What is the best free ER diagram maker?

ConceptViz offers a free AI-powered ER diagram maker that generates professional database design diagrams in seconds. Simply describe your database entities and relationships, choose your preferred notation style (Chen or Crow's Foot), and the AI creates a clear, well-structured ER diagram ready for presentations, documentation, or academic submissions.

What is an entity-relationship diagram used for?

Entity-relationship diagrams are used to design and visualize the structure of relational databases. They help developers plan database schemas, communicate data models to stakeholders, document existing systems, and teach database concepts in academic settings. ER diagrams show entities (tables), their attributes (columns), and the relationships (foreign key connections) between them.

How do I design a database using an ER diagram?

Start by identifying the main entities (objects) in your system, such as User, Product, or Order. Then define the attributes for each entity, including primary keys. Next, establish the relationships between entities and specify their cardinality (one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many). Finally, refine the diagram by normalizing the design to reduce redundancy. Our AI tool can generate this entire structure from a text description.

What is the difference between Chen notation and Crow's Foot notation?

Chen notation uses geometric shapes — rectangles for entities, diamonds for relationships, and ovals for attributes — making it highly visual and ideal for teaching. Crow's Foot notation (IE notation) uses lines with special end symbols to indicate cardinality: a single line for "one" and a fork (crow's foot) for "many." Crow's Foot is more compact and widely used in industry tools like MySQL Workbench and ERDPlus.

What are primary keys and foreign keys in an ER diagram?

A primary key is an attribute (or set of attributes) that uniquely identifies each entity instance — shown underlined in ER diagrams. A foreign key is an attribute in one entity that references the primary key of another entity, creating a relationship between them. For example, in an Order entity, the customer_id foreign key references the Customer entity's primary key, establishing a "places" relationship.

Can I create ER diagrams for complex databases with many tables?

Yes, our AI ER diagram generator handles complex database schemas with multiple entities and relationships. You can describe systems with dozens of entities, various relationship types (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many), and attributes including composite and derived attributes. The AI organizes the layout automatically for clarity, even with complex self-referencing and ternary relationships.

For Researchers

ER Diagram Maker ER Diagrams

Describe your database entities and relationships, and our AI will create a professional entity-relationship diagram instantly. Perfect for database design, software engineering, and academic coursework.

Chen & Crow's Foot NotationDatabase Schema DesignAuto Entity DetectionExport High-Res PNG

ER Diagram Generator

Notation Style

Detail Level

Domain

Describe your database entities and relationships

Free to try ·

Preview

Your ER diagram will appear here

Describe your database structure and click Generate

ER Diagram Examples

Browse examples from different domains or generate your own above

View:

University Database ERD

Professional ER diagram for a university enrollment system using Chen notation with diamonds for relationships and ovals for attributes.

universitychen-notationacademic

Hospital Management ERD

Detailed hospital management ER diagram with Crow's Foot notation showing one-to-many and many-to-many relationships.

hospitalcrows-foothealthcare

E-Commerce Database ERD

Colorful ER diagram for an e-commerce platform database using Chen notation with distinct entity colors.

ecommercechen-notationbusiness

Library System ERD

Library management system ER diagram with Crow's Foot notation showing borrowing and cataloging relationships.

librarycrows-footmanagement

Social Media Platform ERD

Social media platform ER diagram with complex many-to-many and self-referencing relationships.

social-mediacomplexself-referencing

Inventory Management ERD

Inventory and supply chain management ER diagram with clear cardinality labels for procurement and distribution.

inventorysupply-chainlogistics

4 more examples available

What is an ER Diagram?

An Entity-Relationship (ER) diagram is a structural diagram used to visually represent the data model of a system. It shows entities (objects or concepts), their attributes (properties), and the relationships between them. Originally proposed by Peter Chen in 1976, ER diagrams have become the standard tool for database design, helping developers, analysts, and researchers plan and communicate the structure of relational databases before implementation.

Types of ER Diagrams: Conceptual, Logical, and Physical

ER diagrams exist at three levels of abstraction. Conceptual ER diagrams provide a high-level overview of entities and relationships without technical details, ideal for stakeholder communication. Logical ER diagrams add attributes, primary keys, and cardinality constraints while remaining database-agnostic. Physical ER diagrams include implementation-specific details like data types, indexes, and table structures tailored to a specific database management system. Each level serves a different audience and stage of the design process.

