What is the difference between Spline and Excalidraw?

Spline is best for Designers who want 3D on the web, while Excalidraw is best for Anyone wanting quick hand-drawn diagrams. Spline starts at Free and Excalidraw starts at Free.

Is Spline or Excalidraw cheaper?

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

Is there a free alternative to Excalidraw?

Both Spline and Excalidraw offer free tiers.

Spline vs Excalidraw

Spline is 3D design tool for the web with real-time collaboration and easy export to web formats, while Excalidraw is virtual whiteboard with a hand-drawn aesthetic for diagrams, sketches, and brainstorming. Excalidraw is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Spline is built for designers who want 3d on the web, whereas Excalidraw targets anyone wanting quick hand-drawn diagrams.

At a glance

	Spline	Excalidraw
Best for	Designers who want 3D on the web	Anyone wanting quick hand-drawn diagrams
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
3D Design	✓	—
Embeddable	—	✓
Hand-Drawn Style	—	✓
Interactions	✓	—
Open Source	—	✓
Real-Time Collab	✓	✓
Web Export	✓	—

Spline

Strengths

Browser-based 3D design — no heavy software install required
One-click export to web formats (HTML, React, iframes) for production use
Free for 2 projects — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes interactions alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

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 Spline → 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 Spline and Excalidraw are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Spline offers 3D Design, Interactions and Web Export that Excalidraw lacks. Excalidraw brings Embeddable, Hand-Drawn Style and Open Source that Spline does not have. Both share Real-Time Collab.

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

Where each tool shines: Spline's biggest strengths are: browser-based 3d design — no heavy software install required. one-click export to web formats (html, react, iframes) for production use. 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 Spline, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Excalidraw, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Spline if...

You need a tool built for designers who want 3d on the web
You specifically need 3D Design and Interactions
You care about one-click export to web formats (html, react, iframes) for production use
Your team size fits the small teams profile Spline is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for 2 projects

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