draw-a-ui vs One API
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
Draw a rough wireframe in a canvas and get HTML/Tailwind code generated from it by GPT-4 Vision.
Open source · MIT
Self-hosted gateway that exposes many LLM providers through one OpenAI-style API with key management.
The short answer
Choose draw-a-ui if you need…
- Developers exploring how vision models can turn sketches into HTML
- Designers who want a quick rough draft of a page layout as code
- People learning how to connect a canvas drawing tool to an AI API
- Anyone who wants a starting point for a Tailwind-based page
Choose One API if you need…
- Developers who want one OpenAI-compatible endpoint for several model providers
- Small teams or groups who need to issue and limit API keys to members
- Operators who want load balancing or retries across multiple provider channels
- People comfortable running a Docker container or a Go binary on a server
Side-by-side
| draw-a-ui | One API | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 13.6k | 37.3k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Run with Docker |
| Main language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 16 months ago | 10 months ago |
What each one is
draw-a-ui
draw-a-ui is a Next.js web app built on the tldraw drawing canvas. You sketch a wireframe, the app exports the canvas as an image, and sends it to OpenAI's gpt-4-vision API with instructions to return a single HTML file styled with Tailwind. It is a demo that shows how an image of a layout can be turned into working front-end code.
One API
One API is a self-hosted web service that sits between your apps and many large language model providers such as OpenAI, Azure, Claude, Gemini and DeepSeek. Clients send requests in the standard OpenAI API format, and One API translates them to each provider. It also includes a web admin panel for issuing tokens, setting quotas, and managing channels.
Best for
draw-a-ui
- Developers exploring how vision models can turn sketches into HTML
- Designers who want a quick rough draft of a page layout as code
- People learning how to connect a canvas drawing tool to an AI API
- Anyone who wants a starting point for a Tailwind-based page
One API
- Developers who want one OpenAI-compatible endpoint for several model providers
- Small teams or groups who need to issue and limit API keys to members
- Operators who want load balancing or retries across multiple provider channels
- People comfortable running a Docker container or a Go binary on a server
Strengths
draw-a-ui
- Simple idea that is easy to follow from the README
- Built on established tools: Next.js, tldraw and the OpenAI API
- Open source under the MIT license
One API
- Single OpenAI-format interface across many listed providers
- Ships as a single executable or Docker image, per the README
- Includes token, quota, channel, and user-group management in one admin UI
Not ideal for
draw-a-ui
- Production deployment: the README says it is a demo with no auth, so it could run up API costs for anyone who finds it
- Users without an OpenAI API key with GPT-4 Vision access, since the app cannot work without one
- People needing pixel-accurate or production-ready code, since the output is generated and not reviewed
One API
- Users who only call one provider and do not need a gateway, since it adds a service to run
- Anyone who needs a fully managed hosted service, because this is software you deploy and maintain yourself
- Those who cannot verify compliance with local AI service rules, since the README asks users to follow OpenAI terms and applicable law and warns about unregistered public services in China
Trade-offs
draw-a-ui
- Depends on a paid OpenAI API key with GPT-4 Vision access
- README explicitly says it is a demo, not for production, and has no authentication
- Output quality depends on the model and the sketch; the README does not describe accuracy
One API
- The README warns to change the default root password (123456) immediately after first login
- Some features such as model mapping can change request bodies and drop fields not yet supported
- High concurrency requires setting SQL_DSN, so a production setup likely involves a database beyond the default
Getting started
draw-a-ui
Create env file with your OpenAI key
echo "OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-key" > .env.localInstall dependencies
npm installOne API
Run with SQLite using Docker
docker run --name one-api -d --restart always -p 3000:3000 -e TZ=Asia/Shanghai -v /home/ubuntu/data/one-api:/data justsong/one-apiFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between draw-a-ui and One API?
draw-a-ui: Draw a rough wireframe in a canvas and get HTML/Tailwind code generated from it by GPT-4 Vision. One API: Self-hosted gateway that exposes many LLM providers through one OpenAI-style API with key management. draw-a-ui suits developers exploring how vision models can turn sketches into html, while One API suits developers who want one openai-compatible endpoint for several model providers.
Are draw-a-ui and One API free?
draw-a-ui: Free and open source. One API: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, draw-a-ui or One API?
draw-a-ui is easier to get started with (rated beginner); One API is rated intermediate and usually needs more setup.
Is draw-a-ui or One API more popular?
One API has more GitHub stars (37.3k) than draw-a-ui (13.6k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to draw-a-ui and One API?
Other options people compare them with include Screenshot to Code, OpenHands, LlamaGPT, CowAgent, LibreChat.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.