Blueprintr vs Structurizr
Structurizr describes a system in a DSL and renders C4 diagrams from it. Blueprintr draws the system on a canvas and puts the detail behind the shapes. One is architecture as code; the other is a document readers open on the diagram.
Also searched as Structurizr vs Blueprintr, Structurizr alternative, and Structurizr vs Blueprintr pricing.
The short version
Choose Blueprintr if
You want a document with the detail behind each shape, diagrams drawn in the shape their subject needs, and a scan of AWS or Azure you can run again to see what changed.
Choose Structurizr if
Your architecture belongs in version control as a DSL, rendered in CI, and you are happy to run the server yourself and to model rather than draw.
Use both when
The C4 model stays in the repository as DSL for architects. The operational documentation engineers read on call is a Blueprintr page that embeds the rendered views.
How Structurizr works
Structurizr keeps a workspace defined in its DSL: people, systems, containers, components and their relationships, plus views onto them. The diagrams are rendered from the model, laid out by hand in a browser editor or automatically. Markdown or AsciiDoc documentation and decision records attach to the workspace, a system or a container. The free, open-source commands render locally and export to PlantUML and Mermaid; the licensed server edition adds authentication, storage and sharing.
Blueprintr is diagram-first documentation. You draw the system in Vellum, write the detail into the shapes as strata, and publish one live URL. On Team, Continuum Cloud draws AWS and Azure from a read-only scan, and on AWS it also shows Terraform drift on the canvas. On Enterprise, Continuum Link attaches timestamped snapshots from monitoring and ITSM tools to the shapes, and Continuum Local sweeps your on-premise network from inside it so Blueprintr can draw it.
Side by side
Read from Structurizr’s own pages on 7 September 2026 and from Blueprintr’s pricing table. The plan label is the Blueprintr tier the capability lands on.
| Capability | Structurizr | Blueprintr |
|---|---|---|
| Diagrams and the detail behind them | ||
| Documentation behind every shapeCan a shape hold real content: markdown, tables, code, files? | Partly: Markdown or AsciiDoc documentation and decision records attach to the workspace, a software system or a container, not to every element. | Yes: A stratum on any shape: markdown, tables, code, files, links, tabs, even another diagram.Free |
| Hand-drawn diagrams with vendor iconsCan you draw freely, with real AWS, Azure, GCP and Kubernetes icons? | No: No drag-and-drop authoring. The browser editor changes layout only; content comes from the DSL. | Yes: Vellum, with vendor icon packs and your own SVGs. draw.io and Excalidraw are engines too.Free |
| Diagrams from textCan a diagram be written as code and kept in version control? | Yes: The Structurizr DSL, with a model rendered into many views and exported to PlantUML and Mermaid. | Partly: Mermaid tabs render from text and sit beside drawn tabs. Vellum diagrams are drawn, not coded.Free |
| A documentation siteLong-form docs with a nav tree, search and your own domain? | Partly: A static HTML site export of the workspace. | Yes: Folium: nested pages, search, your subdomain or custom domain, with live blueprints in the pages.Team and up |
| Present from the diagramCan the diagram itself be the slide deck? | No: Not offered. | Yes: Podium frames regions of a live canvas as slides and presents them in the browser.Premium and up |
| AI draftingCan AI draw a first draft, or convert a document you already wrote? | Partly: A free MCP server validates and inspects DSL and works with a server. No generation features. | Yes: Draft from a description or a document, and explain a shape. Every change is proposed, then confirmed by you.Free allowance, credits on paid plans |
| Keeping the diagram true | ||
| Draw AWS or Azure from a live accountWill it diagram what is actually running, read-only? | No: Not offered. Themes and icons for AWS, Azure and GCP. | Yes: Continuum Cloud takes a read-only role or a Reader app registration and scans the accounts or subscriptions and regions you choose, narrowed to a VPC, subnet or resource group.Team and up |
| Terraform drift on the diagramDoes it compare what you declared with what is running? | No: Not offered. | Yes: Point an AWS connection at your Terraform remote state. Drift from the declared infrastructure shows on the diagram.Team and up |
| Operational data on shapesCan a shape show the on-call, the open incidents or the uptime from the tools that report them? | No: Not offered. | Yes: Continuum Link attaches 39 connectors (PagerDuty, Datadog, ServiceNow, CloudWatch and more) as tabs on a stratum, each a timestamped snapshot an editor refreshes. On-premise systems such as SolarWinds, Zabbix and NetBox answer through Continuum Local, an agent inside your network that also sweeps it for Blueprintr to draw.Enterprise |
| Version history and diffsCan you see what changed since the last review, and restore? | Partly: The server keeps previous workspace versions, 30 by default, with revert. Diffs and merges are left to git. | Yes: Every publish is a snapshot. History diffs against any earlier version and restores it.Team and up |
| AI agents and an APICan Claude Code, Cursor or a script read and write your documentation? | Yes: A workspace API and an open-source MCP server. | Yes: A personal MCP server and a REST API, with scoped keys you mint yourself. |
| Sharing, teams and platform | ||
