Excalidraw vs Whiteboard Fox (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Excalidraw grades higher than Whiteboard Fox: 2.6 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Excalidraw grades higher on the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
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
Whiteboard Fox
Shared online whiteboard that works in any modern browser
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 Whiteboard Fox if
- Fits if you want a quick shared sketch with nothing to install
- Works for tutors and small groups drawing together on a tablet
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, because boards expire after 14 days and you get 7 colors
- Pricey if you need the team plan, which is $15 a user with a minimum of 8 users, billed annually
- Skip it if you want apps, since there are none listed
- Watch out: dark mode, no ads and choosing when boards expire are all Pro
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAExcalidrawGood | 2.0GPAWhiteboard FoxFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CPro is $7.90 a month, about the middle of what whiteboards charge. Team starts at $15 a user with 8 users. |
| 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 Personal plan has 7 colors and boards that expire after 14 days, which most people will notice. |
| 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. | CShare by link, quick syncing, touch and stylus support. Few other features are on record. |
| 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. Open a link and draw, but there's nothing else to go on. |
| 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. | CBrowser only. No desktop or phone apps and no integrations are listed. |
| Best for | quick hand-drawn sketches and diagrams | a quick shared whiteboard in the browser |
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 Whiteboard Fox. 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. Whiteboard Fox starts at $7.90 a month and scores 2.0.
Excalidraw scores higher and starts $1.90 a month lower. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, 5 score higher than Excalidraw for less, and 24 score higher than Whiteboard Fox 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.
- Excalidraw also covers diagrams.
At a glance
| Excalidraw | Whiteboard Fox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $6 per user / month, billed annually | $7.90 per month |
| 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. | Personal plan: 7 drawing colors, and whiteboards expire after 14 days. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Excalidraw+ | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Excalidraw | Springbok Solutions LLC-FZ |
| Price read from | plus.excalidraw.com | whiteboardfox.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
Whiteboard Fox
- Whiteboards on the free Personal plan expire after 14 days.
- The Team plan has an 8-user minimum and is charged annually.
- No native desktop or mobile apps are listed; it runs in the browser.
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.
Whiteboard Fox
- Share by link
- Whiteboards are shared by sending a link; people can be limited to their own drawings, to editing anything, or to viewing only.
- Quick syncing
- Changes made by one participant reach the others within a few seconds.
- Touch and stylus support
- Pinch-to-zoom gestures and a tablet stylus pen work where the device provides them.
- Social features
- The lobby has posts from friends and followed users, and a board can be opened by entering its ID.
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.
Whiteboard Fox
Personal$0
Draw in 7 colors; whiteboards expire after 14 days.
Pro$7.90
per month
67 colors with multiple opacity, you choose when whiteboards expire, dark mode and no ads.
Team$15
per user / month, billed annually
Everything in Pro plus flexible billing options and premium support. Price shown as from $15; minimum 8 users.
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.
Whiteboard Fox
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Excalidraw or Whiteboard Fox?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Excalidraw starts at $6 per user / month, billed annually, and Whiteboard Fox starts at $7.90 per month. 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 Whiteboard Fox?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Excalidraw and Whiteboard Fox 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.