Excalidraw

Excalidraw is an open source collaborative whiteboard for teams who need to sketch ideas, diagram systems, or wireframe interfaces without paying Miro's per-seat fee or trusting sensitive diagrams to a third-party server.

Miro charges $8 per user per month. For a 10-person team, that is $80/month for a whiteboard. FigJam is bundled with Figma's paid plans, which start at $12/user. For async diagram work and quick technical sketching, these costs are hard to justify.

Excalidraw works in the browser at no cost, with no account required for single-user use. Collaboration sessions use end-to-end encryption by default, so diagram contents are not readable by Excalidraw's servers. For organizations that need complete data control, the tool is MIT licensed and self-hostable with Docker.

Key Features

• Hand-drawn aesthetic that keeps diagrams informal and focused on ideas rather than production polish
• Real-time collaboration with end-to-end encryption for private shared sessions
• Export to PNG, SVG, and native JSON format for version control alongside code
• Shareable links for async diagram review without requiring account creation
• Libraries for reusable shapes, icons, and component sets
• MIT licensed and self-hostable with Docker for air-gapped or internal deployments

Self-Hosting

Deploy with Docker using the official image. The self-hosted version supports collaborative rooms; running real-time multi-user editing on your own domain also requires the optional collaboration server from the same repository. The client-only version works fully offline with no server.

License

MIT. You can deploy Excalidraw internally, embed it in other applications, or fork and redistribute it commercially with no restrictions.

Best For

Excalidraw is best for engineering and design teams who want a fast, zero-friction whiteboard for system diagrams, wireframes, and brainstorming sessions. It is particularly strong for teams handling sensitive internal diagrams where third-party server access is a concern.