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Technology · head to head

Checkmk vs Excalidraw

Checkmk logo

Checkmk

Technology

Comprehensive IT monitoring, open and flexible

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Excalidraw logo

Excalidraw

Technology

Virtual whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn like diagrams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Checkmk pricing calculated by service count, not hosts (approximately 30 services per host on average); Excalidraw advanced features (unlimited private scenes/folders, cloud storage, access management, presentations, extended AI, team management) are gated behind Excalidraw+
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Checkmk and Excalidraw actually diverge.

Attributes where Checkmk and Excalidraw differ
AttributeCheckmkExcalidraw
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
FoundedUnknown2020

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), 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 Checkmk

Nothing recorded that Excalidraw does not also cover.

Only in Excalidraw

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

What people use each for

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

Checkmk

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Excalidraw
  • System observabilitynot Excalidraw
  • Enterprise compliance monitoringnot Excalidraw

Excalidraw

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

Where each one falls short

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

Checkmk

  • Pricing calculated by service count, not hosts (approximately 30 services per host on average)
  • Professional support limited to 8-10 hours per week on base plans
  • Synthetic monitoring is separate add-on with per-test pricing

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

Checkmk

Free
  • Community (Self-Hosted)Free
    • No cost, forever
    • Up to ~100 hosts
    • Basic infrastructure monitoring
  • Pro (Self-Hosted)$190/month
    • Advanced analytics
    • Reporting
    • Distributed monitoring
  • Ultimate (Self-Hosted)$275/month
    • Full-stack observability
    • Advanced security compliance
    • 10 hours x 5 days professional support (upgradable to 24/7)
  • CloudAI (SaaS)$240/month
    • Fully managed cloud hosting
    • 99.5% uptime SLA
    • Supports up to 50000 services

Excalidraw

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Checkmk if

  • You want to start without paying.
Checkmk review

Choose Excalidraw if

  • You need hand-drawn style diagrams.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want real-time collaboration.
Excalidraw review

Questions people ask

Is Checkmk or Excalidraw better?
Neither clearly leads. Checkmk starts at Free and Excalidraw at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Checkmk or Excalidraw?
Checkmk starts at Free and Excalidraw at Free.
Does Checkmk or Excalidraw run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Checkmk for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Checkmk best used for?
Checkmk is most often used for infrastructure monitoring, system observability, enterprise compliance monitoring. Of those, infrastructure monitoring and system observability are not what Excalidraw is typically brought in for.
What can Checkmk do that Excalidraw cannot?
Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams, Real-time collaboration, Infinite canvas, Shape libraries.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Checkmk: Is there a free version of Checkmk?

Yes, Checkmk Community edition is free forever and supports up to approximately 100 hosts for basic infrastructure monitoring with no cost.

Source
Excalidraw: Is Excalidraw free?

Excalidraw appears to be a free drawing application available at no cost to users. The website does not display information about pricing tiers or premium features, suggesting it is offered as a free service.

Source
Checkmk: How does Checkmk calculate pricing by host count?

Checkmk uses service-based pricing where each monitored aspect (file system, hardware sensor, switch port, metric) counts as one service. On average, there are approximately 30 services per host.

Source
Excalidraw: Does Excalidraw offer paid plans?

No pricing tiers or paid upgrade options are mentioned on the Excalidraw website, which indicates the service is available entirely free without commercial pricing models.

Source
Checkmk: What is the difference between Checkmk Pro and Ultimate tiers?

Pro tier at 190 EUR/month includes advanced analytics and 8x5 support, while Ultimate at 275 EUR/month adds full-stack observability, advanced compliance features, and upgradable 24/7 support.

Source
Checkmk: Does Checkmk offer a managed SaaS option?

Yes, Checkmk CloudAI is a fully managed SaaS tier at 240 EUR/month with 99.5% uptime SLA and support for up to 50000 services.

Source
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