Lucidspark vs Sketchboard (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Sketchboard grades higher than Lucidspark: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Sketchboard grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Lucidspark
Virtual whiteboard for team brainstorming and workshops
Sketchboard
Online whiteboard for diagrams, sketches and team planning
Which one is for you
Pick Lucidspark if
- Fits if your team is remote and runs brainstorms and workshops on a board
- Works for teams already on Lucidchart, which comes bundled on Enterprise
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, as you only get 3 editable boards
- Skip it if you want voting and timers on the $9 plan, since they start at Team, $10 a user
- Not for you if you want the iOS app on Free or Individual, which get sent to the browser
- Watch out: the 7-day trial asks for payment details, and monthly prices aren't published
- Pricey if you need breakout boards, SAML or the Jira and Azure DevOps links, which are Enterprise only at a quoted price
Pick Sketchboard if
- Fits if your team draws system and UML diagrams together
- Works for small teams that want a cheap whiteboard with free viewers
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 3 editable boards and 5 users
- Skip it if you need SSO or team-level access rights, which are Business only
- Pricey if your team grows: extra editors cost $5 or $6 a month each
- Skip it if you want apps, as only the browser version is listed
How we grade them
| 2.4GPALucidsparkFair | 2.6GPASketchboardGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CIndividual is $9 a month billed annually and Team $10 a user, which is the dearer half of this category without being extreme. Watch which one you need, though: voting, the timer, guests and revision history all start at Team, and the page quotes no monthly rate at all. | B$6 a month for 1 editor ($60 yearly), and $20 for 5 editors on Team, which is about $4 a head. The category's cheaper quarter starts at $5. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree forever with unlimited shapes per board, freehand drawing, commenting, presentation mode and Lucid AI. The wall is the board count: 3 editable boards, which is a fortnight of retros. The 7-day trial of the paid plans asks for payment details at sign-up. | CThe free plan has 3 editable boards and up to 5 users. You'll hit the board cap. |
| Features | BThe whiteboard job is covered: sticky notes, shapes, freehand drawing and mind maps on an infinite canvas, Gather and Sort to tidy up afterwards, Visual Activities to collect a group's input, and AI that sorts notes into themes. Voting, timers and facilitator controls wait for Team. | BInfinite canvas, shape libraries, real-time collaboration, templates and sharing controls. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core whiteboard job. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. The template gallery covers retros, sprint planning and roadmaps, so you're not facing a blank board, but this is still a workshop you set up: boards to build, people to invite, and the facilitation tools sitting on a higher plan. | CNo store rating on record. It's a web app where the work is drawing the board. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Jira and Confluence hooked up and a developer platform from Team. There's no desktop app at all, and the iOS app needs a Team or Enterprise subscription. | BWeb only, but it connects to Teams, Slack, GitHub, Webex and Google Drive. |
| Best for | team brainstorms and workshops on a shared board | diagrams and retros on an infinite canvas |
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: Lucidspark and Sketchboard. How we grade
Price against what you get
Lucidspark starts at $9 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Sketchboard starts at $6 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Sketchboard starts $3 a month lower. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, 8 score higher than Lucidspark for less, and 5 score higher than Sketchboard 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
- Lucidspark also covers templates.
- Sketchboard also covers diagrams.
At a glance
| Lucidspark | Sketchboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per month, billed annually | $6 per month for 1 editor, billed monthly ($60 billed yearly) |
| Free plan | 3 editable Lucidspark boards with unlimited shapes per board, freehand drawing, emoji reactions, commenting, basic Visual Activities, presentation mode and Lucid AI. | Free plan with 3 editable boards and up to 5 users; boards are backed up daily on every plan. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Individual or Team; payment details are required at sign-up | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Lucid Software Inc. | Sketchboard |
| Price read from | lucid.app | sketchboard.io |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Lucidspark
- The Free plan is limited to 3 editable boards.
- The iOS app requires a Team or Enterprise subscription; Free and Individual accounts are pointed to the browser version instead.
- Voting, timers, guest collaborators and revision history start at Team; breakout boards, SAML and the Jira and Azure DevOps integrations are Enterprise only.
