# excalidraw vs Zulip

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

| | excalidraw | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 91/100 ✓ | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 9 in Whiteboarding | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 134 733 ✓ | 26 133 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 991 ✓ | +190 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 6 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.18.1 · 21 Apr 2026 | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

excalidraw scores 91/100 against 82/100 for Zulip, so it is the safer default.

Zulip ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for excalidraw.

excalidraw is growing faster right now (+1 991 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [excalidraw](https://selfhost.directory/project/excalidraw) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/excalidraw.md)
- [Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/project/zulip) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/zulip.md)

## Related comparisons

- [Discourse vs Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/compare/discourse-vs-zulip)
- [Rocket.Chat vs Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/compare/rocketchat-vs-zulip)

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