head to head · open source
Excalidraw vs BleachBit
Excalidraw has 132,233 GitHub stars, 15,326 forks, 3,445 open issues and last shipped yesterday. BleachBit has 6,930 stars, 455 forks, 313 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Excalidraw leads on adoption by 1,808% (132,233 vs 6,930 stars). Excalidraw is written in TypeScript under MIT; BleachBit is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Excalidraw has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, BleachBit 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 | BleachBit | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 132K | ★ 6.9K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 455 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Excalidraw if
- You weight community size — 132K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick BleachBit if
- You want the BleachBit feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and BleachBit fits your workflow better
About Excalidraw
Excalidraw is an open source virtual whiteboard application built in TypeScript, designed for sketching hand drawn style diagrams, wireframes, and freeform ideas. It lives within the web based productivity and design visualization ecosystem, offering a lightweight alternative to commercial tools like Figma, Miro, and Canva. The project includes both a standalone web app at excalidraw.com and an embeddable npm package for integration into third party applications.
read the full Excalidraw overview →
About BleachBit
BleachBit is a free, GPL 3.0 system cleaner written in Python that deletes files on Windows and Linux to free disk space and protect privacy, made for desktop users and administrators who want a cross platform alternative to commercial cleanup tools.
read the full BleachBit overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Excalidraw or BleachBit more popular?
Excalidraw has 132,233 GitHub stars and BleachBit has 6,930. Excalidraw has the larger community by that measure.
Are Excalidraw and BleachBit free?
Both are open source. Excalidraw is licensed under MIT and BleachBit under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Excalidraw and BleachBit?
Excalidraw is written in TypeScript and BleachBit in Python. 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 BleachBit?
Choose Excalidraw if you want the larger community (132,233 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose BleachBit if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.