head to head · open source
Tldraw vs Chalk.ist
Tldraw has 50,422 GitHub stars, 3,517 forks, 649 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Chalk.ist has 1,845 stars, 149 forks, 22 open issues and last shipped 8 months ago. Tldraw leads on adoption by 2,633% (50,422 vs 1,845 stars). Tldraw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Chalk.ist is written in Vue under MIT. Tldraw has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Chalk.ist 8%. Tldraw 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
| Tldraw | Chalk.ist | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 50K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-01-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 149 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Tldraw if
- You weight community size — 50K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Chalk.ist if
- You want the Chalk.ist feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You evaluated both and Chalk.ist fits your workflow better
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 →
About Chalk.ist
Chalk.ist is a Vue project in the Productivity & Utilities / Design & Visualization category. GitHub description says create beautiful images of source code. Tagline says transform source code into visuals. Homepage is https://chalk.ist. License is MIT. License line names Kasper Mikiewicz 2022. Repository language is Vue. Repository stats include 1845 stars, 149 forks, 0 contributors, and 22 open issues. Repo age is 0 years. Last push is 2026 01 07T17:18:35Z. The excerpt lists no topics.
read the full Chalk.ist overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Tldraw or Chalk.ist more popular?
Tldraw has 50,422 GitHub stars and Chalk.ist has 1,845. Tldraw has the larger community by that measure.
Are Tldraw and Chalk.ist free?
Both are open source. Tldraw has no licence declared in this registry, and Chalk.ist is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Tldraw and Chalk.ist?
Tldraw is written in TypeScript and Chalk.ist in Vue. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Tldraw or Chalk.ist?
Choose Tldraw if you want the larger community (50,422 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Chalk.ist if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.