Whiteboard tools have a privacy problem. Miro is a closed source US platform that requires an account, stores all your diagrams on their servers and monetizes access with aggressive per-user pricing. Figma's FigJam is owned by Adobe. Most of the alternatives in this space follow the same playbook: create an account, upload your content, trust a US company with your architecture diagrams, product roadmaps and brainstorming sessions.

**Excalidraw** does none of that. It is a free, open source virtual whiteboard with a uniquely charming hand-drawn aesthetic that works right in your browser with no sign-up, no account and no data being stored anywhere except locally in your browser.

The company behind it is headquartered in Brno, Czech Republic.

**How the privacy model actually works**: When you use real-time collaboration in Excalidraw, the content is end-to-end encrypted. The encryption key lives in the URL fragment, the same model that CryptPad uses, which means no server can read your whiteboard content even when syncing live between multiple people. Everything autosaves locally to your browser. Close the tab and your work is still there. Export to PNG, SVG or the open .excalidraw JSON format at any time.



**What you can do with it:**

* Infinite canvas with freehand drawing, shapes, arrows, text, images and libraries of reusable components
* Real-time collaboration via a simple shareable link, no accounts needed for any participant
* Offline support as a PWA so it works on a plane or in a meeting room with no WiFi
* Export drawings as PNG, SVG or the portable .excalidraw format which is just JSON and readable by anything
* Dark mode, full undo/redo, zoom, panning, labeled arrows and shape libraries from the community
* Works as an npm package so developers can embed it in their own tools and products



**Self-hostable!**

The full application is self-hostable. You spin up your own instance and all collaboration stays entirely within your infrastructure. No data leaves your server. For teams that work on architecture diagrams, internal planning or anything sensitive, this is the obvious choice over uploading everything to Miro.



**The honest trade-off**: Excalidraw deliberately stays focused and minimal. If you need structured multi-layer wireframing, a huge template library or AI-assisted design features, it is not trying to compete there. It is a fast, clean, friction-free tool for sketching ideas, not a full design platform. For everything that Miro does beyond that, Penpot covers the design and prototyping side of the picture as another excellent open source European option

Excalidraw | European Online Whiteboard - Open-Source, Self-hostable Miro Alternative