Free online canvas tool for diagrams and sketches
An infinite canvas in your browser. Draw flowcharts, architecture diagrams, wireframes, or anything else that thinks better as a picture than a document. No install, no account to start. Save your work in folders with version history when you are ready.
What people draw on it
The canvas gives you shapes, arrows, freehand, and text on an infinite surface. Here is what that turns into in practice.
Flowcharts and process maps
Drag out rectangles for steps, diamonds for decisions, and arrows for flow. The hand-drawn style keeps the diagram approachable, which is useful when you are mapping a process with non-technical stakeholders who would find a formal Visio chart intimidating.
Examples: Onboarding flow, incident response playbook, CI/CD pipeline
System architecture diagrams
Place services, databases, queues, and external APIs on the canvas and draw the connections between them. Because the canvas is infinite, you can keep the high-level view in one area and zoom into a detailed subsystem in another, all on the same surface.
Examples: Microservice topology, data pipeline, cloud infrastructure layout
Wireframes and screen mockups
Sketch rough screen layouts before committing to a design tool. The hand-drawn look signals that the wireframe is not final, which makes reviewers more comfortable suggesting changes. Lay out an entire multi-screen flow side by side.
Examples: Mobile app screens, dashboard layout, settings page structure
Mind maps and brainstorming
Start with a central idea and branch outward. An infinite canvas means you never run out of room for a new branch, and you can group related ideas spatially. Color-code branches or add freehand annotations to capture thoughts that do not fit neatly into a box.
Examples: Product roadmap brainstorm, research topic map, meeting notes
Sequence and timing diagrams
Draw vertical lifelines with horizontal arrows for messages between them. The freehand style works surprisingly well for sequence diagrams when you need to communicate timing to a team without the overhead of a formal UML tool.
Examples: API request/response flow, event-driven system interactions, auth flow
Teaching and explainers
Walk through a concept visually: draw the data structure, annotate each step of an algorithm, or illustrate how a network protocol works. Save a version before each major change so students can revisit earlier states of the explanation.
Examples: Algorithm walkthroughs, protocol explainers, code architecture tours
From blank canvas to organized library
You start drawing in seconds. Organization kicks in when you need it.
Minute 0
Open the canvas and draw
No account, no setup. The canvas loads in your browser and you start sketching immediately. Shapes, arrows, freehand, text, and the hand-drawn style Excalidraw is known for.
When you want to keep it
Sign in and save
Sign in with Google. Your diagram gets a name and lives in the cloud, accessible from any device. Takes about five seconds.
When you have several
Organize into folders
Create workspaces for different projects. Nest folders to any depth. Each diagram has a home instead of floating in a flat list or a Downloads folder.
Before a big edit
Save a version
Name a checkpoint ('before redesign', 'v2 for review'). Preview any past version and restore it with one click. The version you overwrote is never gone.
Built on the Excalidraw open-source canvas
CanvasKeep uses the same Excalidraw canvas that millions of developers and designers already use. The drawing experience is identical: the same hand-drawn style, the same shapes, the same keyboard shortcuts. Nothing about the drawing side is different.
What CanvasKeep adds is everything that comes after drawing: saving diagrams to the cloud, organizing them in nested folders, and keeping named version history so you can go back to any earlier state. The canvas handles the creative work. CanvasKeep handles the organizational work.
Your data stays portable. Diagrams are stored in the open Excalidraw format, so you can export and re-import them into plain Excalidraw at any time. There is no lock-in.
Frequently asked questions
- Is CanvasKeep really free?
- Yes. The free plan includes workspaces, nested folders, and version history for up to 20 diagrams and 5 saved versions per diagram. No credit card, no trial timer. Paid plans add higher limits for people who outgrow the free tier.
- Do I need to create an account?
- Not to start drawing. The canvas works immediately in your browser. You sign in with Google when you want to save your diagrams to the cloud and organize them in folders.
- What can I draw on the canvas?
- Anything you can sketch: rectangles, circles, diamonds, arrows, lines, freehand strokes, and text. People use it for flowcharts, system architecture, wireframes, mind maps, org charts, sequence diagrams, and general brainstorming. The canvas has no edges, so there is no limit on size.
- Can I export my diagrams?
- Yes. You can export to PNG and SVG, and you can save the native .excalidraw format to keep full editability. The Excalidraw format is open, so your data is never locked in.
- Does it work on mobile?
- The canvas runs in any modern browser, including mobile. Touch drawing works, though the experience is best on a tablet or desktop where you have more screen space for an infinite canvas.
Want to compare options? 6 tools like Excalidraw covers free alternatives side by side. Or read about what an infinite canvas is and why it matters for diagrams.
Start with a blank canvas
No signup, no install. Draw something right now and decide later whether to keep it.