What is the difference between Penpot and Excalidraw?

Penpot is best for Teams that want a free, open-source Figma alternative, while Excalidraw is best for Anyone wanting quick hand-drawn diagrams. Penpot starts at Free and Excalidraw starts at Free.

Is Penpot or Excalidraw cheaper?

Penpot starts at Free and is free. Excalidraw starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Excalidraw?

Both Penpot and Excalidraw offer free tiers.

Penpot vs Excalidraw (2026)

At a glance

	Penpot	Excalidraw
Best for	Teams that want a free, open-source Figma alternative	Anyone wanting quick hand-drawn diagrams
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	✓
Components	✓	—
Embeddable	—	✓
Hand-Drawn Style	—	✓
Open Source	✓	✓
Prototyping	✓	—
Real-Time Collab	—	✓
SVG Native	✓	—
Self-Hosted	✓	—

Penpot

Strengths

100% free and open source
Self-hostable for data sovereignty
Real-time collaboration like Figma
Uses open standards (SVG)

Weaknesses

Less mature than Figma — fewer features
Smaller plugin and community ecosystem
Performance not as smooth as Figma
Fewer design resources and templates available

Try Penpot → Full review

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

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Penpot and Excalidraw are free, so this decision comes down to features and philosophy rather than budget.

Feature gaps: Penpot offers Components, Prototyping and SVG Native that Excalidraw lacks. Excalidraw brings Embeddable, Hand-Drawn Style and Real-Time Collab that Penpot does not have. Both share Open Source.

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

Open source: Both Penpot and Excalidraw are open source, so self-hosting and code audits are on the table with either choice.

Where each tool shines: Penpot's biggest strengths are: 100% free and open source. self-hostable for data sovereignty. Excalidraw's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. hand-drawn aesthetic makes diagrams feel informal and approachable — great for early ideas.

Watch out for: With Penpot, users commonly note that less mature than figma — fewer features. With Excalidraw, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Penpot if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams that want a free, open-source figma alternative
You specifically need Components and Prototyping
You care about self-hostable for data sovereignty
Your team size fits the small teams profile Penpot is designed for

Choose Excalidraw if...

You need a tool built for anyone wanting quick hand-drawn diagrams
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