SHSelfHostIndex

Drawio Desktop Server vs Excalidraw Whiteboard Office

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
DR Drawio Desktop Server Self-hosted collaborative whiteboard backend for diagrams VS EX Excalidraw Whiteboard Office Self-hosted collaborative diagram and notes workspace
FeatureDrawio Desktop ServerExcalidraw Whiteboard Office
CategoryDeveloper Tools & GitOffice Suites
LicenseMITMIT
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, source
GitHub stars★ 528★ 38
First released20202021
ReplacesMiro, LucidchartMiro, FigJam

Why pick each one

Choose Drawio Desktop Server if…

  • Easy to self-host
  • Encrypted sessions
Drawio Desktop Server details

Choose Excalidraw Whiteboard Office if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in TypeScript
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Excalidraw Whiteboard Office details

Frequently asked questions

Is Drawio Desktop Server or Excalidraw Whiteboard Office better?

Drawio Desktop Server is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Excalidraw Whiteboard Office if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Drawio Desktop Server and Excalidraw Whiteboard Office free and open-source?

Yes. Drawio Desktop Server is licensed under MIT and Excalidraw Whiteboard Office under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Drawio Desktop Server and Excalidraw Whiteboard Office with Docker?

Drawio Desktop Server: yes. Excalidraw Whiteboard Office: yes.

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