Octonote AI vs Excalidraw
Excalidraw draws. Octonote AI draws and writes.
Excalidraw is a lovely, free whiteboard with a hand-drawn look. Octonote AI is for when the drawing needs words around it: a full notes editor with math and Mermaid, side by side with the canvas.
Side by side
| Octonote AI | Excalidraw | |
|---|---|---|
| Canvas style | Clean shapes (tldraw), auto-shape for sketches | Hand-drawn look |
| Notes editor next to the canvas | ||
| LaTeX math | Not built in | |
| Mermaid | In notes, and to editable canvases via CLI | Mermaid to Excalidraw |
| AI diagram generation | No — use your own agent | 10 requests/day free, 100 on Plus |
| Claude Code / Codex | octonote CLI | MCP server |
| Live collaboration | Not yet | |
| Public pages | Published pages with byline, upvotes, analytics | Read-only links (Plus) |
| Free plan | 10 notes, 10 canvases, 10 projects, 10 notebooks | Free forever: one scene, unlimited collaborators |
| Paid plan | Pro $10/month per workspace | Plus $6/user/month |
Excalidraw details checked October 2026 from Excalidraw+ pricing, Excalidraw+ MCP docs. Prices are monthly unless noted.
What's different in Octonote AI
Words around the drawing
A project pairs a canvas with a full note: headings, math, code and Mermaid. Drag a group of shapes into the note as a figure and it stays in sync.
Organised work
Notes, canvases and projects live in notebooks, searchable by name, on any computer or phone.
Pages people can read
Publish a canvas, a note or a whole notebook as a page with your byline, upvotes and view counts — not just a board link.
Choose Octonote AI if…
- Your diagrams come with an explanation.
- You need math or Mermaid next to the drawing.
- You publish what you make for readers.
Choose Excalidraw if…
- You love the hand-drawn style.
- You whiteboard live with others in real time.
- You need a quick, free board with no account.
Questions
Can I draw by hand in Octonote AI?
Yes. Draw with the pencil, and auto-shape turns wobbly strokes into clean rectangles, circles and arrows. The result looks polished rather than hand-drawn.
Does Octonote AI have AI diagram generation like Excalidraw?
Not inside the app. Your own agent (Claude Code or Codex) writes a Mermaid flowchart and octonote canvas create --from-mermaid draws it as editable shapes.
Is there real-time collaboration?
Not yet. You can share notes and canvases with editors and viewers, and publish them, but editing is one person at a time today.
See real pages made with Octonote AI in the examples, or compare with Notion, Eraser, Obsidian, Miro.
Try it next to Excalidraw.
Free to start. No credit card, no password.