Zorowire vs WireViz / Filare
WireViz is a free, open-source Python tool that turns a YAML description of connectors and cables into clear connection diagrams and a BOM. By design it does not draw a physical layout. Zorowire imports WireViz YAML and adds what a shop builds from: branch lengths, a 1:1 formboard, a cut list and a quote, in the browser.
github.com/wireviz/WireViz · checkedIn short
For clear connection diagrams kept in git, WireViz is hard to beat at its price. When you need to build the harness — board, cut list, labels, a price for the customer — import the YAML into Zorowire and add the branch lengths.
What you get with Zorowire
- A 1:1 formboard from branch lengths, tiled for office printers.
- A cut list with cut lengths, strip lengths, terminals and seals per end.
- A quote from your labour times.
- Excel and CSV import, so nobody has to write YAML by hand.
- Nothing to install: no Python, no Graphviz on each computer.
Where WireViz is strong
- Free and open source (GPL-3.0), with a large community: 5,316 stars on GitHub on 30 October 2026.
- Clean, readable connection diagrams.
- Plain-text files that version well in git.
- Filare, a fork, adds multi-page documents.
Plan by plan
| WireViz / Filare | Zorowire | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feature | Free, open source | Free | Starter | Shop | Pro |
| Price, as listed | Free, GPL-3.0source: github.com · checked | €0 | €24 a month or €190 a year | €79 a month or €790 a year | €149 a month or €1,490 a year |
| Users | Anyone; files shared through gitsource: github.com · checked | 1 | 1 | 5, plus unlimited read-only viewers | 15, plus unlimited read-only viewers |
| Limits | Nonesource: github.com · checked | Unlimited harnesses × 150 connections; 3 quotes a month | 1,000 connections per harness; unlimited quotes | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Platform | Python command line with Graphviz, installed on each computersource: news.ycombinator.com · checked | Browser on macOS, Windows and Linux; nothing to install | Browser on macOS, Windows and Linux; nothing to install | Browser on macOS, Windows and Linux; nothing to install | Browser on macOS, Windows and Linux; nothing to install |
| 1:1 formboard | No: connection diagrams, not a physical layoutsource: github.com · checked | Automatic 1:1 layout; tiled A4/A3/Letter/Tabloid with overlap, registration marks and a 100 mm check ruler, or one piece; peg coordinates | Automatic 1:1 layout; tiled A4/A3/Letter/Tabloid with overlap, registration marks and a 100 mm check ruler, or one piece; peg coordinates | Automatic 1:1 layout; tiled A4/A3/Letter/Tabloid with overlap, registration marks and a 100 mm check ruler, or one piece; peg coordinates | Automatic 1:1 layout; tiled A4/A3/Letter/Tabloid with overlap, registration marks and a 100 mm check ruler, or one piece; peg coordinates |
| Cut list and cut lengths | No dedicated cut list (requested in issue #434); cable lengths appear in the BOMsource: github.com · checked | Your allowances per connector and splice end, loops, slack, rounding; strip length, terminal and seal per end | Your allowances per connector and splice end, loops, slack, rounding; strip length, terminal and seal per end | Your allowances per connector and splice end, loops, slack, rounding; strip length, terminal and seal per end | Your allowances per connector and splice end, loops, slack, rounding; strip length, terminal and seal per end |
| Labels | Nosource: github.com · checked | Wire-end, connector and bundle labels: PDF sheets and CSV for label software | Wire-end, connector and bundle labels: PDF sheets and CSV for label software | Wire-end, connector and bundle labels: PDF sheets and CSV for label software | Wire-end, connector and bundle labels: PDF sheets and CSV for label software |
| BOM | BOM as TSV and HTMLsource: github.com · checked | BOM CSV, wire and covering in metres | BOM CSV, wire and covering in metres | BOM CSV, wire and covering in metres | BOM CSV, wire and covering in metres |
| Quote and costing | Nosource: github.com · checked | Labour from operations, setup, quantity breaks, margin, customer PDF: 3 a month | Same, unlimited; your labour table and price list | Same, for 5 users; quote PDF with your logo | Same, plus NRE lines and several price lists |
| Missing information before quoting | Nosource: github.com · checked | Missing part numbers and prices flagged | Flagged; basic RFQ checklist | Full RFQ checklist: missing customer information, unidentified parts, supplier price requests | Full RFQ checklist |
| Revisions | Through git diffs of the YAML textsource: github.com · checked | Last 2 revisions | Full history; diff of inputs, cut list, BOM and operations | Full history with diff | Full history with diff |
| Imports | YAML only; Excel import requested (issue #341)source: github.com · checked | Excel and CSV with column mapping | Excel, CSV and WireViz YAML | Excel, CSV and WireViz YAML | Excel, CSV and WireViz YAML |
| Cutting-machine export | Nosource: github.com · checked | Generic metric cut-list CSV | Generic metric cut-list CSV | Generic metric cut-list CSV | Saved machine column profiles (planned)planned |
| Languages | Englishsource: github.com · checked | 32 interface languages; native text in English, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian | 32 interface languages; native text in English, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian | 32 interface languages; native text in English, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian | 32 interface languages; native text in English, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian |
| Try before buying, support | Free; help through GitHub issuessource: github.com · checked | Free plan, no card; community support | E-mail support | E-mail support | Priority support |
Price difference per year
| Documentation only | €0source: github.com · checked | €0 on Free (150 connections per harness) | None: the difference is the board, the cut list and the quote |
|---|
WireViz is free software. Zorowire's own WireViz reader was written from our own description of the file format; no WireViz code is used.
Looking for a WireViz alternative with a formboard?
Zorowire reads your WireViz YAML and turns it into a 1:1 board, a cut list and a quote in the browser.
Switching from WireViz?
Show us a paid WireViz licence or invoice and get your first year of Shop at the founding price, €49 a month instead of €79. We help you import your first harnesses.
How to switch
- Import your WireViz .yml file: connectors, pins, cables, conductors and connections come across.
- A WireViz file has no branch points or branch lengths, so add the branches in the Segments sheet or the branch tree. A cable's overall length is kept as its conductors' fixed length.
- Read the findings — for example colour codes outside IEC 60757 are kept as written and reported.
- Print the calibration sheet, then the board.
Other comparisons
Zorowire vs Rapid HarnessZorowire vs harness.designZorowire vs CabletequeZorowire vs ExcelZorowire vs Zuken E3
Competitor facts come from each vendor's public pages and our own tests, checked on the date shown in every cell. Prices are as listed, with currency and VAT status; conversions are marked ≈. Names are used only to identify the products. Tell us at [email protected] if something has changed and we will correct it.