Excalidraw vs tldraw
Excalidraw and tldraw are both infinite canvas whiteboards that open instantly in the browser. Excalidraw is known for its hand-drawn style, tldraw for its smooth drawing and clean shapes.
Excalidraw
Hand-drawn style whiteboard for sketches, diagrams and wireframes.
tldraw
A fast, friendly infinite canvas for drawing and diagramming.
Choose Excalidraw for diagrams and wireframes with that friendly sketch look and its big library of shapes. Choose tldraw if you draw freehand a lot or want a cleaner look.
Side by side
| Excalidraw | tldraw | |
|---|---|---|
| Style | Hand-drawn, sketchy look | Clean shapes with a hand-drawn option |
| Collaboration | Live rooms with end-to-end encryption | Shared rooms by link |
| Libraries | Large community shape libraries | Fewer ready-made libraries |
| Export | PNG, SVG, .excalidraw | PNG, SVG, JSON |
| Drawing feel | Good | Excellent, very smooth with a pen |
| Category | Design | Design |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Account | Not required | Not required |
| Works locally | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Mobile friendly | Yes | Yes |
Choose Excalidraw if
You want sketchy diagrams and shape libraries.
Choose tldraw if
You draw freehand or want a cleaner look.
Excalidraw pros and cons
- Starts instantly with no setup
- Looks great in docs and slides
- Open source and private
- Not meant for precise technical diagrams
- Saving to the cloud needs the paid Plus version
tldraw pros and cons
- Very fast and responsive
- Clean modern look
- Great for collaborative sketching
- Fewer templates than big whiteboard apps
- Long-term file management is basic
Excalidraw vs tldraw FAQ
Is Excalidraw better than tldraw?
Choose Excalidraw for diagrams and wireframes with that friendly sketch look and its big library of shapes. Choose tldraw if you draw freehand a lot or want a cleaner look.
Are Excalidraw and tldraw free?
Excalidraw is free and open source, with no account needed. Excalidraw+ is an optional paid product for teams. tldraw.com is free to use without an account.
Do Excalidraw and tldraw need an account?
No. Excalidraw works without signing up, so you can open excalidraw.com and start using it right away. No. tldraw works without signing up, so you can open tldraw.com and start using it right away.