Eraser
Excalidraw
| Feature | Eraser | Excalidraw |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | Free / from $7/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.7 / 5 |
| Best For | engineering-teams, solution-architects, technical-documentation, system-design | developers, product-teams, educators, brainstorming-sessions |
| Founded | 2022 | 2020 |
| Diagrams As Code | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Diagrams | ✓ | ✗ |
| Whiteboarding | ✓ | ✗ |
| Documentation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Version History | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Collaboration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Freehand Drawing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Real Time Collaboration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Component Library | ✗ | ✓ |
| Export Options | ✗ | ✓ |
| End To End Encryption | ✗ | ✓ |
| Embeddable | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shapes And Arrows | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Eraser Pros
- AI-generated diagrams from text descriptions
- Code-first diagrams with version control
- Combines docs and diagrams in one canvas
- Purpose-built for technical architecture docs
✗ Eraser Cons
- Limited general-purpose whiteboarding features
- Smaller template library than Miro/Lucidchart
- Not suited for non-technical teams
✓ Excalidraw Pros
- Beautiful hand-drawn sketch aesthetic
- Completely free and open source core
- Real-time collaboration with shared links
- Library of reusable components and templates
- Embeddable in other applications
✗ Excalidraw Cons
- Limited formatting compared to structured diagramming tools
- No presentation mode built-in
- File management basic without Excalidraw+
The Verdict
Eraser is built for engineering teams and solution architects, with a focus on diagrams-as-code and ai-diagrams. Excalidraw targets developers and product teams and leads with freehand-drawing and real-time-collaboration.
Pricing is close: Excalidraw starts at $7/mo versus $10/mo for Eraser — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.