The 5 best online whiteboards in 2022
Office job has returned, but it is not the same as before. This indicates that equipment such as the whiteboard, a fixture in classrooms and conference rooms, have gone digital. Collaboration that is quick, simple, and visual is too crucial not to have a virtual option.
Obviously, the usage of whiteboards by, for example, a product sprint team and a high school Calculus teacher is entirely different. I evaluated dozens of online whiteboards to determine which ones were best for a range of purposes. I’ve been working remotely as a tech writer for about a decade, so I have a great deal of experience testing apps and using online collaborative tools. I would be delighted to work with any of these picks.
The 5 best online whiteboards
- Dojoit for being the fastest online whiteboard.
- Miro for turning ideas into tasks.
- Stormboard for creating multiple whiteboards in a single brainstorming session.
- MURAL for big remote team meetings.
- Limnu for teaching students remotely.
What makes a great online whiteboard?
If you need to sketch out some ideas for your team, you can use almost any sketch or design app as a digital whiteboard. You could even use MS Paint to share your screen during a conference call. But that doesn’t mean they are the best tools for the job.
In the same way, most online meeting software and office suites come with a whiteboard. Zoom has Zoom Whiteboard, Microsoft Teams has Microsoft Whiteboard, which is also a separate app, and Webex, you guessed it, has a feature called Whiteboard. (Google’s whiteboard product is called Jamboard, which is a bit more creative than the other names.) But if you’re reading this article, you probably don’t want to use these built-in tools or you need a more advanced or specific online whiteboard tool. So, when I made this list, I only looked at digital whiteboards that were made for that purpose. I didn’t include any apps that could be used as digital whiteboards or said they could be.
There are a few key features that I felt a great online whiteboard had to have:
- Unlimited canvas. Whiteboards in their physical form may be limited in size, but digital versions need not be. I looked into various whiteboarding apps with an infinite, dynamic canvas to support any direction your visualizations might take.
- Collaboration features. Whether it’s a physical or virtual whiteboard, using one is frequently a group effort. I needed every one of these programs to support simultaneous user input, so that’s why they made the cut. Depending on the app, team members can work together in private, while anyone can leave comments or make notes by sharing a link or a code.
- Ability to attach files. There shouldn’t be any restrictions on what you can write on your digital whiteboard. To facilitate simple reference, I thought it would be helpful to be able to add files, photographs, and links to your online whiteboard.
- Presentation options. Since whiteboards are frequently used for both brainstorming and presenting, I sought out functionalities that made it possible to do the latter right on the whiteboard itself. Your whiteboard may have a presentation mode or you could export it online.
- Accessible everywhere. Whether you’re brainstorming on your own or putting together a project with a group, you might find it convenient to be able to write on the whiteboard from anywhere in the room. This necessitated its availability online, preferably via mobile devices.
I began my search for the finest online whiteboards by compiling a list of every relevant software that I could discover and then evaluating each one using the criteria that were presented earlier in this paragraph. When I saw an app that seemed like it would be able to match those requirements, I tested it to see how easy it was to use. The particulars of the testing vary on the app, but in general, it consisted of registering for an account and creating a few different whiteboards to observe how everything functioned, in addition to testing any features that were particularly noteworthy or distinctive. A great number of applications were rejected at this stage because they were just unpleasant to use. It is impossible not to notice the differences between a web application of the highest quality and one that has poor coding.
After that, I went back and gave the leading candidates another try. I also compared the apps to one another. When two or more apps had a feature set that was relatively similar, I chose the app that provided a superior overall user experience, had more flexible pricing options, or was the more developed product.
At the conclusion of the evaluation process, I was able to narrow my choices down to my top five applications, in addition to a few other contenders that, for one reason or another, did not quite make the cut. They are presented here.
Dojoit | Fastest Visual Collaboration Web Whiteboard
Dojoit’s visual collaboration whiteboard canvas supports real-time ideation for teams small and large. Engage everyone for easy mind-mapping, brain-netting, and more.
Dojoit.com makes it easy and fast to collaborate in real-time.
The fastest online whiteboard tool. You’ll adore Dojoit.
Key Features of Dojoit.
Dashboard board creation is required. Then, add a collaborator. They’ll be invited immediately. Any contributor can be a viewer. You can see and mute everyone’s pointers in real time.
Anyone with the board’s URL can seek access to illustrations.
Simple!
Dojoit is straightforward. Here’s a mind map with some fan-made images.
Easy texting. Start typing wherever the mouse pointer is on the board. The tool palette has shape-drawing tools. Auto shape makes drawing shapes faster.
Auto shape automatically makes excellent hand-drawn lines and forms when you use the pen tool and sketch. Auto shape eliminates tool switching. Type and draw frictionlessly.
Image uploads are rapid. Drag and drop a picture or PDF/PPT file. Move and resize the image as needed.
Duplicating board objects: Dojoit.com has made it super-easy. Select one or more objects and click the arrows to replicate them.
Dojoit provides add-ons that help you converse even faster. Examples include
- Icons
- Stickers
- Wireframe
- Elements
- Templates.
Drag an icon to illustrate an idea quickly. You may add a sticker to the board to give kudos to your team. You can pan left, right/top/bottom to give yourself more room on this infinite canvas.
