Yes, as a way of organising views rather than as a separate notation - which is what C4 itself prescribes, since it defines no notation of its own. A container diagram drawn with UML component notation is a correct C4 diagram and a legal UML one at the same time.

Structurizr Lite is free and open source and is designed for a single person with no collaboration features. The cloud service has a free tier after a paid trial period, and the on-premises installation is licensed per user. Check their pricing page for current terms rather than this page.

Comparison

Archyno vs Structurizr

Structurizr and Archyno agree on the thing most tools get wrong - one model behind many views - and differ on how much of the notation world that model is expected to cover.

What Structurizr is

Structurizr is the original tool for the C4 model, written by C4's author. Architecture is defined as code in the Structurizr DSL and rendered into system landscape, context, container, component, dynamic and deployment views. Structurizr Lite is free and open source for a single person; the cloud service has free and paid tiers, and there is a licensed on-premises installation.

What Structurizr does better

It is C4's reference implementation, written by the person who defined C4 - if you want the model exactly as specified, this is where the specification lives.
Models-as-code with a purpose-built DSL, which puts the architecture in version control and diffs it properly.
Architecture decision records and documentation publish alongside the diagrams, which no notation tool does as well.

The difference that matters

Structurizr is built around C4 and the views C4 defines. Archyno is built around a metamodel that covers UML 2.5.1, ArchiMate 4, BPMN 2.0 and ER, with C4 as a way of organising views rather than as the model itself. If everything you draw is C4, that breadth is weight you are carrying for nothing. If C4 is the top two levels of a picture whose lower levels are UML, one model spanning both is the difference between one tool and two.

At a glance

Dimension	Structurizr	Archyno
What the model is	C4: people, systems, containers, components	UML 2.5.1, ArchiMate 4, BPMN 2.0 and ER in one metamodel
How it is authored	The Structurizr DSL, models as code	A canvas, with the rules engine filtering what is legal
One model, many views	Yes - the premise of the tool	Yes - the premise of the tool
Free option	Structurizr Lite, free and open source, single user	Free tier in the browser, no install

Choose Structurizr when

You are all-in on C4, you want the reference implementation, and defining architecture as code in a DSL is how your team wants to work.

Choose Archyno when

C4 is one of several notations you owe somebody, or the diagrams below the container level need real UML semantics and a standards export.

Templates

Common questions

Does Archyno do C4?: Yes, as a way of organising views rather than as a separate notation - which is what C4 itself prescribes, since it defines no notation of its own. A container diagram drawn with UML component notation is a correct C4 diagram and a legal UML one at the same time.
Is Structurizr free?: Structurizr Lite is free and open source and is designed for a single person with no collaboration features. The cloud service has a free tier after a paid trial period, and the on-premises installation is licensed per user. Check their pricing page for current terms rather than this page.

Claims about Structurizr were checked against structurizr.com, Structurizr Lite documentation, Structurizr pricing on 2026-08-09. Products change; verify anything that decides a purchase.

Structurizr is a product of Simon Brown. We are not affiliated with them, and this page is written by Archyno.