# Excalidraw vs tldraw SDK + MCP

> tldraw SDK scores 60.7 (C) to Excalidraw's 54.5 (C) for diagram creation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw.md (~2,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

tldraw SDK + MCP scores 60.7 (C) on agent readiness against Excalidraw's 54.5 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Excalidraw leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do diagram creation.

- Excalidraw: grade C, 54.5/100, rank #683 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/excalidraw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/excalidraw.json
- tldraw SDK + MCP: grade C, 60.7/100, rank #498 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tldraw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/tldraw.json
- Best diagramming APIs and diagram-as-code for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/diagramming/index.md
- All 99 diagrams comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagramming/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Excalidraw (C)

Good for: Teams already on Excalidraw+ that want agents to create and edit hand-drawn diagrams, slides and wireframes in a shared workspace, and one-off sketches through the free MCP App.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 73 against 40
- Transparency & trust, 63 against 48

Also in its favour:
- Open source

Watch for: The API and MCP server are in public beta. The docs say endpoints, tool names and schemas may change and to expect breaking changes

### tldraw SDK + MCP (C)

Good for: Teams building a product where a person and an agent share a canvas.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 75 against 50
- Schema & documentation, 79 against 65
- Agent ergonomics, 71 against 58
- Maintenance & community, 89 against 44

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it

Watch for: Source-available, and commercial prices aren't published


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Excalidraw | tldraw SDK + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 50 | 75 | tldraw SDK + MCP +25 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 79 | tldraw SDK + MCP +14 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 58 | 71 | tldraw SDK + MCP +13 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 73 | 40 | Excalidraw +33 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 35 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 44 | 89 | tldraw SDK + MCP +45 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 48 | Excalidraw +15 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | -2 | |
| **Total** | | **54.5 · C** | **60.7 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Excalidraw | tldraw SDK + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | SDK + MCP |
| Vendor | Excalidraw s.r.o. | tldraw |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp` | `https://tldraw-mcp-app.tldraw.workers.dev/mcp` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | Streamable HTTP, SSE (legacy) |
| Auth | API key | None |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Excalidraw+ is a proprietary service under Excalidraw's terms of use. The editor and the MCP App on GitHub are MIT | tldraw licence (source-available, production needs a licence key) |
| Tools exposed | 37 | 6 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `io.github.tldraw/tldraw` |
| Last release | 2026-09-01 | 2026-09-30 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2021-04-29 | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 134k stars, 676k npm/wk | 51k stars, 490k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Excalidraw.** Excalidraw+ keys carry read or full permission, route restrictions and an expiry, and the MCP server shows a key only the tools its routes allow. The API and MCP server are in public beta with breaking changes expected, sit behind the $6 Plus plan, and have no published OpenAPI file, SDK or idempotency keys.

**tldraw SDK + MCP.** Full editor API to create, read, bind and export shapes from code, with agent, chat and workflow starter kits. Source-available, and commercial prices aren't published.

## Before you call either

### Excalidraw

1. Send `Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>` to https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1. For MCP, use `POST /api/v1/mcp` only. The server is stateless and answers 405 to other methods
2. Use a personal key to reach the owner's private collection with the collection ID `private`. A workspace admin must enable personal keys first
3. Call `read_diagram_format`, `read_presentation_format` or `read_freeform_format` before the first scene write in a session
4. Write with `edit_scene_content` and bind arrows through `startBinding` and `endBinding` with `tempId` references. `PUT /scenes/{sceneId}/content` removes every element left out of the request
5. Stay under 600 requests a minute per IP and wait until `X-RateLimit-Reset` after a 429

### tldraw SDK + MCP

1. Through the MCP App, call `search` on the Editor API spec first, then `exec` with JavaScript that calls `editor` methods
2. Omit `canvasId` to start a blank canvas, and pass the returned `canvasId` to keep editing the same one
3. Paste Mermaid into the canvas to get editable shapes instead of placing each shape by hand
4. Return `editor.getCurrentPageShapes()` from `exec` to check what was drawn
5. Read the release notes before a minor upgrade. Minor versions can break

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Excalidraw or tldraw SDK + MCP?

tldraw SDK + MCP scores 60.7 (C) on agent readiness against Excalidraw's 54.5 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Excalidraw leads on security & auth and transparency & trust.

### Can an agent call Excalidraw and tldraw SDK + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Excalidraw has a hosted endpoint at https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp and tldraw SDK + MCP at https://tldraw-mcp-app.tldraw.workers.dev/mcp.

### Are Excalidraw and tldraw SDK + MCP open source?

Excalidraw is open source (Excalidraw+ is a proprietary service under Excalidraw's terms of use. The editor and the MCP App on GitHub are MIT). No open-source release is listed for tldraw SDK + MCP.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "excalidraw", "b": "tldraw"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare excalidraw tldraw`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/excalidraw.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/tldraw.json

## Other comparisons with Excalidraw or tldraw SDK + MCP

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