Excalidraw vs Penpot
Excalidraw
Open-source virtual whiteboard with hand-drawn feel
Penpot
Open-source design and prototyping platform
| Feature | Excalidraw | Penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Embeddable | Media & Files |
| Sub-category | Diagramming | Design |
| Maturity | stable | stable |
| Complexity | beginner | beginner |
| Performance tier | medium | medium |
| License | MIT | MPL-2.0 |
| License type | permissive | permissive |
| Pricing | fully free | fully free |
| GitHub stars | 90.0K | 35.0K |
| Contributors | 300 | 0 |
| Commit frequency | weekly | weekly |
| Plugin ecosystem | none | none |
| Docs quality | good | good |
| Backing org | Excalidraw | Kaleidos |
| Funding model | community | open_core |
| Min RAM | 128 MB | 2 GB |
| Min CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Scaling pattern | single_node | single_node |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| K8s native | No | No |
| Offline capable | No | No |
| Vendor lock-in | none | none |
| Languages | TypeScript | Clojure, TypeScript |
| API type | SDK | REST |
| Protocols | HTTP | HTTP |
| Deployment | npm | docker |
| SDK languages | — | — |
| Team size fit | solo, small, medium | solo, small, medium |
| First release | 2020 | 2020 |
| Latest version | — | — |
When to use Excalidraw
- ✓ Embed whiteboard in apps for brainstorming
- ✓ Visual collaboration in documentation tools
- ✓ Architecture sketching
- ✓ Interactive tutorials with drawings
When to use Penpot
- ✓ Primary: ui-design
- ✓ Primary: prototyping
- ✓ Primary: design-system-management
Excalidraw anti-patterns
- ✕ React-only for embedding
- ✕ Large bundle size
- ✕ No structured diagram export