draw.io vs AFFiNE
Both are alternatives to Miro. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as AFFiNE vs draw.io — same comparison, one verdict.
draw.io
Structured diagrams that live as files in your own repository.
draw.io is the precise, structured counterpart to Excalidraw's sketchiness: network topologies, UML, flowcharts, org charts, with extensive shape libraries and stencils for AWS, Azure and GCP. Apache-2.0, runs entirely in the browser or as a desktop application, and stores diagrams as files you keep — in Git, in Drive, wherever. That last point matters more than it sounds: a diagram in your repository is reviewed alongside the code it describes, and a diagram in a SaaS canvas is not.
AFFiNE
Docs and canvas in one — write a page, flip it to a whiteboard.
AFFiNE merges the document and the canvas: the same content can be read as a written page or arranged as a whiteboard, switching between the two. That removes a real annoyance — the diagram in Miro and the decision record in Confluence drifting apart until nobody knows which is current. MPL-2.0, self-hostable, local-first, around 50k stars. It is ambitious and still maturing, and the honest caveat is that doing two things well is harder than doing one, which shows in places.
Side by side
| draw.io | AFFiNE | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 94 | 91 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Pricing | Free and open source. Confluence and Jira plugins are paid. | Free and open source to self-host. AFFiNE Cloud is a paid hosted option. |
draw.io edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
draw.io
Strengths
- +Extensive shape libraries including AWS, Azure and GCP stencils
- +Diagrams are files you own — version them in Git
- +Apache-2.0, self-hostable, and works fully offline
- +Best of these for precise structured diagrams
Trade-offs
- −Real-time collaboration is weaker than Miro or Excalidraw
- −Interface is dense and dated
- −No workshop or facilitation features
- −Wrong tool for loose collaborative sketching
AFFiNE
Strengths
- +Document and whiteboard modes over the same content
- +Local-first — works offline and syncs after
- +MPL-2.0, self-hostable, with no enterprise carve-out
- +Removes the drift between a diagram and its written decision
Trade-offs
- −Still maturing; rough edges in both modes
- −Neither mode is quite best-in-class alone
- −Smaller community than the focused tools
- −Self-hosting is more involved than Excalidraw's
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-08-04. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.