3 open source alternatives to Miro
Online whiteboard for workshops, retros, and diagrams. Here are the open source projects real teams use instead — ranked by fit, with honest pros and cons for each.
What people don't love about Miro
- Pricing scales with boards and seats.
- Cloud-only — no self-host for confidential workshops.
- Large boards can lag in the browser.
Current Miro pricing (for reference): Free up to 3 boards; Starter from $8/user/month.
Quick comparison
| Alternative | Best for | License | Self-host | Hosted cloud? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Excalidraw Virtual whiteboard for sketchy diagrams. |
Quick sketchy wireframes and brainstorms with zero setup. | MIT | ★☆☆☆☆ | Yes |
|
Drawpile Collaborative drawing and painting in real time. |
Real-time collaborative drawing on a shared canvas. | GPL-3.0 | ★★☆☆☆ | Yes |
|
OpenBoard Interactive whiteboard designed for teaching. |
Teachers and classrooms wanting a purpose-built whiteboard. | GPL-3.0 | ★☆☆☆☆ | Self-host only |
1. Excalidraw — Quick sketchy wireframes and brainstorms with zero setup.
Virtual whiteboard for sketchy diagrams.
Strengths
- Great for wireframes and brainstorms.
- End-to-end encrypted rooms on official instance.
- Embeddable in docs and wikis.
Weaknesses
- Not a full design tool — sketch-style only.
- Limited component/library system.
- Real-time plus is behind a paid tier.
Excalidraw homepage · Source on GitHub · Miro vs Excalidraw →
2. Drawpile — Real-time collaborative drawing on a shared canvas.
Collaborative drawing and painting in real time.
Strengths
- Real-time multi-user drawing.
- Self-host your own session server.
- Natural feel for artists and designers.
Weaknesses
- More painting-focused than diagramming.
- No sticky notes / Miro-style UX.
- Limited integrations.
3. OpenBoard — Teachers and classrooms wanting a purpose-built whiteboard.
Interactive whiteboard designed for teaching.
Strengths
- Purpose-built for teachers and classrooms.
- Desktop-first — no server needed.
- Stylus and tablet friendly.
Weaknesses
- Not a real-time multi-user whiteboard.
- Desktop-only; no cloud collaboration.
- Smaller community than Excalidraw.
Not what you're looking for?
Browse other tools in Online Whiteboards & Diagramming, or check out open source projects by category on the full category index.
Other SaaS in Online Whiteboards & Diagramming
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