excalidrawvsNode RED
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| excalidraw | Node RED | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 91/100 | 81/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 9 in Whiteboarding | #1 of 26 in Automation |
| GitHub stars | 134 733 | 23 790 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 991 | +108 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 21 |
| Latest release | v0.18.1 · 21 Apr 2026 | 4.1.17 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | JavaScript |
Which one should you pick?
excalidraw scores 91/100 against 81/100 for Node RED, so it is the safer default.
Node RED ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for excalidraw.
If you want the quickest setup, Node RED is easier to run; excalidraw needs more configuration.
excalidraw is growing faster right now (+1 991 stars in 30 days).
excalidraw details →Node RED details →
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