Cacoo, the browser-based diagramming and design application launched in November 2009, came out of beta today. The Flash tool allows users to create, share and publish wireframes, sitemaps, network diagrams, flow charts, UMLs, etc.
What makes Cacoo stand out is that it lets multiple users in different locations create and edit designs collaboratively and in real-time. Changes to designs shared online, i.e. on a blog or wiki, are reflected in the embedded item automatically and in real-time, which means uploading them again isn’t necessary (more on Cacoo’s main features in our previous coverage).
Next to shedding the beta label, Cacoo maker Nulab has introduced a freemium model, under which the free plan will continue with some restrictions. Users paying $4.95 monthly (or $49 per year) will be able to create unlimited sheets for their designs, export them in more formats (SVG), share diagrams and folders with an unlimited number of people, and more.
Apart from adding a number of fresh features (for example, free and paid users can now share folders and all diagrams in the folder with others), Cacoo is no longer available in English and Japanese only. The users themselves translated the interface into French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese and Polish, with 15 more languages coming soon. And there is now an API (which supports OAuth and an API Key), too.
Cacoo currently boasts over 60,000 users worldwide. Similar design tools include Creately, Balsamiq Mockups, or Gliffy.
More screenshots (click to enlarge):
