head to head · open source
Excalidraw vs Tldraw
Excalidraw has 132,233 GitHub stars, 15,326 forks, 3,445 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Tldraw has 50,422 stars, 3,517 forks, 649 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Excalidraw leads on adoption by 162% (132,233 vs 50,422 stars). Excalidraw is written in TypeScript under MIT; Tldraw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Excalidraw has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Tldraw 7%. Excalidraw was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (canvas, collaboration, drawing, 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 | Tldraw | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 132K | ★ 50K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 3.5K |
| 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 Tldraw if
- You want the Tldraw feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Tldraw 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 Tldraw
Tldraw is a free, open source TypeScript and React SDK for building infinite canvas applications — the engine behind tldraw.com — aimed at developers who need whiteboarding, diagramming, or real time canvas collaboration embedded inside their own product rather than hosted as a separate destination site.
read the full Tldraw overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Excalidraw or Tldraw more popular?
Excalidraw has 132,233 GitHub stars and Tldraw has 50,422. Excalidraw has the larger community by that measure.
Are Excalidraw and Tldraw free?
Both are open source. Excalidraw is licensed under MIT, and Tldraw has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Excalidraw and Tldraw?
Excalidraw is written in TypeScript and Tldraw 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 Tldraw?
Choose Excalidraw if you want the larger community (132,233 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Tldraw if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.