Excalidraw Plus vs Whimsical (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Whimsical grades higher than Excalidraw Plus: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Whimsical grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Excalidraw Plus
Paid workspace for Excalidraw with cloud scenes and team access
Whimsical
Whiteboard for flowcharts, wireframes, mind maps and docs
Which one is for you
Pick Excalidraw Plus if
- Fits if you already use the free Excalidraw and want scenes saved and shared
- Works for teams that want comments and presentations on a simple canvas
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan for Plus, as there is only a 14-day trial
- Watch out: payment is by credit card only, and bank transfer is not supported
- Watch out: workspace libraries and library search are marked coming soon
- Watch out: the MCP server and REST API are in public beta
Pick Whimsical if
- Fits if you're a product team keeping flows, wireframes and specs in one place
- Works for teams where many people only look, since viewers and guests are free
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, with 50 new board objects a month, watermarked exports and 7-day history
- Skip it if you want to edit on your phone, as there's no dedicated mobile app
- Pricey if you lean on the AI, as every plan gets 10 one-off credits and bundles start at 250 for $25
- Watch out: private teams, SAML SSO and SCIM need Business, at $20 an editor a month billed annually
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAExcalidraw PlusFair | 2.4GPAWhimsicalFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$6 a seat billed yearly sits between the category's cheaper quarter at $5 and its middle at $8.25. | CPro is $10 an editor a month billed annually, or $12 monthly, right at the dear end of this category's usual range, where the middle is $8.33. Only editors are billed, so viewers cost nothing. AI is extra after 10 one-off credits, and SSO needs Business at $20. |
| Free plan and trial | C14-day free trial of Plus; the card requirement is not stated, and the free editor is a separate product with local storage. | CFree has unlimited boards, docs, teams and guests, with voting and a timer. But 50 new board objects and 50 doc blocks a month is a cap you'll hit in an afternoon, exports carry a watermark and version history is 7 days. |
| Features | CCloud scenes, sharing, comments, presentations and 100 AI requests a day, but workspace libraries are coming soon and the API and MCP server are in beta. | BOne board type does flowcharts, mind maps, sequence diagrams, sticky notes and freehand sketches, with voting, a timer, comments and multiplayer editing. Wireframes go together from drag-and-drop components, docs sit beside boards for specs, and AI drafts from a prompt. The job covered. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you draw everything yourself. | CNo store rating on record, and it's a browser tool where the work is building the board. One board type does cover every kind of diagram and wireframes come from drag-and-drop components, so there's less to learn than in most of this category. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Notion and Obsidian links and a beta API. | BWeb, Mac, Windows and Linux. Boards embed live in Notion and Obsidian and preview in Slack, Jira and Google Docs. There's no dedicated mobile app, though. On a phone you can only view and comment in a browser. |
| Best for | hand-drawn whiteboards saved to the cloud | product teams sketching flows and wireframes |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Excalidraw Plus and Whimsical. How we grade
Price against what you get
Excalidraw Plus starts at $6 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Whimsical starts at $10 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Whimsical scores higher, and starts $4 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, 9 score higher than Excalidraw Plus for less, and 11 score higher than Whimsical for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Whimsical also covers templates, documents and mind mapping.
At a glance
| Excalidraw Plus | Whimsical | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $6 per user / month, billed annually ($7 billed monthly) | $10 per editor / month, billed annually ($120 a year) |
| Free plan | None | Unlimited boards, docs, teams and guests, with a monthly allowance of 50 board objects and 50 doc blocks, watermarked exports, 7-day version history and 10 one-off AI credits. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Plus | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Excalidraw | Whimsical, Inc. |
| Price read from | plus.excalidraw.com | whimsical.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Excalidraw Plus
- Plus has no free plan; the free Excalidraw editor is a separate product with local, browser-based storage.
- Payment is by credit card only; the pricing FAQ says bank transfer is not supported.
- Workspace libraries and library search are marked as coming soon.
- The MCP server and REST API are in public beta.
