FigJam by Figma: Greatest for pleasant design

Figma, a collaborative interface design utility firm, launched FigJam (Determine A) in 2021. FigJam helps drawing instruments, shapes, stickers, notes, textual content, connectors and stamps, together with part and desk administration options. You might also import photos or insert hyperlinks to internet assets, together with shared Google Drive information. Cursor chat permits an ephemeral dialog with collaborators that disappears if you exit the mode, whereas the remark system permits standard feedback on content material wherever on the board. FigJam provides a number of extra options than Jamboard, delivered with a cleanly designed person interface, as you may anticipate.

Figma’s possession deserves point out since Adobe, a inventive content material large, introduced an settlement to accumulate Figma in September 2022; nevertheless, the deal was terminated in December 2023. Whereas possession doesn’t immediately have an effect on product options, the truth that Figma as soon as sought to merge with a bigger firm might sign a long run potential for acquisition.

Pricing

Figma provides 4 FigJam pricing plans: Starter, Skilled, Group and Enterprise.

• Starter, which is free and allows you to create as much as three Figma and three FigJam information, with limitless private information and limitless collaborators, amongst different options.
• Skilled, $3 per editor/month billed yearly ($36/yr per person), contains all Starter options and provides limitless FigJam information, open periods, sharing permissions, staff libraries, voting and extra. College students and educators might entry this version without cost.
• Group, $60 per editor per yr, contains all Profesional options plus organization-wide libraries, centralized content material administration, unified admin and billing choices, and extra.
• Enterprise, $60 per editor per yr, contains all Group options, plus devoted workspaces, superior design programs and visitor entry controls, together with many different person administration and safety features.

Miro: Greatest for enterprise integrations

Miro (Determine B), previously generally known as RealtimeBoard, supplies a sturdy set of options all centered round visible collaboration. Customary drawing instruments can be found to attract, add shapes (together with flowchart and Unified Modeling Language symbols), sticky notes and textual content, together with many templates. Miro additionally permits you to add an enormous number of content material sorts, together with photos, spreadsheets, tables, kanban, code blocks, charts, diagrams and extra. Timer, voting, chat, video chat and notes allow you to collaborate with others in numerous methods in your board content material.

Miro permits you to current your board to different folks a number of methods. The Talktrack function permits you to document a video together with your webcam (inset in a circle on the display screen) as you navigate and talk about the board. The ensuing video is saved and could also be shared. Alternatively, chances are you’ll current both your entire board, which hides many menus to emphasise your content material or current frames, which lets you outline and navigate chosen sections of content material so as. Enterprise and Enterprise editions provide entry to facilitation instruments to help actions resembling voting and including sticky notes or reactions.

Pricing

Miro provides 4 pricing plans for skilled use: Free, Starter, Enterprise and Enterprise.

• Free, which incorporates one workspace with three editable boards, 5 Talktracks, entry to templates and help for integrations.
• Starter, $96 per member per yr paid yearly. This plan provides limitless boards, high-resolution exports, collaboration with limitless guests on public boards, limitless Talktracks, limitless venture folders, Personal Mode sticky notes, model historical past, assembly options (e.g., timers, voting and video chat) and personal boards.
• Enterprise, $192 per member per yr paid yearly. This plan contains all Starter options, plus limitless boards for each staff and consumer, safe collaboration with limitless visitors on personal and staff boards, superior form entry, enhanced assembly options (e.g., breakouts and voting) and extra.
• Enterprise, which requires contacting gross sales for pricing. This plan contains all Enterprise options plus added safety, compliance, administration and reporting capabilities, together with premium help.

College students, educators and academic establishments might entry completely different Miro pricing plans.

• Scholar accounts are free and help as much as 10 staff members, availability for 2 years, limitless boards, one workspace with limitless tasks, limitless exterior guests, amongst different options.
• Educator accounts are free endlessly and help all pupil options, plus help for as much as 100 staff members, together with entry to coaching and discussion board assets.
• Establishment accounts can be found at a 50% low cost from commonplace pricing and embrace all pupil and educator options, plus extra administrative and person administration options, together with help.

SEE: Easy methods to use Miro as your whiteboard in a digital assembly

Lucidspark by Lucid Software program: Greatest for experimental AI

Lucidspark (Determine C) supplies a board on which you’ll draw and add photos, shapes, sticky notes, textual content and features. The feedback and process system lets board collaborators not solely touch upon particular board content material but in addition assign work to a colleague. To assist clarification, chances are you’ll outline body areas and designate paths, in order to indicate sections of the board in sequence. Visible actions templates help numerous kinds of sorting, ranking and board engagement, together with extra timer and voting instruments.

Lucidspark additionally provides menu customization and an experimental AI function. Customise the left-side on-screen menu with a Software pinning function to indicate solely the choices you choose. For instance, in the event you not often want Jira integration, chances are you’ll unpin that possibility and it’ll not show on-screen, though you should still entry it from the Extra menu. And a Collaborative AI possibility generates concepts from an entered immediate. For instance, a immediate of “Greatest options of Lucidspark” created a 3×3 set of sticky notes, every crammed with two or three phrases describing options resembling “Built-in Video Chat,” “Seamless Integrations” and “Presentation mode.”

