Compare Tine and Drawpile on pricing, features, platforms, and ratings — both Collaboration tools, open-source vs Free / Open Source pricing to decide which…
At a Glance
Tine
Drawpile
Primary category
Collaboration
Collaboration
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
open-source
Free / Open Source
Starting price
Free (self-hosted); hosted plans from EUR 12.90/month
Free
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web
Web, Android, Mac, Windows
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Tine
Self-Hosted Business Edition — Free N/A (self-hosted, optional paid support)
Hosted Groupware — EUR 12.90/month monthly
Hosted Pro — EUR 24.90/month monthly
Drawpile
Free (Open Source) — Free N/A
Pros & Cons
Tine
Pros
Fully open-source under AGPLv3, including features normally reserved for paid enterprise tiers elsewhere
Combines groupware and CRM in one suite, reducing the need for separate tools
Free to self-host with no per-user licensing cost
Long track record, with continuous development since 2008
Managed hosting option available for teams that do not want to self-administer a server
Cons
Smaller community and ecosystem compared to mainstream groupware platforms like Zimbra or Nextcloud
Interface and documentation are less polished than large commercial competitors
Self-hosting requires PHP and SQL server administration skills
Primarily documented and supported in German and English, which may limit reach in other markets
Hosted SaaS pricing scales per user and per gigabyte, which can add up for larger teams
Drawpile
Pros
Completely free and open source under the GPLv3 license
Genuine real-time multi-user drawing with no per-seat cost or account requirement
Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and via a browser-based version
Governed by a non-profit structure explicitly designed to keep the software public and free permanently
Cons
Development is driven by a small team, so feature velocity can be slower than well-funded commercial tools
Lacks some advanced digital-painting features found in dedicated commercial apps like Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint
Real-time collaboration performance depends on the server used, whether self-hosted or a community server
Animation tools are described as rudimentary rather than a full animation production suite
Use Cases
Tine
Self-hosted email and calendar collaboration — Organizations that want full control over their email and calendar data self-host Tine on their own servers instead of relying on a third-party SaaS provider.
Combined groupware and CRM for small businesses — Small and mid-sized businesses use Tine's built-in CRM alongside its groupware modules to manage both internal collaboration and customer relationships in one system.
Open-source alternative to proprietary groupware — Organizations that require fully auditable, open-source software for compliance or budget reasons choose Tine over closed-source suites like Microsoft Exchange or Zimbra's proprietary tiers.
Drawpile
Real-time collaborative illustration — A group of artists works together on a single piece of art in real time, seeing each other's brushstrokes live.
Teaching digital painting — An instructor demonstrates brush techniques live while students draw alongside them in the same session.
Livestreamed art sessions and battles — Streamers host live, multi-artist drawing sessions or friendly art battles that viewers can watch unfold in real time.