Comparison
MakeCharts vs SankeyMATIC
SankeyMATIC is a free, open, single-purpose Sankey builder driven by a text notation — you type 'Salary [2400] Budget' and it draws. MakeCharts is a general chart editor whose Sankey is its flagship, where you edit by describing changes to an AI instead of learning a syntax. Both are free and neither asks you to sign up to start.
Feature by feature
| Feature | MakeCharts | SankeyMATIC |
|---|---|---|
| Price to start | Free, no signup | Free, no signup |
| How you input data | Paste from Excel, upload CSV, or describe it in chat | A text notation you learn |
| Editing | Plain language: 'colour the costs red, rename Revenue to Turnover' | Edit the notation and redraw |
| Chart types | 15, including waterfall, treemap, funnel and radar | Sankey only |
| Export | SVG, PNG, PDF and an animated WebM | SVG and PNG at several sizes |
| Node positioning | Drag any node; the layout keeps the flows correct | Automatic, with manual ordering controls |
| Saving and sharing | Cloud save, share links and an embed code | Save a file locally, or generate a public link |
| Working with other people | Live co-editing with roles | Not offered |
| Open source | No | Yes |
Plans and limits read from SankeyMATIC in August 2026. Pricing changes — check theirs before deciding.
When SankeyMATIC is the better choice
If you are comfortable in a text syntax, SankeyMATIC is faster for a one-off diagram and gives you very fine control over label placement and spacing without touching a mouse. It is also open source, so nothing you build depends on a company staying in business. For a Sankey you will make once, never revisit and never share with a colleague, it is an excellent choice.
The short version
Pick SankeyMATIC if you want a free, open, keyboard-driven Sankey and nothing else. Pick MakeCharts if the diagram is going into a deck or a report, if you would rather describe a change than write it, or if next month you will need a waterfall and a treemap from the same data.
Questions people ask
- Is MakeCharts a free SankeyMATIC alternative?
- Yes. The editor, the AI chat and the exports are free; the free tier adds a small watermark to exported images, which paid plans remove. You can build and export a full Sankey without paying or signing up.
- Can I import a SankeyMATIC diagram into MakeCharts?
- Not by pasting the notation directly, but the underlying data works: export or copy your source-target-amount rows into a CSV or a spreadsheet and import that. The AI chat also accepts the flows pasted as plain text.
- Do I need an account to try MakeCharts?
- No. The editor opens and works without signing up — import data, edit by chatting and export. An account is only needed to save charts to the cloud and to collaborate with a team.