Excalidraw vs Whimsical
We give Excalidraw and Whimsical the same GPA: 3.2 out of 4.0. Excalidraw grades higher on the free plan. Whimsical grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and 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
Whimsical
Whiteboard for flowcharts, wireframes, mind maps and docs
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAExcalidrawVery good | 3.2GPAWhimsicalVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BExcalidraw+ is $6 a user a month billed annually, or $7 monthly, a bit under the $8.33 or so that's typical here. It bills every seat in every workspace, takes credit cards only, and its terms make charges non-refundable. | BPro is $10 an editor a month billed annually, or $12 monthly, the dear end of typical here. Only editors are billed, which helps if most of your team just looks. AI is extra: you get 10 one-off credits, then bundles start at 250 credits for $25. SSO needs Business at $20. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe full editor is free with no account: all the drawing tools, unlimited collaborators by link, libraries, and PNG and SVG export. You get 1 scene and no cloud saving, so you save to a file. Plenty of people could stay here. Plus has a 14-day free trial. | BFree has unlimited boards, docs, teams and guests, with voting and a timer. But you can only add 50 new board objects and 50 doc blocks a month, exports carry a watermark, and version history is 7 days. That's a few diagrams, not a workspace. |
| Features | BAn infinite canvas with a sketched, hand-drawn look, ready-made libraries, live sessions by link, and AI that builds a diagram from a prompt. The drawing tools are elementary on purpose. Cloud scenes, comments, presentations and voice hangouts all need Plus. | AOne board type does flowcharts, mind maps, sequence diagrams, sticky notes and freehand sketches, with voting and a timer. Wireframes go together from drag-and-drop components, and docs sit beside boards for specs. AI drafts a flowchart, mind map or wireframe from a prompt. The whole job, with depth. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating on record, as it runs in the browser. Starting could hardly be simpler: open excalidraw.com and draw, with no account. Guests join from a link. | BNo App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as this goes. One board type covers every kind of diagram, and wireframes are built from drag-and-drop components, so there's not much to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app, with no desktop or mobile apps listed. It's open source, so developers can embed it or host it themselves, and it's listed with Notion and Obsidian. Plus has an MCP server that lets AI agents draw into a workspace. | 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 | quick hand-drawn sketches and diagrams | 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 and Whimsical. How we grade
Where they differ
- Excalidraw starts at $6 per user / month, billed annually. Whimsical starts at $10 per editor / month, billed annually ($120 a year).
- Only Whimsical lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Excalidraw is open source, self-hostable and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Whimsical also covers templates, documents and mind mapping.
At a glance
| Excalidraw | Whimsical | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $6 per user / month, billed annually | $10 per editor / month, billed annually ($120 a year) |
| 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. | 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 Excalidraw+ | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Excalidraw | Whimsical, Inc. |
| Price read from | plus.excalidraw.com | whimsical.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Excalidraw
- Quick architecture sketches, wireframes and diagrams
- Ad hoc sessions where guests join by link with no account
- Developers who want an open-source editor to embed or self-host
- Students and teachers, who get a reduced Excalidraw+ price
Whimsical
- Product teams sketching flows, wireframes and specs in one place
- Teams with many occasional viewers, since only editors are billed
- Linux users: the desktop app ships as DEB and RPM packages
- Students and teachers, who can apply for a free year
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.
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
- 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.
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
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.
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
- 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.
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.
