Excalidraw vs Sketchboard (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Excalidraw and Sketchboard share a 2.6 GPA, both have a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about the free plan and ease of use, where Excalidraw grades higher, or value for money and features, where Sketchboard does.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Excalidraw
Open-source whiteboard for hand-drawn style sketches and diagrams
Sketchboard
Online whiteboard for diagrams, sketches and team planning
Which one is for you
Pick Excalidraw if
- Fits if you want to sketch an idea in a meeting without anyone signing up
- Works for developers who want an open-source editor to embed or self-host
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free and keep many boards, with 1 scene and no cloud saving
- Skip it if you want comments, view-only sharing or presentations for free, as those need Excalidraw+
- Not for you if you want a desktop or phone app, as it only runs in a browser
- Watch out: Excalidraw+ bills every seat in every workspace, takes credit cards only and won't refund
Pick Sketchboard if
- Fits if your team draws system and UML diagrams together
- Works for small teams that want a cheap whiteboard with free viewers
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 3 editable boards and 5 users
- Skip it if you need SSO or team-level access rights, which are Business only
- Pricey if your team grows: extra editors cost $5 or $6 a month each
- Skip it if you want apps, as only the browser version is listed
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAExcalidrawGood | 2.6GPASketchboardGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CExcalidraw+ is $6 a user a month billed annually, or $7 monthly, which sits in the middle of this category rather than under it. It bills every seat in every workspace, takes credit cards only, and its terms make charges non-refundable. Students and teachers pay $4. | B$6 a month for 1 editor ($60 yearly), and $20 for 5 editors on Team, which is about $4 a head. The category's cheaper quarter starts at $5. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe full editor is free with no account at all: every drawing tool, unlimited collaborators by link, libraries and PNG or SVG export. The cap is 1 scene and no cloud saving, so you keep your boards as files. | CThe free plan has 3 editable boards and up to 5 users. You'll hit the board cap. |
| Features | CIt does sketchy diagrams completely, and that's a smaller job than this category's: an infinite canvas, deliberately elementary drawing tools, ready-made libraries, live link sessions and AI that turns a prompt into a diagram. Cloud scenes, comments, access control, presentations and voice all need Plus. | BInfinite canvas, shape libraries, real-time collaboration, templates and sharing controls. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core whiteboard job. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but there is nothing to set up: open excalidraw.com and draw, no account, no plan, no template to pick. Guests join from a link, and the toolset is kept small on purpose. | CNo store rating on record. It's a web app where the work is drawing the board. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app, with no desktop or mobile apps on the vendor's pages. Being open source it can be embedded or self-hosted, it shows up in Notion and Obsidian, and Plus runs an MCP server so AI agents can draw into a workspace. | BWeb only, but it connects to Teams, Slack, GitHub, Webex and Google Drive. |
| Best for | quick hand-drawn sketches and diagrams | diagrams and retros on an infinite canvas |
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 and Sketchboard. How we grade
Price against what you get
Excalidraw starts at $6 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Sketchboard starts at $6 a month and scores 2.7.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, 5 score higher than Excalidraw for less, and 5 score higher than Sketchboard 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
- Excalidraw is open source, self-hostable and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Sketchboard also covers mind mapping.
At a glance
| Excalidraw | Sketchboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $6 per user / month, billed annually | $6 per month for 1 editor, billed monthly ($60 billed yearly) |
| Free plan | Free editor: full drawing tools on 1 infinite scene, unlimited collaborators, export to PNG, SVG or a file, libraries and limited generative AI. No account and no cloud saving. | Free plan with 3 editable boards and up to 5 users; boards are backed up daily on every plan. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Excalidraw+ | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Excalidraw | Sketchboard |
| Price read from | plus.excalidraw.com | sketchboard.io |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Excalidraw
- The free editor has 1 scene and no accounts or cloud saving; anything else has to be exported or saved to a file.
- Unlimited scenes, comments, access management, presentations and voice hangouts all need Excalidraw+.