- The pricing page shows only annual-billing rates. Its FAQ says monthly billing is available but gives no monthly price.
Sketchboard
- The free plan stops at 3 editable boards and 5 users.
- Plans are priced by editor; extra editors cost $5 or $6 a month each.
- SSO and team-level access rights are on Business only.
- Yearly billing includes two months free compared with monthly billing.
Key features
Lucidspark
- Infinite canvas
- Boards hold sticky notes, shapes, freehand drawing, images and comments, with Gather and Sort tools to group notes after a brainstorm.
- Visual Activities
- Interactive exercises collect input from a group and turn it into results the team can act on. Basic activities are free; premium ones need a paid plan.
- Facilitation tools
- Team plans add voting, a timer, a laser pointer, facilitator controls and the option to call everyone to one spot. Breakout boards are Enterprise only.
- Lucid AI
- AI generates ideas, sorts notes into themes and summarizes a session. It is listed on every plan, with a note that it may move to a paid model later.
- Lucid Cards and Dynamic Table
- Lucid Cards work with task tools such as Jira and Azure DevOps to turn ideas into next steps, and Dynamic Table organizes ideas for visual planning.
- Mind maps and templates
- A mind map can be added to any board in a few clicks, and the template gallery covers retrospectives, sprint planning, roadmaps, SWOT analysis and more.
Sketchboard
- Infinite canvas
- A freeform board for sketching, notes and diagrams, with freehand drawing that can sit on top of pasted screenshots.
- Shape libraries
- Over 1,000 shapes on paid plans, including AWS and Google Cloud icons, with connectors that recalculate when shapes move.
- Real-time collaboration
- Edits and cursor movements show live, and a comment box doubles as a mini chat.
- Templates for common work
- The site describes boards for UML and flowcharts, retrospectives, UX flows, roadmaps and mind maps.
- Sharing controls
- Boards share by link; Team and Business add unlimited free viewers and board password sharing.
- Integrations
- Connects to Microsoft Teams, Slack, GitHub, Webex and Google Drive.
Plans
Lucidspark
Free$0
3 editable boards, unlimited shapes per board, freehand drawing, commenting, basic Visual Activities and Lucid AI.
Individual$9
per month, billed annually
Unlimited editable boards, premium Visual Activities and 1 GB of storage.
Team$10
per user / month, billed annually
Adds voting, timer, facilitator tools, guest collaborators, revision history with versioning and the developer platform.
EnterpriseCustom
Adds Lucidchart, breakout boards, team hubs, SAML authentication, sharing restrictions, and Jira, Smartsheet and Azure DevOps integrations.
Sketchboard
Free$0
3 editable boards and up to 5 users.
Starter$6
per month for 1 editor, billed monthly ($60 billed yearly)
Unlimited boards, 1 private team, PDF and SVG export, 1 GB storage; extra editors are $6 each a month.
Team$20
per month for up to 5 editors, billed monthly ($200 billed yearly)
5 editors, unlimited free viewers, board password sharing, comments and Slack; extra editors $5 each a month.
Business$39
per month for up to 10 editors, billed monthly ($390 billed yearly)
10 editors, unlimited private teams, SSO, team-level access rights and business admin; extra editors $5 each.
Ways to pay less
Lucidspark
- Annual discount
Lower price with annual billing
Lucid's pricing FAQ says paid plans can be paid monthly or, at a saving, annually. The listed rates are the annual ones and the page does not state the size of the saving.
- Education
Free upgrade for students and educators
Accounts registered with a valid educational email address are upgraded automatically at no charge. Schools can also request a quote for Education Premium.
Sketchboard
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
Yearly billing is $60 for Starter, $200 for Team and $390 for Business, which the page says includes two months free.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Lucidspark or Sketchboard?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Sketchboard is cheaper to start with: $6 a month, against $9 a month for Lucidspark. Lucidspark starts at $9 per month, billed annually, and Sketchboard starts at $6 per month for 1 editor, billed monthly ($60 billed yearly).
Which has a free plan, Lucidspark or Sketchboard?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Lucidspark and Sketchboard have a free plan.
Which platforms do Lucidspark and Sketchboard run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Lucidspark lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web 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.