Excalidraw

Virtual collaborative whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn like diagrams.

Best for: Software engineers, systems architects, and technical educators creating readable diagrams

Free plan
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4.9/5Editorial score 94/100excalidraw.com

Entry plan

Free Forever (Open Source)

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Editorial score94/100

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The editorial note

What to know about Excalidraw

Excalidraw is a virtual collaborative whiteboard tool that makes it easy to sketch diagrams with a hand-drawn feel. Supporting end-to-end encryption, custom component libraries, and effortless sharing, Excalidraw has become the go-to tool for software engineers sketching system architectures and UX flows.

Is it right for you?

Who Excalidraw suits

Choose it if

Software engineers, systems architects, and technical educators creating readable diagrams

Look elsewhere if

Artists looking for raster painting, digital illustration, and photo retouching tools

What you get

Key features

Hand-drawn vector sketching aesthetic
End-to-end encrypted collaboration links
Community asset libraries (AWS, System Design, UI)
Embeddable React component
Export to PNG, SVG, and JSON
Dark mode and keyboard accessibility

Works with

Integrations5

Obsidian VS CodeReactNext.jsGitHub

What it costs

Pricing

Excalidraw pricing plans
Plan	Price	What it includes
Free Web	Free Forever (Open Source)Billed one-time	100% free at excalidraw.com, end-to-end encrypted live rooms, local file saves, full icon library
Excalidraw+ Pro	$7 / user / month ($72 / yr)Billed yearly	Or $9 monthly. Cloud diagram library, team workspaces, unlimited private rooms, role permissions

Prices are recorded from the vendor's public pricing page and can change. Check before you buy.

The trade-off

Pros and cons

Pros

Characteristic hand-drawn aesthetic makes diagrams feel informal and approachable
End-to-end encrypted real-time collaborative whiteboard sessions
Rich community library of architecture icons (AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, UI wireframes)

Cons

Excalidraw+ subscription needed for cloud workspace organization and team folders
Not suited for high-fidelity vector illustration or print layouts

Quick read

At a glance

Category: Design & Creative
Pricing model: Freemium
Entry plan: Free Forever (Open Source)
Free plan: Available
Free trial: Available
Website: excalidraw.com

The verdict

Our take on Excalidraw

Excalidraw is unmatched for quick, approachable system architecture diagramming and collaborative technical sketches.

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