Excalidraw vs Miro vs FigJam vs tldraw: 2026

Why Free Whiteboards Still Matter in 2026

Free online whiteboards have become essential for remote teams, educators, and solo creators. The 2026 landscape offers five mature tools that each excel in different areas: Excalidraw for minimalistic hand‑drawn diagrams, Miro (free tier) for all‑purpose brainstorming, FigJam for design‑tight integration, tldraw for open‑source flexibility, and Whiteboard.fi for education‑focused classrooms. This guide breaks down their collaboration, sharing, export, and complexity so you can choose without trial‑and‑error.

Collaboration & Real‑Time Editing

Real‑time multi‑user editing is table stakes, but each tool handles concurrency differently. Excalidraw uses WebRTC for peer‑to‑peer sync—fast and free with no account needed, but limited to roughly 10 concurrent cursors before lag appears. Miro Free supports up to 3 editable boards with unlimited collaborators per board; you get proper conflict resolution and presence awareness (cursors, selection highlights). FigJam allows 10 simultaneous editors on the free plan, with Figma‑grade vector precision and sticky‑note voting. tldraw offers real‑time collaboration via its multiplayer mode (requires a server — the free hosted instance at tldraw.com works for small teams) and supports branching history. Whiteboard.fi is teacher‑centric: each student gets a personal copy of the board, while the teacher sees all boards simultaneously; real‑time interactivity is per‑student, not fully collaborative in the same space.

Key takeaway: If you need large‑team synchronous work, Miro Free’s unlimited collaborators wins. For quick pair collaboration, Excalidraw’s zero‑setup is unbeatable. Whiteboard.fi is purpose‑built for classrooms where the teacher leads.

Sharing & Permissions

Sharing a board should be one click, but features like link sharing, password protection, and access controls vary. Excalidraw allows anyone with the link to view or edit (based on a query parameter ?edit=1). No accounts required, no expiration—simple but insecure. Miro Free gives you typed links: “Anyone with the link can view” or “can comment” or “can edit”. You can set a one‑time password per board. FigJam lets you share via link with view/comment/edit roles, and you can restrict editing to specific Figma team members. tldraw (tldraw.com) shares via a unique URL; you can set the board to “read‑only”. Whiteboard.fi requires the teacher to create a room and share a PIN; students join without accounts. Teachers can lock boards, kick participants, and see who’s active.

For a quick overview of sharing features:

• Excalidraw: Link‑based, no access tiers, no passwords.
• Miro Free: View/Comment/Edit links, optional password.
• FigJam: View/Comment/Edit links, team‑based restrictions.
• tldraw: Read‑only or editable link, no password.
• Whiteboard.fi: Teacher‑controlled room with PIN, per‑student visibility.

Choose Miro or FigJam if you need granular permissions. Excalidraw and tldraw are fine for throwaway boards.

Export Capabilities

Export options determine how portable your work is after the session. Excalidraw exports to PNG, SVG, and its own .excalidraw JSON format. The JSON is fully descriptive—here’s an example of a single rectangle:

{
  "type": "rectangle",
  "x": 100,
  "y": 150,
  "width": 200,
  "height": 100,
  "strokeColor": "#000000",
  "backgroundColor": "#ffffff",
  "fillStyle": "solid",
  "strokeWidth": 1,
  "roughness": 1,
  "opacity": 100,
  "angle": 0,
  "id": "rect-1",
  "version": 1
}

This open format lets you script your own automations. Miro Free exports boards as PDF, PNG, or CSV (for sticky notes). No SVG export unless you use browser extensions. FigJam exports to PNG, PDF, or Figma files (if you have a Figma account). tldraw exports to PNG, SVG, and its own .tldr JSON format. Whiteboard.fi exports the teacher’s master board as PNG or PDF; individual student boards are only viewable live unless you screenshot.

Export winner: Excalidraw and tldraw offer the most flexibility with open JSON formats, ideal for developers and tool‑builders. Miro and FigJam cover business needs (PDF, CSV). Whiteboard.fi is limited.

Complexity & Learning Curve

How long before you’re productive? Excalidraw is the simplest: open the page, start drawing. The toolset is minimal—shapes, arrows, text, a laser pointer. No layers, no alignment grids (though you get snap guides). Most people are fluent in under 2 minutes. Miro Free is feature‑rich: frames, sticky notes, shapes, connectors, mind maps, Kanban boards, voting, timers. The interface can overwhelm new users—expect a half‑hour exploration to find everything. FigJam shares Miro’s complexity but is more focused on design workflows; widgets and plugins require familiarity with Figma’s ecosystem. tldraw sits between Excalidraw and Miro: you get layers, grouping, and a simple toolbar, but no advanced widgets. Whiteboard.fi is dead simple for teachers—create a room, hand out PINs, monitor boards. Students need no training.

Complexity ladder (low to high): Excalidraw < Whiteboard.fi < tldraw < FigJam < Miro Free. Pick accordingly—do you want power or speed?

Quick Feature Comparison

• Excalidraw: Free forever, no login, P2P collaboration, PNG/SVG/JSON export, open source, hand‑drawn style.
• Miro Free: 3 editable boards, unlimited team members, PDF/PNG/CSV export, rich widgets, 300‑frame objects limit.
• FigJam: 10 editors, 2 free teams, Figma integration, PNG/PDF export, voting, widgets.
• tldraw: Open source, self‑hostable, multiplayer via tldraw.com, PNG/SVG/JSON export, layers.
• Whiteboard.fi: Teacher‑led classrooms, per‑student boards, PIN access, PNG/PDF export.

Verdict: Which One Should You Pick?

Your choice depends on your primary use case. If you need the fastest start for a one‑off diagram, go with Excalidraw. For ongoing team brainstorming with rich collaboration and permissions, Miro Free (or FigJam if you’re already in the Figma ecosystem) is your best bet. Developers who want an open‑source, embeddable whiteboard should use tldraw. Teachers managing live classrooms get the most value from Whiteboard.fi. None of these tools charge for the core free features—2026 has raised the bar for what “free” includes.

Still need a whiteboard that combines real‑time sync, granular sharing, multiple export formats, and a gentle learning curve — all in one package? Check out Smartees, the all‑in‑one collaborative whiteboard designed for teams, educators, and solo creators. Start your free trial today and experience the 2026 standard.