| Real-time collaborationCan two people draw on one canvas at once? | No: A workspace lock while the editor is open. Collaboration goes through git and CI. | Yes: Multi-cursor editing on Vellum diagrams.Premium and up |
| Live embedsCan the live diagram sit inside Confluence, SharePoint, a README or your site? | Yes: Public or token-protected sharing links, live iframe embeds and PNG or SVG image embeds from the server. | Yes: An iframe or oEmbed embed of the live blueprint. Readers open strata inside it. Footer-free on Premium.Free |
| Bringing existing work inWhich files and sources come across? | Partly: The DSL and JSON workspaces only. | Yes: draw.io files, PDF, DOCX, PPTX, Markdown and images through the import wizard. Confluence, Notion and SharePoint through a grant.Premium and up |
| Getting work outWhich formats can you leave with? | Yes: PlantUML, Mermaid, WebSequenceDiagrams, PNG, SVG and a static HTML site. | Yes: PNG, SVG, PDF and GIF from Vellum. Whole blueprints as Markdown and YAML. A folium as a static site.Free |
| Desktop appIs there a native app, and does it work offline? | Partly: No desktop app. The local command runs in Docker on your machine. | Yes: Blueprintr Vellum for macOS, Windows and Linux, plus Vellum Core: local files, no account, no network.Free |
| SSO and SCIMCan your identity provider own sign-in and provisioning? | Partly: SAML 2.0 in the licensed server binaries. SCIM is not mentioned. | Yes: SAML and OIDC single sign-on, SCIM provisioning and IP allow-listing.Enterprise |
| Free planWhat do you get without paying? | Partly: The local, playground, export and MCP commands are free and open source. The server needs a licence unless built from source without the licensed extras. | Yes: Unlimited public and private blueprints, Vellum and draw.io, icon packs, embeds and a portfolio page.Free |
Where Blueprintr differs
Draw it the way the subject needs
A C4 model renders boxes and lines. Vellum draws a network fabric, a data flow or a release pipeline with vendor icons, and a stratum on a container can hold the component diagram.
Depth behind the shape
Structurizr attaches documentation to the workspace, a system or a container. A Blueprintr stratum sits on any shape and holds markdown, tables, code, files and tabs.
Connected to what is running
Continuum Cloud scans AWS and Azure read-only on Team, and shows drift from Terraform state on AWS. Structurizr's model is maintained by hand or by code.
Where Structurizr is the better choice
Teams who want their architecture model in version control as a DSL, rendered in CI, and are comfortable running the server themselves.
- The original C4 tooling, by the model's author, with a DSL that lives in git.
- Free and open-source local rendering, exports to PlantUML and Mermaid, and an MCP server.
- Documentation and decision records attached to the model in Markdown or AsciiDoc.
- A licence priced per server rather than per seat.
Pricing
Structurizr
The local tooling is free and open source. The server is licensed per installation by user count, from 300 pounds a month for up to 20 users, billed annually.
- Local, playground, export, MCP
- $0, open sourceRender locally, export to PlantUML and Mermaid.
- Server, 1 to 20 users
- £300 / month, billed annuallyPrebuilt binaries with authentication, storage and sharing.
- Server, 21 to 50 users
- £600 / month, billed annuallyTiers continue to £2,400 a month above 1,000 users.
- Cloud service
- End of lifeNo longer sold; no replacement.
Read on 7 September 2026 from Structurizr’s pricing page. Prices change; check there before you decide.
Blueprintr
Free forever for unlimited blueprints. Premium is $10 a month, Team is $29 a seat a month, Enterprise is quoted.
- Personal
- $0, foreverUnlimited public and private blueprints, Vellum and draw.io, icon packs, embeds.
- Premium
- $10 / month, or $100 / yearLive collaboration, Podium, a subdomain, footer-free embeds, analytics, the import wizard.
- Team
- $29 / seat / month, or $290 / seat / yearContinuum Cloud, Terraform drift, version history, approvals, foliums, password-protected blueprints.
- Enterprise
- Quoted, per seat, from 10 seatsContinuum Link, Continuum Local network drawing, SSO and SCIM, IP allow-listing, custom contracts.
USD, before tax. The pricing page shows your local currency and every capability by tier.
Moving work from Structurizr
Export the views you want to keep as PNG or SVG and the documentation as the Markdown it already is. The Markdown pastes into strata and, on Team, into a folium. Redraw the views in Vellum, with a context diagram, container diagram and deployment view as tabs of one blueprint, and let a container's stratum open onto the diagram of its components. Decision records become pages in the folium.
Frequently asked
Does Blueprintr support C4?
There is no C4 mode. Draw context, container and component diagrams as tabs of one blueprint, and put the component diagram in the container's stratum for the zoom.
Is Blueprintr diagrams as code?
Partly. Mermaid tabs render from text. Vellum diagrams are drawn. If the model must be a DSL in git, Structurizr is the closer fit.
What happened to Structurizr's cloud service?
It is at end of life, per Structurizr's own documentation. The tooling has consolidated into one binary with a licensed server edition.
Can an agent work with both?
Yes. Structurizr's MCP server is free and open source. Blueprintr's personal MCP server and REST API use scoped keys.
Draw the first diagram. The document follows.
Structurizr is a trademark of Structurizr Limited. Blueprintr is not affiliated with Structurizr Limited and is not endorsed by it. Facts about Structurizr were read from its published pages on 7 September 2026. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.