Online whiteboard is a software solution that comes along as apps or browser-based tools. They support teams to collaborate visually over distance in real-time.
Today, virtual whiteboarding has become the norm among educators and distributed teams, as it supports better collaboration between team members or students and increase their productivity and creativity.
Having a virtual whiteboard app is pretty essential, they have been widely used to brainstorm, plan, explain, and teach.
With the digital canvas it offered, Drawing not only pictures, but much more — charts, structures, text, mind maps — еverything that expresses our thoughts.
A very useful and convenient way to communicate a distance for creation teams, designers, teachers and students, marketing specialists, and more.
Looking for the best online whiteboard apps for teaching or team collaboration? Online whiteboards come a dime a dozen, some cost money, and some aren’t that functional.
With so many options available, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with the 100s of options out there. what ones are the best for you?
Fear not! We’ve narrowed it down to the top 12 options. We will also introduce the features, price points, and some brief descriptions to differentiate between each online whiteboard.
What are the most important benefits of online whiteboards?
Real-time Collaboration: Online whiteboards enable multiple users to collaborate simultaneously, regardless of their physical location.
This real-time collaboration allows team members to contribute, edit, and share ideas in a synchronous manner, fostering effective communication and enhancing productivity.
Digital Drawing Tools: online whiteboards often provide a variety of digital drawing tools, such as pens, markers, shapes, and colors.
These tools allow users to express their ideas visually, create diagrams, sketch concepts, and annotate content, making the brainstorming process more dynamic and engaging.
Integration of Media: Online whiteboards often support the integration of various media types, such as images, videos, and documents.
This feature enables teams to incorporate external resources, reference materials, or multimedia elements into their collaborative sessions, enhancing the richness and depth of discussions.
Remote Accessibility: With an online whiteboard, team members can access and contribute to collaborative sessions from any location and device with internet access.
This flexibility is particularly beneficial for remote teams, distributed work environments, or situations where in-person meetings are not possible.
Persistent and Shareable Boards: Online whiteboards typically offer the ability to save, store, and share boards, allowing users to revisit previous sessions, refer to past ideas, and continue discussions over time.
This feature promotes knowledge retention, facilitates asynchronous collaboration, and enables team members to collaborate across different time zones.
12 Best online Whiteboards in 2024
There is a lot of online whiteboards, But the top 12 highly-rated online whiteboards are:
1. Miro
With more than 30 million users, Miro is arguably the most popular online whiteboard app. It’s clean, simple and easy to use.
It’s the ideal tool for learners and teachers to brainstorm and collaborate. With features such as an infinite canvas, templates, sticky notes, flow charts, and more.
There are loads of widgets you can choose from like arrows, shapes, post-it notes, freehand drawing and smart drawing.
One way that Miro stands out from its competitors is the ability to create tables and charts from data that you enter. This includes pie charts, column charts, bar charts, and funnel charts.
It also offers a comprehensive range of collaboration tools to make cross-functional teamwork a breeze: employ video chat, presentations, sharing, and a variety of other features.
An added bonus is that Miro integrates with a tonne of other video conferencing apps such as Zoom, Dropbox, Google Suite and even more via Zapier.
Users can save boards as PDFs, images, downloaded as backups and saved to Google Drive. To reduce the scope, users can add frames and specify certain sizes, like standard iPhone and iPad resolutions.
The free plan offers you three boards, basic collaboration tools, and allows for anonymous viewing. You’ll need to upgrade for more.
Availability: Web, iOS, Android.
Pricing: Miro offers a free and premium plans starting at $10 per user per month.
2. Mural
MURAL is an exceptional tool that enables teams to share ideas, organize work and track progress. It’s ideal for creating mind maps and very easy-to-use flowcharts.
With the amazing conveniences it provides, it deserves to be ranked as the top tool. Features include sticky notes, timer, voting, shapes, charts, wireframes, flowcharts, sketch pads and over 100 pre-designed templates.
MURAL is particularly strong as a team tool, letting you create multiple “rooms” for your whiteboards, each with different permissions to limit access.
You can also invite members to collaborate on your boards by adding them as collaborators. Collaborators can view and edit your boards, but they can’t create their own boards.
MURAL works with Zapier, allowing you to create new tasks in your project management tool based on whiteboards or MURAL stickies based on form inputs.
