head to head · open source
draw.io vs Plasmic
draw.io has 8,183 GitHub stars, 1,241 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Plasmic has 7,022 stars, 719 forks, 44 open issues and last shipped yesterday. draw.io leads on adoption by 17% (8,183 vs 7,022 stars). draw.io is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0; Plasmic is written in TypeScript under MIT. draw.io has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Plasmic 10%. Plasmic 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
| draw.io | Plasmic | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.2K | ★ 7.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.2K | ⑂ 719 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick draw.io if
- You weight community size — 8.2K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Plasmic if
- You want the Plasmic feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Plasmic fits your workflow better
About draw.io
draw.io is a configurable, client side JavaScript diagramming and whiteboarding application, jointly owned and developed by draw.io Ltd (previously JGraph) and draw.io AG, intended for anyone who needs to draw diagrams and whiteboards in a browser or on the desktop without a login.
read the full draw.io overview →
About Plasmic
Plasmic is an open source, MIT licensed visual builder for React that integrates with an existing codebase, aimed at developers and at the marketing, design, and technical users who build alongside them.
read the full Plasmic overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is draw.io or Plasmic more popular?
draw.io has 8,183 GitHub stars and Plasmic has 7,022. draw.io has the larger community by that measure.
Are draw.io and Plasmic free?
Both are open source. draw.io is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Plasmic under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between draw.io and Plasmic?
draw.io is written in JavaScript and Plasmic 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, draw.io or Plasmic?
Choose draw.io if you want the larger community (8,183 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Plasmic if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.