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Technology · head to head

Attio vs Excalidraw

Attio logo

Attio

Technology

The CRM built for the next generation of companies

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Excalidraw logo

Excalidraw

Technology

Virtual whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn like diagrams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Excalidraw has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Attio the free plan stops at 3 seats and 50,000 records; Excalidraw advanced features (unlimited private scenes/folders, cloud storage, access management, presentations, extended AI, team management) are gated behind Excalidraw+
  • They diverge on capability: Attio covers Custom data model, Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Attio and Excalidraw actually diverge.

Attributes where Attio and Excalidraw differ
AttributeAttioExcalidraw
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb
Founded20212020

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Technology).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Attio

  • Custom data model
  • Flexible views
  • Email integration
  • Calendar sync
  • Automations
  • Mobile app
  • Templates
  • Gmail

Only in Excalidraw

  • Hand-drawn style diagrams
  • Infinite canvas
  • Shape libraries
  • Text support
  • Image import
  • Export options
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • GitHub

Both cover

  • Real-time collaboration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Attio

  • Sales pipelinenot Excalidraw
  • Customer managementnot Excalidraw
  • Deal trackingnot Excalidraw
  • Investor relationsnot Excalidraw
  • Partnership managementnot Excalidraw

Excalidraw

  • Wireframing and diagrammingnot Attio
  • Real-time collaborative whiteboardingnot Attio
  • Hand-drawn-style illustrations for docs and decksnot Attio
  • Embedding a whiteboard into third-party apps via the npm packagenot Attio
  • Visual planning and note-takingnot Attio

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Attio

  • The free plan stops at 3 seats and 50,000 records
  • Outbound email is capped at 200 messages a month on the free plan and 1,000 on Plus
  • Call Intelligence, sequences, advanced reporting and permission controls all require the Pro tier
  • Custom objects are capped at 3 on free, 5 on Plus and 12 on Pro, with unlimited objects reserved for Enterprise
  • File storage is capped at 50 GB on the free and Plus tiers

Excalidraw

  • Advanced features (unlimited private scenes/folders, cloud storage, access management, presentations, extended AI, team management) are gated behind Excalidraw+
  • Free hosted version persists via scene links/local storage rather than a managed multi-scene workspace
  • Self-hosting the full collaborative stack requires standing up a websocket server and storage beyond the npm editor package
  • No official native desktop or app-store mobile apps - web/PWA only

Pricing, plan by plan

Attio

$29/month
  • Starter$29/month
    • Unlimited contacts
    • Custom objects
    • Email sync
  • Plus$59/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Automations
    • Custom attributes
  • Pro$119/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • Advanced automations
    • Custom branding
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom contracts
    • SSO
    • Dedicated support

Excalidraw

Free
  • Excalidraw+$6/month
    • Unlimited private scenes and folders
    • Cloud storage
    • Access management

Which should you pick?

Choose Attio if

  • You need custom data model.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want flexible views.
Attio review

Choose Excalidraw if

  • You need hand-drawn style diagrams.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want infinite canvas.
Excalidraw review

Questions people ask

Is Attio or Excalidraw better?
Neither clearly leads. Attio starts at $29/month and Excalidraw at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Attio or Excalidraw?
Excalidraw has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Attio and Free for Excalidraw.
Does Attio or Excalidraw run on more platforms?
Attio runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Excalidraw runs on Web.
Can I use Excalidraw for free?
Yes. Excalidraw has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Attio starts at $29/month.
What is Attio best used for?
Attio is most often used for sales pipeline, customer management, deal tracking, investor relations. Of those, sales pipeline and customer management are not what Excalidraw is typically brought in for.
What can Attio do that Excalidraw cannot?
Attio covers Custom data model, Flexible views, Email integration, Calendar sync. Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams, Infinite canvas, Shape libraries, Text support. Both handle Real-time collaboration.
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