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Excalidraw vs Miro

Excalidraw logo

Excalidraw

Software

Virtual whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn like diagrams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Miro logo

Miro

Software

The visual workspace for innovation

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+; Miro free tier limited to 3 editable boards; additional boards must be shared as read-only
  • They diverge on capability: Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams, Miro covers Digital sticky notes.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Excalidraw and Miro actually diverge.

Attributes where Excalidraw and Miro differ
AttributeExcalidrawMiro
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Founded20202011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), 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
  • Shape libraries
  • Text support
  • Image import
  • Export options
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • GitHub
  • Obsidian

Only in Miro

  • Digital sticky notes
  • Diagramming
  • Mind mapping
  • Video chat
  • Screen sharing
  • Templates
  • Slack
  • Microsoft Teams

Both cover

  • Real-time collaboration
  • Infinite canvas
  • Notion

What people use each for

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

Excalidraw

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

Miro

  • Collaborative whiteboarding and diagrammingnot Excalidraw
  • Team brainstorming and ideation sessionsnot Excalidraw
  • Project planning and workflow visualisationnot Excalidraw
  • Remote team collaborationnot 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

Miro

  • Free tier limited to 3 editable boards; additional boards must be shared as read-only
  • AI credits heavily restricted: 25 credits per member per month on Starter, 50 on Business
  • Enterprise plan requires minimum 30 members
  • Large projects with numerous nested objects may impact performance on lower tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Excalidraw

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

Miro

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Miro review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Excalidraw if

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

Choose Miro if

  • You need digital sticky notes.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want diagramming.
Miro review

Questions people ask

Is Excalidraw or Miro better?
Neither clearly leads. Excalidraw starts at Free and Miro at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Excalidraw or Miro?
Excalidraw starts at Free and Miro at Free.
Does Excalidraw or Miro run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Miro is typically brought in for.
What can Excalidraw do that Miro cannot?
Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams, Shape libraries, Text support, Image import. Miro covers Digital sticky notes, Diagramming, Mind mapping, Video chat. Both handle Real-time collaboration, Infinite canvas, Notion.
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