head to head · open source
Excalidraw vs Kap
Excalidraw has 135,053 GitHub stars, 15,973 forks, 3,445 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kap has 19,412 stars, 902 forks, 256 open issues and last shipped 2.0 years ago. Excalidraw leads on adoption by 596% (135,053 vs 19,412 stars). Excalidraw is written in TypeScript under MIT; Kap is written in TypeScript under MIT. Excalidraw has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Kap 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 | Kap | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 135K | ★ 19K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2024-11-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 902 |
| 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 Kap if
- You want the Kap feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Kap 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 Kap
Kap An open source screen recorder built with web technology Get Kap Download the latest release: Apple silicon Intel Or install with Homebrew Cask: How To Use Kap Click the menu bar icon to bring up the screen recorder. After selecting what portion of the screen you'd like to record, hit the record button to start recording. Click the menu bar icon again to stop the recording. Tip: While recording, Option click the menu bar icon to pause or right click for more options. Contribute Read the contribution guide. Plugins For more info on how to create plugins, read the plugins docs. Dev builds Download main or…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Excalidraw or Kap more popular?
Excalidraw has 135,053 GitHub stars and Kap has 19,412. Excalidraw has the larger community by that measure.
Are Excalidraw and Kap free?
Both are open source. Excalidraw is licensed under MIT and Kap under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Excalidraw and Kap?
Excalidraw is written in TypeScript and Kap 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, Excalidraw or Kap?
Choose Excalidraw if you want the larger community (135,053 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Kap if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.