Best / Whiteboards
Best open-source Whiteboards
The best self-hosted whiteboard split in the c17.io catalog is Excalidraw for an MIT sketch board (the published Miro / Whimsical / Mural / FigJam / Klaxoon stack), tldraw when you want that canvas SDK and will accept the tldraw license (not OSI; production needs a trial or commercial key), Penpot when the job is an MPL-2.0 design file rather than a sketch, and diagrams.net when the job is an Apache-2.0 formal diagram rather than a board. This is not Miro's every workshop SKU or FigJam's every FigJam AI SKU.
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Ranked picks
1
ExcalidrawMIT virtual whiteboard — the c17 Miro / FigJam / Klaxoon path. /compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw.
When to pick it: A hand-drawn board you host.
134,498 stars in the catalog
2
tldrawInfinite-canvas SDK. License is the tldraw license, not OSI. /compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw.
When to pick it: Embedding a canvas in your app, not a team Miro clone.
51,084 stars in the catalog
3
PenpotMPL-2.0 design file already on /replace/figma. Not a sketch board.
When to pick it: Components and a prototype, not a meeting scribble.
61,620 stars in the catalog
4
InkscapeGPL-3.0 desktop vector editor already on /best/creative-tools. Not a multiplayer board.
When to pick it: An SVG file on the workstation, not a FigJam seat.
How they compare
| Tool | License | Self-host | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excalidraw | MIT License | Easy | A hand-drawn board you host. |
| tldraw | tldraw license | Medium | Embedding a canvas in your app, not a team Miro clone. |
| Penpot | Mozilla Public License 2.0 | Easy | Components and a prototype, not a meeting scribble. |
| Inkscape | GPL-2.0-or-later | Easy | An SVG file on the workstation, not a FigJam seat. |
Related pages
- Excalidraw / tldraw stack
- Penpot stack
- draw.io / Excalidraw stack
- Replace Miro
- Replace Whimsical
- Replace Mural
- Replace FigJam
- Replace Klaxoon
- Replace Lucidspark
- Replace Figma
- Replace Canva
- Replace Adobe XD
- Replace Sketch
- Replace InVision
- Replace Zeplin
- Replace Lucidchart
- Excalidraw vs tldraw
- All best open-source pages
- All compare pages
- All replace pages
- All stacks
- Tools catalog
FAQ
- Excalidraw or tldraw?
- Excalidraw if you want the published MIT board. tldraw if you are building a product on a canvas and accept that license — /compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw.
- FigJam or Klaxoon?
- Same published sketch board — /replace/figjam and /replace/klaxoon. This is not Figma's component library (/replace/figma).
- Is this Lucidchart?
- A formal diagram stays on /replace/lucidchart (diagrams.net). This page is a whiteboard.
- Are these free?
- Excalidraw is MIT. tldraw is not OSI. Penpot is MPL-2.0. You pay hosting. Template users never pay c17.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open /stacks/excalidraw-whiteboard. Persist rooms. Disable public rooms if this is internal.
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