Dojoit.com has simple sticky notes. Add a post-it. Select sticky note from the tool palette. Insert by clicking.
You can lock any board object to prevent inadvertent deletion or movement. Click the lock icon to lock an object.
You can add files to the board and extract them to collaborate. Drag a file onto the board. Click the right-side gear icon and render all pages. The document will be projected. This works for PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and PDF.
Use Dojoit’s publish feature to share a snapshot of your board without asking others to log in. Dojoit generates a unique public URL that you may post on social media.
It’s easy to construct a web page or App UI wireframe for anything. Dojoit.com, the easiest online whiteboard program, requires no code.
Learn how to collect ideas, discuss them in real-time, and publish your work.
I love Dojoit. Since utilizing it, I’ve stopped using online digital whiteboards. Dojoit.com
Dojoit has the smallest learning curve. Even non-technical persons and kids of all classes can use it well after one day of learning. You may fall in love with its simplicity immediately. The #edtech world has waited for this technology. No kidding. Test it.
Dojoit — Love to Live it.
Online whiteboard for turning ideas into tasks
Miro (Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android)
Miro is mobile and web-based. Start with a blank whiteboard or choose from a vast list of templates (UX design, customer mapping, retrospective). You can add as many templates as you wish to a board, zooming and scrolling with your mouse, trackpad, or touchscreen. Then drag-and-drop shapes, text, and notes.
If you want extra features, visit the Miro marketplace, which has a list of apps you can integrate, such as updating Miro cards in your Airtable base or adding a voting plugin.
Miro goes beyond brainstorming. It provides tools to help managers guide the ideation-to-implementation process. Miro’s UI lets you monitor changes, assign tasks, and chat with team members. If you want to present your brainstorming findings, you’ll adore how easy it is to select and drag a part of the board to create “frames” (You can also use screen sharing so everyone can see your screen and hear your voice.)
Miro’s Zapier connectors add further functionality. Create a Miro card for every task, spreadsheet entry, or form submission.
Miro pricing: Free for three editable boards; from $10/user/month for the Team plan that includes unlimited boards and integrations with Jira and Asana.
Online whiteboard for creating multiple boards in a single brainstorming session
Stormboard (Web, iOS, Android)
Stormboard is a great sticky-note-style ideation tool. Anyone can place notes, index cards, and videos onto the board. Stormboard’s free edition was one of our favorite mind mapping tools. If you pay extra, each digital sticky note can have its own whiteboard, allowing for brainstorming and collaboration. Once you build a new Storm, you can add ideas. Any sticky note may become a real-time collaborative whiteboard.
Stormboard tackles a significant difficulty in brainstorming or collaborative meetings: how to store each iteration for simple review and revision. Mouse-drag whiteboard notes to organize. Board members can vote, chat, and assign duties.
Stormboard works with Zapier, so you can automate whiteboarding based on other apps’ activities. Stormboard can communicate ideas, comments, and tasks to other apps instantly.
Stormboard pricing: Free for the Personal account that includes 5 open Storms and 5 collaborators per Storm; from $10/user/month for the Business plan that includes unlimited open Storms.
Online whiteboard for big remote team meetings
MURAL (Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android)
The MURAL canvas may hold numerous whiteboard sections, comparable to Photoshop artboards. Each whiteboard can have a blank white background or pre-built grids and content boxes. Many templates include instructions and facilitator guidelines, making MURAL easy to use.
MURAL is a great collaboration tool because you can build many “rooms” with various permissions. One area for design, another for marketing, etc. Create project-specific rooms.
Remote teams who use MURAL for meetings (like Zapier) will adore the digital timers and chat bubbles. Remote team sessions make genuine feedback difficult. I loved MURAL’s timed voting, where you may give each collaborator a certain number of votes. Click a whiteboard object to vote. Automatically tallying anonymous votes.
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.
MURAL pricing: Free for 3 murals with unlimited members, from $12/user/month for the Team+ plan.
Online whiteboard for teaching students remotely
Limnu (Web)
If you’re used to having a physical whiteboard for your presentations and brainstorming sessions and are reluctant to go all-in on digital, you might lean toward Limnu. It feels so much like a real whiteboard that you can almost smell the markers. (Just make sure to practice writing with your mouse or trackpad!)
But Limnu does a lot more than give realistic marker drawings: it also includes collaboration features that make the jump to teaching online feel much easier. To invite others to view your board, click on the share icon and copy/paste the link. You can even limit their permissions to view-only, if you want. Since your virtual students don’t need to go through a lengthy signup process to join your whiteboard, you don’t have to worry as much about tech headaches blocking your teaching session.
Limnu pricing: Free plan available with 14-day access to whiteboards; from $5/month for the Pro plan; $8/user/month for the Team plan that includes team boards
Which virtual whiteboard should I use?
The best whiteboard app depends on the features your team desires. If you don’t require anything unique, utilize the one integrated into Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, or Google Meet.
Dedicated whiteboard software with additional integrations, advanced functionality, and customization may be a better fit. All give a terrific collaborative whiteboard experience.
Maria Myre published this in March 2019. In May 2022, apps were last reviewed.
