sitealternatives
Whiteboards · 10 alternatives

Instead of draw.io, try one of these 10.

Every alternative is lined up against draw.io on what people actually switch for: price, open source, self-hosting, offline use and platforms. draw.io sits in the first row, so you can see what you give up.

Show onlySorted by likes · 10 of 10
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
draw.ioWhat you have now
Free, open-source diagramming for any flowchart.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux
Excalidraw#1
Hand-drawn style whiteboard, free and open source.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web
Lucidchart#2
Diagramming and visual collaboration for teams.
PriceFreemium
from $9/user
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web
Dia#3
Classic open-source editor for UML, flowcharts and network maps.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
yEd Graph Editor#4
Java desktop tool that auto-arranges large graphs and flowcharts
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux
PlantUML#5
Plain-text UML generator runnable from JVM or editor plugins
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · Android
DeepNotes#6
Encrypted visual note-taking app with infinite nested canvases.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Wondershare EdrawMax#7
Template-heavy commercial diagramming suite with AI helpers
PricePaid
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Visual Paradigm#8
Enterprise modeling platform for UML, BPMN and agile teams
PricePaid
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux
TreeSheets#9
Zoomable nested canvas mixing spreadsheet grids and mind maps
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
Mermaid#10
Markdown-like text syntax that renders diagrams in browsers
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web

How to read this. “Yes” means fully supported by the maker. “Partial” means it works with caveats. Likes reflect community popularity; vendors can’t pay for them or for placement. How we compare.

draw.io alternatives at a glance

draw.io is a free whiteboards app. We compared 10 alternatives: 6 are open source, 6 are completely free, 0 can be self-hosted and 2 work fully offline. The most popular is Excalidraw, with 720 likes.

Most liked overallExcalidraw

Hand-drawn style whiteboard, free and open source.

Free · Open source
Best free optionDia

Classic open-source editor for UML, flowcharts and network maps.

Free · Open source · Works offline
Best open-source optionPlantUML

Plain-text UML generator runnable from JVM or editor plugins

Free · Open source
Best for offline useTreeSheets

Zoomable nested canvas mixing spreadsheet grids and mind maps

Free · Open source · Works offline

More whiteboards apps

All whiteboards apps →