diagrams.net (draw.io) vs Excalidraw vs Penpot
diagrams.net (draw.io), Excalidraw, Penpot compared on license, free-edition limits, deployment and project health. Change a project below to compare something else.
| diagrams.net (draw.io) | Excalidraw | Penpot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Design & Whiteboards | Design & Whiteboards | Design & Whiteboards |
| License | Apache License 2.0Open source (OSI) | MIT LicenseOpen source (OSI) | Mozilla Public License 2.0Open source (OSI) |
| Free edition | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Deployment | Self-hosted · Cloud | Self-hosted · Cloud | Self-hosted · Cloud |
| Self-hosting setup | Single container | Not assessed | Needs a database |
| SSO / SAML | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Role-based access control | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Audit logs | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Multi-user / teams | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Backups and restore | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| API access | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Support SLA | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| GitHub stars | 8.7k | 134k | 61k |
| Last release | Oct 8, 2026 | Apr 21, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
| Alternative to | Lucidchart | Miro | Figma |
In short
- diagrams.net (draw.io) is licensed Apache License 2.0 (open source (osi)). Free edition: not confirmed.
- Excalidraw is licensed MIT License (open source (osi)). Free edition: not confirmed.
- Penpot is licensed Mozilla Public License 2.0 (open source (osi)). Free edition: not confirmed.
Each project page lists the official sources behind these answers. Where the official pages do not say, the table shows “Not confirmed”.