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Excalidraw vs Refact

Excalidraw logo

Excalidraw

Technology

Virtual whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn like diagrams

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Refact logo

Refact

Developer Tools

Autonomous AI coding agent for development tasks

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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+; Refact requires configuration for optimal performance
  • They diverge on capability: Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams, Refact covers Autonomous agent workflows.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Excalidraw and Refact actually diverge.

Attributes where Excalidraw and Refact differ
AttributeExcalidrawRefact
Pricing modelUnknownFreemium with paid tiers
PlatformsWebVS Code, Web
CategoryTechnologyDeveloper Tools
Founded20202023

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

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 Refact

  • Autonomous agent workflows
  • IDE chat
  • Real-time code completions
  • GitHub integration
  • Database integration
  • On-premise deployment
  • Multi-LLM support
  • 25+ language support

What people use each for

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

Excalidraw

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

Refact

  • Autonomous code generation for development tasksnot Excalidraw
  • End-to-end bug fixes and refactoringnot Excalidraw
  • Multi-language software development accelerationnot Excalidraw
  • Enterprise development with data privacy requirementsnot 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

Refact

  • Requires configuration for optimal performance
  • On-premise deployment adds operational complexity
  • Free tier limited by daily agent request quota
  • Coin system adds complexity to cost calculation

Pricing, plan by plan

Excalidraw

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

Refact

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Limited daily agent usage
    • Unlimited completions
    • 2,000 coins for agent and chat
  • Pro$10/month
    • 40 daily agent requests
    • 64k context window
    • 10,000 coins monthly
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • On-premise deployment
    • Custom coin allocation
    • Fine-tuning support

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 Refact if

  • You need autonomous agent workflows.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on VS Code, Web.
  • You also want ide chat.
Refact review

Questions people ask

Is Excalidraw or Refact better?
Neither clearly leads. Excalidraw starts at Free and Refact at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Excalidraw or Refact?
Excalidraw starts at Free and Refact at Free.
Does Excalidraw or Refact run on more platforms?
Excalidraw runs on Web. Refact runs on VS Code, Web.
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 Refact is typically brought in for.
What can Excalidraw do that Refact cannot?
Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams, Real-time collaboration, Infinite canvas, Shape libraries. Refact covers Autonomous agent workflows, IDE chat, Real-time code completions, GitHub integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Refact: How many programming languages does Refact support?

Refact supports 25+ programming languages including Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, Java, C++, and many others.

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
Refact: Can I deploy Refact on-premises?

Yes. Refact offers on-premise deployment options for organizations requiring complete data control and privacy.

Source
Refact: What LLMs does Refact support?

Refact works with multiple LLMs including Claude, GPT-4, and open-source models, giving you flexibility in model selection.

Source
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