If you’re working with someone on a mural and want to talk through part of it, there is no need to schedule a separate call. You can initiate a voice call right from Mural.
Mural doesn’t place any limitations on what you can export or at what resolution, and this is available even on a free account.
Availability: Web, iOS, Android.
Pricing: Free for 3 active murals with unlimited members, from $9.99/user/month for the Team+ plan.
3. Stormboard
Many organizations use Stormboard for brainstorming and project management, and it is a handy app to plan your projects and easily design prototypes.
The canvas has no limitations in size, and you can add text, free-form drawings, files, images, videos and more.
There are Substorms and index cards for collecting and organizing large amounts of ideas. There are also whiteboard post-it notes.
There are also a tonne of usable templates for agile scrum, daily standups, presentations, affinity mapping, brainstorming sessions and more.
And, you can do more with a string of integrations available with this tool. Jira, Microsoft Teams, Zapier, Slack, and Dropbox, to name a few.
Storms can be accessed at any time on any device with a web browser. It also has a mobile app, so you can access Stormboard on any device.
Once a board is finished, it can be exported as a PDF, document, spreadsheet, or PowerPoint presentation. It also lets users save files to Google Drive.
Availability: Web, iOS, Android.
Pricing: Free for the Personal account that includes 5 open Storms and 5 collaborators per Storm.
Paid version starts from $8.33/user/month for the Business plan that includes unlimited open Storms.
4. Explain Everything
Explain Everything is one of the most popular, top online whiteboards for teachers and math tutors.
It offers a variety of tools for drawing, writing, and annotating, as well as the ability to insert images and files.
It allows for real-time collaboration and screen sharing, enabling 25 people to communicate back and forth, leave comments, start discussions, open dialogues, and do more.
There are also ways for you to create and share dynamic spaces for combined tasks such as brainstorming.
You can livecast your whiteboard on different virtual platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams smoothly. Besides, it is integrated with Google Drive for seamless saving to the cloud-based drive.
The best thing of Explain Everything is that you can record video lectures using this whiteboard website and export them as a web video link.
With the free plan, you can enjoy features like up to three projects, one slide per project, collaboration with Voice Chat, etc.
Availability: Web, iPadOS, Android, and Chromebook devices.
Pricing: free version with limited features ; paid plans start at $6.99/month.
5. Whiteboard.fi
Whiteboard.fi is an online whiteboard service specially designed for teachers and classrooms. An excellent tool for formative assessment!
Whiteboard.fi is super simple. You create a class and let your students join, using a link, room code or QR code.
After joining, each of your viewers will get their whiteboards which you can view in real-time. Meanwhile, students only get to see your whiteboard exclusively.
The important thing is that that it has support for multiplayer drawing and is interactive whiteboard. You can ask students questions, and the students will answer in their Whiteboard.
This online whiteboard gives the user many options to write, annotate, draw, and add multimedia files.
It offers versatile tools through which you can insert shapes, backgrounds, arrows, and images flawlessly.
This tool even contains a Math Editor that enables you to insert mathematical expressions, symbols, and equations easily.
Instructors can even save the whiteboards as a PDF file and easily send current whiteboards to anyone using push whiteboards.
You can use this tool for formative assessments, tests, live feedback, or interact visually with your audience.
Its free plan offers temporary rooms without registration. But you can upgrade to enjoy features like uploading PDFs, inviting co-teachers, and assigning, receiving, and reviewing submissions.
Availability: Web
Pricing: Free, Basic ($4.99 per month), Premium ($12.99).
6. Ziteboard
Ziteboard is one of the most easy to use, instant whiteboards you can use online without logging in or setting up. This is not only useful for teaching, but also great for anyone who needs quick online whiteboard without delay.
The boards are shareable with permanent URLS, So you can use it on any device’s browser. Presentation mode lets users view the boards without having the ability to collaborate or edit them.
Wireframes, workflows, and basic whiteboarding material can all be designed with Ziteboard. You can also insert pictures and PDFs, graphs, sticky notes, and navigation boxes in Zitebooard.
After designing your whiteboard, you can export it in the form of a PNG or PDF file format.
With its shape recognition algorithm and line smoothing algorithm, all your scribbles will look perfect- making it an amazing tool for wireframing.
Ziteboard also has the ability to add sticky notes that users can repurpose as todo lists or to leave notes to follow up later.
