Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Whimsical

Excalidraw is an open-source virtual whiteboard for creating hand-drawn style diagrams, wireframes, and sketches in the browser. It focuses on fast ideation with a simple UI, infinite canvas, and easy sharing and collaboration.

Key Features

• Infinite canvas whiteboard with a hand-drawn visual style
• Rich drawing tools (shapes, arrows, free-draw, text, eraser) with undo/redo
• Arrow binding and labeled connectors for clearer diagrams
• Real-time collaboration with end-to-end encryption support
• Local-first behavior (autosave in the browser) and offline-capable PWA
• Export and sharing options (PNG, SVG, clipboard, and open JSON-based file format)
• Image support, theming (including dark mode), and localization (i18n)

Use Cases

• Team brainstorming sessions and collaborative whiteboarding
• Creating lightweight architecture diagrams, flowcharts, and user journey maps
• Wireframing UI concepts and embedding a whiteboard into other web apps

Excalidraw works well as a standalone web app or as a reusable component via its editor package. It is a strong choice for teams and individuals who want quick, low-friction diagramming without heavy tooling.

AFFiNE is an open-source, local-first knowledge OS that combines documents, whiteboards and multi-view databases into a single hyper-fused workspace. It offers cross-platform clients (web, desktop, mobile) and real-time collaboration while emphasizing privacy and self-hosting options. (affine.pro)

Key Features

• Unified canvas merging rich text, visual whiteboards and multi-view databases into one editable space. (raw.githubusercontent.com)
• Multimodal AI assistant for writing, drawing, summarization, slide generation and brainstorming. (raw.githubusercontent.com)
• Local-first storage and real-time synchronization for collaborative editing across clients. (raw.githubusercontent.com)
• Cross-platform distribution with desktop (Electron-based) apps and mobile clients, plus a web demo. (raw.githubusercontent.com)
• Built on a polyglot stack including TypeScript frontends, Rust-based data engine (OctoBase/Cargo toolchain), CRDT sync foundations and modern frontend tooling. (raw.githubusercontent.com)

Use Cases

• Team knowledge bases and product wikis that need rich visual boards and structured databases in one workspace. (raw.githubusercontent.com)
• Design and ideation sessions combining freeform whiteboarding with embedded documents and assets. (raw.githubusercontent.com)
• Personal and team note-taking with templates, real-time collaboration and local-first data ownership. (raw.githubusercontent.com)

Limitations and Considerations

• Plugin/third-party block ecosystem is still maturing; a more extensive plugin marketplace and third-party block ecosystem is planned but not yet fully available. (raw.githubusercontent.com)
• An Enterprise Edition is referenced as forthcoming; some enterprise features (SSO, advanced admin/audit) are not yet published in the Community Edition. (raw.githubusercontent.com)

AFFiNE targets users who want a privacy-focused, extensible alternative to siloed doc and whiteboard tools. It is suitable for individuals and teams that prefer self-hosting, local-first storage and a single hyper-fused workspace for creative and structured work. (affine.pro)

diagrams.net (branded draw.io) is a web-first diagramming and whiteboarding application that runs in the browser and as an offline desktop app. It provides a full-featured diagram editor for flowcharts, UML, org charts, wireframes and network diagrams, and integrates with common cloud storage and collaboration platforms. (drawio.com)

Key Features

• Full client-side diagram editor with drag-and-drop shapes, connectors, layers and styling presets
• Large library of templates and icons for common diagram types (flowcharts, UML, ER, network, wireframes)
• Export/import to PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF and native draw.io XML formats; versioned files and local storage options
• Integrations with cloud storage and platforms (Google Drive, OneDrive/SharePoint, Dropbox, GitHub/GitLab, Atlassian products) and a hosted web app entry point
• Official desktop builds (Electron) for Windows, macOS and Linux to support offline use and tighter security controls

(drawio.com)

Use Cases

• Create architecture diagrams, flowcharts and UML for design and engineering documentation
• Produce editable diagrams for product specs, onboarding docs and team knowledge bases stored in cloud repos
• Design wireframes and process maps for product, ops and network teams that require export to common formats

(drawio.com)

Limitations and Considerations

• The GitHub repository contains minified client code and the project notes that not all build sources are published; the project is not maintained as a fully open-source, buildable source tree and the team does not accept pull requests. This may limit ease of building custom forks from the repo. (github.com)

diagrams.net (draw.io) is a mature, widely used diagramming tool that prioritizes a full client-side editing experience, multiple platform deployments (web and Electron desktop) and broad cloud integrations. It is suitable for technical and non-technical teams that need a versatile diagram editor without mandatory sign-in.

