ArchBoard vs Excalidraw

ArchBoard uses the open source Excalidraw editor for drawing, so the hand-drawn look and file format are the same. The difference is everything around the canvas: a multi-scene local workspace, architecture building blocks, parametric components, a text DSL, auto-layout and a larger export suite.

Choose Excalidraw when

• You want the plainest possible whiteboard with the fewest options and a huge community of shared libraries.
• You rely on Excalidraw's own live collaboration features, which ArchBoard does not offer today.
• You prefer the official hosted app and its integrations over a separate tool.

Choose ArchBoard when

• You keep many diagrams and want folders, search, version history and pages stored locally in the browser.
• You draw architecture often and want ready-made components, icons and templates, plus smart components that regenerate when you change a property.
• You want to describe a diagram in text, auto-layout it and export vector PDFs or text-outlined SVGs.

Try ArchBoard

Last reviewed 2026-10-07. Products change; check Excalidraw's own documentation for current details. Excalidraw is a trademark of its owner and is not affiliated with ArchBoard.