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Excalidraw vs Whiteboard.fish

Excalidraw logo

Excalidraw

Technology

Virtual whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn like diagrams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
W

Whiteboard.fish

Remote Work

Lightweight digital whiteboard

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • They diverge on capability: Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams, Whiteboard.fish covers Drawing tools.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Excalidraw and Whiteboard.fish actually diverge.

Attributes where Excalidraw and Whiteboard.fish differ
AttributeExcalidrawWhiteboard.fish
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
PlatformsWebWeb, Mobile
CategoryTechnologyRemote Work
Founded20202015

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 Whiteboard.fish

  • Drawing tools
  • Shapes
  • Text
  • Sharing links
  • Export
  • Mobile support

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Excalidraw

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

Whiteboard.fish

  • Video Conferencingnot Excalidraw
  • Team Collaborationnot Excalidraw
  • Project Managementnot 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

Whiteboard.fish

Nothing recorded yet. See the Whiteboard.fish review.

Pricing, plan by plan

Excalidraw

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

Whiteboard.fish

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic whiteboard
    • Sharing
    • Export

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 Whiteboard.fish if

  • You need drawing tools.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want shapes.
Whiteboard.fish review

Questions people ask

Is Excalidraw or Whiteboard.fish better?
Neither clearly leads. Excalidraw starts at Free and Whiteboard.fish at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Excalidraw or Whiteboard.fish?
Excalidraw starts at Free and Whiteboard.fish at Free.
Does Excalidraw or Whiteboard.fish run on more platforms?
Excalidraw runs on Web. Whiteboard.fish runs on Web, Mobile.
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 Whiteboard.fish is typically brought in for.
What can Excalidraw do that Whiteboard.fish cannot?
Excalidraw covers Hand-drawn style diagrams, Real-time collaboration, Infinite canvas, Shape libraries. Whiteboard.fish covers Drawing tools, Shapes, Text, Sharing links. Both handle Web support.

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
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
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