head to head · open source
Excalidraw vs Affine
Excalidraw has 135,053 GitHub stars, 15,973 forks, 3,445 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Affine has 74,123 stars, 5,454 forks, 732 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Excalidraw leads on adoption by 82% (135,053 vs 74,123 stars). Excalidraw is written in TypeScript under MIT; Affine is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Excalidraw has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Affine 7%. Excalidraw was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Excalidraw | Affine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 135K | ★ 74K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 5.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Excalidraw if
- You weight community size — 135K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Affine if
- You want the Affine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Affine fits your workflow better
About Excalidraw
Excalidraw Editor Blog Documentation Excalidraw+ An open source virtual hand drawn style whiteboard. Collaborative and end to end encrypted. Create beautiful hand drawn like diagrams, wireframes, or whatever you like. Features The Excalidraw editor (npm package) supports: 💯 Free & open source. 🎨 Infinite, canvas based whiteboard. ✍️ Hand drawn like style. 🌓 Dark mode. 🏗️ Customizable. 📷 Image support. 😀 Shape libraries support. 🌐 Localization (i18n) support. 🖼️ Export to PNG, SVG & clipboard. 💾 Open format export drawings as an .excalidraw json file. ⚒️ Wide range of tools rectangle, circle, diamond…
read the full Excalidraw overview →
About Affine
AFFiNE.Pro Write, Draw and Plan All at Once A privacy focused, local first, open source, and ready to use alternative for Notion & Miro. One hyper fused platform for wildly creative minds. Home Page Discord Live Demo Blog Documentation [![All Contributors][all contributors badge]]( contributors) [![TypeScript version icon]]( Docs, canvas and tables are hyper merged with AFFiNE just like the word affine (əˈfʌɪn a fine). Getting started & staying tuned with us. Star us, and you will receive all release notifications from GitHub without any delay! What is AFFiNE AFFiNE is an open source, all in one workspace and an…
read the full Affine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Excalidraw or Affine more popular?
Excalidraw has 135,053 GitHub stars and Affine has 74,123. Excalidraw has the larger community by that measure.
Are Excalidraw and Affine free?
Both are open source. Excalidraw is licensed under MIT, and Affine has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Excalidraw and Affine?
Excalidraw is written in TypeScript and Affine in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Excalidraw or Affine?
Choose Excalidraw if you want the larger community (135,053 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Affine if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.