Excalidraw for Confluence — Which Whiteboard and Drawing App Fits Your Team?
Teams need to draw in Confluence — architecture sketches on design docs, wireframes on user stories, flowcharts on runbooks, whiteboard sessions captured as diagrams. Confluence has no built-in drawing tool.
Several marketplace apps fill this gap, from the dominant draw.io (66,827 installs) to specialized Excalidraw-based whiteboards. We built Excalidraw Plus Whiteboards for Confluence to bring the popular Excalidraw drawing tool into Confluence with 229 bundled shape libraries and Mermaid import. In this post we compare it against the alternatives.
Excalidraw vs Traditional Diagramming
Excalidraw uses a hand-drawn visual style that keeps conversations focused on ideas rather than pixel perfection. It's fast, intuitive, and works great for:
- Architecture sketches and design discussions
- Wireframes and mockups
- Whiteboarding sessions
- Brainstorming and mind mapping
Traditional tools (draw.io, Gliffy, Lucidchart) produce polished, presentation-ready diagrams with precise layouts. Better for formal documentation and external-facing materials.
Both have their place. Let's see what's available.
What's Available on the Marketplace
Excalidraw and Whiteboard Apps
| App | Vendor | Installs | Rating | Last Updated | Hosting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excalidraw Diagrams for Confluence | Narva Software | 1,659 | 3.2/5 (10 reviews) | Apr 2026 | Cloud |
| Advanced Whiteboards & Workflow | DevSamurai | 303 | 3.9/5 (20 reviews) | Feb 2026 | Cloud |
| Miro Whiteboard for Confluence | resolution Reichert | 328 | 2.8/5 (4 reviews) | Apr 2024 | Cloud |
| Excalidraw + Mermaid + PlantUML | Fulstech | 255 | 2.5/5 (4 reviews) | Feb 2026 | DC only |
| Excalidraw for Confluence | XDevPod | 204 | 3.0/5 (3 reviews) | Jan 2026 | Cloud |
| Tldraw whiteboard | P&D VISION | 67 | 1.0/5 (1 review) | Jun 2025 | Cloud |
| Excalidraw Plus Whiteboards | NGPILOT | 7 | 4.0/5 (1 review) | Apr 2026 | Cloud |
Major Diagramming Apps (for reference)
| App | Vendor | Installs | Rating | Hosting | Price (50 users/yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| draw.io Diagrams | Seibert | 66,827 | 3.9/5 (1,197 reviews) | Cloud + DC | $975 |
| Lucidchart Connector | Lucid | 27,558 | 2.8/5 (258 reviews) | Cloud + DC | Free* |
| Gliffy Diagrams | Gliffy | 17,768 | 3.6/5 (797 reviews) | Cloud + DC | Paid |
*Lucidchart Cloud connector is free but requires a separate Lucidchart subscription.
Data from Atlassian Marketplace, April 2026.
draw.io dominates the entire diagram market with 66,827 installs. It's the safe, established choice with a full visual editor, but it's not Excalidraw-based and carries premium pricing.
Narva Software's Excalidraw Diagrams (1,659 installs) leads the Excalidraw-specific category. Decent adoption but a 3.2-star rating suggests room for improvement.
The Excalidraw market is nascent — no Excalidraw-specific app has crossed 2,000 installs. This is an opportunity for better tools.
Feature Comparison: Excalidraw and Whiteboard Apps
| Feature | Excalidraw Plus (NGPILOT) | Excalidraw Diagrams (Narva) | Excalidraw (XDevPod) | Excalidraw + Mermaid + PlantUML (Fulstech) | Advanced Whiteboards (DevSamurai) | Miro Whiteboard (resolution) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drawing engine | Excalidraw | Excalidraw | Excalidraw | Excalidraw + Mermaid + PlantUML | Custom | Miro embed |
| Bundled shape libraries | 229 (AWS, Azure, GCP, UML, etc.) | Limited | Limited | Limited | Built-in templates | Miro templates |
| Mermaid import | Yes (text-to-diagram) | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| AI diagram generation | No | No | Yes (text-to-diagram) | No | No | No |
| Hand-drawn style | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No (clean) | No (clean) |
| Freehand drawing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline/no CDN | Yes (all libraries bundled) | No | No | No | No | No (requires Miro) |
| Forge-based | Yes (zero external egress) | No | No | No | No | No |
| Dark mode | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Preview in page | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data Center support | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Price (50 users/yr) | Paid (Atlassian billing) | Paid | Paid | Paid | Paid | Paid |
Where Excalidraw Plus Stands Out
229 bundled shape libraries — The largest shape library collection of any Excalidraw Confluence app. AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, UML, ERD, networking, database, and more — all bundled with the app, available offline. No internet connection needed. No CDN dependency.
