number
}

class Rectangle {
    -width: number
    -height: number
}

Circle --|> Shape
Rectangle --|> Shape
@enduml
Shapecolor: stringarea(): floatCircleradius: floatarea(): floatSquareside: floatarea(): float

DGMO exclusives

Diagram categories competitors don't cover natively — only DGMO is shown.

Org chart

Reporting structure with department tags driving the colors. Mermaid, D2, and PlantUML have no native org chart type — the closest in any of them is mindmap.

DGMO 14 lines 
org

tag Department d
  Eng(blue)
  Prod(purple)
  Design(green)

Sarah Chen | role: CEO
  Alex Park | role: VP Engineering
    Nina Patel | role: Eng Manager
    Sam Wong | role: Eng Manager
  Devon Cole | role: VP Product, d: Prod
    Pat Singh | role: PM, d: Prod
  Avery Reyes | role: VP Design, d: Design
Sarah Chenrole: CEODepartment: EngAvery Reyesrole: VP DesignDepartment: DesignAlex Parkrole: VP EngineeringDepartment: EngDevon Colerole: VP ProductDepartment: ProdNina Patelrole: Eng ManagerDepartment: EngSam Wongrole: Eng ManagerDepartment: EngPat Singhrole: PMDepartment: ProdDepartment

User journey

A persona's experience across phases — emotion curve, pain points, score-driven coloring. Mermaid's journey type renders only a bar chart of emoji ratings.

DGMO 23 lines 
journey-map First PR

persona Junior Engineer | color: purple
  Joined 2 weeks ago, eager to prove herself

tag Channel ch
  IDE(purple)
  Slack(blue)
  Web(teal)

[Onboarding]
  Run install | 2 Confused, ch: IDE
    pain: Three Node versions referenced in docs
    opportunity: Single bootstrap command
  Pair with mentor | 5 Energized, ch: Slack
    thought: The codebase finally clicks

[Review]
  Wait for review | 2 Anxious, ch: Slack
    pain: 3-day silence with no SLA
    opportunity: Stale-PR bot pings after 24h
  Get approval | 5 Triumphant, ch: Web
    thought: I belong here
First PRJunior EngineerJoined 2 weeks ago, eager to proveherselfOnboardingRun installThree Node versionsreferenced in docsSingle bootstrap commandIDEPair with mentorThe codebase finallyclicksSlackReviewWait for review3-day silence with no SLAStale-PR bot pings after24hSlackGet approvalI belong hereWeb

Timeline

Release history with eras and palette-named event colors. Mermaid has a timeline type but no era ranges, marker semantics, or color control.

DGMO 24 lines 
timeline Project Atlas

tag Owner as o
  Design(purple)
  Eng(blue)
  PM(orange)
  QA(green)

era 2026-01 -> 2026-03 Discovery (blue)
era 2026-03 -> 2026-07 Build (purple)
era 2026-07 -> 2026-10 Launch (green)

marker 2026-03-15 PRD signoff (green)
marker 2026-06-01 Code freeze (yellow)
marker 2026-08-01 GA launch (orange)
marker 2026-09-15 First $1M ARR (red)

2026-01-08 Kickoff | o: PM
2026-01 -> 2026-02 User research | o: Design
2026-02 -> 2026-03 Wireframes | o: Design
2026-03 -> 2026-06 Sprint cycles | o: Eng
2026-05 -> 2026-07 QA hardening | o: QA
2026-06-10 MVP demo | o: PM
2026-07 -> 2026-08 Beta with customers | o: PM
DiscoveryBuildLaunchPRD signoffCode freezeGA launchFirst $1M ARRJan 2026Jan 2026Feb '26Feb '26Mar '26Mar '26Apr '26Apr '26May '26May '26Jun '26Jun '26Jul '26Jul '26Aug '26Aug '26Sep '26Sep '26Oct 2026Oct 2026DesignUser researchWireframesPMKickoffMVP demoBeta with customersEngSprint cyclesQAQA hardeningProject AtlasOwner

Kanban

A sprint board with two color dimensions: column status and card-priority tags. Mermaid added a kanban type but it doesn't support priority tagging or column theming.

