Excalidraw: Open Source Alternative to Miro

Excalidraw is a virtual whiteboard for creating hand-drawn style diagrams with 124k+ GitHub stars — a Miro alternative for wireframes, system design, and brainstorming.

Compare Excalidraw with Figma and FigJam before you choose your stack.

Key features

Hand-drawn aesthetics

• Beautiful sketch-like rendering on all elements
• Customizable stroke width and roughness
• Dark and light themes
• SVG export with clean paths

Real-time collaboration

• Share links with live cursors
• End-to-end encrypted sessions
• No account required for basic collaboration
• Permanent rooms for teams

Extensibility

• Component library with community packs
• Custom fonts and themes
• Export to PNG, SVG, JSON, and clipboard
• REST API for programmatic creation

Excalidraw vs Miro

	Excalidraw	Miro
License	MIT (open source)	Proprietary
Deployment	Self-hosted available	Cloud SaaS
Data control	Your infrastructure	Vendor infrastructure
Customization	Full source access	Limited to vendor features
Cost	Free open-source software	Subscription or usage fees

Choose Excalidraw if you want open-source code, self-hosting options, and full control over your data and deployment.

Choose Miro if you prefer a managed proprietary product with vendor support and minimal setup.

Browse more open-source alternatives to Miro, or explore other tools in Collaboration.

At a glance

License	MIT
Stack	TypeScript, React
Self-hosted	Yes
Cloud	excalidraw.com
Collaboration	Real-time, E2EE

Self-hosting

npm install && npm run start

Or use the npm package @excalidraw/excalidraw in any React app.

FAQ

Is Excalidraw a free alternative to Miro?

Yes. Excalidraw is open source under MIT. You can self-host it at no software cost — you only pay for infrastructure or optional managed services.

How does Excalidraw compare to Miro?

Excalidraw gives you source code access, self-hosting, and data ownership. Miro is a proprietary product focused on managed convenience. See the comparison table above for a side-by-side breakdown.

Can I self-host Excalidraw?

Yes. Excalidraw supports self-hosted deployment, which is a core reason teams choose it over Miro. Check the Getting started or Self-hosting section for install commands.

Is Excalidraw suitable for production?

Excalidraw is actively maintained with a strong open-source community. Many teams run it in production as a Collaboration alternative to Miro. Review the At a glance table for license and stack details.

What are alternatives to Excalidraw and Miro?

Browse alternatives to Miro for more open-source options, including tools compared to Figma. Explore the full Collaboration category for related projects.