tldraw vs WBO
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted office suites options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
tldraw
Infinite canvas SDK for collaborative whiteboards
VS
WBO
Online collaborative whiteboard for sketching
| Feature | tldraw | WBO |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Office Suites | Office Suites |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 50,538 | ★ 2,658 |
| First released | 2021 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Miro, FigJam | Miro, Microsoft Whiteboard |
What are tldraw and WBO?
tldraw
tldraw is an open-source infinite canvas SDK in TypeScript for building whiteboard experiences. It can be embedded in web apps and self-hosted with a sync backend for real-time multiplayer collaboration.
- Infinite canvas SDK
- Real-time multiplayer sync
- Embeddable whiteboard
- Extensible shapes and tools
WBO
WBO is an open-source online collaborative whiteboard that allows multiple users to draw together in real time. It is simple to self-host with no account required.
- Real-time shared whiteboard
- No account required
- Lightweight Node.js server
- Multiple drawing tools
tldraw vs WBO: key differences
Tldraw is written in TypeScript, while WBO is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for tldraw versus AGPL-3.0 for WBO. WBO is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for tldraw. WBO is the more established project (first released 2013), while tldraw arrived in 2021. Tldraw has the considerably larger community, at 50,538 GitHub stars versus 2,658.
Why pick each one
Choose tldraw if…
- Polished canvas experience
- Embeddable SDK
- Real-time sync support
Watch out for
- SDK, not standalone app
- Watermark without license key
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 (2.7k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is tldraw or WBO better?
Neither is universally better. tldraw has the larger community, while WBO is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are tldraw and WBO free and open-source?
Yes. tldraw is licensed under Apache-2.0 and WBO under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run tldraw and WBO with Docker?
tldraw: yes. WBO: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, tldraw or WBO?
WBO has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for tldraw. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.