Drawio Desktop Server vs WBO
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?
Drawio Desktop Server
Self-hosted collaborative whiteboard backend for diagrams
VS
WBO
Online collaborative whiteboard for sketching
| Feature | Drawio Desktop Server | WBO |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Office Suites |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 528 | ★ 2,627 |
| First released | 2020 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Miro, Lucidchart | Miro, Microsoft Whiteboard |
Why pick each one
Choose WBO if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.6k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Drawio Desktop Server or WBO better?
Neither is universally better. WBO has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Drawio Desktop Server and WBO free and open-source?
Yes. Drawio Desktop Server is licensed under MIT and WBO under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Drawio Desktop Server and WBO with Docker?
Drawio Desktop Server: yes. WBO: yes.