head to head · open source
Excalidraw vs draw.io
Excalidraw has 135,053 GitHub stars, 15,973 forks, 3,445 open issues and last shipped yesterday. draw.io has 9,138 stars, 1,361 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Excalidraw leads on adoption by 1,378% (135,053 vs 9,138 stars). Excalidraw is written in TypeScript under MIT; draw.io is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. Excalidraw has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, draw.io 15%. Excalidraw was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (whiteboard), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | draw.io | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 135K | ★ 9.1K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| 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 draw.io if
- You want the draw.io feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and draw.io 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 draw.io
draw.io About draw.io is a configurable diagramming and whiteboarding application, jointly owned and developed by draw.io Ltd (previously named JGraph) and draw.io AG. We also run a production deployment at License The source code in this repository is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. The icon sets, stencil libraries, and diagram templates are provided under the following terms: The icon sets and stencil libraries included in this software, and any derivatives thereof (including conversions to other formats, traced reproductions, substantially similar visual representations, or AI generated images created…
read the full draw.io overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Excalidraw or draw.io more popular?
Excalidraw has 135,053 GitHub stars and draw.io has 9,138. Excalidraw has the larger community by that measure.
Are Excalidraw and draw.io free?
Both are open source. Excalidraw is licensed under MIT and draw.io under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Excalidraw and draw.io?
Excalidraw is written in TypeScript and draw.io in JavaScript. 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 draw.io?
Choose Excalidraw if you want the larger community (135,053 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose draw.io if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.