- The vendor's pages list no desktop or mobile apps; Excalidraw runs in a web browser.
- Excalidraw+ bills every seat in every workspace, accepts credit cards only, and its terms make charges non-refundable.
Sketchboard
- The free plan stops at 3 editable boards and 5 users.
- Plans are priced by editor; extra editors cost $5 or $6 a month each.
- SSO and team-level access rights are on Business only.
- Yearly billing includes two months free compared with monthly billing.
Key features
Excalidraw
- Hand-drawn style canvas
- An infinite canvas with elementary drawing tools and a sketched, hand-drawn look. Keyboard shortcuts and a command palette speed up drawing.
- Collaboration by link
- Sharing a link starts a live session that anyone can join without an account. Excalidraw+ adds read-only links, edit or view rights, comments and embeds.
- Libraries
- Public libraries supply ready-made sketches to drop into a scene. A personal library is kept in the browser on the free editor and on the server with Excalidraw+.
- Generative AI
- Text to diagram builds and edits diagrams from a prompt, and wireframe to code turns a sketch into an interactive mockup. AI use is limited on Free and extended on Plus.
- Excalidraw+ workspace
- Scenes sync to the cloud and are organized into collections, with user accounts, team management and access control. An MCP server lets AI agents draw into a workspace.
- Presentations and voice
- With Plus, frames become slides for live presentations, scenes export to PDF and PPTX, and collaborators can talk over voice hangouts with screen sharing.
Sketchboard
- Infinite canvas
- A freeform board for sketching, notes and diagrams, with freehand drawing that can sit on top of pasted screenshots.
- Shape libraries
- Over 1,000 shapes on paid plans, including AWS and Google Cloud icons, with connectors that recalculate when shapes move.
- Real-time collaboration
- Edits and cursor movements show live, and a comment box doubles as a mini chat.
- Templates for common work
- The site describes boards for UML and flowcharts, retrospectives, UX flows, roadmaps and mind maps.
- Sharing controls
- Boards share by link; Team and Business add unlimited free viewers and board password sharing.
- Integrations
- Connects to Microsoft Teams, Slack, GitHub, Webex and Google Drive.
Plans
Excalidraw
Free$0
Full editor with 1 infinite scene, unlimited collaborators by link, PNG and SVG export, libraries, and end-to-end encryption in the browser.
Plus$6
per user / month, billed annually ($7 billed monthly)
Unlimited scenes and folders saved to the cloud, edit or view-only sharing, comments, team management, presentations, voice hangouts and extended AI.
Sketchboard
Free$0
3 editable boards and up to 5 users.
Starter$6
per month for 1 editor, billed monthly ($60 billed yearly)
Unlimited boards, 1 private team, PDF and SVG export, 1 GB storage; extra editors are $6 each a month.
Team$20
per month for up to 5 editors, billed monthly ($200 billed yearly)
5 editors, unlimited free viewers, board password sharing, comments and Slack; extra editors $5 each a month.
Business$39
per month for up to 10 editors, billed monthly ($390 billed yearly)
10 editors, unlimited private teams, SSO, team-level access rights and business admin; extra editors $5 each.
Ways to pay less
Excalidraw
- Annual discount
Save 14% with annual billing
Excalidraw+ is $6 per user a month when billed annually and $7 when billed monthly. The pricing page states the annual saving as 14%.
- Education
Excalidraw+ for $4 a month with a school email
Students and teachers with an educational email address can get Excalidraw+ for $4 monthly or $36 yearly, shown at checkout or after verification.
Sketchboard
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
Yearly billing is $60 for Starter, $200 for Team and $390 for Business, which the page says includes two months free.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Excalidraw or Sketchboard?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Excalidraw starts at $6 per user / month, billed annually, and Sketchboard starts at $6 per month for 1 editor, billed monthly ($60 billed yearly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Excalidraw or Sketchboard?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Excalidraw and Sketchboard have a free plan.
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.