DGMO 19 lines 
kanban Sprint 14

tag Priority p
  High(red)
  Medium(yellow)
  Low(blue)

[Backlog]
  Add OAuth scopes
  Migrate to Postgres 16 | p: Medium
  Update API docs | p: Low

[In Progress](blue)
  Refactor billing service
  Add 2FA support | p: Medium

[Done](green)
  Fix login race condition
  Bump dependencies | p: Low
Sprint 14PriorityBacklog3Add OAuth scopesPriority: HighMigrate to Postgres 16Priority: MediumUpdate API docsPriority: LowIn Progress2Refactor billing servicePriority: HighAdd 2FA supportPriority: MediumDone2Fix login race conditionPriority: HighBump dependenciesPriority: Low

PERT

A project network with three-point estimates (optimistic / most-likely / pessimistic) per activity. The renderer runs Monte Carlo automatically: each node's fill saturates with its criticality index — the fraction of trials where it sits on the longest path. Saturated nodes are reliably on the critical path; light tints have slack. Title shows P50 / P80 / P95 completion percentiles, and zero-duration milestones render as ◆ sync points. No competitor offers anything in this category.

DGMO 26 lines 
pert Pirate Voyage to the Atoll
time-unit w
default-confidence medium

voyage approved 0
  -> recruit crew

[outfit ship]
  recruit crew 1 2 4 as rc
    -> load powder
  careen hull 1.5
    -> load powder
  load powder 0.5 1 2
    -> sail to atoll

sail to atoll 5
  -> count gold
  -> repair hull

count gold 1 2 3
  -> divvy shares

repair hull 3
  -> divvy shares

divvy shares 1 2 3
Pirate Voyage to the AtollCritical Path◆Milestoneoutfit ship0w◆ voyage approved0w2.17w2.17wrecruit crew0w0w2.17w0w1.94w1.94wcareen hull0.23w0.23w2.17w2.17w1.08w3.25wload powder2.17w0w3.25w3.25w6.46w9.71wsail to atoll3.25w0w9.71w9.71w2w11.71wcount gold11.58w1.88w13.58w9.71w3.88w13.58wrepair hull9.71w0w13.58w13.58w2w15.58wdivvy shares13.58w0w15.58w

Tech radar

A ThoughtWorks-style technology adoption radar with a four-column blip legend (toggled with show-blip-legend). No competitor offers anything in this category.

DGMO 49 lines 
tech-radar Engineering Radar Q1 2026
show-blip-legend

rings
  Adopt
  Trial
  Assess
  Hold

Languages | quadrant: top-left
  TypeScript | ring: Adopt, trend: stable
  Rust | ring: Adopt, trend: up
  Python 3.12 | ring: Adopt, trend: stable
  Go | ring: Trial, trend: stable
  Zig | ring: Assess, trend: new
  CoffeeScript | ring: Hold, trend: down

Tools | quadrant: top-right
  Vite | ring: Adopt, trend: up
  Vitest | ring: Adopt, trend: stable
  pnpm | ring: Adopt, trend: stable
  Claude Code | ring: Adopt, trend: new
  GitHub Copilot | ring: Adopt, trend: stable
  Bun | ring: Trial, trend: up
  Turborepo | ring: Trial, trend: stable
  Cursor | ring: Trial, trend: new
  Webpack | ring: Hold, trend: down
  Jest | ring: Hold, trend: down

Platforms | quadrant: bottom-right
  Cloudflare Workers | ring: Adopt, trend: up
  Tauri 2 | ring: Adopt, trend: up
  Postgres 16 | ring: Adopt, trend: stable
  Neon | ring: Trial, trend: up
  Vercel Edge | ring: Trial, trend: stable
  Kubernetes | ring: Trial, trend: stable
  Fly.io | ring: Assess, trend: new
  Heroku | ring: Hold, trend: down

Techniques | quadrant: bottom-left
  Trunk-based Development | ring: Adopt, trend: stable
  Continuous Deployment | ring: Adopt, trend: stable
  Feature Flags | ring: Adopt, trend: up
  Monorepos | ring: Adopt, trend: stable
  AI Pair Programming | ring: Trial, trend: up
  GitOps | ring: Trial, trend: stable
  Local-first Apps | ring: Assess, trend: new
  Server Components | ring: Assess, trend: up
  Microservices | ring: Hold, trend: down
Engineering Radar Q1 2026AdoptTrialTrialAssessAssessHoldHoldLanguagesToolsPlatformsTechniques123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233Languages1TypeScript (Adopt)2Rust (Adopt)3Python 3.12 (Adopt)4Go (Trial)5Zig (Assess)6CoffeeScript (Hold)Tools7Vite (Adopt)8Vitest (Adopt)9pnpm (Adopt)10Claude Code (Adopt)11GitHub Copilot (Adopt)12Bun (Trial)13Turborepo (Trial)14Cursor (Trial)15Webpack (Hold)16Jest (Hold)Platforms17Cloudflare Workers (Adopt)18Tauri 2 (Adopt)19Postgres 16 (Adopt)20Neon (Trial)21Vercel Edge (Trial)22Kubernetes (Trial)23Fly.io (Assess)24Heroku (Hold)Techniques25Trunk-based Development (Adopt)26Continuous Deployment (Adopt)27Feature Flags (Adopt)28Monorepos (Adopt)29AI Pair Programming (Trial)30GitOps (Trial)31Local-first Apps (Assess)32Server Components (Assess)33Microservices (Hold)

