Excalidraw vs Penpot
Excalidraw and Penpot are both listed on Forkshelf as open source alternatives to Figma. This page sets their license and GitHub activity side by side. Every figure comes from the GitHub API, fetched on 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Excalidraw vs Penpot at a glance
| Excalidraw | Penpot | |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT [S1] | MPL-2.0 [S1] |
| GitHub stars | 135,303 on 8 Nov 2026 [S1] | 62,170 on 8 Nov 2026 [S1] |
| Last push | 7 Nov 2026 [S1] | 8 Nov 2026 [S1] |
| Latest release | v0.18.1 on 21 Apr 2026 [S1] | 2.18.6 on 5 Nov 2026 [S1] |
| Archived | No [S1] | No [S1] |
| Project site | excalidraw.com | penpot.app |
| Repository | excalidraw/excalidraw | penpot/penpot |
What is Excalidraw?
Excalidraw is a virtual whiteboard for sketching diagrams that look hand-drawn. Its code is on GitHub at excalidraw/excalidraw [S1].
What is Penpot?
Penpot describes itself as an open source design platform for product teams. Its code is on GitHub at penpot/penpot [S1].
What Figma does
Our catalog sums it up as: Figma is a hosted interface design tool used for screens, components, and prototypes. [S2]
How we list Excalidraw and Penpot
Our Figma alternatives page describes Excalidraw as: Design and whiteboards. License: MIT. Self-hosted: yes. [S2] We also list Excalidraw as an alternative to Miro [S3].
Our Figma alternatives page describes Penpot as: Design and whiteboards. License: MPL-2.0. Self-hosted: yes. [S2] We list Penpot only as an alternative to Figma [S3].
Excalidraw vs Penpot license
The Excalidraw repository is under MIT [S1].
The Penpot repository is under MPL-2.0 [S1].
Activity
On 8 Nov 2026, Excalidraw had 135,303 GitHub stars. It is not archived, and its last push was on 7 Nov 2026 [S1].
On 8 Nov 2026, Penpot had 62,170 GitHub stars. It is not archived, and its last push was on 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Excalidraw's latest GitHub release is v0.18.1, from 21 Apr 2026 [S1].
Penpot's latest GitHub release is 2.18.6, from 5 Nov 2026 [S1].
Which one fits
Excalidraw has more GitHub stars than Penpot as of 8 Nov 2026 [S1]. Stars show interest, so check the issue tracker too.
Penpot had the more recent push, on 8 Nov 2026, against 7 Nov 2026 for Excalidraw [S1].
Excalidraw uses MIT and Penpot uses MPL-2.0 [S1]. If you plan to change the code and run it as a service for others or ship it, read both licences before you pick.
Other Figma alternatives
See the full list on the Figma alternatives page [S2].
Related comparisons
FAQ
Is Excalidraw open source?
Its repository is under MIT, as of 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Is Penpot open source?
Its repository is under MPL-2.0, as of 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Is the Excalidraw repository still active?
As of 8 Nov 2026, it is not archived and its last push was on 7 Nov 2026 [S1].
Is the Penpot repository still active?
As of 8 Nov 2026, it is not archived and its last push was on 8 Nov 2026 [S1].
Self-host guides
Sources (all fetched 8 Nov 2026)
- [S1] https://api.github.com/repos/excalidraw/excalidraw, https://api.github.com/repos/penpot/penpot
- [S2] Forkshelf listing, https://forkshelf.com/alternative-to/figma
- [S3] Forkshelf catalog, https://forkshelf.com/alternatives