Miro's free plan limits you to 3 boards. After that, it's $8/user/month (Team) or $16/user/month (Business) just to draw rectangles and sticky notes together. For a 10-person team using Miro for planning sessions, that's $960-1,920 per year.
FigJam is $5/user/month as an add-on — but that's on top of your Figma subscription. Lucidchart is $9-22/user/month. Microsoft Whiteboard requires Microsoft 365.
The underlying technology (HTML canvas, WebRTC, CRDTs for conflict resolution) is all open source. The tools themselves don't have to be.
Open source whiteboard tools give you the same infinite canvas, sticky notes, shapes, connectors, and real-time collaboration — without per-seat pricing. You can self-host them on your own infrastructure for privacy, or use free hosted versions for teams without ops overhead.
I compared the best open source whiteboard tools available in 2026.
Key Takeaways:
- Best all-around free whiteboard: Excalidraw — hand-drawn aesthetic, embeddable, E2E encrypted collaboration, no account required
- Best for developers building whiteboard features: tldraw — the most polished whiteboard canvas library to embed in your own app
- Best Miro alternative for teams: AFFiNE — combines whiteboard + documents with a full workspace approach
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Best For | Self-Hosted | Real-Time Collab | Free to Use | Embeddable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excalidraw | Quick diagrams & brainstorming | Yes | Yes (E2E encrypted) | Yes | Yes |
| tldraw | Embedded whiteboard in apps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (SDK) |
| AFFiNE | Full workspace with whiteboard | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
What to Look For in an Open Source Whiteboard
Whiteboard tools sound simple, but they vary significantly in quality. Here's what determines whether a whiteboard is actually useful:
- Responsiveness — does the canvas feel instant or laggy? Latency kills creative flow
- Collaboration quality — real-time sync without conflicts, cursors showing team presence
- Shape/object library — arrows, sticky notes, text, shapes, connectors with smart routing
- Export options — PNG, SVG, PDF — can you get your work out?
- Embed/self-host — can you deploy it privately or integrate it into other tools?
- No account friction — can collaborators join without creating accounts?
1. Excalidraw — The Best Free Open Source Whiteboard
Best for teams who want a free, fast, privacy-respecting whiteboard without account registration or per-seat pricing.
Excalidraw is the most popular open source whiteboard tool, and for good reason. The hand-drawn aesthetic makes diagrams feel approachable (removing the "this is a finished design" misinterpretation), the tool is genuinely fast, and the collaboration model is clever: end-to-end encrypted rooms where the server never sees your content.
The hosted version at excalidraw.com is free with no account required. Share a link, collaborate in real time, export to PNG or SVG — done. For teams who want self-hosting or private deployment, the MIT-licensed source code runs as a static web app.
Key Features
- Infinite canvas with hand-drawn aesthetic
- Shape library — rectangles, ellipses, diamonds, arrows, text, connectors, freehand
- End-to-end encrypted collaboration — the server stores encrypted data it can't read
- No account required — share a link and collaborate immediately
- Export to PNG, SVG, JSON — the JSON format is the source file you can reload
- Embeddable — drop into Notion, Obsidian, Confluence, and other tools via official integrations
- Libraries — community-contributed shape libraries for UI wireframing, AWS architecture diagrams, etc.
- Dark mode, keyboard shortcuts, and responsive mobile support
Pros
- Best "zero friction" collaboration — no signup, no credit card, just share a link
- E2E encryption means even excalidraw.com can't see your diagrams
- Hand-drawn style has a unique charm that reduces the "don't criticize this, it's final" problem in design reviews
- Embeds in dozens of apps via official and community integrations
- MIT license — completely free to self-host, modify, and redistribute
Cons
- Hand-drawn aesthetic isn't for everyone — professional diagrams look "sketchy" by design
- Advanced features like conditional logic or database-linked diagrams not available
- No template system as rich as Miro's
- Real-time collaboration requires session link sharing (no persistent workspace)
Self-Hosting
Static web app (React + Vite). Deploy to any static hosting (Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, or self-hosted nginx). Optional: run excalidraw-room (Node.js WebSocket server) for collaboration backend. Collaboration backend is optional — the tool works locally without it.
License: MIT
GitHub Stars: 90k+
View Excalidraw on Open Source Alternatives
2. tldraw — The Whiteboard Canvas SDK
Best for developers who want to embed a high-quality whiteboard or infinite canvas in their own application.
tldraw is two things: a free whiteboard tool at tldraw.com, and an SDK for building whiteboard features into your own React app. The hosted version is excellent on its own merits — clean interface, real-time multiplayer, shapes and connectors. But where tldraw really shines is as an embeddable canvas library.
Teams building internal tools, project management software, design tools, or anything requiring spatial/canvas-based interaction use tldraw as their rendering engine. The SDK provides the rendering, input handling, and state management; you provide the custom shapes, UI, and persistence.
