4 self-hosted options
Open-source alternatives to Canva
The best open-source alternative to Canva is revealjs (MIT, 72,473 GitHub stars). penpot stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,288), and Reactive Resume stands out for a permissive MIT license.
About Canva: A drag-and-drop online design tool for graphics, slides and social posts.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily
Top picks
- Rank 1:
revealjs
hakimel/reveal.js
Framework for easily creating beautiful presentations using HTML.
Active · last commit Sep 30, 2026
UtilitiesJavaScriptStands out for the most GitHub stars.
- Rank 2:
penpot
penpot/penpot
Web-based design and prototyping platform meant for cross-domain teams.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
UtilitiesClojureDockerStands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,288).
- Rank 3:
Reactive Resume
reactive-resume/reactive-resume
One-of-a-kind resume builder that keeps your privacy in mind. Completely secure, customizable and portable.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
UtilitiesTypeScriptDockerStands out for a permissive MIT license.
At a glance
Canva alternatives compared
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.
| App | Stands out for | License | GitHub stars | Commits (12 mo) | Last commit | Docker image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| revealjs | the most GitHub stars | MIT | 72,473 | 109 | Sep 30, 2026 | No |
| penpot | the most commits in the last 12 months (5,288) | MPL-2.0 | 61,677 | 5,288 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| Reactive Resume | a permissive MIT license | MIT | 44,869 | 1,428 | Oct 25, 2026 | Yes |
| draw.io | a permissive Apache-2.0 license | Apache-2.0 | 8,993 | 73 | Oct 23, 2026 | Yes |
Full list
All 4 Canva alternatives
Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.
- 1
revealjs
Framework for easily creating beautiful presentations using HTML.
UtilitiesStands out for the most GitHub stars. revealjs has 72,473 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 109 commits in the last year.
- 2
penpot
Web-based design and prototyping platform meant for cross-domain teams.
UtilitiesDockerStands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,288). penpot has 61,677 GitHub stars, uses the MPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,288 commits in the last year.
- 3
Reactive Resume
One-of-a-kind resume builder that keeps your privacy in mind. Completely secure, customizable and portable.
UtilitiesDockerAI-nativeStands out for a permissive MIT license. Reactive Resume has 44,869 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,428 commits in the last year.
- 4
draw.io
Diagram software for making flowcharts, process diagrams, org charts, UML, ER and network diagrams.
Note-taking & EditorsDockerStands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. draw.io has 8,993 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 73 commits in the last year.
Is there a free alternative to Canva?
Yes. All 4 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can replace Canva without per-user fees. You pay only for the server.
Can I self-host an alternative to Canva with Docker?
Yes. 3 of the 4 apps here publish a Docker image, including penpot, Reactive Resume and draw.io, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose.
Which Canva alternative is the most actively developed?
penpot (MPL-2.0), with 5,288 commits in the last 12 months. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
How is this list ranked?
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.