Learn how Penpot and Tldraw differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these online design tools is best for you.
Last 30 days
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Self-hosted
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Last 30 days
Last commit
Repository age
Version
Repository

Penpot appears to have several advantages over Tldraw, particularly in growth, maturity, licensing and features. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.
Both tools have similar popularity levels, with Penpot having 58,893 stars and Tldraw having 49,863 stars on GitHub. In terms of developer contributions, Penpot has 3,973 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.
Penpot is growing faster, adding 1,896 stars in the last 30 days (+3.3%) against adding 800 stars for Tldraw (+1.6%). Penpot is both larger and pulling further ahead.
Both projects show recent activity, with Penpot last updated 9 hours ago and Tldraw 7 hours ago.
Both tools share common technology foundations, being built with JavaScript, CSS, Bash, Typescript, JSX. However, they differ in their additional technology choices: Penpot uses Python, SCSS, Rust, Java, Lua, Clojure while Tldraw leverages Next.js, Vue, GLSL.
Penpot has been in development longer, starting 11 years ago, compared to Tldraw which began 5 years ago. This 5.4-year head start suggests Penpot may have more mature features and established processes.
Penpot is licensed under MPL-2.0, while Tldraw's license terms are not publicly specified.
Both tools serve similar use cases in Online Design. However, they also have distinct specializations: Penpot also focuses on UI/UX Design while Tldraw extends into Collaborative Workspaces, Whiteboarding.
Penpot provides self-hosting options for complete data control and customization, while Tldraw may be primarily cloud-based or require different deployment approaches.