Excalidraw vs draw.io: Which Should You Self-Host?

Quick Verdict

draw.io wins for precise technical diagrams — flowcharts, network diagrams, UML, and anything with structured shapes. Excalidraw wins for quick sketching, brainstorming, and presentations where the hand-drawn style makes things feel approachable. Both are dead simple to self-host. Pick based on what you’re drawing, not the deployment.

Updated February 2026: Verified with latest Docker images and configurations.

Overview

Excalidraw is an open-source whiteboard with a distinctive hand-drawn aesthetic. It runs entirely in the browser, supports real-time collaboration, and exports to PNG, SVG, and its own format. Think of it as a self-hosted replacement for quick whiteboarding sessions.

draw.io (diagrams.net) is an open-source diagramming tool that produces clean, precise diagrams. It supports hundreds of shape libraries, imports/exports Visio files, and integrates with GitLab, Confluence, and other tools. It replaces Lucidchart and Microsoft Visio.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Excalidraw	draw.io
Primary use case	Sketching, whiteboarding	Technical diagrams
Visual style	Hand-drawn, informal	Clean, precise
Real-time collaboration	Yes (via Excalidraw+)	No (single-user by default)
Shape libraries	Community library (growing)	100+ built-in libraries
Visio import/export	No	Yes (.vsdx)
UML support	Basic (manual)	Full UML shape set
Network diagram shapes	No	Cisco, AWS, Azure, GCP sets
PlantUML support	No	Yes (with export server)
Export formats	PNG, SVG, .excalidraw, clipboard	PNG, SVG, PDF, XML, JPEG, HTML, Visio
Dark mode	Yes	Yes
Layers	No	Yes
Custom shape creation	Basic	Advanced (XML-based)
Server-side storage	None (browser only)	None (browser only)
Database required	No	No
License	MIT	Apache 2.0
Docker image	excalidraw/excalidraw	jgraph/drawio

Installation Complexity

Both are among the simplest self-hosted apps to deploy. Neither requires a database, cache, or any configuration to get running.

Excalidraw:

services:
  excalidraw:
    # No semver Docker tags published — :latest only
    image: excalidraw/excalidraw:latest
    container_name: excalidraw
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3000:80"

draw.io:

services:
  drawio:
    image: jgraph/drawio:29.6.1
    container_name: drawio
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"

draw.io has a slight edge in versioning — it publishes pinned version tags (29.6.1), while Excalidraw primarily uses :latest. draw.io also has an optional self-contained mode with export and PlantUML servers for advanced features.

Performance and Resource Usage

Metric	Excalidraw	draw.io
RAM (idle)	~50 MB (Nginx)	~200 MB (Tomcat JVM)
CPU	Minimal	Minimal
Docker image size	~30 MB	~400 MB
Startup time	Instant	5-10 seconds (JVM warmup)
Rendering	Client-side (Canvas)	Client-side (SVG/HTML)

Excalidraw is lighter because it’s a static site served by Nginx. draw.io runs on Tomcat (Java-based), which has higher baseline memory usage but is still modest.

Community and Support

Metric	Excalidraw	draw.io
GitHub stars	95K+	50K+ (main repo)
Release cadence	Weekly	Weekly
Documentation	Good (community wiki)	Excellent (official docs site)
Enterprise version	Excalidraw+ (SaaS)	draw.io for Confluence/Jira
Commercial integrations	Limited	Confluence, Jira, GitLab, VS Code, Notion

draw.io has broader enterprise adoption through its Atlassian marketplace integrations. Excalidraw has a larger open-source community and stronger developer mindshare.

Use Cases

Choose Excalidraw If…

• You want a quick whiteboard for brainstorming sessions
• The hand-drawn aesthetic fits your team’s communication style
• You need real-time collaboration built in
• You want the absolute lightest deployment (50 MB RAM)
• You’re making informal diagrams for documentation or presentations
• Your team likes the “napkin sketch” feel

Choose draw.io If…

• You need precise technical diagrams (network, UML, flowcharts)
• You work with Visio files (.vsdx import/export)
• You need cloud infrastructure diagrams (AWS, Azure, GCP shape libraries)
• You want PlantUML rendering built in
• You need layers, grouping, and advanced layout algorithms
• You’re replacing Lucidchart or Microsoft Visio

Final Verdict

These tools solve different problems. draw.io is the clear choice for anyone who needs Lucidchart-grade technical diagramming — network diagrams, architecture diagrams, UML, ERDs. The shape library alone justifies it. Excalidraw is the better choice for quick visual communication — the kind of drawing you’d do on a whiteboard in a meeting. Most teams should self-host both. They’re so lightweight that running them side-by-side costs virtually nothing.

Related

• How to Self-Host Excalidraw
• How to Self-Host draw.io
• How to Self-Host Penpot
• Best Self-Hosted Design Tools
• Self-Hosted Alternatives to Lucidchart
• Self-Hosted Alternatives to Figma
• Docker Compose Basics