# excalidraw vs OpenWA

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | excalidraw | OpenWA |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 91/100 ✓ | 77/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 9 in Whiteboarding | #2 of 19 in API Management |
| GitHub stars | 134 745 ✓ | 16 355 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +2 003 ✓ | +349 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 3 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.18.1 · 21 Apr 2026 | v0.26.0 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

excalidraw scores 91/100 against 77/100 for OpenWA, so it is the safer default.

OpenWA ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for excalidraw.

If you want the quickest setup, OpenWA is easier to run; excalidraw needs more configuration.

excalidraw is growing faster right now (+2 003 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [excalidraw](https://selfhost.directory/project/excalidraw) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/excalidraw.md)
- [OpenWA](https://selfhost.directory/project/openwa) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/openwa.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/excalidraw-vs-openwa