Microsoft Whiteboard vs Padlet (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Microsoft Whiteboard grades higher than Padlet: 3.4 against 2.4 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 and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
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
Padlet
Boards and sandboxes for sharing ideas in classrooms and teams
Which one is for you
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
Pick Padlet if
- Fits if you run a classroom board where students post without much setup
- Works for a school that wants LMS links and single sign-on
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, since 3 padlets and 1 user is the limit
- Watch out: SSO, LMS integrations and invoice billing are on School and District only
- Watch out: individual, team and classroom prices are not recorded and differ by region
- Watch out: the pages read name no integrations by product
- Skip it if you need long recordings free, as the free plan caps video at 2 minutes and audio at 5
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAMicrosoft WhiteboardVery good | 2.4GPAPadletFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CThe listing records only School and District, from $300 a year for 10 teachers, and the pricing page in this region shows ringgit, so one person's price is not on record. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CThe free plan is 3 padlets, 1 user, 20 MB uploads and short recordings, with no card needed. A trial of Team and Classroom is listed, length unstated. |
| Features | 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. | CBoards, sandboxes, uploads and classroom safety tools. Gaps the listing shows: the free tier's 3-board cap, with LMS links, SSO and analytics on paid plans. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. You set up each board and its permissions yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | AWeb, iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android, an API from Platinum up, and LMS integrations on the school plan. |
| Best for | sketching together in a Teams meeting | classroom boards where everyone posts |
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: Microsoft Whiteboard and Padlet. How we grade
Price against what you get
Microsoft Whiteboard has no paid plan and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Padlet starts at $25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7.
Microsoft Whiteboard scores higher and starts $25 a month lower. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, none scores higher than Microsoft Whiteboard for less, and 12 score higher than Padlet 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
At a glance
| Microsoft Whiteboard | Padlet | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $300 per year for 10 teachers (School & District plan) |
| 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. | 3 padlets, 1 user, 20 MB uploads, 2-minute video and 5-minute audio recordings. |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial offered on the Team and Classroom plans (length not stated) |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Microsoft Corporation | Wallwisher, Inc. |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | padlet.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
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.
Padlet
- The Free plan allows only 3 padlets and one user account.
- Read from India, the pricing page showed Philippine pesos, so the individual, team and classroom prices are not recorded; check the page for your region.
- SSO, LMS integrations and invoice billing are limited to the School & District plan.
- The pages read name no integrations by product, so none are listed.
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.
Padlet
- Boards
- Boards collect posts of text, files, video and audio, and can be shared with a group.
- Sandboxes
- Digital canvases for whiteboards, lessons and activities, offered alongside boards.
- Paid-tier limits lifted
- Paid plans remove the 3-padlet cap and raise upload size to 500 MB on Platinum and 1 GB on Team, with longer video and audio recordings.
- Team controls
- The Team plan adds role-based permissions, user management and an analytics dashboard, with API access from Platinum up.
- Classroom and school tiers
- Classroom includes 100 free student accounts and content safety features. School & District adds unlimited students, LMS integrations and SSO.
- Apps
- The App Store listing covers iPhone, iPad and Mac, and the vendor's homepage cites a Google Play rating.
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.
Padlet
Free$0
3 padlets, 20 MB file uploads, 2-minute video and 5-minute audio recordings, no credit card needed.
School & District$300
per year, starting at, for 10 teachers
Unlimited padlets and students, 1 GB uploads, role-based permissions, analytics, content safety features, LMS integrations, SSO and invoice billing. Sold through a quote.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Whiteboard or Padlet?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Microsoft Whiteboard is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $25 a month when paid by the year for Padlet. Microsoft Whiteboard is free, and Padlet starts at $300 per year for 10 teachers (School & District plan).
Which has a free plan, Microsoft Whiteboard or Padlet?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Microsoft Whiteboard and Padlet have a free plan.
Which platforms do Microsoft Whiteboard and Padlet run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Microsoft Whiteboard lists a Windows app and only Padlet lists a macOS app. Both list a web app and iOS and Android 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.