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Excalidraw vs Amplitude

Excalidraw logo

Excalidraw

Software

Virtual whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn like diagrams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Amplitude logo

Amplitude

Software

The digital analytics platform to understand your users

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Excalidraw advanced features (unlimited private scenes/folders, cloud storage, access management, presentations, extended AI, team management) are gated behind Excalidraw+; Amplitude metered on event volume, so instrumenting more of a product raises the bill even if the audience does not grow
  • They diverge on capability: Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams, Amplitude covers Event tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Excalidraw and Amplitude actually diverge.

Attributes where Excalidraw and Amplitude differ
AttributeExcalidrawAmplitude
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android, Api
Founded20202012

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Excalidraw

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

Only in Amplitude

  • Event tracking
  • User segmentation
  • Funnel analysis
  • Retention analysis
  • Cohort analysis
  • A/B testing
  • Revenue analytics
  • Predictive analytics

What people use each for

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

Excalidraw

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

Amplitude

  • User behavior analysisnot Excalidraw
  • Feature adoption trackingnot Excalidraw
  • Conversion rate optimizationnot Excalidraw
  • Customer journey mappingnot Excalidraw
  • Retention improvementnot Excalidraw

Where each one falls short

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

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

Amplitude

  • Metered on event volume, so instrumenting more of a product raises the bill even if the audience does not grow
  • The free plan covers 2M events a month
  • The Plus plan scales to 70M events, above which pricing is custom
  • Growth and Enterprise pricing is not published

Pricing, plan by plan

Excalidraw

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

Amplitude

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 2 million events per month
  • Plus$49/month
    • $0.049 per MTU
    • Up to 300k MTUs
    • Advanced analytics
  • GrowthFree
    • Causal insights
    • Feature experimentation
    • Real-time streaming
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Cross-product analysis
    • Advanced permissions
    • Dedicated account manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Excalidraw if

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

Choose Amplitude if

  • You need event tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want user segmentation.
Amplitude review

Questions people ask

Is Excalidraw or Amplitude better?
Neither clearly leads. Excalidraw starts at Free and Amplitude at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Excalidraw or Amplitude?
Excalidraw starts at Free and Amplitude at Free.
Does Excalidraw or Amplitude run on more platforms?
Excalidraw runs on Web. Amplitude runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
Can I use Excalidraw for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Excalidraw best used for?
Excalidraw is most often used for wireframing and diagramming, real-time collaborative whiteboarding, hand-drawn-style illustrations for docs and decks, embedding a whiteboard into third-party apps via the npm package. Of those, wireframing and diagramming and real-time collaborative whiteboarding are not what Amplitude is typically brought in for.
What can Excalidraw do that Amplitude cannot?
Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams, Real-time collaboration, Infinite canvas, Shape libraries. Amplitude covers Event tracking, User segmentation, Funnel analysis, Retention analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amplitude: Does Amplitude have a free plan?

Yes, Amplitude offers a free Starter plan with 2 million events per month and access to the entire platform including analytics, session replay, and experimentation features.

Source
Amplitude: What is Amplitude's pricing based on?

Amplitude's pricing is based on the number of monthly tracked users (MTUs), data volume, and advanced features selected. The Plus plan starts at $49 per month with a rate of $0.049 per MTU.

Source
Amplitude: What analytics features does every Amplitude plan include?

Every plan includes access to the full platform: analytics, session replay, feature experimentation, web experimentation, guides and surveys, activation, and AI tools like AI Feedback and AI Assistant.

Source
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Related pages

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