Pricing

There are 4 Lucidspark plans: Free, Particular person, Staff and Enterprise.

• Free, which incorporates three editable boards, limitless shapes, drawing, emoji reactions, commenting, presentation mode, primary visible actions to assemble suggestions and combination outcomes, amongst different options.
• Particular person, $7.95 per person per 30 days billed yearly ($95.40/yearly per person). This plan provides limitless editable boards, 1 GB of storage, premium visible actions to assemble suggestions and combination outcomes, and extra.
• Staff, three staff person licenses for $27 per 30 days billed yearly ($324/yearly for the three licenses, which is $108/person per yr). This plan provides superior controls for visible actions, chat, revision historical past and versioning, voting, a timer and facilitator instruments, amongst different options.
• Enterprise licenses require contacting gross sales. This plan provides entry to Lucidchart for diagramming and provides Staff Areas, many app integrations and entry to numerous person administration and safety features.

Educators might entry a variant of the Staff plan without cost; this supplies academics and college students entry to the cellular app and lots of Staff options at no cost. An elective improve to a paid staff plan for schooling provides centralized account administration, audit logs and entry to precedence help.

Microsoft Whiteboard: Greatest without cost use

Microsoft Whiteboard (Determine D) is free, but it surely does require a Microsoft account to view, create or collaborate on boards; subsequently, this feature might take advantage of sense for people or organizations who already use different Microsoft providers, resembling Microsoft 365.

Microsoft Whiteboard provides a regular set of instruments that features a pen, highlighter, ruler, notes, emoji-style reactions, textual content and shapes. You might also add photos to a board. Plus, Microsoft Whiteboard provides numerous templates for all types of brainstorming, planning, assembly and studying actions. You might customise the board background colour and choose from a set of 9 background grid designs. And there’s an included timer. Share the hyperlink to present collaborators entry to all of those instruments, too.

Pricing

Microsoft Whiteboard is free, though you have to check in with a Microsoft account to make use of it. A Microsoft account could also be obtained without cost.

Zoom Whiteboard: Greatest for Zoom conferences

The Zoom conferencing platform provides Zoom Whiteboard (Determine E), which can be used both with an online assembly or individually. For anybody with an present Zoom account, Zoom Whiteboard deserves consideration.

Zoom Whiteboard provides numerous templates for brainstorming, diagramming, assembly, schooling or leisure; or, chances are you’ll merely create a brand new clean board. The system contains instruments resembling pens, shapes, traces, textual content, sticky notes and feedback. You might add photos and PDFs to your board or add a thoughts map, desk, kanban board or playing cards. Specifically, playing cards allow you to assign duties and monitor each dates and process standing. Zoom boards additionally allow you to create a number of pages. As a presentation support, chances are you’ll add frames round your board content material, then set up and current the frames in sequence. The timer and laser pointer could also be helpful throughout displays or collaborations as effectively.

Pricing

Three Zoom Whiteboard editions can be found: Whiteboard Fundamental, Whiteboard and Whiteboard Plus.

• Whiteboard Fundamental, which is included with Zoom One Fundamental and Zoom One Professional, contains three concurrent editable boards owned and 25 MB of storage, together with all core drawing, annotation, picture and collaboration options.
• Whiteboard, $24.90 per person per yr, and could also be added to both the Zoom One Fundamental or Zoom One Professional plan. This plan provides limitless concurrent editable boards owned and 1 GB of storage, together with model historical past and momentary lock options plus shared folders and private labels.
• Whiteboard Plus, $70 per person per yr and could also be added to both Zoom One Fundamental or Zoom One Professional plans, provides limitless storage and help for private and organizational templates. Additionally, Zoom Whiteboard Plus is included as a part of Zoom Rooms plans.

SEE: Easy methods to use the brand new Zoom Whiteboard for hybrid conferences

Apple Freeform: Greatest for Apple gadget customers

Freeform (Determine F), a visible collaboration instrument by Apple, is included with present units that run iOS, iPadOS and macOS. The app is free, though solely individuals who use Apple units might use it. For instance, Freeform could be a superb possibility for a classroom the place a trainer and college students all use iPadOS or macOS units, however wouldn’t be appropriate for a state of affairs the place collaborators may use Home windows, ChromeOS or Android units.

Freeform provides quite a few writing and drawing kinds, together with a pen, pencil, highlighter, crayon, ink and watercolor choices. On units that help an Apple pencil, chances are you’ll leverage the system’s built-in handwriting recognition system, Scribble, to transform pencil strokes into textual content. Freeform permits you to add notes, hyperlinks, shapes and typed textual content. You might use a digicam to seize a photograph or add a picture, video, audio file or PDF to a board. Freeform works offline, so you need to use it to seize concepts nearly wherever. Freeform permits as much as 100 folks to collaborate on a board, and it could be used with Messages or FaceTime.

Pricing

Freeform is accessible as one of many default apps on all fashionable Apple units, together with iPhone, iPad and macOS programs.