excalidrawvsShlink
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| excalidraw | Shlink | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 91/100 | 70/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 9 in Whiteboarding | #3 of 23 in URL Shortener |
| GitHub stars | 134 777 | 5 383 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 944 | +80 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 13 |
| Latest release | v0.18.1 · 21 Apr 2026 | v5.1.8 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | Typescript | PHP |
Which one should you pick?
excalidraw scores 91/100 against 70/100 for Shlink, so it is the safer default.
Shlink ships more often: 13 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for excalidraw.
If you want the quickest setup, Shlink is easier to run; excalidraw needs more configuration.
excalidraw is growing faster right now (+1 944 stars in 30 days).
excalidraw details →Shlink details →
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