head to head · open source
Excalidraw vs Snapify
Excalidraw has 132,233 GitHub stars, 15,326 forks, 3,445 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Snapify has 1,016 stars, 135 forks, 23 open issues and last shipped 1.8 years ago. Excalidraw leads on adoption by 12,915% (132,233 vs 1,016 stars). Excalidraw is written in TypeScript under MIT; Snapify is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Excalidraw has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Snapify 13%. 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 | Snapify | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 132K | ★ 1.0K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2024-11-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 135 |
| 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 Snapify if
- You want the Snapify feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Snapify 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 Snapify
Snapify is a self hosted, TypeScript screen recorder and asynchronous video sharing application, distributed under the AGPL 3.0 licence, for teams and individuals who want their recordings stored on infrastructure they control.
read the full Snapify overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Excalidraw or Snapify more popular?
Excalidraw has 132,233 GitHub stars and Snapify has 1,016. Excalidraw has the larger community by that measure.
Are Excalidraw and Snapify free?
Both are open source. Excalidraw is licensed under MIT and Snapify under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Excalidraw and Snapify?
Excalidraw is written in TypeScript and Snapify 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 Snapify?
Choose Excalidraw if you want the larger community (132,233 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Snapify if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.