head to head · open source
Excalidraw vs Graphite
Excalidraw has 132,233 GitHub stars, 15,326 forks, 3,445 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Graphite has 27,269 stars, 1,259 forks, 562 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Excalidraw leads on adoption by 385% (132,233 vs 27,269 stars). Excalidraw is written in TypeScript under MIT; Graphite is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Excalidraw has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Graphite 5%. 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 | Graphite | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 132K | ★ 27K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| 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 Graphite if
- You want the Graphite feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Graphite 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 Graphite
Graphite is a browser based, open source procedural vector editor and 2D content creation application built with Rust. It operates entirely client side with no signup required and runs directly at editor.graphite.art. As an alpha stage project, it combines layer based compositing with a node based procedural graphics engine, evolving beyond traditional vector editing into a generalized graphics toolbox.
read the full Graphite overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Excalidraw or Graphite more popular?
Excalidraw has 132,233 GitHub stars and Graphite has 27,269. Excalidraw has the larger community by that measure.
Are Excalidraw and Graphite free?
Both are open source. Excalidraw is licensed under MIT and Graphite under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Excalidraw and Graphite?
Excalidraw is written in TypeScript and Graphite in Rust. 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 Graphite?
Choose Excalidraw if you want the larger community (132,233 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Graphite if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.