tldraw

A free, fast infinite canvas app, and an SDK for building whiteboards into other products.

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 5
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About tldraw

tldraw is two things: a free whiteboard at tldraw.com where you can sketch, diagram and collaborate in real time, and a widely used SDK that developers embed to add a canvas to their own apps. The app is quick and pleasant, with smooth drawing, shapes, arrows that bind to objects, sticky notes, frames, image and video embeds, and multiplayer by sharing a link; you can use it without signing in, and an account saves files. Its clean style and performance have made it popular for quick diagrams and teaching, and the team is known for AI experiments such as turning sketches into working UI. The SDK's source code is public on GitHub, but it uses its own tldraw licence rather than an open-source one: development and hobby use are free, and commercial production use needs a paid licence after a long trial. As a whiteboard it lacks templates, voting and other workshop features, so it suits sketching more than facilitation.

Best for: People who want a fast free sketching canvas, and developers embedding a whiteboard.

What works

Fast, smooth drawing in the browser
Free to use with real-time collaboration
Popular SDK for building custom canvases

Why people leave

SDK licence is source-available, not open source
Commercial SDK use needs a paid licence
No workshop templates or facilitation tools

Top tldraw alternatives

See all 5

1
Excalidraw
Truly open source under MIT, with a hand-drawn look and paid team hosting.
66.5
2
FigJam
A team whiteboard with stickies, voting and templates.
62.6
3
Miro
Full workshop features and integrations for larger teams.
59.6
4
Freeform
Free on Apple devices with Pencil support and iCloud sharing.
57.2
5
Ziteboard
A simple online board aimed at tutoring and quick sessions.
55.3

Why people left tldraw

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tldraw: common questions

Is tldraw free?

tldraw has a free plan and paid plans.

Is tldraw open source?

No, tldraw is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Excalidraw.

What platforms does tldraw run on?

tldraw is available for Web.

What are the best alternatives to tldraw?

The highest-ranked tldraw alternatives right now are Excalidraw, FigJam and Miro. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 5 tldraw alternatives

tldraw facts

4 of 4 verified

SDK trial: 100 days; Checked Oct 25, 2026tldraw.dev(opens source in a new tab); “Start with a 100-day free trial.”
Hobby licence: Free; Checked Oct 25, 2026tldraw.dev(opens source in a new tab); “Just building for fun? Get a free hobby license .”
Commercial licence: Required for production; Checked Oct 25, 2026tldraw.dev(opens source in a new tab); “Commercial license for production use”
Self-hosted multiplayer: Starter kit available; Checked Oct 25, 2026tldraw.dev(opens source in a new tab); “See all Multiplayer starter kit Self-hosted tldraw with real-time multiplayer collaboration built with Cloudflare Durable Objects.”