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 tldraw does, and what it costs
tldraw.com calls itself a very good free whiteboard: open it, draw, and share a link to draw together. Since July 16, 2026 there's also tldraw offline, a free desktop app for Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows and Linux, with no account and no server: your boards are .tldraw files you save where you like. Coding agents like Claude Code and Codex can read and edit its canvas. tldraw offline isn't open source.
tldraw is also an SDK other apps build on, with a commercial licence and a 100-day free trial, and its team has shown AI ideas like make real, which turns a sketch into working code. tldraw.com and tldraw offline cost nothing.
We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Every fact about another app comes from that app's own site, checked October 26, 2026.
The picks
The best tldraw alternatives for Mac in 2026
1. Koi
Best for: A board on your desktop that Koi's AI draws on with you
Koi's board is drawn by the Mac app itself and sits on your wallpaper as a widget; click it and it grows into a full window. It works like Excalidraw: shapes, arrows that follow, sticky notes, tables, pictures in frames, stickers and paper backgrounds, ten templates, and export to PNG, PDF or SVG. Ask the chat bar at the bottom, or Koi on a call, and it draws on the board with you. Each board saves itself as a file on your Mac.
Where tldraw is better, plainly: it's free, it's on Windows and Linux too, tldraw.com lets you draw with others live, and you choose where each file goes. Koi's board comes with Koi, which is $20 a month or Lifetime, paid once, with dictation, call recording and an assistant in the same app.
2. Excalidraw
Best for: Hand-drawn diagrams in the browser, free
Free forever in the browser, with a hand-drawn look and live collaboration by link. Its old desktop app was archived in 2020. More in our Excalidraw alternatives.
3. FigJam
Best for: Teams in Figma
Live editing, comments, audio and over 300 templates. Free for 3 files; a Collab seat is $3 a month. More in our FigJam alternatives.
4. Miro
Best for: Big team workshops
Free keeps 3 boards editable; Starter is $8 a member a month, billed yearly. More in our Miro alternatives.
Comparison
tldraw vs the alternatives
From each app's own site. “Not listed” means the site doesn't mention it.
| Works offline | Live with others | AI draws on it | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tldraw | Yes, tldraw offline | On tldraw.com | Coding agents can edit it | Free |
| Koi | Yes, but not its AI | No | Yes, from its chat bar | Comes with Koi: $20 a month, or Lifetime, $199 once |
| Excalidraw | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Free; Excalidraw+ $6 a user a month |
| FigJam | Not listed | Yes | Generates boards | Free, 3 files; Collab seat $3 a month |
| Miro | Not listed | Yes | On paid plans | Free, 3 editable boards; from $8 a member a month |
Honest take
When tldraw is still the better pick
Stay on tldraw if
- You want a whiteboard that costs nothing.
- You draw with others by sharing a link.
- You're on Windows or Linux as well as a Mac.
- You want your coding agent to edit the canvas file itself.
Choosing
Which one should you pick?
- Free, quick, online or offline? Stay on tldraw.
- The hand-drawn look in a browser? Excalidraw.
- A team in Figma or a big workshop? FigJam or Miro.
- A board that lives on your Mac's desktop, with Koi drawing on it? Koi.
Keep exploring
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 FigJam alternatives for Mac
FigJam alternatives for Mac compared: Koi's desktop board with AI drawing, Miro, tldraw and Excalidraw. Live teamwork vs a private board, with prices.
The best whiteboard apps for Mac in 2026
The best whiteboard apps for Mac: Apple Freeform, tldraw, Excalidraw, Miro, FigJam, Obsidian Canvas, Milanote and Koi. Prices, free plans and where boards live.
Support
Frequently asked questions
Yes. tldraw.com and the tldraw offline desktop app are free. Building on the tldraw SDK in a product needs a commercial licence.
Yes. tldraw offline, out since July 16, 2026, runs on Mac, Windows and Linux with no account, and saves boards as files.
Drawing does: the board runs on your Mac. Asking Koi's AI to draw needs the internet.