- Infinite Canvas: Create diagrams and brainstorm freely without size limitations.
- Real-Time Collaboration: Share a link and co-edit whiteboards instantly with teammates.
- Cloud Workspaces: Securely store, sync, and organize scenes in shared team environments.
- Access Management: Control edit/view permissions with read-only and embeddable links.
- Voice Hangouts & Screensharing: Communicate directly inside the whiteboard during sessions.
- Presentation Mode: Turn frames into live presentations with slide navigation and laser pointer.
- Generative AI: Use AI assistance to generate diagrams and enhance brainstorming.
- Libraries: Access public libraries or save personal and workspace libraries in the cloud.
- Export Options: Export boards as PNG, SVG, JSON, PDF, or PPTX files.
Plus Excalidraw
Simple, open‑source whiteboard for real-time team collaboration.
Updated March 2, 2026
Plus Excalidraw Overview
Plus Excalidraw is a collaborative whiteboard platform built on the popular open‑source Excalidraw editor. It combines an infinite canvas, hand-drawn style visuals, and real-time collaboration with cloud workspaces, access controls, and presentation tools.
Teams can brainstorm, wireframe, diagram, and present ideas together while benefiting from secure cloud storage, extended AI features, and workspace management in the Plus plan.
Key Features
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free forever | 1 infinite scene, Unlimited collaborators, PNG/SVG export |
| Plus | $6/user/mo (Billed Annually) / $7/user/mo (Billed Monthly) | Unlimited scenes & folders, Cloud workspace & access management, Voice hangouts & presentations |
Price details: https://plus.excalidraw.com/pricing
Pros
Competitor |
Pros |
|---|---|
| Miro | Plus Excalidraw is significantly more affordable at $6–$7 per user compared to Miro’s higher-tier plans. It offers a simpler interface with virtually no learning curve, making it ideal for fast brainstorming sessions. The hand-drawn aesthetic keeps teams focused on ideas rather than pixel-perfect formatting. |
| Mural | Excalidraw’s open-source foundation and free tier provide more flexibility for individuals and small teams. Unlike Mural’s structured templates, Excalidraw emphasizes quick sketching and fluid ideation. Its lightweight performance also loads faster and works smoothly without heavy enterprise overhead. |
| Lucidspark | Plus Excalidraw delivers unlimited collaborators even on the free tier, which is generous compared to Lucidspark’s limits. The interface is cleaner and less cluttered, helping teams jump straight into drawing. Pricing is transparent and lower for small teams needing core whiteboard collaboration. |
| FigJam | Excalidraw’s minimal UI and keyboard shortcuts make rapid diagramming feel faster for technical users. It also supports open-source extensibility and local-first encryption. The Plus plan adds voice hangouts and presentations without requiring a broader design suite subscription. |
| Microsoft Whiteboard | Unlike Microsoft Whiteboard, Excalidraw works independently of a larger ecosystem and offers clearer workspace management in its Plus tier. The export flexibility (PNG, SVG, PDF, PPTX) and AI-assisted diagramming make it more versatile for product and engineering teams. |
Cons
Competitor |
Cons |
|---|---|
| Miro | Compared to Miro, Plus Excalidraw lacks advanced facilitation tools like built-in voting sessions, timers, and extensive enterprise integrations. Larger organizations may miss structured templates and reporting dashboards that support complex workshops and scaled collaboration. |
| Mural | Mural provides more mature enterprise governance, compliance certifications, and guided collaboration frameworks. Excalidraw’s feature set is simpler and may feel limited for organizations that rely heavily on predefined workshop flows and advanced admin analytics. |
| Lucidspark | Lucidspark integrates tightly with Lucidchart for advanced diagramming and structured documentation. Excalidraw focuses on freeform sketching, which can be less precise for formal diagrams or complex process maps requiring standardized shapes and data linking. |
| FigJam | FigJam benefits from seamless integration with Figma’s design ecosystem, making transitions from ideation to high-fidelity design easier. Excalidraw’s hand-drawn style, while charming, may not suit teams that require polished visuals directly inside the whiteboard. |
| Microsoft Whiteboard | Microsoft Whiteboard integrates deeply with Teams and Microsoft 365 workflows. Excalidraw operates more independently, which may require additional steps for enterprises standardized on Microsoft tools and seeking built-in meeting integrations. |
Reviews
- G2 Review (Rating: 4.4/5): Excalidraw helped one team build wireframes and rough database structure diagrams fast, and the npm package made it simple to integrate with other CMS tools and web apps. The collaborative canvas and “view only collaboration” mode worked well for brainstorming and live presentations, and the dashboard kept recent work in one place. The main gripe was the lack of templates and a shared library compared to competitors.
- Reddit r/ObsidianMD: After testing tools like Miro, Goodnotes, Notability, and the Ink plugin with an iPad and Pencil, one commenter said Excalidraw “wins again” for note‑taking into an Obsidian vault. The seamless Pencil writing in recent updates, native mindmap support, SVG export, and the ability to embed drawings in notes (and notes in drawings) made workflows far smoother than other apps. A Boox user still struggled with line-smoothing that “crumbles the handwriting real bad” and could not find a way to disable it.
- pesky.moe Review: Switching from drawio felt surprisingly intuitive, and the subtly labelled shortcuts made it easy to get productive within an hour. The “frames” feature stood out because it groups and labels elements, lets users search frame labels, and even export a selected frame as an image for presentations. The missing layers feature changed the author’s presentation workflow, since they could no longer progressively reveal components the way drawio allows. The hand-drawn aesthetic works well for day-to-day whiteboarding, and switching lines and fonts reduces the “sloppy” look for more professional docs.
- Capterra Review (Rating: 5/5): Excalidraw earned praise for its simplicity and ease of use, with one project manager using it to plan software deployment projects and share visuals in Teams meetings. The clean UI made brainstorming and collaboration straightforward, and the free license added extra appeal. One reviewer wanted a broader feature set and more integrations, but no major issues came up.
- Product Hunt Review (Rating: 4.9/5): The clean, distraction-free interface and handy shortcuts made diagram creation feel fast, and several reviewers said the hot keys simplified interviews and presentations. Dark mode, the built-in library, and cross-platform use on desktops and tablets got positive mentions. One user lost work in live collaboration mode because it did not auto-save, and another pointed out limits in the free version like only one scene and no granular access control.
