head to head · open source
Tldraw vs draw.io
Tldraw has 50,431 GitHub stars, 3,517 forks, 649 open issues and last shipped today. draw.io has 8,193 stars, 1,244 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Tldraw leads on adoption by 516% (50,431 vs 8,193 stars). Tldraw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; draw.io is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. Tldraw has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, draw.io 15%. Tldraw was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (diagram, 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
| Tldraw | draw.io | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 50K | ★ 8.2K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| 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 draw.io if
- You want the draw.io feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and draw.io 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 draw.io
draw.io is a configurable, client side JavaScript diagramming and whiteboarding application, jointly owned and developed by draw.io Ltd (previously JGraph) and draw.io AG, intended for anyone who needs to draw diagrams and whiteboards in a browser or on the desktop without a login.
read the full draw.io overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Tldraw or draw.io more popular?
Tldraw has 50,431 GitHub stars and draw.io has 8,193. Tldraw has the larger community by that measure.
Are Tldraw and draw.io free?
Both are open source. Tldraw has no licence declared in this registry, and draw.io is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Tldraw and draw.io?
Tldraw is written in TypeScript and draw.io in JavaScript. 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 draw.io?
Choose Tldraw if you want the larger community (50,431 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose draw.io if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.