An Excalidraw-style whiteboard on your Mac's desktop
Koi's board is an endless whiteboard like Excalidraw, on your Mac's wallpaper, and Koi's AI draws on it with you. Ten templates, tables and notes. Kept on your Mac.
Start here
What Freeform does, and where it stops
Freeform is Apple's own whiteboard, free on the Mac, iPhone and iPad. Its Mac guide lists shapes, lines and arrows, sticky notes, drawing, text, tables, diagrams, pictures, links and files, and scenes you step through to present. Boards kept in iCloud stay up to date on every Apple device signed in to the same account, and you can invite people to work on a board with you in real time. A board exports as a PDF. Some AI features need Apple's Creator Studio subscription.
People look for an alternative when they want the hand-drawn look, a board that works with no iCloud, a team that isn't all on Apple devices, or a board that's just there, without opening an app.
We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Koi is first below because it's ours. Every fact about another app comes from that app's own site or Apple's guide, checked November 4, 2026. We didn't run tests.
Different jobs
A board app vs a board on your desktop
- Freeform is an app you open, with boards in iCloud on your iPhone and iPad too.
- Koi's board sits on your wallpaper, under your windows, showing the board as you left it. Click it and it grows into a big window; Esc folds it back.
- Koi draws like Excalidraw: a hand-drawn look, hachure fills, arrows that stay connected.
So if your boards need to be on your iPhone, Freeform is the one. If you draw on the Mac and want the board one click away, that's what Koi's is for.
The picks
The best Freeform alternatives for Mac in 2026
1. Koi
Best for: An Excalidraw-style board on your desktop, private or shared with a team
Koi is an all-in-one Mac assistant with an endless board drawn by the app itself, not a web page. Folded, it's a widget on your wallpaper, on every Space. The tools are Excalidraw's: shapes with a hand-drawn look, arrows that hold on to shapes, a pen, text, sticky notes, tables you type in, frames, groups, photo frames, stickers and paper backgrounds. Ten templates are built in, and a chat bar at the bottom asks Koi's AI to draw, change or explain the board. Export as PNG, PDF or SVG.
Your own boards are kept on your Mac. Make a team and every board in its workspace is shared with the people you invite by email, as editors or viewers: changes show live, with everyone's cursor in their own colour. Team boards live in Koi's cloud.
Where Freeform is better, plainly: it's free, and it's on your iPhone and iPad. Koi's board is Mac only. It isn't sold on its own: it comes with Koi Pro or Lifetime, after a 3-day free trial (card needed).
2. tldraw
Best for: A free board with your files kept on your computer
tldraw is a free whiteboard at tldraw.com. Since July 16, 2026 there's also tldraw offline, a free desktop app with no account and no server: your files stay on your computer.
3. Excalidraw
Best for: The hand-drawn look, free, in any browser
Excalidraw is free in the browser, with one infinite scene, unlimited collaborators, export to PNG, SVG or a file, and 10 AI requests a day. Excalidraw+ is $6 a user a month, with a 14-day trial, and adds unlimited scenes saved in the cloud, sharing with edit or view rights, presentations and comments. More in our Excalidraw alternatives.
4. Miro
Best for: Big boards with a big team
Miro is the team whiteboard. On the free plan you make as many boards as you like, but only the 3 most recent stay editable. Starter is $8 and Business $20 a member a month, billed yearly. Boards live in Miro's cloud. More in our Miro alternatives.
5. Milanote
Best for: Mood boards and creative planning
Milanote is a board for notes, pictures and links, made for creative work. The free plan holds 100 notes, images or links and 10 file uploads. Paid is $9.99 a month billed yearly, or $12.50 month to month, and Team is $49 a month, billed yearly.
Comparison
Freeform vs the alternatives
From each app's own site or Apple's guide, checked November 4, 2026. “Not listed” means the page we checked doesn't say.
| Price | Where boards live | Live with others | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freeform | Free | iCloud | Yes |
| Koi | Koi Pro $12 a month, or $99 once | Your Mac, or Koi's cloud for a team | Team boards |
| tldraw | Free | Your computer (desktop app), or the web | Not listed |
| Excalidraw | Free; Excalidraw+ $6 a user a month | Your browser, or Excalidraw+'s cloud | Yes |
| Miro | Free, 3 editable boards; from $8 a member a month, yearly | Miro's cloud | Yes |
| Milanote | Free, 100 items; $9.99 a month, yearly | Milanote's cloud | Yes |
Honest take
When Freeform is still the better pick
Stay on Freeform if
- You want your boards on your iPhone and iPad too.
- Everyone you draw with is on an Apple device.
- You want it free, with nothing to install.
Choosing
Which Freeform alternative should you pick?
- Free, with files on your computer? tldraw offline.
- The hand-drawn look in a browser? Excalidraw.
- A big team, not all on Apple devices? Miro.
- Mood boards? Milanote.
- An Excalidraw-style board on your desktop, shared with a team when you want, in an app that also does your dictation, calls and notes? Koi.
More in the best whiteboard apps for Mac, or see Koi's plans.
Keep exploring
The best whiteboard apps for Mac in 2026
The best whiteboard apps for Mac and MacBook: Apple Freeform, tldraw, Excalidraw, Miro, FigJam, Obsidian Canvas, Milanote and Koi. Prices, free plans and where boards live.
The best Excalidraw alternatives for Mac
Excalidraw alternatives for Mac: tldraw offline, Apple Freeform, Obsidian Canvas, Miro and Koi's board on your desktop. Offline, files on your Mac, prices.
The best Miro alternatives for personal use
Free Miro alternatives for personal use: Apple Freeform, tldraw, Excalidraw, FigJam, Milanote and Allume, plus Koi's board on your Mac desktop. Limits and prices.
Support
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Freeform is Apple's own app, free on the Mac, iPhone and iPad. Some AI features need Apple's Creator Studio subscription.
Yes. You invite people to a board and work on it together in real time. Boards kept in iCloud stay up to date on all your Apple devices.
tldraw, free on tldraw.com or as a desktop app that keeps files on your computer. Excalidraw is free in the browser, with the hand-drawn look.
Yes, as a team board. Make a team, invite people by email as editors or viewers, and every board in the team's workspace changes live for everyone. Boards on your Mac stay private.
No, but you can try it: Pro starts with a 3-day free trial (a card is needed), then it's $12 a month, with every feature and unlimited dictation, recordings and teleprompter. Or Lifetime is $99 once. Pro and Lifetime can add Koi credit for more Koi AI.