Charts · Ilfat Galiev (community fork)

Charticulator: pricing, limits and alternatives

Free✓ Microsoft-certified

Charticulator was Microsoft Research's drag-and-drop chart designer. Microsoft retired the app and website at the end of 2023 and archived the repository in April 2024. A community developer, Ilfat Galiev, now publishes Charticulator Visual Community on Marketplace: a certified View edition that displays templates and a separate, uncertified Editor edition.

Status: Original Charticulator retired by Microsoft Research (end of 2023); repository archived April 2024.

By · Founder & Reliability Engineer · Updated

Skip to: build your own version →

Facts as of November 4, 2026

Charticulator facts
Listing nameCharticulator Visual Community (View) (Microsoft Marketplace)
PublisherIlfat Galiev (community fork)
CategoryCharts
Licence modelFree
PriceFree
CertifiedYes
Latest version1.6.6.0 · released May 26, 2025

Pricing

Charticulator is free: the listing has no paid plan.

Checked on November 4, 2026. Prices change; confirm with the vendor before you buy.

Strengths

  • Charts are designed visually (glyphs, layouts, links) rather than coded.
  • The certified View edition displays existing templates.
  • Free.

Limits

  • The original Microsoft project is retired and archived; there is no Microsoft support.
  • The View edition has no editor; designing needs the original visual or the uncertified Editor edition.
  • Maintained by one community developer.

Certification and tenant notes

Community View edition: certified (released 2025-05-26). Community Editor edition: not certified, per the DataChant tracker.

Microsoft certifies visuals whose code it has reviewed and that make no external calls; certified visuals work in PowerPoint/PDF export and email subscriptions, and admins can restrict a tenant to certified visuals only (Microsoft Learn). To see whether your tenant allows it in the service, Desktop, exports and subscriptions, run the free custom visual tenant check.

When native Power BI is enough

Our take: Most charts people built in Charticulator are now possible natively (small multiples, combo charts) or with Deneb. For existing reports that rely on the original visual, plan a migration rather than waiting for fixes.

Alternatives to Charticulator

  • DenebDaniel Marsh-Patrick · Free (MIT) · certified

    Free, certified and actively maintained, but you write specs.

  • Inforiver Analytics+Lumel (Inforiver) · From $3/user/month · certified

    Point-and-click chart toolkit; per-user licence.

  • HTML Content SecureDaniel Marsh-Patrick · Free (MIT) · certified

    Free, certified; build SVG charts from DAX.

  • Generate your own with VizForgeOne-off credits · you own the code · not certified

    A visual built to your brief from a plain-English prompt. Trade-offs are listed in the panel below.

Build your own version

Generate a visual that does the part of Charticulator you need

VizForge writes a Power BI custom visual from a plain-English brief and gives you the .pbiviz and its TypeScript source. The brief below is a starting point based on what Charticulator is used for; edit it to match your report, then send it to the generator.

302/2,000 characters

Sign in or sign up free (5 credits on signup); the prompt is saved for 30 minutes and opens in the workspace once you're in.

What it costs

One generated visual costs 1–5 credits, once. The smallest pack that covers it is the Starter Pack: $9.99 for 10 credits, which leaves room for a few refinements. No per-user or annual fee: the file is yours.

Charticulator itself is free, so generate only if you need something it doesn't do.

Honest trade-offs

  • Not Microsoft-certified: Power BI only shows certified custom visuals in PowerPoint/PDF exports and email subscriptions, and tenants that allow certified visuals only will block it unless an admin deploys it as an organizational visual.
  • You own the .pbiviz and its TypeScript source, so there is no per-user licence and nothing expires; you also maintain it yourself when Power BI changes.
  • A generated visual replaces one Charticulator template at a time; describe the layout you had (glyph shapes, axes, links) as precisely as you can.

FAQ

Is Charticulator still supported in Power BI?

Microsoft Research retired Charticulator at the end of 2023 and archived the GitHub repository on 26 April 2024. The community-maintained Charticulator Visual Community is on Microsoft Marketplace.

Will my old Charticulator visuals keep working?

Retirement means no further fixes from Microsoft. Visuals keep working until a Power BI change breaks them; the community View edition can display templates made with the original visual.

What is the best Charticulator alternative?

Deneb if you can write Vega-Lite; native visuals for standard charts; a generated visual if you want the same chart without maintaining a spec.

Sources

All sources read on November 4, 2026. VizForge is not affiliated with Ilfat Galiev (community fork); product names identify the products only. Corrections are welcome.

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