TL;DR: Microsoft Whiteboard fits Microsoft 365 tenants that want a board at $0 extra on the suite. Excalidraw fits teams that will sketch on a free web/OSS board without Miro seats. Miro fits companies that will pay Starter at $8/member/mo annual after a 3-board Free cap. FigJam fits Figma teams that can use Free file caps or a cheap Collab seat instead of a full editor seat.
Whiteboard software is an infinite canvas for workshops, diagrams and retros. It is not a full design system (Figma Design) and not project management.
Every entry uses the same fields: published pricing, board/file caps, Microsoft/Figma bundle and the main limitation. The order below is not a quality ranking. $0 boards first. Paid collaboration suites follow.
Whiteboard software compared at a glance
| Provider | Published pricing | Free cap | Best for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Whiteboard | Included with Microsoft 365 / free consumer app on whiteboard.office.com | Suite-gated, not a Miro 3-board meter | Teams already in Microsoft 365 | Visit β |
| Excalidraw | Free web app. Plus/team on plus.excalidraw.com | OSS/web is free. Plus adds privacy and team features | Lightweight diagrams without a seat tax | Visit β |
| Miro | Free. Starter $8/member/mo annual ($10 monthly). Business higher. Enterprise quote | Free: 3 editable boards | Workshop-heavy companies | Visit β |
| FigJam | Free Starter file caps on figma.com/pricing. Full/Professional seats and $3 Collab seats on current FigJam cards β confirm live | Free: limited FigJam files per team | Teams already in Figma | Visit β |
Miro Starter $8 annual per member was read from miro.com/pricing coverage on 19 September 2026. FigJam seat types moved with Figmaβs 2025β26 packaging β count Collab vs Full seats on the live grid.
Two boards can stay at $0. Miro and FigJam sell seats when the third board or extra file appears.
Seats times workshops
Twenty-four people on Miro Starter annual is 24 Γ $8, not $8. FigJamβs cheaper Collab seat exists so facilitators are not buying full Design seats. Microsoft Whiteboard ignores that worksheet if you already pay 365.
The four providers in detail
1. Microsoft Whiteboard
INCLUDED WITH 365
Best for: organisations that already live in Teams and do not want a second whiteboard invoice.
| Published pricing | App is free to use; commercial features follow the Microsoft 365 plan you already buy |
| Free cap | Not Miroβs three-board meter. Tenant policy is the real gate |
| Bundle | Teams, OneDrive, compliance stack |
| Free plan / trial | Consumer/free app plus M365 inclusion |
| Main limitation | Template and facilitation depth is not Miroβs marketplace |
- Start here if the workshop is a Teams meeting.
- Do not buy Miro Starter only to duplicate a 365 board.
- Admin retention policies belong in the tenant, not the canvas.
2. Excalidraw
OSS CANVAS
Best for: engineers and small teams who want a fast sketch tool without a per-member workshop suite.
| Published pricing | excalidraw.com is free. Plus/team paid on plus.excalidraw.com |
| Free cap | Web/OSS usage. Plus is privacy, rooms and team controls |
| Bundle | None. Embeds and files live where you put them |
| Free plan / trial | Permanent free web app |
| Main limitation | Not an enterprise workshop OS. Facilitation, voting and Jira two-way are Miro/FigJam stories |
- Use Excalidraw for architecture sketches and docs embeds.
- Buy Plus when you need private rooms, not stickers.
- Self-host is an ops project if you go that route.
3. Miro
$8 STARTER AFTER THREE BOARDS
Best for: companies running regular workshops that will pay per member for unlimited/private boards.
| Published pricing | Free. Starter $8/member/mo annual ($10 monthly). Business is the SSO/guest/integration row. Enterprise quote |
| Free cap | 3 editable boards. Templates exist; private boards do not |
| Bundle | Standalone. Jira/two-way and Engage sit higher |
| Free plan / trial | Permanent Free + 14-day paid trial language |
| Main limitation | Everyone who edits is a seat. Visitors are not a substitute for members on Starter math |
- Stay Free until the fourth board is required.
- Count facilitators and regular editors, not the whole company Slack.
- Business is the row if SSO and two-way Jira are the brief.
4. FigJam
FIGMA WHITEBOARD
Best for: product orgs already in Figma that want the workshop next to the file.
| Published pricing | figma.com/pricing β Free Starter with FigJam file caps. Paid Full seats and a lower Collab seat (about $3/user/mo annual in 2026 reads) for FigJam-only people |
| Free cap | Limited FigJam files per team plus personal drafts |
| Bundle | Figma Design is a different, dearer seat |
| Free plan / trial | Permanent Free with file caps |
| Main limitation | Do not buy 24 Professional Design seats to run a retro |
- Put editors on Collab seats when they only need FigJam.
- If you are not in Figma, Miro or Whiteboard is the cleaner buy.
- AI credit caps on Free are not unlimited facilitation.
Kurums Match: which one fits your situation
We already pay Microsoft 365
Microsoft Whiteboard first.
We sketch diagrams, not 40-person workshops
Excalidraw. Plus if rooms must be private.
Workshops are a weekly ritual
Miro Starter, counted by editors.
Design already lives in Figma
FigJam with Collab seats for non-designers.
Buying tip: count people who edit every week. Multiply by the live seat. That number, not βMiro is $8,β is the comparison.
How this comparison was put together
Vendor pricing pages, 19 September 2026. FigJam Collab vs Full packaging flagged as confirm-live. No paid placement. Kurums did not run a 20-person workshop on all four.
Order is $0 board first. No badge reflects a commercial relationship.
Frequently asked questions
Is Miro Free usable?
For three boards. The fourth board is Starter.
Can FigJam replace Figma Design?
No. Different seat, different job.
Does Whiteboard work without Teams?
The app exists. The value is the 365/Teams bundle.
Did we test lag on large boards?
No. Duplicate your heaviest board on a trial.
Discover more from Kurums | Business Intelligence
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
