Excalidraw
ToolJet
| Feature | Excalidraw | ToolJet |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $7/mo | Free / from $20/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.7 / 5 | 4.1 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, product-teams, educators, brainstorming-sessions | developers, startups, ops-teams, small-businesses |
| Founded | 2020 | 2021 |
| Freehand Drawing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Real Time Collaboration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Component Library | ✓ | ✗ |
| Export Options | ✓ | ✗ |
| End To End Encryption | ✓ | ✗ |
| Embeddable | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shapes And Arrows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Visual Builder | ✗ | ✓ |
| Data Sources | ✗ | ✓ |
| Workflows | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Code | ✗ | ✓ |
| Version Control | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Tenancy | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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+
✓ ToolJet Pros
- Open source
- Many data sources
- Drag-and-drop
- Self-hostable
✗ ToolJet Cons
- Documentation gaps
- Fewer widgets than competitors
- Community-dependent support
The Verdict
Excalidraw is built for developers and product teams, with a focus on freehand-drawing and real-time-collaboration. ToolJet targets developers and startups and leads with visual-builder and data-sources.
On pricing, Excalidraw is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $7/mo compared to $20/mo for ToolJet. That $13/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Excalidraw edges out on user ratings (4.7 vs 4.1). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, Excalidraw offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while ToolJet takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for developers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Excalidraw has a slight overall edge — but if open source matters most to you, ToolJet may still be the right call.