Microsoft Whiteboard vs Mural
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Microsoft Whiteboard
Free collaborative canvas built into Microsoft 365 and Teams
Mural
Online whiteboard with built-in facilitation tools for workshops
Where they differ
- Microsoft Whiteboard is free. Mural starts at $9.99 per member / month, billed annually.
- Only Mural lists a macOS app.
- Mural also covers mind mapping and diagrams.
At a glance
| Microsoft Whiteboard | Mural | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $9.99 per member / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | 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. | Unlimited members and unlimited murals, but only 3 editable at a time. Visitors are view-only, rooms are open to the whole workspace, and Mural AI is not included. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Microsoft Corporation | Mural |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | mural.co |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Microsoft Whiteboard
- Teams meetings where participants sketch on one shared board
- Organizations on Microsoft 365, where it is enabled by default
- Schools: free for students and educators through Microsoft 365 A1
- Pen and touch devices such as Surface Hub and iPad
Mural
- Facilitated workshops, retrospectives and design-thinking sessions
- Large groups on a budget: the Free plan has no member limit
- Organizations that work in Microsoft 365 and Teams
- Consultants who bring outside clients into a session
Worth knowing
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.
Mural
- The Free plan keeps only 3 murals editable at a time, and its visitors can view but not edit.
- Mural AI is not part of the Free plan; it is available on Team+, Business and Enterprise.
- SSO and guest access start at Business, which is listed with annual billing only; monthly billing is shown for Team+.
- SCIM, audit logs, data residency and multiple workspaces are limited to Enterprise, which has no public price.
Key features
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.
Mural
- Facilitation features on every plan
- A facilitator can summon participants, run a timer, hold anonymous votes, switch on private mode, lock content, and hide steps in the outline until it is time to reveal them.
- Sticky notes, drawing and diagramming
- Boards take sticky notes, drawings, images, icons and connected diagrams, on either an infinite or a resizable canvas. A content library stores objects for reuse.
- Templates
- More than 250 Mural-made templates are included, and teams can create their own. The Business plan adds LUMA frameworks.
- Mural AI
- Generates mind maps, clusters sticky notes by topic, summarizes content and classifies stickies by sentiment. Available on Team+, Business and Enterprise.
- Rooms, visitors and guests
- Murals are organized into rooms: open on Free, private from Team+ and confidential on Enterprise. One-time visitors are free on every plan; ongoing guests need Business.
- Meeting and work-tracking integrations
- Murals can be worked on inside Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Webex meetings. Asana tasks import with two-way sync, and Azure DevOps work items can be laid out on a mural.
Plans
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.
Mural
Free$0
Unlimited members, 3 editable murals at a time, view-only visitors, open rooms and all core collaboration and facilitation tools.
Team+$9.99
per member / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Unlimited editable murals, visitors with editing rights, private rooms, Mural AI and basic integrations such as Zoom and Webex.
Business$17.99
per member / month, billed annually
Adds SAML single sign-on, unlimited guests, advanced integrations such as Azure, GitHub and Okta, LUMA frameworks, invoicing and priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
Multiple workspaces, confidential rooms, SCIM, audit logs and reporting APIs, required 2FA, data residency, BYOK and premier support.
Ways to pay less
Microsoft Whiteboard
No public discounts listed.
Mural
- Annual discount
About 17% lower on Team+ with annual billing
Mural's pricing page lists Team+ at $9.99 per member a month when billed annually, against $12 per member a month when billed monthly.