Whimsical
- The Free plan allows 50 new board objects and 50 doc blocks a month and puts a watermark on exports.
- There is no dedicated mobile app: on a phone, files can be viewed and commented on in a browser, and iPad use is browser-based.
- AI credits are a one-off 10 per account on every plan; more are sold in bundles starting at 250 credits for $25.
- Private teams, SAML single sign-on and SCIM are limited to Business, at $20 per editor / month billed annually.
Key features
Excalidraw Plus
- Cloud scenes and folders
- Scenes are saved to the vendor's cloud with no limit on their number and can be organized into folders and collections.
- Access management
- Share with edit or view rights, send read-only links and embeds, and manage team members in a workspace.
- Presentations and export
- Frames can be shown as slides, including live presentations, and exported to PDF and PPTX.
- Voice hangouts and comments
- Collaborators can talk and share screens on the canvas and leave comments on a scene.
- AI requests
- Text to diagram and wireframe to code run at 100 requests a day on Plus, or with your own API key.
- MCP and REST API
- A public beta MCP server lets an AI agent draw into a workspace, and a REST API is also in public beta.
Whimsical
- Boards on an infinite canvas
- One board type covers flowcharts, mind maps, sequence diagrams, sticky notes and freehand sketches. Voting and a timer are included on every plan.
- Wireframes
- Wireframes are assembled from drag-and-drop components, as a quick way to explore product ideas and iterate on them.
- Whimsical AI
- A prompt generates a flowchart, a branched mind map or an editable wireframe. Each account gets 10 one-off AI credits; more are sold separately at $0.10 each.
- Docs
- Docs hold notes, project plans, briefs and specs next to the boards they describe, with Markdown support, toggles and embedded content.
- Multiplayer editing and comments
- Several people can edit a file at once and leave comments on it. Share links can grant view, comment or edit access on every plan.
- Embeds and AI tool connectors
- Boards embed live in Notion and Obsidian and preview in Slack, Jira and Google Docs. An MCP server and connectors let ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor create diagrams.
Plans
Excalidraw Plus
Plus$6
per user / month, billed annually ($7 billed monthly)
Unlimited scenes and folders saved to the cloud, sharing with edit or view rights, comments, 100 AI requests a day.
Whimsical
Free$0
50 new board objects and 50 doc blocks a month, 5 MB uploads within 1 GB of storage, watermarked exports and 7-day version history.
Pro$10
per editor / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Unlimited board objects and doc blocks, exports without a watermark, 90-day version history, password-protected files and 100 GB of storage.
Business$20
per editor / month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly)
Private teams, SAML single sign-on, SCIM, content security lock, unlimited version history, invoicing, priority support and storage from 2 TB.
Ways to pay less
Excalidraw Plus
- Annual discount
Save 14% with annual billing
The pricing page lists $6 per user a month billed annually against $7 billed monthly, and labels the annual option as a 14% saving.
Whimsical
- Annual discount
2 months free with annual billing
Pro is $120 per editor billed annually against $12 a month, and Business is $240 against $24. The pricing page shows this as a 17% saving.
- Education
Free for a year for students and teachers
Teachers and students can apply for the education plan, which provides the same features as Pro free of charge for a year.
- Nonprofit
20% off for nonprofits
Whimsical offers a 20% discount to non-profit organizations that apply through its form.
- Other savings
Free for life for YouTube creators
Creators with a public YouTube channel of at least 1,000 subscribers and a video published in the past 30 days can apply for a plan that is free for life.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Excalidraw Plus or Whimsical?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Excalidraw Plus is cheaper to start with: $6 a month for each person, against $10 a month for each person for Whimsical. Excalidraw Plus starts at $6 per user / month, billed annually ($7 billed monthly), and Whimsical starts at $10 per editor / month, billed annually ($120 a year).
Which has a free plan, Excalidraw Plus or Whimsical?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Whimsical has a free plan. Excalidraw Plus does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Excalidraw Plus and Whimsical run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Whimsical lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.