Excalidraw
Excalidraw
Open-source whiteboard from Excalidraw s.r.o. for hand-drawn style diagrams: you sketch on a canvas, or ask its AI for a diagram; Excalidraw+ adds cloud workspaces.
- How you draw
- Sketch, Words
- Free for work
- Yes
- Open source
- Paid from
- $6/user/mo
- Plus, billed yearly
- Exports
- SVG, PNG, PDF
- Runs on
- Web
- Works offline
- Made by
- Excalidraw
- Czech Republic
Good to know
- The free version can be used for work
- Works fully offline
- Open source (MIT)
Where it stands among 24
Each fact with every app's answer. Excalidraw is outlined.
Main way to draw
Sketch by hand
Sketch by hand 5
Drag shapes 13
Write code 4
Describe in words 2
Free for work use
Free version allows work use
Free version allows work use 10
Exports SVG
On every plan
On every plan 15
On paid plans 5
Draws from a text prompt
On every plan
On every plan 14
On paid plans 3
No AI drawing 1
Not stated 6
Diagram code
No live code
Works offline
Fully offline
Open source
Open source
Plans and prices
In USD, per month, as listed by Excalidraw. Checked 17 October 2026.
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Seats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free and open source1 infinite scene, unlimited collaborators, 10 AI requests a day | Work use: allowed | ||
| Plus | $6/mo$72 a year | $7/mo | per user | Unlimited scenes, cloud sync, comments, PDF and PPTX export, 100 AI requests a day. 14-day free trial. |
- Free for work use
- YesYes
- One-time licence
- Subscription only
- Enterprise
- No enterprise plan
How you make a diagram
- Ways to draw
- Sketch, Words
- AI from a text prompt
- YesYes Text to diagram on Free and Plus
- AI limits
- 10 requests a day free, 100 a day on Plus; no limit with your own key
- Diagram code
- Imports Mermaid only No live-editable diagram code
- Diagram types
- Flowcharts, Mind maps, Wireframes, Org charts, Sequence, UML, ER / database, BPMN, Cloud architecture UML, ER, BPMN and cloud icons come from public libraries
What you get out
- SVG
- YesYes Free and Plus
- PNG
- YesYes
- Paid plansPaid plans Frames to PDF on Plus
- Visio (VSDX)
- NoNo Not among the listed export formats
- Watermark on free exports
- Not statedNot stated The pricing page doesn't mention a watermark
- Imports
- Mermaid Native .excalidraw JSON files; no Visio, Lucidchart, draw.io, Gliffy or CSV import stated
Where it runs and where files live
- Apps
- Web
- Works offline
- YesYes The installed PWA is 'fully offline-capable'
- Open source
- YesYes The editor is open source; Excalidraw+ is not
- Self-hosting
- YesYes Official guide to self-hosting the open-source editor; self-hosted Excalidraw+ is in development
- Where diagrams are stored
- Files on your device, Maker's cloud Free: in the browser and saved files; Plus syncs to the maker's cloud
- Works inside
- Notion, Google Workspace Also Obsidian; the Confluence app is by a third party (Narva Software)
- Live co-editing
- YesYes Free, with unlimited collaborators
- API
- YesYes Open-source npm component with an element API; the Excalidraw+ REST API (public beta) is Plus-only
Who you're trusting
- Company
- Excalidraw s.r.o.
- Owned by
- Not stated No parent company stated
- Based in
- Czech Republic Legal address in Brno
- Launched
- 2020 The GitHub repository was created in January 2020
- Security reports
- SOC 2 Type I, SOC 2 Type II
- Single sign-on
- Not stated Hosted SSO not stated; SSO is planned for self-hosted Excalidraw+
- Data residency
- None stated; the site is hosted in the United States
Where we recommend it
Best free diagram app for work
Free and open source under MIT for hand-drawn style diagrams, with unlimited collaborators on one shared scene and 10 AI requests a day. SVG and PNG export are free; PDF is on Excalidraw+ ($6 a month billed yearly).
Best AI diagram generators
Generates editable hand-drawn diagrams from a prompt: 10 AI requests a day free, 100 on Excalidraw+ ($6 a month billed yearly), and no Excalidraw cap if you bring your own AI key. Open source, with free SVG export.
Best whiteboard apps for diagrams
The hand-drawn look, free and open source (MIT), works offline in the browser and can be self-hosted. Live collaboration is free for any number of people on one scene.
Best diagram apps that work offline
Works offline in the browser and keeps scenes as local files you can save and reopen. Free and open source.
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