Key Features
- Full-featured whiteboard — shapes, connectors, text, images, frames, sticky notes
- Real-time multiplayer — built-in via tldraw sync (server available)
- React SDK — embed the canvas in any React application
- Custom shapes API — define your own shape types with custom rendering
- Yjs CRDT support — conflict-free real-time sync with any Yjs provider
- Export to SVG, PNG — programmatic and user-initiated
- Keyboard shortcuts — professional-grade keyboard navigation
Pros
- Best whiteboard SDK for React developers — high quality and actively maintained
- Multiplayer implementation is production-quality
- Custom shapes enable truly custom interactive diagrams
- Clean, professional look (unlike Excalidraw's hand-drawn style)
Cons
- More complex to self-host multiplayer than Excalidraw (requires running sync server)
- SDK learning curve for non-trivial custom shapes
- Less community-contributed content (templates, libraries) than Excalidraw
Self-Hosting
tldraw.com is the hosted version (free). For self-hosted multiplayer: run tldraw-sync-cloudflare (Cloudflare Workers) or tldraw-yjs (Node.js + Yjs). The client is a React library.
License: tldraw 1.0 license (source available, not OSI open source for commercial use)
GitHub Stars: 40k+
3. AFFiNE — Whiteboard + Document Workspace
Best for teams who want Miro-style whiteboard features integrated with a document workspace — where diagrams and written notes live in the same tool.
AFFiNE combines infinite canvas whiteboard features with a full document/note-taking workspace. You can start a brainstorm session on the whiteboard canvas, then continue the same project as a structured document — all in one page.
This integrated approach solves the "sync between Miro and Notion" problem. Instead of whiteboard in one tool and documentation in another, AFFiNE treats both as views of the same content. Blocks on the canvas can be text, documents, databases, or drawings.
Key Features
- Edgeless canvas mode — infinite whiteboard with shapes, connections, freehand
- Page mode — structured document editor with the same blocks
- Unified blocks — switch any content between canvas and page view
- Collaboration — real-time via AFFiNE Cloud or self-hosted
- Offline-first — full functionality without internet connection
- Database blocks — table, kanban, and list views for structured data
- Local-first architecture — your data stays on your device
Pros
- Unique integration of whiteboard + documents in one workspace
- Local-first means no mandatory cloud account
- Beautiful, modern interface
- Free and open source to self-host
Cons
- Whiteboard feature set less mature than dedicated tools like Excalidraw
- Mobile support still in development
- Self-hosted sync requires more setup than Excalidraw's link-sharing model
- Database and collaboration features still maturing
Self-Hosting
Docker Compose deployment for self-hosted AFFiNE (with sync server). AFFiNE Cloud free tier available. Local desktop app (Electron) works completely offline.
License: MIT
GitHub Stars: 50k+
View AFFiNE on Open Source Alternatives
Which Whiteboard Tool Is Right for You?
| Use Case | Best Choice |
|---|---|
| Quick team brainstorm, no setup | Excalidraw |
| Diagrams in Notion/Obsidian | Excalidraw (embed) |
| Building whiteboard into your app | tldraw SDK |
| Team workspace combining docs + whiteboard | AFFiNE |
| Private/internal whiteboard | Excalidraw (self-hosted) or AFFiNE |
| Professional-looking technical diagrams | tldraw |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Excalidraw really free with no limits?
Yes. Excalidraw.com is completely free — unlimited boards, unlimited collaborators, no account required. The MIT-licensed source code is free to self-host. The only paid offering is Excalidraw+ ($7/month), a cloud workspace with persistent rooms and team features.
Can I use these tools offline?
Excalidraw works fully offline (it's a static web app). AFFiNE is explicitly local-first and works offline. tldraw works offline for single-user use; multiplayer requires a sync server connection.
How does Excalidraw's encryption work?
Excalidraw collaboration rooms use end-to-end encryption. The encryption key is included in the URL fragment (#), which browsers never send to servers. The server only stores encrypted ciphertext it cannot decrypt. Even if the server is compromised, your diagrams are protected.
Can I embed Excalidraw in Notion?
Yes. Excalidraw has an official Notion integration that lets you embed and edit diagrams directly in Notion pages. Similar integrations exist for Confluence, Obsidian, Logseq, and others.
Which has better real-time collaboration — Excalidraw or tldraw?
Both implement robust real-time collaboration, but through different means. Excalidraw uses a custom E2E-encrypted collaboration server. tldraw uses Yjs CRDT, which is more flexible and integrates with various Yjs providers. For embedding in your own app, tldraw's Yjs support is more versatile. For simple team whiteboarding, Excalidraw's zero-friction link sharing is faster.
Can I export whiteboard diagrams as SVG or PNG?
Yes — all three tools support export to PNG and SVG. Excalidraw also exports to its native JSON format, which preserves all shape data for re-editing. tldraw exports to SVG and PNG. AFFiNE exports to PDF, SVG, and PNG.
What about drawing performance for large canvases?
For very large canvases (thousands of objects), tldraw has the most optimized rendering engine. Excalidraw handles typical brainstorming sessions (hundreds of objects) without issues. AFFiNE is still optimizing performance for very large canvases.
Do these tools work on mobile/tablet?
Excalidraw has decent mobile support with touch drawing and pinch-to-zoom. tldraw supports touch input. AFFiNE mobile apps are in development. For iPad-style drawing experiences, Excalidraw with Apple Pencil input works well.