Design Tools
3 open source tools compared. Sorted by stars — scroll down for our analysis.
| Tool | Stars | Velocity | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
 Excalidraw Virtual whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn diagrams | 120.3k | +546/wk | 82 |
 tldraw SDK for creating whiteboards and canvas experiences | 46.2k | +132/wk | 69 |
 Penpot Open source design and prototyping platform | 45.2k | +105/wk | 76 |
Our Analysis
Excalidraw Libraries provides pre-made shape collections (AWS architecture icons, flowchart symbols, UI components, network diagrams) for the Excalidraw whiteboard. It runs in your browser, it's fast, and the hand-drawn aesthetic means your diagrams look intentionally informal instead of accidentally ugly. MIT licensed, TypeScript. The free version at excalidraw.com gives you the full drawing tool: shapes, arrows, text, images, freehand, and a library of reusable components. Real-time collaboration works without an account. Export to PNG, SVG, or the native .excalidraw format. There's also an npm package to embed the editor in your own app. The paid tier (Excalidraw+) adds persistent storage, team workspaces, and a link-sharing system. Pricing is around $7/mo per user. Self-hosting the editor is free and straightforward. It's a static site you can deploy anywhere. Solo: free excalidraw.com covers everything. Small teams (2-10): free works fine. Export and share files manually, or self-host for private use. Growing teams: Excalidraw+ makes sense when you need shared libraries and persistent workspaces. Large: evaluate whether your existing design tools (Figma, Miro) already cover this. The catch: it's a drawing tool, not a diagramming tool. No auto-layout, no data-driven diagrams, no flowchart snapping logic. If you need structured diagrams that update from code, look at Mermaid or tldraw. Excalidraw is for when you want to think visually, fast.
Tldraw gives you a React SDK to build that. Drop it in, get an infinite canvas with shapes, text, freehand drawing, and multiplayer collaboration. used by tons of apps that need embedded drawing. The open source version gives you the full canvas engine and default UI. You can customize everything: shapes, tools, behaviors. Here's where it gets complicated. tldraw recently changed its license. The SDK for embedding in your own app requires a commercial license if you're building a product. The free license covers personal use and open source projects. Commercial pricing isn't publicly listed; you contact them. The catch: that license change. If you started using tldraw when it was MIT and built it into your product, you now need to evaluate the commercial terms. The core drawing engine is excellent, the best available for React apps. But the licensing uncertainty makes it risky for startups who don't want to negotiate terms. Excalidraw is fully open source if you need a safer licensing story.