Org tree vs org chart: is there a difference?
Short answer: almost none. Both describe a diagram of who reports to whom. "Org chart" is the general term; "org tree" describes the shape most org charts take. The distinction only matters in the cases where a chart is not a tree.
Where the terms overlap
A typical company org chart has one person at the top and every other person reporting to exactly one manager. Drawn out, that is a tree, so for the great majority of organizations the org chart and the org tree are the same picture.
When an org chart is not a tree
Some structures break the one-manager rule. In a matrix organization, an engineer may report to an engineering manager and a product lead with equal weight. A co-CEO arrangement puts two people at the top. A board and an executive team can both sit above the CEO.
These are still org charts, but no longer pure trees. The usual way to draw them is to keep the tree for the primary relationship and add the second one as a dotted line, which keeps the chart readable and makes the exception visible.
Which term should you use?
Use whichever your audience uses. "Org chart" is more common in business writing and search; "org tree" is common among people who build or generate charts, because the tree shape is what makes automatic layout possible.
Try it on your own team
The editor is free and opens with a starter org chart. One row per person, and the chart draws itself as you type. No signup required.
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