Explain Everything vs tldraw
Explain Everything
explaineverything.com
tldraw
tldraw.comSide by side
| Figure | Explain Everything | tldraw |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 3 |
| Spec score · Online whiteboards | 9.5 (#2) | 8.0 (#24) |
| Spec score · Online Whiteboard Tools | 9.3 (#3) | 7.6 (#42) |
| Spec score · Collaborative Whiteboard Software | 9.2 (#3) | 7.7 (#23) |
| Collaboration | Users can invite others by link or access code, collaborate synchronously or asynchronously and use built-in voice chat. | The sync library supports simultaneous editing, live cursors, viewport following, and cursor chat. |
| Founded | 2010 | 2022 |
| Headquarters | Wrocław, Poland | London, United Kingdom |
| Integrations | Official integrations include Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube, OneDrive, Schoolwork and LMS connections for Canvas, Schoology, Moodle and Blackboard. | The SDK can use other real-time data backends; the docs name Liveblocks as one example. |
| Product | Explain Everything is an online whiteboard for teaching, for creating interactive lessons, recording video tutorials, and collaborating in real time. | tldraw is a React SDK for building infinite-canvas apps such as whiteboards, diagrams, and canvas tools. |
| Security | Explain Everything says it stores data in AWS data centers, uses PCI-compliant Braintree payments and is GDPR compliant. | The SDK sanitizes SVG files pasted or dropped into the canvas using an allowlist-based sanitizer. |
| Self-hosting | The official platform documentation describes Explain Drive cloud storage and hosted web use, with no self-hosted deployment option described. | For production, tldraw sync can be hosted on Cloudflare or integrated into a JavaScript backend that supports WebSockets. |
| Support | The pricing page lists an online Help Center for all plans, email support for Pro, and priority email support for school custom plans. | The pricing page says support is available, and the company directs developers to its Discord community for help. |
Plans
Explain Everything
- FreeFree
- Pro$7.49 a month
- Team$7.49 a month
- SchoolPriced on request
- Advanced€59 a year
- Pro€89.88 a year
- Team€89.88 a year
- Custom Pricing for SchoolsPriced on request
tldraw
- 100-day trial licenseFree
- Hobby licenseFree
- Commercial licensePriced on request
In their own words
Explain Everything
Explain Everything is an online whiteboard for teaching, creating interactive lessons, recording video tutorials, and collaborating. Its infinite canvas accepts documents, presentations, images, audio, and video for users to import and work with. Users can record narration and canvas activity, edit recordings, and render videos in Explain Drive. Collaboration can be synchronous or asynchronous, with invitations by link or access code and built-in voice chat. Listed integrations include Dropbox, Google Drive, YouTube, OneDrive, and Schoolwork, as well as LMS assignment tools such as Canvas, Schoology, Moodle, and Blackboard. Schools can provision licenses through Google Admin, and students can sign in with Google EDU accounts. Explain Everything runs on Android, iOS, and the web. The free plan permits three projects, one slide per project, videos up to three minutes, one collaborator, 15-minute collaboration sessions, and 500 MB of cloud storage. Pro costs $9.99 a month; Team costs $9.99 a month per user. The maker says the service's data is stored in an AWS SOC2-certified data center in North Virginia.