Explain Everything vs OpenBoard (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, OpenBoard grades higher than Explain Everything: 3.0 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Explain Everything grades higher on platforms. OpenBoard grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Explain Everything
Teaching whiteboard with slides, video recording and collaboration
OpenBoard
Free open-source interactive whiteboard software for classrooms
Which one is for you
Pick Explain Everything if
- Fits if you record whiteboard lessons from an iPad or a browser
- Works for a school that hands out assignments through Canvas, Moodle or Blackboard
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: one slide per project and 3-minute videos run out fast
- Skip it if you want a Mac or Windows app, as none is named
- Watch out: free collaboration is one person for 15 minutes at a time
- Watch out: the $69 educator plan covers one educator account, and schools get custom quotes
- Watch out: deployment through MDM and group settings need the Team plan
Pick OpenBoard if
- Fits if you teach with an interactive whiteboard or a pen tablet and want free software
- Works for a school that wants open-source tools
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want live online collaboration, as none is listed
- Skip it if you want a web or phone version, since only Windows, macOS and Linux are listed
- Not for you if you need paid support, as none is offered
- Watch out: it is community maintained, by the Geneva education department
- Watch out: it is aimed at classrooms, not at office whiteboarding
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAExplain EverythingFair | 3.0GPAOpenBoardVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $7.49 a month billed yearly, between the category's cheaper quarter at $5 and the dearer quarter at $9.99. Education Advanced is $69 a year. | AFree to download and use under the GPLv3 licence, with no registration. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free plan has 3 projects, 1 slide each, 3-minute videos, 500 MB and 15-minute sessions with one collaborator. No card is needed. | AFree outright, with no cap a normal person would reach. |
| Features | CInfinite canvas, video recording and classroom tools. Gaps the listing shows: the free tier's size limits, and larger collaboration needs Team or a school plan. | CHandwriting, annotation and classroom hardware support. It covers the classroom job fully, which is a smaller job than a shared whiteboard, and the site lists no online collaboration. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build lessons slide by slide. | BNo store rating on record, but you install it and start writing with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS and Android, with Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Canvas, Schoology, Moodle and Blackboard listed. No Mac or Windows download is named. | CWindows, macOS and Linux programs only. No web, iOS or Android version is listed. |
| Best for | teachers recording lessons on a whiteboard | a free classroom whiteboard on your own computer |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Explain Everything and OpenBoard. How we grade
Price against what you get
Explain Everything starts at $7.49 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. OpenBoard has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and OpenBoard starts $7.49 a month lower. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, 13 score higher than Explain Everything for less, and none scores higher than OpenBoard for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- OpenBoard is open source, according to its own site.
- Explain Everything also covers screen recording and presentations.
At a glance
| Explain Everything | OpenBoard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $7.49 per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly) | Free |
| Free plan | Up to 3 projects with 1 slide each, 3-minute videos, 500 MB storage and 15-minute sessions for 1 collaborator. | Free and open source under the GPLv3 license, with no registration needed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Promethean | OpenBoard |
| Price read from | explaineverything.com | openboard.ch |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Explain Everything
- The Free plan allows 3 projects with a single slide each, 3-minute videos and 15-minute collaboration sessions.
- Group-wide settings, license deployment through MDM and larger collaboration need the Team plan or a custom school plan.
- The pricing page lists iPads, iPhones, Chromebooks, Android devices and a browser app, with no separate Mac or Windows download named.
- Schools buy custom plans with volume pricing; the $69 Advanced plan covers one educator account.
OpenBoard
- Desktop only: the site lists Windows, macOS and Linux and no web, iOS or Android version.
- Built around classroom teaching; there is no real-time online collaboration listed on the site.
- Community-maintained with no paid support plan listed.
Key features
Explain Everything
- Infinite-canvas whiteboard
- All plans include the whiteboarding tools and an infinite canvas that takes PDFs, documents, images, presentations, audio and video.
- Video recording
- A project can be recorded as a video tutorial. Length is capped at 3 minutes on the free plan and unlimited on paid plans.
- Collaboration
- People can work in one project at the same time or at different times. Session length and group size depend on the plan.
- Classroom tools
- Education plans add polling, a timer and a spinner, and school plans can hand out assignments through Canvas, Schoology, Moodle and Blackboard.
- Projection and broadcast
- The whiteboard can be shown on a second display or shared into a video meeting app.
OpenBoard
- Works with classroom hardware
- Can be used with an interactive whiteboard, in a dual-screen setup with a pen-tablet display and projector, or on a computer alone.
- Handwriting and annotation
- Teachers can write and annotate a course with a pen tablet, an interactive whiteboard or a mouse.
- Windows, macOS and Linux
- The project lists all three desktop systems as supported.
- Community maintained
- Code is on GitHub; the site says the Education Department of the canton of Geneva currently maintains it.
Plans
Explain Everything
Free$0
Up to 3 projects, 1 slide per project, 3-minute videos, 500 MB cloud storage, 1-on-1 collaboration for up to 15 minutes.
Pro$7.49
per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly)
Unlimited projects and slides, unlimited video length, 20 GB storage, up to 8 people collaborating with no time limit, email support.
Team$7.49
per user / month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly)
Pro limits for a company, plus team settings, shared folders, 20 GB pooled storage per person and a choice of data region.
Education Advanced$69
per year
For educators: unlimited projects, slides and video length, Promethean polling, timer and spinner, 7.5 GB storage, 30-minute collaboration.
OpenBoard
Free$0
The full software, free to download and use under GPLv3.
Ways to pay less
Explain Everything
- Education
Education plans for teachers and schools
The pricing page has a separate Plans for Education view with an Advanced plan at $69 per year and custom pricing for schools and districts.
OpenBoard
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Explain Everything or OpenBoard?
As of Nov 12, 2026, OpenBoard is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $7.49 a month for Explain Everything. Explain Everything starts at $7.49 per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly), and OpenBoard is free.
Which has a free plan, Explain Everything or OpenBoard?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Explain Everything and OpenBoard have a free plan.
Which platforms do Explain Everything and OpenBoard run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Explain Everything lists a web app and iOS and Android apps and only OpenBoard lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.