RACI matrix

A tasks × roles responsibility matrix with author-time linting. The same chart type covers RACI, RASCI, and DACI variants — variant is inferred from the markers used or locked with a variant-* directive. Per-role and per-phase color let one chart double as a workstream timeline. No competitor offers anything in this category.

DGMO 30 lines 
raci Voyage Operations
roles
  Cap  | color: red
  QM   | color: orange
  Bos  | color: yellow
  Nav  | color: blue
  Crew | color: gray

[Departure] | color: teal
  Plot the course
    Cap: A
    Nav: R
    QM: C
  Provision the hold
    QM: A R
    Cap: C
    Crew: I

[At Sea] | color: purple
  Stand the watch
    Bos: A
    Crew: R
  Mend sail damage
    Bos: A
    Crew: R

[Landfall] | color: green
  Negotiate with port
    Cap: A R
    QM: C
Voyage OperationsRResponsibleAAccountableCConsultedIInformedCapQMBosNavCrewDeparturePlot the courseAccountableConsultedResponsibleProvision the holdConsultedRAInformedAt SeaStand the watchAccountableResponsibleMend sail damageAccountableResponsibleLandfallNegotiate with portRAConsulted

Decide

Honest verdicts: when to pick each tool, where DGMO falls short, and answers to common questions.

When to use what

Honest recommendations. Every tool has its strengths.

DGMO

Concise syntax, beautiful rendering, interactive presentations, data charts

If you want the least boilerplate, dark-themed output, and a single language for both diagrams and data charts, DGMO is built for that.

Mermaid

GitHub/GitLab native rendering, maximum community support

If your diagrams live in GitHub READMEs or you need the largest ecosystem of integrations, Mermaid is the established choice.

D2

Container and architecture diagrams with auto-layout

D2 excels at nested container layouts and has a polished Go CLI. Great for infrastructure and architecture diagrams.

PlantUML

Existing team usage, deep IDE integrations, UML-strict diagrams

PlantUML has decades of history and integrations. If your team already uses it, switching may not be worth it.

Where DGMO is weaker

No tool wins everywhere. Here's where the alternatives are honestly stronger.

GitHub / GitLab native rendering — Mermaid wins

Mermaid renders inline in GitHub READMEs, issues, PRs, and GitLab. DGMO doesn't — you have to render to SVG or PNG with the CLI and embed the image. If your diagrams live in markdown that's read on GitHub, Mermaid is the lower-friction choice.

UML-strict diagrams (use case, BPMN, activity, deployment) — PlantUML wins

PlantUML supports the full UML 2.x catalog plus BPMN, activity diagrams, deployment diagrams, and timing diagrams. DGMO covers the practical subset (sequence, class, state, ER, C4) but doesn't aim to be a UML-complete tool. If your team is committed to UML formality, PlantUML is decades-deep.

Auto-layout for nested container architectures — D2 wins

D2's layout engines (ELK, Dagre, TALA) handle deeply-nested container/group hierarchies more elegantly than DGMO. If you're drawing complex architecture diagrams with multiple levels of grouping, D2's auto-layout is more polished.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between DGMO and Mermaid?

DGMO uses a more concise syntax with less boilerplate, supports 20+ data chart types (bar, line, pie, scatter, etc.) that Mermaid lacks, and produces interactive SVG output with click-to-source navigation. Mermaid has broader ecosystem support including native rendering in GitHub and GitLab.

Is DGMO free?

Yes — everything is free. The CLI, npm library, online editor, MCP server, and desktop app are all free to use with no trial or subscription.

Can I use DGMO in GitHub READMEs?

Not natively — GitHub only renders Mermaid diagrams inline. You can use the dgmo CLI in CI to render diagrams to SVG or PNG and embed the images in your README.

Does DGMO support dark mode?

Yes. DGMO has built-in dark and light themes, plus 10 color palettes (Nord, Catppuccin, Solarized, Gruvbox, Tokyo Night, Rose Pine, One Dark, Bold, Dracula, and Monokai).