Excalidraw vs Miro
Which one should you choose? Here's how they compare.
| Feature | Excalidraw | Miro |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | ★ 4.2 | ★ 4.4 |
| Pricing | Free | $8-16/mo |
| Type | free | freemium |
| Company | Open Source | Miro |
| Founded | 2020 | 2011 |
Excalidraw Features
- •Hand-drawn style
- •Collaborative
- •End-to-end encryption
- •Open source
Miro Features
- •AI brainstorming
- •Mind mapping
- •Diagramming
- •Integrations
Excalidraw Pros
- ✓Unique hand-drawn look
- ✓Free
- ✓Great collaboration
Excalidraw Cons
- ✗Limited design tools
- ✗No AI features
- ✗Basic functionality
Miro Pros
- ✓Excellent collaboration
- ✓AI features
- ✓Wide integration ecosystem
Miro Cons
- ✗Expensive for teams
- ✗Can be slow with large boards
- ✗Learning curve
The Verdict
Excalidraw and Miro are two of the most popular tools in the design category, but they take different approaches to solving the same problems. Excalidraw, developed by Open Source (founded 2020), is described as "virtual whiteboard for hand-drawn style diagrams and collaborative sketching.". Meanwhile, Miro by Miro (founded 2011) "collaborative online whiteboard with ai-powered brainstorming, mind mapping, and diagramming.". In terms of overall user satisfaction, Miro edges ahead with a rating of 4.4/5.0, compared to Excalidraw's 4.2/5.0 — a difference of 0.2 points. Miro's strongest advantages include excellent collaboration, ai features, while Excalidraw is praised for unique hand-drawn look. On the pricing front, Excalidraw offers a free model at Free, making it the more budget-friendly option for teams watching their spend. Neither tool is perfect: Excalidraw's main drawbacks include limited design tools, no ai features, while Miro users typically cite expensive for teams as its biggest limitation. However, Excalidraw has an edge in sketching, which might be the tiebreaker if that's important to you. In terms of target audience, Excalidraw is particularly popular among developers and designers, while Miro tends to attract teams and product managers. Our verdict: Miro holds a slight edge, but the gap is narrow enough that both tools are worth trying. Start with the free tier of each and see which fits your workflow better.
- • You need unique hand-drawn look
- • You need free
- • You need excellent collaboration
- • You need ai features