5 Microsoft Whiteboard Alternatives

A C.A. by profession and a tech enthusiast by passion, Gaurav loves tinkering with new tech and gadgets. He used to build WordPress websites but gave it all up to develop little iOS games instead. Finally, he dropped out of CA to pursue his love for tech. He has over 5 years of experience as a writer covering Android, iOS, and Windows platforms and writes how-to guides, comparisons, listicles, and explainers for B2B and B2C apps and services. He currently divides his time between Guiding Tech (writer) and Tech Wiser (editor).

Afam has been a content writer with Guiding Tech Media since August 2023. However, his experience in tech writing dates back to 2018, when he worked as a freelance writer for Make Tech Easier. Over the years, he has grown a reputation for publishing quality guides, reviews, tips, and explainer articles. His work is featured on top websites, including Technical Ustad, Windows Report, and Next of Windows. He has training as a Microsoft Certified Professional and has covered more Microsoft-related guides on these platforms.

1. DrawPile – Free Cross-Platform Alternative

DrawPile is an open-source, free whiteboard app available on Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. At its heart, It is a sketching tool with collaboration features. Inviting is a different story. You will need to share your external IP address and password for that. However, it is excellent if you need to host a collaborative session.

It has the unique ability to record your screen while you are collaborating with others on the whiteboard. This can help you understand the process and be used for reference later. You can save the recording as a video or a series of images.

Pros

Cons

Price:Free

Download DrawPile

2. Draw.Chat – Free Collaborative Drawing

One of the main features of Draw.Chat is the messaging feature that allows you to text other participants. You can also send audio and video messages, which are even cooler than verbose text explanations. Recently, the app’s developers added a video conferencing feature.

This service allows you to upload documents in several formats, including PDF, PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG, and WebP images. Large files are transferable in chats without restrictions.

Draw.Chat has many drawing tools that can be too much for Microsoft Whiteboard alternative seekers, but many will find these options useful. The best part is that no registration is required, and you get 10MB of cloud storage, where you can save whiteboards for up to 1 month before downloading them. There are plenty of keyboard shortcuts to make your life easy.

Two exciting features include the ability to draw/highlight on maps and annotate PDF files. The app is completely free, and you can create multiple whiteboards simultaneously.

Pros

Cons

Price:Free

Use Draw.Chat

3. Miro (Earlier RealtimeBoard) – Great for Mobile Devices

Miro is a platform-agnostic professional whiteboard app that works on desktops and smartphones. You can begin with a blank whiteboard or choose a template based on your needs. Miro’s UI is very polished, and there are many elements that you can add to a whiteboard.

You can drag and drop every element wherever you want. You can also zoom and pan around the board. Team members can chat with each other using text, audio, and video or just share a screen inside Miro.

You can also connect third-party apps like Slack, Drive, Teams,andTrello. TheMiro Marketplaceoffers all sorts of plugins for extra functionality. Enterprise users will be happy to know that there are administrative controls for users with permission to control the workflow.

Miro has a free plan for up to 3 whiteboards and some basic stuff to try out. Meanwhile, the paid version, at $8/month, unlocks several features such as larger team support, collaboration, private whiteboards, and more.

Pros

Cons

Price:Free plan, Paid plans start from $8/month per member

Download Miro

4. Explain Everything – Robust Reat-time Collaboration

Explain Everything works like the whiteboard option in Zoom or Meet, where you create a whiteboard, send an invite code to others, and enjoyother functionalities. There are no desktop apps, but it works on any browser and has dedicated mobile apps. It also supports audio and video recording.

You can share the finished video with anyone so those who couldn’t attend the whiteboard-sharing session can watch it instead. The video can be created using a mix of media file types, such as PDF files, audio or video messages, and, of course, all the elements that you will use on the whiteboard itself.

You can save the whiteboard in PDF or some popular image formats besides the video format. Like Miro, this Microsoft Whiteboard alternative integrates with many cloud storage apps. It is free for up to 3 projects, and pricing begins at $7.49 monthly.

Pros

Cons

Price:Free plan, Paid plans start from $7.49/month

Download Explain Everthing

5. Conceptboard – Great for Teamwork

Conceptboard is an online whiteboard designed to supercharge teamwork. It allows you to brainstorm ideas, collaborate on projects, and centralize documentation.

You can see everyone’s edits and movements in real-time with live cursors. This is great for fostering a sense of presence and shared purpose. It offers an infinite canvas that ensures you never run out of space, allowing you to zoom out for the big picture or zoom in for detail work.

This service also ensures that you can upload and annotate a wide range of multimedia files—images, PDFs, videos—directly on the board, keeping everything centralized and accessible.

Pros

Cons

Price:Free trial, Paid plans start from $6 per user/month

Use Conceptboard

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Last updated on 23 July, 2024

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