WBO is a simple, lightweight online collaborative whiteboard that lets multiple users draw together on the same board in real time. Boards are automatically persisted so sessions can be revisited later, making it suitable for ad-hoc collaboration or ongoing work.

Key Features

• Real-time multi-user drawing on a shared board
• Persistent board state stored on disk for later retrieval
• Optional JWT-based authentication with role support (editor, moderator)
• Board-specific role binding via JWT to restrict access to specific boards
• Export-friendly SVG preview endpoint for boards (renderer not fully faithful)
• Configurable server behavior via environment variables (storage path, rate limits)
• StatsD-compatible metrics emission for monitoring

Use Cases

• Remote teaching and explaining concepts live on a shared canvas
• Collaborative diagramming and brainstorming sessions
• Quick shared sketching for design discussions or entertainment

Limitations and Considerations

• SVG preview rendering may not perfectly match the live board output
• Performance and DoS resilience depend on server resources and rate-limit settings

WBO is a practical choice when you need a minimal, easy-to-deploy collaborative whiteboard with real-time updates, persistence, and optional token-based access control. Its straightforward deployment options make it well-suited for teams, classrooms, and personal servers.

TeamMapper is a web application for creating, sharing and collaboratively editing mind maps in real time. It provides multi-user sessions via websockets, supports import/export in multiple formats, and stores data in a Postgres database.

Key Features

• Real-time multi-user collaboration using websocket-based shared sessions
• Rich node customization: images, pictograms, colors, fonts and links
• Import and export support (JSON, Mermaid, SVG, PDF, PNG and more)
• Share maps via URLs or QR codes with view-only or edit invitations
• Undo/redo, keyboard shortcuts and session usability features
• Configurable retention: maps are deleted by default after a configurable period
• Docker and Docker Compose deployment with environment-based config and TypeORM migrations

Use Cases

• Facilitating live brainstorming and structured idea-mapping during remote workshops
• Building and sharing visual study aids or project overviews for teams and classrooms
• Exporting diagrams to image or text formats for documentation and presentations

Limitations and Considerations

• Some features are controlled by build-time flags (e.g., pictograms) and must be enabled before building the frontend
• AI-assisted map generation is behind a feature flag and may require additional configuration to enable
• Real-time scaling requires websocket-aware infrastructure (sticky sessions or websocket-capable proxy) to maintain session consistency

TeamMapper is focused on simple, shareable collaborative mind maps with practical export and sharing options. It is suited for teams and educational settings that need fast, visual collaboration and easy deployment.

Sticky is a visual sticky-note application for capturing ideas, planning, and collaborating on shared boards. It provides a simple board interface where users create, arrange, and customize notes and work together in real time.

Key Features

• Create, edit, colorize, and resize digital sticky notes on a free-form board
• Real-time collaboration and synchronization across devices using a hosted backend
• Drag-and-drop interface for arranging notes, with intuitive board interactions
• Account-based access and user authentication integrated via an external identity provider
• Cloud sync and analytics integration options for persistent boards and usage tracking
• Built with a TypeScript frontend and modern tooling for easy customization and local builds

Use Cases

• Brainstorming sessions and idea capture for individuals or teams
• Lightweight project planning, task organization, and visual to-do boards
• Remote collaboration for workshops, retrospectives, and creative planning

Limitations and Considerations

• Default deployment relies on third-party hosted services for backend and authentication, which may require accounts or paid plans for production use
• Limited built-in features for file attachments, rich text formatting, or offline-first operation
• Scaling and usage costs depend on the chosen backend provider and plan

Sticky is a focused, lightweight board for quick idea capture and team collaboration. It is suitable for small teams and individuals who want an intuitive visual workspace and are comfortable configuring external backend and auth services for production use.