Free Cladogram Maker
Build a labeled cladogram from plain text
Describe your organisms and the traits they share, and AI draws a clean, branching cladogram showing their evolutionary relationships — ready for biology homework, lab reports, and publications.
Cladogram examples
Click any example to load its prompt, or use it as a starting point for your own clade diagram.
What is a cladogram?
A cladogram is a branching diagram that groups organisms by shared derived characters (synapomorphies) to show the order in which lineages split from common ancestors. Taxa that share more derived traits sit closer together in nested clades. Unlike a phylogenetic tree, a cladogram's branch lengths are not drawn to scale — only the branching order carries meaning, not the amount of time or genetic change. This tool draws and labels a clean cladogram from the taxa and characters you describe; if you need branch lengths scaled to time or molecular distance, use our phylogenetic tree maker instead. You get a tidy clade diagram without dragging lines around in drawing software.
Why use a cladogram maker
- Cladograms are a core skill in biology and AP Biology — students build and read them constantly for homework and exams.
- Drawing a branching clade diagram by hand or in generic software is fiddly and slow to revise.
- A clean layout makes shared derived characters (synapomorphies) and nested clades easy to read.
- Researchers and teachers need quick, presentable diagrams for talks, posters, and worksheets.
- Regenerating from text is far faster than re-aligning nodes every time your taxa or characters change.
How to make a cladogram
List your taxa (the organisms at the branch tips) and the shared characters that group them, ordered from most general to most specific. Describe them in plain language — for example, 'all have vertebrae; a subset have jaws; within those, some have an amniotic egg.' The AI draws and labels the cladogram, placing each node at the character it represents so the most closely related taxa share the most recent common ancestor. Add an outgroup to root and orient the diagram, then refine the wording and regenerate until the branching matches your character table. Remember that branch lengths are not to scale, so spacing reflects branching order only.
Parts of a cladogram
- Taxa — the organisms or groups labeled at the branch tips.
- Branches — lines showing lines of descent (lengths are not to scale).
- Nodes — branch points where a lineage splits from a common ancestor.
- Root / outgroup — the base of the diagram and the reference taxon used to orient it.
- Shared derived characters (synapomorphies) — traits marked where they first appear.
- Clades / labels — nested groups defined by a common ancestor and all its descendants.
Cladogram Maker FAQ
What is a cladogram?
A cladogram is a branching diagram that shows how groups of organisms are related by common ancestry, based on shared derived characters (synapomorphies). It sorts taxa into nested clades and shows branching order only — branch lengths are not to scale.
How do I make a cladogram online?
Describe your taxa and the shared characters that group them, from the most widely shared to the most specific — for example, 'vertebrae, then jaws, then an amniotic egg.' The AI draws and labels the cladogram with nested clades. Verify it against your character table and regenerate to refine.
What is the difference between a cladogram and a phylogenetic tree?
A cladogram shows only the order of branching — who shares the most recent common ancestor — and its branch lengths carry no meaning. A phylogenetic tree can scale branch lengths to time or genetic change. This page is focused on cladograms; if you need scaled branch lengths, use our phylogenetic tree maker.
How do I read a cladogram?
Start at the root and trace toward the tips. Each node is a common ancestor, and taxa that share a more recent node are more closely related. Shared derived characters marked along a branch belong to every taxon above that point, defining a clade. Branch length and tip order do not imply how 'advanced' a group is.
Is the cladogram maker free?
Each generation uses a small number of credits, and new accounts get free credits, so you can build a cladogram without any subscription. Paid plans add more credits if you make diagrams in bulk.
Can I use it for biology class or homework?
Yes. It produces clean, labeled cladograms suitable for biology and AP Biology homework, lab reports, worksheets, and slides. Always check the branching order against your own character data before submitting.
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