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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

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Excalidraw for Obsidian

Edit and view Excalidraw drawings inside Obsidian.

Visit Excalidraw for Obsidian4.5

  • Rating

    4.5 / 5

  • Pricing

    Free

  • Difficulty

    Beginner

  • Works on

    Cross-Platform

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What is Excalidraw for Obsidian?

The Excalidraw plugin brings Excalidraw's hand-drawn whiteboard into Obsidian, so you can sketch diagrams and mind maps, link them to notes and embed them in your vault.

Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.

Pros: what Excalidraw for Obsidian does well

  • Sketch and diagram right in your vault
  • Drawings link to and embed in notes
  • Very actively maintained

Cons: where it falls short

  • AGPL-3.0 licence has strict terms for modified versions
  • Large drawings can slow down mobile

Who Excalidraw for Obsidian is for

Visual thinkers who want diagrams living next to their notes.

Who can skip it

People who never draw or diagram.

What people use Excalidraw for Obsidian for

  • Sketching diagrams, mind maps and flowcharts right next to your notes
  • Embedding drawings in notes and linking shapes to other notes or blocks
  • Annotating images and adding LaTeX formulas to visual notes

How to get started

  1. 1In Obsidian, open Settings, then Community plugins, and turn off Restricted mode if it is on.
  2. 2Browse the community plugins, search for Excalidraw, then install and enable it.
  3. 3Create a new drawing from the ribbon icon or the command palette.
  4. 4Embed the drawing in any note like an image, and turn on auto-export if you want PNG or SVG copies.

Excalidraw for Obsidian pricing

The plugin is free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. You can support the author on Ko-fi. Syncing drawings and full file history across devices uses Obsidian Sync, which is a paid Obsidian add-on. See current prices on Excalidraw for Obsidian's site

Checked 2026-10-15. Prices change, so double-check before you pay.

Excalidraw for Obsidian FAQ: quick answers

Does Excalidraw for Obsidian work on mobile?
Yes. It runs in Obsidian on iOS and Android, and you can add camera photos to a drawing. Very large drawings can feel slow on phones.
How are drawings stored?
As Markdown files in your vault, so they sit next to your notes and can hold links. Older .excalidraw files still open.
Can I automate it?
Yes. The built-in Script Engine runs ExcalidrawAutomate scripts, and there is a shared script library you can install from.

Excalidraw for Obsidian alternatives

Not sold on Excalidraw for Obsidian? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Note-Taking resources

Obsidian Git

Focus: git sync, backup and open source. Shares obsidian with Excalidraw for Obsidian. Rated 4.6 (Excalidraw for Obsidian: 4.5).

OtherFreeCross-Platform
4.6Visit

tldraw

Focus: brainstorming. Shares whiteboard and diagrams with Excalidraw for Obsidian. Adds Web. Rated 4.6 (Excalidraw for Obsidian: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb
4.6Visit

Copilot for Obsidian

Focus: ai, agents and claude code. Shares obsidian with Excalidraw for Obsidian. Freemium (Excalidraw for Obsidian: Free). Same 4.5 rating.

OtherFree planCross-Platform
4.5Visit

Dataview

Focus: plugin, queries and markdown. Shares obsidian with Excalidraw for Obsidian. Same 4.5 rating.

OtherFreeCross-Platform
4.5Visit

Smart Connections

Focus: semantic search, related notes and local ai. Shares obsidian with Excalidraw for Obsidian. Freemium (Excalidraw for Obsidian: Free). Same 4.5 rating.

OtherFree planCross-Platform
4.5Visit

Free alternatives to Excalidraw for Obsidian

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

Templater

Focus: templates, automation and javascript. Shares obsidian with Excalidraw for Obsidian. Same 4.5 rating.

OtherFreeCross-Platform
4.5Visit

claude-obsidian

Focus: claude code, second brain and pkm. Shares obsidian with Excalidraw for Obsidian. Adds macOS, Windows and Linux. Rated 4.8 (Excalidraw for Obsidian: 4.5).

AI ToolFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

hypernovum

Focus: 3d, visualization and second brain. Shares obsidian with Excalidraw for Obsidian. Adds macOS, Windows and Linux. Rated 4.3 (Excalidraw for Obsidian: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.3Visit
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