Ziteboard also has a Google Chrome extension, Slack integration, and WordPress plugin that allows saving the board on the web.
The free version comes with only three boards, limited data traffic and doesn’t include audio and video chat. So you need to either purchase one of the paid packages or use apps like Skype or Zoom at the same time as Ziteboard.
Availability: Web, iOS, Android.
Pricing: Ziteboard offers a starter plan which is free forever. It also comes with paid version starts at US$9 per month.
7. Microsoft Whiteboard
Microsoft Whiteboard is a free, reliable canvas for teams to work and collaborate on.
Microsoft allows you to access the Whiteboard in the app or from a browser, which is very helpful, especially for students that use different devices.
This whiteboard program allows you to write, draw, and insert images, texts, and shapes. You can also react to other people’s activities while on a project.
This tool offers more than 60 templates to help with brainstorming, design, research, project scheduling, and more.
Moreover, all your class’s whiteboards will be saved automatically in the cloud allowing you to resume at any time.
Just like with Google’s Jamboard, Microsoft Whiteboard can be easily connected to Microsoft Teams, the company’s video call app.
However, it doesn’t have all the features of other professional whiteboard applications. the shapes are few and limited to basic patterns, and there are no mind mapping features.
Availability: Web, iOS, Android.
Pricing: It is free to use and you must have a Microsoft Account for accessing it.
8. Google Jamboard
Jamboard is a free cloud-based whiteboard that facilitates real-time interaction between connected users.
Jamboard offers a variety of tools for drawing, writing, and annotating, as well as the ability to insert images and files. All your work is saved to the cloud automatically.
It also allows for real-time collaboration and screen sharing, making it a great option for online teaching.
As Jamboard is a part of the Google Workspace, you can pull in work from Docs, Sheets, and Slides and even add photos stored in Drive to your Jamboard!
Also, Jamboard connects to google meet easily, allowing you to have video-calls with your students while editing and writing on a virtual whiteboard.
It is suitable for brainstorms or lectures and allows your students to access it from all kinds of computing and mobile devices.
Availability: Web, iOS, Android.
Pricing: Miro offers a free and premium plans starting at $10 per user per month.
9. Limnu
Limnu offers a quick updating and responsive drawing experience. It is regarded as one of the closest experiences to a real whiteboard.
This virtual whiteboard can be accessed through any web browser and using the whiteboard’s mobile app.
The interface is user-friendly, with menus that are easy to navigate and understand. Limnu provides you with an endless whiteboard space where you can sketch, collaborate, and add images all in one place.
Limnu offers several keyboard shortcuts to speed your workflow. Plus, Having the ability to select and drag options lets anyone rearrange the items on a board without having to erase and rewrite them.
It allows you to create projects, assign tasks to your team members and track progress. Limnu also has a great visual search feature, which allows you to find images that might help you brainstorm ideas visually.
It’s created a tool that incorporates video chat and calling features, along with a board where you can pin topics and notes for easy reference.
The free version comes with basic features like drawing tools, project management tools and scheduling capabilities. Limnu has many more advanced features available with its paid versions which include Security controls, video-conferencing capabilities and more.
Availability: Web and iOS.
Pricing: Free plan with limited features. 14-day unlimited access to whiteboards.
Pro plan at $5 per month. Team plan that includes team boards at $8 per user per month.
10. Conceptboard
Conceptboard is an online whiteboard for business activities, such as collaborating online for remote collaboration on projects, tasks, brainstorming, etc.
It’s got an infinite canvas and improves team collaboration by assigning each user their own labeled and color-coded cursor and drawing tool.
Conceptboard also has a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to add images, documents, videos and other files to the board.
You get tons of visuals like sticky notes and mind map icons, as well as templates.
The free version of Conceptboard allows creating unlimited boards with up to 50 participants per board, with chats, mentions, and a 500MB storage limit.
You can upgrade your account for more enhanced whiteboard features including more storage space, GDPR settings, version history for boards, custom branding, and more.
Since the free version does not enable students to edit the whiteboard, Conceptboard may not be the most conducive online whiteboard for teaching and learning.
It is most suitable for creative teams like graphic design, advertising and creating models.
Availability: Web, iOS, macOS
Pricing: Free Plan, $6 / month for Premium Plan and $9.5/month for Business Plan.
