# tldraw SDK + MCP vs Whimsical MCP > tldraw SDK + MCP has a score of 61 (C) against Whimsical MCP's 52.7 (D). Both do diagram create. The largest gap is maintenance & community, 33 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tldraw-vs-whimsical - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tldraw-vs-whimsical.md (~1,500 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tldraw-vs-whimsical.min.md (~380 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tldraw-vs-whimsical.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: 2026-10-05 tldraw SDK + MCP has a score of 61 (C) against Whimsical MCP's 52.7 (D). Both do diagram create. The largest gap is maintenance & community, 33 points. - tldraw SDK + MCP: grade C, 61/100, rank #236 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tldraw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/tldraw.json - Whimsical MCP: grade D, 52.7/100, rank #341 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/whimsical.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/whimsical.json ## Which one, for what Pick tldraw SDK + MCP for reliability (+15), schema & documentation (+25), agent ergonomics (+25), payments & pricing (+10), maintenance & community (+33). Pick Whimsical MCP for security & auth (+18), transparency & trust (+21). ## Score by category | Category | Weight | tldraw SDK + MCP | Whimsical MCP | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 75 | 60 | tldraw SDK + MCP +15 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 79 | 54 | tldraw SDK + MCP +25 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 46 | tldraw SDK + MCP +25 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 40 | 58 | Whimsical MCP +18 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 25 | tldraw SDK + MCP +10 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 89 | 56 | tldraw SDK + MCP +33 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 51 | 72 | Whimsical MCP +21 | | Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **61 · C** | **52.7 · D** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | tldraw SDK + MCP | Whimsical MCP | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | SDK + MCP | MCP server | | Vendor | tldraw | Whimsical | | Hosted endpoint | `https://tldraw-mcp-app.tldraw.workers.dev/mcp` | `https://mcp.whimsical.com/mcp` | | Transports | Streamable HTTP, SSE (legacy) | Streamable HTTP | | Auth | None | OAuth | | Pricing | Paid | Freemium | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | tldraw licence (source-available, production needs a licence key) | proprietary | | Tools exposed | 6 | 18 | | Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a | | p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet | | Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | yes | no | | MCP registry | `io.github.tldraw/tldraw` | `com.whimsical/mcp` | | Last release | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-08 | | Popularity | 51k stars, 490k npm/wk | 5 stars | | Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | 3/5 (2) | ## Verdicts **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. **Whimsical MCP.** OAuth 2.1 with PKCE and separate read and write scopes. No API keys, so it can't run headless or in CI. ## Before you call either ### 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 ### Whimsical MCP 1. Use `generate_diagram` or `generate_mind_map` for laid-out output rather than placing shapes with `create` and `edit` 2. Call `how_to` for Whimsical's syntax before writing a large diagram 3. Use `fetch` when you need a PNG snapshot of a board 4. `delete` removes files or objects without asking. Confirm with the person first ## Other comparisons with tldraw SDK + MCP or Whimsical MCP - [Cloudviz API vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-tldraw.md) - [Cloudviz API vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-whimsical.md) - [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-tldraw.md) - [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-whimsical.md) - [draw.io + MCP vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-tldraw.md) - [draw.io + MCP vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-whimsical.md) - [Eraser API + MCP vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eraser-vs-tldraw.md) - [Eraser API + MCP vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eraser-vs-whimsical.md) - [Lucid API + MCP vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lucid-vs-tldraw.md) - [Lucid API + MCP vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lucid-vs-whimsical.md) - [Mermaid Chart MCP vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mermaid-chart-vs-tldraw.md) - [Mermaid Chart MCP vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mermaid-chart-vs-whimsical.md) - [Structurizr + MCP vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/structurizr-vs-tldraw.md) - [Structurizr + MCP vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/structurizr-vs-whimsical.md)