head to head · open source
Affine vs Tldraw
Affine has 72,715 GitHub stars, 5,283 forks, 732 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Tldraw has 50,422 stars, 3,517 forks, 649 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Affine leads on adoption by 44% (72,715 vs 50,422 stars). Affine is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Tldraw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Affine has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Tldraw 7%. Tldraw 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
| Affine | Tldraw | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 73K | ★ 50K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.3K | ⑂ 3.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Affine if
- You weight community size — 73K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Tldraw if
- You want the Tldraw feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Tldraw fits your workflow better
About Affine
AFFiNE is an open source, privacy first workspace that merges documentation, whiteboarding, and databases into one hyper fused platform. It lives in the productivity and knowledge management ecosystem, positioned as a direct alternative to Notion and Miro. Built with local first principles, it ensures users retain full control of their data while supporting real time collaboration across web and desktop clients.
read the full Affine overview →
About Tldraw
Tldraw is a free, open source TypeScript and React SDK for building infinite canvas applications — the engine behind tldraw.com — aimed at developers who need whiteboarding, diagramming, or real time canvas collaboration embedded inside their own product rather than hosted as a separate destination site.
read the full Tldraw overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Affine or Tldraw more popular?
Affine has 72,715 GitHub stars and Tldraw has 50,422. Affine has the larger community by that measure.
Are Affine and Tldraw free?
Neither Affine nor Tldraw declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Affine and Tldraw?
Affine is written in TypeScript and Tldraw 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, Affine or Tldraw?
Choose Affine if you want the larger community (72,715 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Tldraw if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.