Mermaid import — Write a Mermaid definition and get a visual diagram on the canvas. Then move, resize, and style it alongside your freehand drawings. Only Fulstech offers similar functionality, but their app is DC-only.
Forge-based, zero egress — Built on Atlassian's Forge platform. All data stays within Atlassian's infrastructure. No external servers, no data leaving the Atlassian ecosystem. Qualified for "Runs on Atlassian" designation.
Dark mode — The editor adapts to Confluence's dark/light theme automatically.
Highest-rated Excalidraw app — 4.0/5 from 1 review. Narva's app has 3.2 stars from 10 reviews.
Where We Could Improve
- 7 installs — We're brand new in a category where Narva has 1,659 installs and draw.io has 66,827. Building trust takes time.
- No AI features — XDevPod's Excalidraw app offers text-to-diagram AI generation without needing an OpenAI key. We focus on the core drawing experience.
- No Data Center support — Cloud-only. Fulstech is the only Excalidraw option for DC users.
- No Miro integration — If your team already uses Miro boards, resolution's Miro Whiteboard connector embeds them directly in Confluence.
- No BPMN/Process diagrams — DevSamurai's Advanced Whiteboards includes business model canvases, Kanban boards, and retrospective boards beyond simple drawing.
- No Cloud Fortified status — We're working toward this.
Honest Comparison: NGPILOT vs Narva (Excalidraw Market Leader)
| Excalidraw Diagrams (Narva) | Excalidraw Plus (NGPILOT) | |
|---|---|---|
| Installs | 1,659 | 7 |
| Rating | 3.2/5 (10 reviews) | 4.0/5 (1 review) |
| Shape libraries | Limited | 229 (bundled, offline) |
| Mermaid import | No | Yes |
| Forge-based | No | Yes |
| Offline capable | No (CDN dependent) | Yes (all libraries bundled) |
| Dark mode | No | Yes |
| Actively maintained | Yes (Apr 2026) | Yes (Apr 2026) |
| Best for | Teams wanting basic Excalidraw in Confluence | Teams needing comprehensive shape libraries and Mermaid integration |
Narva has the install base and first-mover advantage. Our app offers more shape libraries (229 vs limited), Mermaid import, Forge security, and offline capability. For teams that need more than basic Excalidraw drawing, the feature difference is significant.
Which App Do You Need?
| You need... | Use this |
|---|---|
| The dominant, full-featured diagramming suite | draw.io by Seibert (66,827 installs) |
| Polished presentation-ready diagrams | Gliffy by Gliffy (17,768 installs) |
| Lucidchart integration | Lucidchart Connector by Lucid |
| Basic Excalidraw in Confluence | Excalidraw Diagrams by Narva (1,659 installs) |
| AI-generated diagrams | Excalidraw by XDevPod |
| Miro boards embedded in Confluence | Miro Whiteboard by resolution |
| Data Center Excalidraw support | Excalidraw + Mermaid + PlantUML by Fulstech |
| Comprehensive shape libraries + Mermaid + Forge security | Excalidraw Plus Whiteboards for Confluence |
Related Posts
- Mermaid Diagrams for Confluence — Which Text-Based Diagram App Should You Pick?
- Diagram Apps for Jira — Which Diagramming Tool Should Your Team Use?
Get Started
- Install Excalidraw Plus Whiteboards for Confluence from the Atlassian Marketplace
- Read the full documentation
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us at service@ngpilot.com — we'd love to hear from you.