Limnu vs Microsoft Whiteboard (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Microsoft Whiteboard grades higher than Limnu: 3.4 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Microsoft Whiteboard grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Limnu
Freehand online whiteboard for quick sketching with others
Microsoft Whiteboard
Free collaborative canvas built into Microsoft 365 and Teams
Which one is for you
Pick Limnu if
- Fits if you sketch with a stylus or marker and share the board live
- Works for tutors who lead students around a board
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Android or want a desktop app, as none is listed
- Watch out: exports are of the visible area, not the whole board
- Watch out: team security and admin controls are on the Team plan only
- Watch out: the Slack integration is not currently available
- Tight if you need video calls: the free plan has 30 minutes
Pick Microsoft Whiteboard if
- Fits if your meetings are in Teams and you want everyone drawing on one board
- Works for pen users on a Surface Hub or an iPad
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your team isn't on Microsoft 365, because a personal account loses cursors and the recycle bin
- Not for you if you want a desktop app on a Mac or Linux, as Microsoft lists neither
- Too light for detailed diagrams and big workshops, with no voting, no timer and image-only export
- Watch out: at work an admin can switch it off, and Copilot features need a separate license
How we grade them
| 2.6GPALimnuGood | 3.4GPAMicrosoft WhiteboardVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPro is $5 a month billed monthly or $50 a year, at the edge of the cheaper quarter ($5.00). Team is $8 a seat. | AFree, where the rest of this category wants about $8.33 a month. There's nothing to buy with a personal Microsoft account, and at work or school it arrives with your organization's Microsoft 365 tenant. It isn't sold on its own at any price. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe free plan has unlimited collaborators and boards with no cap on the page, limited admin controls and 30 minutes of video. A 14-day test drive of paid features comes first. | AThe web, Windows, iPhone and Android apps are all free with a Microsoft account, and so are the 60-plus templates, with no cap on boards to walk into. Copilot is the one thing that costs extra, needing its own license. |
| Features | CFreehand drawing, leading mode, file markup and an API. Gap the listing shows: export is the visible area only, like a screenshot, not the whole board. | CThe basics of a board: pens, a highlighter, sticky notes, shapes, 60-odd templates and Loop components that stay in sync elsewhere. The listing's gaps are plain, though. Personal-account boards lose collaborative cursors, the laser pointer and the recycle bin, export is an image, and there's no voting or timer. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You draw everything yourself and decide how to lay out the board. | B4.6 from 12,309 App Store ratings. It takes a mouse, a finger or a pen, there are templates to start from, and in Teams it's one click to put a board in front of the whole meeting. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and iOS. The Slack integration is described as being upgraded and unavailable, and there is no Android or desktop app. | ABrowser, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android and Surface Hub, tied into Teams, Loop, OneNote and OneDrive. The hole is Apple and Linux desktops: Microsoft lists no Mac app, so there it runs in a browser or inside Teams. |
| Best for | freehand sketching with other people | sketching together in a Teams meeting |
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: Limnu and Microsoft Whiteboard. How we grade
Price against what you get
Limnu starts at $5 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Microsoft Whiteboard has no paid plan and scores 3.0.
Microsoft Whiteboard scores higher and starts $5 a month lower. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, 8 score higher than Limnu for less, and none scores higher than Microsoft Whiteboard 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
- Microsoft Whiteboard also covers templates.
At a glance
| Limnu | Microsoft Whiteboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $5 per month, billed monthly ($50 billed yearly) | Free |
| Free plan | Free plan with unlimited collaborators, limited admin and security controls and 30 minutes of video conference time. | Free with a personal Microsoft account or a Microsoft 365 work or school account. Boards made with a personal account lack collaborative cursors, the laser pointer and a recycle bin. |
| Free trial | 14-day test drive of Pro or Team features, then the Free plan | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Limnu | Microsoft Corporation |
| Price read from | limnu.com | microsoft.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Limnu
- Exports are of the area visible in the viewport, like a screenshot, not the whole board.
- Team security controls and admin controls are on the Team plan; the Free plan has limited ones.
- Limnu lists a browser and an iOS app; no Android or desktop app appears on the pages we read.
- The Slack integration is described as being upgraded and not currently available.
Microsoft Whiteboard
- Microsoft lists apps for Windows, iOS, Android and Surface Hub but none for Mac or Linux, where Whiteboard runs in a browser or in Teams.
- Boards made with a personal account are stored in Azure and lack collaborative cursors, the laser pointer, the roster, a recycle bin and retention policies.
- Whiteboard is not sold on its own: work and school use depends on the organization's Microsoft 365 tenant, where an admin can turn it off.
- Copilot features need a separate Microsoft Copilot license.
Key features
Limnu
- Freehand drawing
- Boards have no edge boundaries and support markers, shapes, text, sticky notes and stylus or Wacom tablet input.
- Leading mode
- A board admin can lead, so that everyone on the board sees the same area. Leading works in solo-draw and collaboration modes.
- File and image markup
- PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPEG, PNG, GIF and SVG files can be added. They upload as images, one per page, and can be marked up.
- Team controls
- Team plans add admin controls over who can share and invite, and security settings that can restrict boards to an organization.
- Whiteboard API
- A separate API product lets a company embed whiteboards in its own app or website, priced through sales.
Microsoft Whiteboard
- Infinite canvas with ink and sticky notes
- Pens, a highlighter, an eraser and a lasso sit alongside sticky notes, text, images and shapes, and the canvas works with a mouse, a touchscreen or a pen.
- Whiteboard in Microsoft Teams
- A board can be shared in a Teams meeting, chat or channel and stays available afterwards. The meeting organizer can put other participants in read-only mode.
- Templates
- More than 60 free templates give a starting structure for exercises such as brainstorming, sprint planning and project development.
- Loop components
- Microsoft Loop components can be placed on a board and stay in sync with the same component in chats, meetings, emails and documents.
- Copilot in Whiteboard
- Copilot suggests ideas as sticky notes, sorts notes into categories and summarizes a board. It requires a Microsoft Copilot license.
- Automatic saving and share links
- Boards save to the Microsoft cloud automatically, a share link invites others to collaborate, and a board can be exported as an image or sent to a OneNote class notebook.
Plans
Limnu
Free$0
Unlimited collaborators, collaborative or solo-draw boards, limited admin controls and 30 minutes of video conference time.
Pro$5
per month, billed monthly ($50 billed yearly)
For individuals: unlimited boards and collaborators, private and collaborative boards, unlimited video conference time.
Team$8
per team member / month, billed monthly ($80 billed yearly)
Unlimited boards, team or private boards, team security controls and unlimited video conference time.
EnterpriseCustom
Team features plus a customer success manager and a training and onboarding program; sold through sales.
Microsoft Whiteboard
Free$0
The web, Windows, iOS and Android apps with a free Microsoft account. Work and school access comes with an organization's Microsoft 365 tenant, not as a separate purchase.
Ways to pay less
Limnu
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves $10 (Pro) or $16 (Team)
The pricing page shows Pro at $50 a year (save $10) and Team at $80 a year per team member (save $16).
Microsoft Whiteboard
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Limnu or Microsoft Whiteboard?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Microsoft Whiteboard is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $5 a month for Limnu. Limnu starts at $5 per month, billed monthly ($50 billed yearly), and Microsoft Whiteboard is free.
Which has a free plan, Limnu or Microsoft Whiteboard?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Limnu and Microsoft Whiteboard have a free plan.
Which platforms do Limnu and Microsoft Whiteboard run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Microsoft Whiteboard lists Windows and Android apps. Both list a web app and an iOS app. 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.