Lucidspark vs Vani (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Vani 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
Lucidspark grades higher on features. Vani grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on 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
Vani
Infinite-canvas whiteboard with built-in video catchups
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 Vani if
- Fits if your team already uses Zoho and wants a shared canvas
- Works for small teams that start free and add people later
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 3 Zones a Space and video calls stop at 30 minutes
- Skip it if you share with chosen people, because that needs Team at $4 a person a month
- Pricey if you invite guests, as they are free only on Business at $8 a person
- Not for you if you want an app: only a browser version is listed
How we grade them
| 2.4GPALucidsparkFair | 2.6GPAVaniGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BTeam is $4 a person a month billed annually, under the $5 cheaper quarter. Business is $8. |
| 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. | BFree has unlimited Spaces and collaborators, 100 AI credits for the team and 15 days of version history. 3 Zones a Space and whole-team sharing only are the limits, and the paid trial is 30 days without a card. |
| 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. | CCanvas, video, AI, templates, widgets and an API. The listing names gaps: free sharing is whole-team only, and guests are free only on Business. |
| 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. A web app where you build the board yourself. |
| 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, with Zoho Projects, Microsoft Teams and Zoho WorkDrive, an API and an MCP server. No apps listed. |
| Best for | team brainstorms and workshops on a shared board | a team whiteboard with video catch-ups |
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 Vani. 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. Vani starts at $4 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Lucidspark scores higher, and starts $5 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, 8 score higher than Lucidspark for less, and 4 score higher than Vani 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.
- Vani also covers kanban boards and diagrams.
At a glance
| Lucidspark | Vani | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per month, billed annually | $4 per person / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | 3 editable Lucidspark boards with unlimited shapes per board, freehand drawing, emoji reactions, commenting, basic Visual Activities, presentation mode and Lucid AI. | Unlimited Spaces and collaborators, 3 Zones per Space, 100 AI credits for the team, 25 MB uploads and 15 days of version history. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Individual or Team; payment details are required at sign-up | 30-day free trial of the Team and Business plans, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Lucid Software Inc. | Zoho |
| Price read from | lucid.app | vanihq.com |
| 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.
Vani
- The free plan shares Spaces with the whole team only; sharing with selected people needs Team.
- Free-plan video calls stop at 30 minutes and each Space is limited to 3 Zones.
- Vani runs in a web browser; the site lists no desktop or mobile apps.
- Guests are free only on Business, and they must sign in.
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.
Vani
- Infinite canvas
- Shapes, connectors, sticky notes, tables and mind map, stack and kanban views sit on one board called a Space.
- Video Catchups
- Teammates see and talk to each other on the canvas. Free-plan calls are capped at 30 minutes; Team has unlimited in-app meetings with recording.
- AI on the canvas
- Generate mind maps, flowcharts and content from prompts, using credits: 100 per team on Free, 100 per user on Team and 200 on Business.
- Templates and Kits
- Ready-made templates and Kits cover product, marketing, design and sales work, plus interactive smart templates on database tables from Team up.
- Collaboration widgets
- Live cursors, comments, mentions, voice notes, pins, reactions, timers and polls; polls and voting need the Team plan.
- API and MCP server
- The Vani API and an MCP server are listed on the Free plan, for connecting spaces to other tools and AI agents.
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.
Vani
Free$0
Unlimited Spaces and collaborators, video calls up to 30 minutes, 100 AI credits for the team.
Team$4
per person / month, billed annually
Adds sharing with selected people, external links, database tables, 100 AI credits per user monthly.
Business$8
per person / month, billed annually
Adds multiple teams, free guest seats, admin controls and 200 AI credits per user monthly.
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.
Vani
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
The pricing page toggle labels annual billing as saving 20% compared with monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Lucidspark or Vani?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Lucidspark starts at $9 per month, billed annually, and Vani starts at $4 per person / month, billed annually. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Lucidspark or Vani?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Lucidspark and Vani have a free plan.
Which platforms do Lucidspark and Vani 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.