11. Lucidspark
Lucidspark is designed primarily for brainstorming and ideation sessions. You can use it to brainstorm ideas and develop new strategies with your team.
Lucidspark provides real-time collaboration and facilitation features including sticky notes, freeform drawing, comments, tasks, automatic sorting, Breakout Boards, a laser pointer, a timer, and voting.
Users can start with a blank infinite canvas and easily add sticky notes and other shapes, or they can start with templates for brainstorming, mind maps, meetings and workshops, strategic analysis, project planning, and Agile development.
Users can quickly embed PDFs, PNGs, and other files onto the canvas, as well as create presentations and frame-by-frame paths to guide collaborators through content.
Users can export their whiteboards as images or as a Lucidchart diagram, making sharing or incorporating visuals into other documents or presentations easy.
Lucidspark also offers integrations for leading apps like Zoom, Slack, Azure DevOps, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Smartsheet, Confluence, Google Drive, and others.
Lucidspark might look like it’s aimed at corporate users, but anyone can use it – including teachers, educators, creators, live streamers, and others.
Availability: Web, iOS, Android.
Pricing: Lucidspark has a free version with up to 3 editable boards along with add-ons like emojis and freehand drawing. The Paid plans start at $7.95/month.
12. OpenBoard
OpenBoard is an open source cross-platform teaching software for interactive whiteboard designed primarily for use in schools and universities.
OpenBoard has a clean and intuitive interface. It’s laso highly customizable, allowing you to tailor it to your specific needs.
OpenBoard is loaded with features. Such as colours, brushes, texts, simple drawing shapes, built-in web browser, PDF-reading, page support, etc.
Other main features of OpenBoard include support for handwritten input, built-in equation editor, ability to import media files in to the whiteboard, built-in support for recording whiteboard sessions along with audio, ability to livestream whiteboard sessions, and so on.
When writing in the software using your stylus, it is sensitive to the pressure applied to the screen, Making it perfect for beginners and junior students who take notes from online classes.
OpenBoard’s multi-platform support, regular updates, and bug fixes make it a must-have whiteboard app.
Availability: Windows, Mac, Linux.
Pricing: Completely free
Conclusion
In our opinion, these are the top 12 whiteboard apps for Virtual Teaching, Team Collaboration and more. But the list is by no means conclusive. There are a tonne of other whiteboard apps available – Sketchboard, Bitpaper, twiddla, liveboard and more.
Before opting for one of these boards, carefully consider your particular needs and preferences along with the various functions each offers in order to make sure you select the best option for your individual situation.
You should pair it with some free online meeting tools to ensure perfect harmony between your team; that way you can brainstorm, chat, and see each other all at the same time.
Go check it out and start whiteboarding! Do not forget to mention which you choose to use in the comment section below.
FAQs
What is the best free online whiteboard app?
It depends, Here are the 4 famous, most intuitive, simple, free options: Google Jamboard, Microsoft Whiteboard, Whiteboard.fi , OpenBoard.
Additionally, Many online whiteboard app has a free version with limited features.
Can I use a drawing tablet for whiteboard app?
Yes, With the right whiteboard app and a digital writing pen tablet, you can give your teaching, team collaboration and brainstorming experience a serious boost.
pen tablets works well with whiteboard apps. It allow users to draw, sketch, and write digital content in whiteboard app by using a stylus. When you write something, others will see it immediately.
They can also be used for taking notes, creating interactive teaching materials, annotating PDFs and more.
Why use an online whiteboard for Virtual Teaching?
Online whiteboard is a unique internet instructing apparatus that can work both as an unique app or as an integral support of your video conferencing application.
In online teaching the whiteboard has an effective role, where you can compose notes, draw graphs, and cooperate with students.
Teacher collaboration and help maintain students’ attention and interest during sessions. Students can make their own presentations, routines, and so on.
Why use an online whiteboard for Team Collaboration?
An online whiteboard can be an effective tool for managing teams, especially if you have remote or hybrid workers.
Using an online whiteboard allows a team to go beyond the screen-sharing experience and reach a real level of co-creation and collaboration.
Bringing all the attendees of an online meeting together on the same board, on which they can create content and interact in real-time with each other, fosters real collaboration.
Great Article – I’m a big fan of Miro personally but might have to try some others!
+1 for Miro. Easy, fast, lots of visualization tools.