Kinopio vs tldraw

Kinopio

• People who think by arranging notes in space rather than in lists
• Moodboards and research boards that mix images, links and PDFs
• Buyers who would rather pay once: there is a lifetime plan
• Anyone who wants a canvas without AI features or ads

tldraw

• Quick sketches and diagrams without creating an account
• People who want whiteboard files kept locally on their computer
• Working on a canvas alongside coding agents such as Codex or Claude Code
• Developers evaluating the tldraw SDK for their own product

Kinopio

• The free tier stops at 100 cards and a 5 MB upload file size, and only upgraded users can create groups.
• There is no native Android app; the vendor suggests adding the site to an Android home screen instead.
• Data is not end-to-end encrypted, and the app cannot yet be opened while offline, though edits made after a connection drops are synced later.
• Upgrading inside the iOS app costs more than on the website, which the vendor attributes to Apple's fees.

tldraw

• The vendor describes tldraw.com as the flagship demo of its SDK and ships early SDK versions there for testing and evaluation.
• Sharing a board from tldraw.com requires signing in to an account.
• No native iOS or Android apps are listed; on phones and tablets tldraw runs in the browser.
• tldraw is not open source: the SDK is source-available, and using it in a product needs a commercial license whose price is not published.

Kinopio

Cards and connections

Clicking anywhere and typing creates a card. Cards hold text, links, images, PDFs and code blocks, and dragging from a card's connector draws a line to a related one.

Boxes, lists and paint select

Boxes keep related items together and lists stack cards vertically, which suits kanban-style boards. Painting over several items selects them all for a bulk edit.

Real-time collaboration and groups

Invited collaborators see each other's cursors and edits live. A space can be private, public read-only or open to comments, and groups share a set of spaces with a team.

Backlinked tags and linked spaces

Double-bracket tags connect a theme across every space it appears in, and a card can link straight to another space, so related boards stay reachable.

Todos, mentions and due dates

A card or box can be turned into a checkable todo, assigned to a collaborator with an @mention and given a due date.

Import, export and public API

Spaces import and export in several formats, including open JSON Canvas files, and can be saved as PDF. A public API supports custom integrations and tooling.

tldraw

Infinite canvas drawing tools

Draw freehand, add shapes, arrows and text with rich formatting, and drop in images and bookmarks. The site says it works in browsers on phones, tablets and desktops.

Accounts and cloud files

The app works without logging in. Signing in to a free account saves files to the cloud, syncs them between devices and lists them in a sidebar.

Sharing and multiplayer

A signed-in owner can invite guests as editors or viewers with a link, keep a file private, or publish a snapshot that can be updated later without a new link.

tldraw offline

A desktop app with no accounts and no server. Boards are saved as self-contained .tldraw files, and others on the same local network can join a file.

Canvas for AI agents

A plugin for ChatGPT and Codex and an MCP App for Cursor let agents draw on a board, and tldraw offline lets local agents such as Claude Code edit and script files.

Kinopio

• Free$0

  All features, limited to 100 cards and 5 MB uploads. Cards added to a space created by an upgraded user do not count.

• Monthly$8

  per month

  Unlimited cards and uploads, billed monthly. Upgraded users can also create groups.

• Yearly$80

  per year

  The same unlimited cards and uploads, billed once a year.

• Lifetime$250

  one-time

  Unlimited cards and uploads for a single payment, with no subscription.

tldraw

• Free$0

  The whiteboard at tldraw.com, with or without an account, and the tldraw offline desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux.

Kinopio

• Annual discount

  About 17% less on the yearly plan

  The yearly plan is $80 against $8 a month. Twelve monthly payments come to $96, so paying yearly works out about 17% cheaper.

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime plan for $250

  A single payment of $250 gives unlimited cards and uploads with no subscription. The vendor says it added the plan in response to demand.

• Education

  Discount for students and financial need

  Students, and people who cannot afford the price because of where they live or other circumstances, can email the maker for a discount on subscription and lifetime plans.

tldraw

No public discounts listed.