Head-to-head · Online Whiteboard
Miro vs Excalidraw
Which one to pick in 2026 — comparing 🇺🇸 Miro with the European alternative 🇪🇺 Excalidraw on the things that actually decide who can read your data.
🇺🇸 Mirovs🇪🇺 Excalidraw
Verdict
Who has stronger privacy guarantees by law?
Excalidraw — GDPR-native and outside the US CLOUD Act / FISA 702 reach.
Which one encrypts your data end-to-end by default?
Excalidraw ships E2E encryption by default. Miro does not.
Which one tracks you for ads?
Neither monetises through ad tracking.
Which one is open source?
Excalidraw is open source. Miro is proprietary.
Side-by-side
Miro vs Excalidraw — full comparison
Criteria
🇪🇺 Excalidraw
🇺🇸 Miro
Headquarters
Open source project (EU contributors)
San Francisco, CA, USA
Jurisdiction
N/A — self-hosted or E2E encrypted cloud
USA (CLOUD Act, FISA 702)
Data location
E2E encrypted (server-blind) or self-hosted
Global, US-controlled (AWS)
GDPR-native
Yes
No
CLOUD Act / FISA exposed
No
Yes
Ad tracking
No
No
End-to-end encryption
Yes
No
Open source
Yes
No
Ownership
Excalidraw (open source project)
RealtimeBoard Inc. (private, US VC-backed — Iconiq, Accel)
Founded
2020
2011
Make the switch
Try Excalidraw instead of Miro
Open-source virtual whiteboard with hand-drawn feel — E2E encrypted collaboration.