What is the difference between Excalidraw and Photopea?

Excalidraw is best for Anyone wanting quick hand-drawn diagrams, while Photopea is best for Anyone needing Photoshop-like editing in the browser. Excalidraw starts at Free and Photopea starts at Free.

Is Excalidraw or Photopea cheaper?

Excalidraw starts at Free and is free. Photopea starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Photopea?

Both Excalidraw and Photopea offer free tiers.

Excalidraw vs Photopea

Excalidraw is virtual whiteboard with a hand-drawn aesthetic for diagrams, sketches, and brainstorming, while Photopea is free online photo editor compatible with PSD, XCF, Sketch, and other formats. Excalidraw is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Excalidraw is built for anyone wanting quick hand-drawn diagrams, whereas Photopea targets anyone needing photoshop-like editing in the browser.

At a glance

	Excalidraw	Photopea
Best for	Anyone wanting quick hand-drawn diagrams	Anyone needing Photoshop-like editing in the browser
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Browser-Based	—	✓
Embeddable	✓	—
Hand-Drawn Style	✓	—
Layers	—	✓
Open Source	✓	—
PSD Support	—	✓
RAW Support	—	✓
Real-Time Collab	✓	—

Excalidraw

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Hand-drawn aesthetic makes diagrams feel informal and approachable — great for early ideas
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Output quality depends on your design skills — templates only go so far

Try Excalidraw → Full review

Photopea

Strengths

PSD file support lets you open and edit Photoshop files directly
Includes Browser-Based as a core feature, purpose-built for design workflows
Free with ads — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 13+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Output quality depends on your design skills — templates only go so far
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Photopea → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Excalidraw and Photopea are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Excalidraw offers Embeddable, Hand-Drawn Style and Open Source that Photopea lacks. Photopea brings Browser-Based, Layers and PSD Support that Excalidraw does not have.

Team fit: Excalidraw is geared toward any size teams, while Photopea is aimed at individual users and small setups. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Excalidraw is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Photopea is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Excalidraw's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. hand-drawn aesthetic makes diagrams feel informal and approachable — great for early ideas. Photopea's biggest strengths are: psd file support lets you open and edit photoshop files directly. includes browser-based as a core feature, purpose-built for design workflows.

Watch out for: With Excalidraw, users commonly note that may lack some advanced features. With Photopea, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Excalidraw if...

You need a tool built for anyone wanting quick hand-drawn diagrams
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Embeddable and Hand-Drawn Style
You care about hand-drawn aesthetic makes diagrams feel informal and approachable — great for early ideas
Your team size fits the any size profile Excalidraw is designed for

Choose Photopea if...

You need a tool built for anyone needing photoshop-like editing in the browser
You specifically need Browser-Based and Layers
You care about includes browser-based as a core feature, purpose-built for design workflows
Your team size fits the individuals profile Photopea is designed for
The free tier works for you: free with ads