When to Use ER Diagrams

Designing new relational databases from scratch for applications or research projects
Documenting existing database structures for team onboarding and knowledge transfer
Planning database migrations or schema refactoring with clear visual references
Communicating data requirements between developers, analysts, and business stakeholders
Academic coursework in database management, software engineering, and information systems
Research data modeling for studies involving structured data collection and analysis

ER Diagram Notation Guide: Chen vs Crow's Foot vs UML

Three major notation styles are used for ER diagrams. Chen notation, the original standard, uses rectangles for entities, diamonds for relationships, and ovals for attributes — it is the most intuitive for learning and academic use. Crow's Foot notation (also called IE notation) uses lines with fork-like symbols to indicate cardinality (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many) and is the most popular in industry. UML class diagram notation uses boxes with compartments for attributes and methods, often preferred in object-oriented design. Our generator supports all major notation styles.

Best Practices for Database Design with ER Diagrams

Start with a conceptual model to capture high-level entities and relationships before adding details
Normalize your design to at least third normal form (3NF) to eliminate data redundancy
Define clear primary keys for every entity and use foreign keys to establish relationships
Use consistent naming conventions for entities, attributes, and relationships across the diagram
Document cardinality and participation constraints (total vs partial) for every relationship
Review and validate the ER diagram with stakeholders before proceeding to physical implementation

Frequently Asked Questions

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For Researchers

ER Diagram Maker ER Diagrams

Chen & Crow's Foot NotationDatabase Schema DesignAuto Entity DetectionExport High-Res PNG

ER Diagram Generator

Notation Style

Detail Level

Domain

Describe your database entities and relationships

Free to try ·

Preview

Your ER diagram will appear here

Describe your database structure and click Generate

ER Diagram Examples

Browse examples from different domains or generate your own above

View:

University Database ERD

Professional ER diagram for a university enrollment system using Chen notation with diamonds for relationships and ovals for attributes.

universitychen-notationacademic

Hospital Management ERD

Detailed hospital management ER diagram with Crow's Foot notation showing one-to-many and many-to-many relationships.

hospitalcrows-foothealthcare

E-Commerce Database ERD

Colorful ER diagram for an e-commerce platform database using Chen notation with distinct entity colors.

ecommercechen-notationbusiness

Library System ERD

Library management system ER diagram with Crow's Foot notation showing borrowing and cataloging relationships.

librarycrows-footmanagement

Social Media Platform ERD

Social media platform ER diagram with complex many-to-many and self-referencing relationships.

social-mediacomplexself-referencing

Inventory Management ERD

Inventory and supply chain management ER diagram with clear cardinality labels for procurement and distribution.

inventorysupply-chainlogistics

4 more examples available

What is an ER Diagram?

Types of ER Diagrams: Conceptual, Logical, and Physical

When to Use ER Diagrams

Designing new relational databases from scratch for applications or research projects
Documenting existing database structures for team onboarding and knowledge transfer
Planning database migrations or schema refactoring with clear visual references
Communicating data requirements between developers, analysts, and business stakeholders
Academic coursework in database management, software engineering, and information systems
Research data modeling for studies involving structured data collection and analysis

ER Diagram Notation Guide: Chen vs Crow's Foot vs UML

Best Practices for Database Design with ER Diagrams

Start with a conceptual model to capture high-level entities and relationships before adding details
Normalize your design to at least third normal form (3NF) to eliminate data redundancy
Define clear primary keys for every entity and use foreign keys to establish relationships
Use consistent naming conventions for entities, attributes, and relationships across the diagram
Document cardinality and participation constraints (total vs partial) for every relationship
Review and validate the ER diagram with stakeholders before proceeding to physical implementation

Frequently Asked Questions

More Database & Diagram Tools

Visualization

Text to Diagram Generator

Convert text descriptions into professional diagrams including flowcharts, architecture diagrams, and more.

Try it free

Research

Conceptual Framework Generator

Create professional conceptual frameworks to visualize research variables and their relationships.

Try it free

Visualization

AI Flowchart Generator

Generate professional flowcharts from text descriptions for process documentation and workflows.

Try it free

View All Free Tools