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Excalidraw vs tldraw
Open-source hand-drawn style whiteboard, less focused on React SDK integration.
ExcalidrawOpen-source virtual whiteboard for hand-drawn style diagrams
tldrawInfinite canvas SDK and whiteboard for ReactWhich to pick
Pick Excalidraw if you want…
- Hand-drawn style collaborative whiteboarding
Pick tldraw if you want…
- React-based collaborative whiteboards
Side by side
- What it is
- Excalidraw:Excalidraw is an open-source virtual whiteboard for creating hand-drawn style diagrams.
- tldraw:tldraw SDK lets developers build real-time collaborative whiteboards and infinite canvas apps in React.
- Best for
- Excalidraw:Hand-drawn style collaborative whiteboarding
- tldraw:React-based collaborative whiteboards
- Who it’s for
- Excalidraw:Designers, developers, and teams needing quick sketching and collaborative diagrams.
- tldraw:React developers building collaborative drawing or diagramming products.
- Pricing
- Excalidraw:Free
- tldraw:Contact sales
- Open source
- Excalidraw:Yes, 133,502 GitHub stars
- tldraw:Yes, 50,796 GitHub stars
- Works with
- Excalidraw:—
- tldraw:React, TypeScript
Excalidraw features
- Hand-drawn style canvas. Create diagrams that look hand-sketched with a simple drawing interface.
- Live collaboration. Invite others to edit the same canvas in real time after signing up.
- Export options. Save your work to a file to avoid loss from browser storage clearing.
- Keyboard shortcuts. Quickly open files (Ctrl+O) and access help via the UI.
- Canvas navigation. Move the canvas using scroll wheel, space-drag, or the hand tool.
tldraw features
- Multiplayer collaboration. Instant sync with custom engine, live cursors and presence across tabs.
- Built-in drawing tools. Ready-made shapes, text, arrows, draw, zoom and pan controls.
- Customizable UI and themes. Extend shapes, interactions, themes and full runtime API control.
- State management. High-performance signals library and record store for reactive data handling.
- Accessibility support. Dark mode, keyboard navigation, screen-reader compatibility.
- Starter kits. Pre-made kits for multiplayer, workflow and chat integrations.
Excalidraw vs tldraw FAQ
Is Excalidraw or tldraw free?+
Excalidraw is free.
Is Excalidraw or tldraw open source?+
Yes, both are open source: Excalidraw (excalidraw/excalidraw on GitHub, MIT license) and tldraw (tldraw/tldraw on GitHub).
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.