Alternatives to tldraw
The infinite canvas SDK and app
tldraw ranks #2 of 6 in Online whiteboards, with an Alt Score of 73. It is licensed under tldraw license (source-available; commercial license required for production) and open source with paid hosting from Free. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
tldraw is for developers building whiteboard, diagramming, or canvas-based apps (via its open-source React SDK), and for anyone who wants a free, instant online whiteboard for sketching or brainstorming without an account.
An infinite-canvas whiteboard with drawing tools, shapes, text, and arrows, real-time multiplayer collaboration with live cursors, and some AI-assisted drawing experiments. As an SDK, it gives developers a production-ready foundation—multiplayer sync, persistence, undo/redo, and performance optimizations—plus support for custom shapes and UI so companies like Shopify, ClickUp, and Autodesk embed it into their own products instead of building a canvas from scratch.
On tldraw.com you open a canvas and start drawing, adding shapes/text, and inviting others to collaborate live, all in the browser with no signup required. As an SDK, developers run `npm create tldraw`, drop the Tldraw React component into their app, and use the editor instance (e.g. via onMount) to customize or programmatically control the canvas.
Where tldraw stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave tldraw
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Online whiteboards checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Online whiteboards checklist | tldraw | Excalidraw | Mural | FigJam | Freeform | Miro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Infinite canvas | ||||||
| Real-time collaboration | ||||||
| Templates library | ||||||
| Diagramming shapes | ||||||
| Video chat built in | ||||||
| Open source | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| Free tier limits | ||||||
| Hand-drawn style | ||||||
| Embeds in docs |
Every fact and feature listed for tldraw is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model OSS + paid hosting verified 2026-07-09
Source-available SDK; free for development/hobby, paid commercial license for production; tldraw.com whiteboard is free.
The SDK License Get full access to tldraw's SDK for your product. Multiplayer sync included. Commercial license for production use … Value-based pricing
https://tldraw.dev/pricing -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-09
tldraw.com free; SDK has free trial + hobby license; commercial tiers are value-based (no public price).
Start with a 100-day free trial. No credit card required … Get a free hobby license.
https://tldraw.dev/pricing -
Status active verified 2026-07-09
Active releases and commits on GitHub.
Build infinite canvas apps in React with the tldraw SDK.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tldraw/tldraw/main/README.md -
License tldraw license (source-available; commercial license required for production) verified 2026-07-09
The tldraw SDK is provided under the tldraw license. You can use the SDK freely in development. Production use requires a license key.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tldraw/tldraw/main/LICENSE.md -
Infinite canvas Yes verified 2026-07-09
tldraw provides a feature-complete infinite canvas engine designed to be the foundation for any canvas app.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tldraw/tldraw/main/README.md -
Real-time collaboration Yes verified 2026-07-09
The @tldraw/sync package provides real-time multiplayer collaboration for tldraw. Multiple users can edit the same document simultaneously, see each other's cursors, and follow each other's viewports.
https://tldraw.dev/sdk-features/collaboration -
Templates library No verified 2026-07-09
SDK starter kits for developers, but no user-facing templates library.
Get full access to tldraw's SDK for your product. Multiplayer sync included. Commercial license for production use Full SDK feature access
https://tldraw.dev/pricing -
Diagramming shapes Yes verified 2026-07-09
Geo shapes are the usual building blocks for flowcharts and diagrams … It supports 20 different geometric forms—rectangles, ellipses, triangles, stars, polygons, directional arrows, and special shapes
https://tldraw.dev/sdk-features/geo-shape -
Video chat built in No verified 2026-07-09
Only cursor/text chat; no video or voice.
Cursor chat lets users send short messages that appear as bubbles near their cursor. It's designed for quick, ephemeral communication during collaborative sessions
https://tldraw.dev/sdk-features/cursor-chat -
Open source Partial verified 2026-07-09
Source publicly available under a proprietary tldraw license (not OSI-approved); production requires a paid key. Starter kits are MIT.
This License from tldraw, Inc. governs your use of the accompanying Software … Not to use the Software in Production Environments [without a license key].
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tldraw/tldraw/main/LICENSE.md -
Self-hostable Yes verified 2026-07-09
To use tldraw sync in production, you will need to host it yourself. … Deploy a full backend to Cloudflare using our template (recommended). Integrate tldraw sync into your own JavaScript backend
https://tldraw.dev/docs/sync -
Free tier limits Partial verified 2026-07-09
tldraw.com free with no stated limits; SDK free tier limited to development/trial/hobby, production needs a paid license.
Start with a 100-day free trial. No credit card required … Just building for fun? Get a free hobby license.
https://tldraw.dev/pricing -
Hand-drawn style Yes verified 2026-07-09
Draw style uses the freehand algorithm to create organic, hand-drawn strokes with natural width variation … produces variable-width strokes that respond to pressure.
https://tldraw.dev/sdk-features/draw-shape -
Embeds in docs Yes verified 2026-07-09
The embed shape displays interactive content from external services within an iframe. When you paste a URL from a supported service onto the canvas, tldraw automatically converts it to an embed … Supp
https://tldraw.dev/sdk-features/embed-shape
FAQ
Yes. Mural, FigJam and Freeform have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Excalidraw — every license claim links its source.