Infinite canvas SDK for React. Free in development and hobby projects, with a 100-day trial.
Sniffed 21d ago100 day free trialNo card needed#canvas#sdk#react#whiteboard#infinite-canvas#developer-tools
For when your product needs a whiteboard inside it, not next to it. tldraw is an infinite canvas SDK for React that developers embed in their own apps. The pricing page lists a 100-day free trial with full SDK feature access, a free hobby licence, a commercial licence with value-based pricing and discounted startup pricing. The GitHub README says the SDK can be used freely in development and that production use requires a licence key. On Hacker News a commenter called the licence fee massive and said $6K a year with community support only is a risk for small companies, and another described tldraw as watermark-ware that is no longer strictly open source. In SDK 3.x the licence shows a watermark that a key hides. I found no G2 or Capterra reviews for it. It suits teams building whiteboard or canvas features that can budget for a licence.
Free tier quotas
Trial
100 days with full SDK feature access
Hobby licence
Free for hobby projects
Development
Free to use in development
Production
Licence key required
Commercial licence
Value-based pricing, no public price
Startups
Discounted pricing available
Hosting
Host anywhere
Last sniffed Oct 4, 2026. Always confirm on the official pricing page.
👍 Good boy
+The pricing page lists a 100-day free trial with full SDK feature access.
+The SDK is free for hobby projects and free to use in development, according to the pricing page and GitHub README.
+Discounted pricing is listed for new companies.
+A Hacker News commenter who contributed to tldraw said they still love the project.
+The pricing page lists support and the option to host anywhere.
+A Hacker News user answering pricing questions said teams can stay on 3.x, that new commercial licences still work for it, and that 4.x has only a few small breaking changes.
👎 Watch out
−Production use needs a licence key, and the commercial licence has value-based pricing with no public price.
−A Hacker News commenter called the licence fee massive and said $6K a year with only community support is a huge risk for some small companies.
−A Hacker News commenter described tldraw as permissively licensed but no longer strictly open source, calling it watermark-ware.
−A Hacker News user said the 3.x licence shows a watermark, which a licence key hides.
−A Hacker News commenter said a 100-day trial is too short to try the SDK.
−I found no G2, Capterra or Trustpilot review text for tldraw, so the evidence here is Hacker News and the pricing page.
The catch
tldraw is free for development and hobby projects. Production use needs a licence key. The commercial licence is value-based and the pricing page publishes no price, so you have to ask.
A Hacker News commenter put the licence at $6K a year with community support only, and a user who answered pricing questions in the SDK 4.0 thread said early adopters named either nothing or a figure between $5,000 and $10,000. I did not verify the current price, and that user said startup pricing and options for other teams exist.
In SDK 3.x a licence key hides a watermark. A commenter calls the licence watermark-ware and not strictly open source, so read the licence text before you commit to it.
What’s included
✓Infinite canvas for React
✓Full SDK feature access during trial
✓Host anywhere
✓Support available
✓Licence key for production
✓Startup pricing
✓Hobby licence
✓SDK 4.x with few breaking changes from 3.x
Free tier value
Generosity
B
Estimated value
Value-based licence, price not published
Feature parity
Full SDK free for 100 days, then a licence key. Price is value-based and not published.
Screenshots
HomepagePricing page
Paid plans
Commercial licence, value-based pricing
Commercial use allowed. No public price on the pricing page. A Hacker News commenter cited $6K a year.
Startup pricing, discounted
Discounted pricing is listed for new companies.
Common questions
Is tldraw free?
It is free in development and for hobby projects, with a 100-day trial that includes a commercial licence for production use.
Do I need a licence for production?
Yes. The GitHub README says production use requires a licence key.
How much does a licence cost?
The pricing page says value-based pricing and lists no figure. A Hacker News commenter cited $6K a year.
Is tldraw open source?
A Hacker News commenter says it is permissively licensed but no longer strictly open source.
What about the watermark?
In 3.x the licence shows a watermark that a key hides.
Change history
Checked October 22, 2026
The pricing page lists a 100-day trial, hobby licence, commercial licence and startup pricing.
