How to Switch from Mural to Excalidraw
The migration, step by step
- 1Prepare
Inventory your design system
List the components, styles and libraries your team actually reuses in Mural. That subset is what you'll rebuild first in the new tool.
- 2Prepare
Export frames and assets to open formats
Export key frames as SVG (vectors) and images as PNG. Export design tokens (colors, type scale) to JSON or CSS variables so they survive the move.
- 3Pilot
Rebuild one real project
Open Excalidraw and recreate one live project — components, styles and all. Skip toy files; real work reveals the real gaps.
- 4Pilot
Run a two-week pilot in parallel
New work goes to Excalidraw; the old tool stays read-only. Expect the first week to feel slower, then to even out.
- 5Migrate
Import or rebuild your library
Bring SVG exports into Excalidraw and rebuild shared components/styles from your exported tokens. Archive originals for reference.
- 6Cut the cost
Cancel at the renewal boundary
Cancel Mural before the next renewal — with prices rising yearly, timing the cancellation IS part of the savings.
Your destination: Excalidraw
Excalidraw
A free, open-source collaborative whiteboard tool — actively maintained by an open-source community and free for both personal and commercial use Positioned as a popular alternative to Mural, offering comparable core features at zero cost.
| Capability | Excalidraw |
|---|---|
| Free / open source | A free, open-source collaborative whiteboard tool — actively maintained by an open-source community and free for both personal and commercial use Positioned as a popular alternative to Mural, offering comparable core features at zero cost. |
| Real-time collaboration | A free, open-source collaborative whiteboard tool — actively maintained by an open-source community and free for both personal and commercial use Positioned as a popular alternative to Mural, offering comparable core features at zero cost. |
| AI-assisted features | Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs. |
| Works offline / desktop app | Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs. |
| Self-hosted option | Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs. |
| Plugin / extension ecosystem | Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs. |
| No watermarks or limits | Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs. |
| Team permissions & admin | Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs. |
Feature rows are derived from the verified project description — treat ✓ as confirmed and check the project docs before you commit.
Not the right fit? 2 more free alternatives
A free online tool for creating diagrams and mind maps — actively maintained by an open-source community and free for both personal and commercial use Positioned as a popular alternative to Mural, offering comparable core features at zero cost.
A free, open-source virtual whiteboard for collaboration — actively maintained by an open-source community and free for both personal and commercial use Positioned as a popular alternative to Mural, offering comparable core features at zero cost.