ConnectCAD alternative
A ConnectCAD alternative that does not need a CAD seat to open.
ConnectCAD does serious schematic work inside Vectorworks. That also means a Vectorworks license and CAD habits for everyone who touches the drawing. WireFlow runs in a browser and shares by link. Free to start, $5/month founder Pro.
- Runs in any browser, nothing to install and no CAD license to buy
- Ports that validate the patch as you draw it, by signal type
- Cable schedule and gear list generated from the same diagram data
- Share a read-only link, the venue tech opens it on a phone
- Free to start: three editable diagrams, no credit card
What ConnectCAD is good at
ConnectCAD is a schematic AV toolset living inside Vectorworks, and for consultants producing a coordinated documentation set it has a real advantage: the schematic sits in the same file as the venue geometry, so the drawing package is genuinely one package. If your deliverable is a construction set, that integration is the whole point and WireFlow does not replace it.
The cost of living inside CAD
The tradeoff is access. Everyone who needs to open, edit, or check the drawing needs the CAD application and enough fluency to move around it. On a live production the people who most need to read the signal flow are often the least likely to have that: the A2, the video tech, the venue's house engineer, the client.
It also means the drawing tends to live on one machine belonging to one person, and the version everyone else has is a PDF someone exported on Tuesday.
- No CAD seat required to view, edit, or share
- Share links always show the latest saved version, not a stale export
- Works on a laptop in a loading dock and a phone in a catwalk
Schematic rigor without the drafting layer
The part of ConnectCAD worth keeping is the discipline: devices have real connectors, circuits are traceable, and the documentation derives from the drawing rather than being typed alongside it. WireFlow keeps that discipline and drops the drafting.
Devices carry typed ports (HDMI, SDI, XLR, RJ45 for Dante and NDI, USB, DMX, DisplayPort, fiber). Connections validate by type. Signal tracing walks the path upstream and downstream. Cable schedules and gear lists are generated, and they change when the diagram changes.
Where this is the wrong choice
If you owe a client a dimensioned, coordinated construction drawing set, you need CAD, and WireFlow will not produce one. You can put a floor plan image underneath a diagram as an underlay for context, but that is orientation, not drafting.
For a schematic that has to be right, readable, and in everyone's hands the same day, this is the lighter path.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need Vectorworks to use WireFlow?
- No. WireFlow runs entirely in a browser and has no dependency on Vectorworks or any CAD application.
- Can WireFlow produce a construction documentation set?
- No. There is no drafting layer and no dimensioned output. WireFlow produces schematic signal flow, rack elevations, LED wall layouts, and the schedules that derive from them. For a coordinated construction set you still need CAD.
- Can I import a ConnectCAD drawing?
- There is no direct importer. Most people rebuild a recurring system from the device library in an afternoon, and the port validation on the rebuild usually surfaces at least one connection that was never right.
- Does it handle patch panels and structured cabling?
- Yes. Devices carry typed ports including RJ45 for Dante and NDI, and the cable schedule lists every run with its endpoints so a patch list comes off the diagram rather than a separate spreadsheet.
- How do consultants share drawings with contractors?
- A read-only share link opens in any browser with no account and no install, and always shows the latest saved version. You can also export a PDF tech pack and CSV schedules when someone needs a file.
- What does WireFlow cost to start?
- Free. Three editable diagrams, five custom devices, the full preset library, and PNG export, with no credit card. Pro is $5/month at founder pricing.