# excalidraw vs Shields

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

| | excalidraw | Shields |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 91/100 ✓ | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 9 in Whiteboarding | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 134 780 ✓ | 27 331 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 947 ✓ | +125 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v0.18.1 · 21 Apr 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 80/100 for Shields, so it is the safer default.

excalidraw ships more often: 1 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.

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

excalidraw is growing faster right now (+1 947 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [excalidraw](https://selfhost.directory/project/excalidraw) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/excalidraw.md)
- [Shields](https://selfhost.directory/project/shields) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/shields.md)

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