# Excaliself vs Rene VA Services: which to pick

> Excaliself vs Rene VA Services: pricing, platforms, launches, upvotes and founders side by side on ProductsFarm, with notes on which to pick.

Canonical: https://productsfarm.com/compare/excaliself-vs-rene-va-services
Last updated: 2026-11-06

|  | [Excaliself](https://productsfarm.com/product/excaliself) | [Rene VA Services](https://productsfarm.com/product/rene-va-services) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | Self-hosted whiteboard for teams that keeps every drawing on your own server | Virtual assistant support for small business owners and consultants |
| Pricing | Open source | Free |
| Platforms | API, CLI, Web | Web, Android, macOS, Windows |
| Categories | Design, Developer tools, Communication | Productivity, Design, Developer tools |
| Made for | development teams, self-hosting enthusiasts, small teams | small business owners, consultants, entrepreneurs |
| Built with | [Astro](https://productsfarm.com/tech-stack/astro), [TanStack Start](https://productsfarm.com/tech-stack/tanstack-start), [Cloudflare](https://productsfarm.com/tech-stack/cloudflare), [PostgreSQL](https://productsfarm.com/tech-stack/postgresql), [Drizzle](https://productsfarm.com/tech-stack/drizzle), [Claude](https://productsfarm.com/tech-stack/claude), [Tailwind CSS](https://productsfarm.com/tech-stack/tailwind-css) | [Netlify](https://productsfarm.com/tech-stack/netlify) |
| Upvotes | 0 | 0 |
| Website | [excaliself.com](https://excaliself.com/) | [renevaservices.co.za](https://renevaservices.co.za/) |

## About Excaliself

Excaliself is a self-hosted version of Excalidraw, the hand-drawn style whiteboard editor. It embeds the official Excalidraw canvas unchanged and adds the parts a team needs to keep drawings over time: accounts, a shared Team space, folders, search, a shared library and a trash can. Deleted drawings stay in the trash for 30 days. Every drawing, including pasted images, is stored in your own Postgres database.

Team members can open the same drawing and see each other's cursors and edits as they happen. A share link lets someone outside the team draw together without an account. Press ⌘K to search over drawings, folders and actions. Excalidraw+ users can import their scenes, collections and images with an API key, and .excalidraw files can be dropped into a sidebar folder.

The app runs from a Docker Compose file that starts the prebuilt app image and a Postgres container, on amd64 and arm64. The first visitor becomes the admin, and everyone else joins through a single use invite link. Optionally, members can connect an MCP client such as Claude Code or Claude Desktop with a personal access token to search, read and create drawings and manage folders, without an AI API key on the server. It is aimed at teams that want to run their own whiteboard server.

## About Rene VA Services

Rene VA Services is a virtual assistant business for small business owners and consultants. Services include inbox management, calendar and scheduling, correspondence and client communication, contract and document drafting, general business admin, and design and simple web development. Drafts are reviewed before they are sent, and support can be booked as a single project or as ongoing weekly or monthly help.

The site also runs a resource shop with ready-to-use templates, planners, trackers, workflow tools and business organisation kits for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Digital products are supplied as downloadable files for the buyer's own business or personal use.

Pricing is published in two forms. Local clients can choose monthly retainers in South African rand, while international clients can book per-project fees in US dollars. Enquiries are handled by email or WhatsApp.

## Related

- [Excaliself](https://productsfarm.com/product/excaliself)
- [Rene VA Services](https://productsfarm.com/product/rene-va-services)
- [More comparisons](https://productsfarm.com/compare)