Microsoft Whiteboard vs Vani (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Microsoft Whiteboard grades higher than Vani: 3.4 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 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.
Microsoft Whiteboard
Free collaborative canvas built into Microsoft 365 and Teams
Vani
Infinite-canvas whiteboard with built-in video catchups
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 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
| 3.4GPAMicrosoft WhiteboardVery good | 2.6GPAVaniGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BTeam is $4 a person a month billed annually, under the $5 cheaper quarter. Business is $8. |
| 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. A web app where you build the board 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. | BWeb only, with Zoho Projects, Microsoft Teams and Zoho WorkDrive, an API and an MCP server. No apps listed. |
| Best for | sketching together in a Teams meeting | 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: Microsoft Whiteboard and Vani. 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. Vani starts at $4 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Microsoft Whiteboard scores higher and starts $4 a month lower. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, none scores higher than Microsoft Whiteboard 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
- Microsoft Whiteboard also covers templates.
- Vani also covers kanban boards, mind mapping and diagrams.
At a glance
| Microsoft Whiteboard | Vani | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $4 per person / 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 Spaces and collaborators, 3 Zones per Space, 100 AI credits for the team, 25 MB uploads and 15 days of version history. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of the Team and Business plans, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Microsoft Corporation | Zoho |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | vanihq.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
Microsoft Whiteboard
No public discounts listed.
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, Microsoft Whiteboard or Vani?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Microsoft Whiteboard is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $4 a month for each person for Vani. Microsoft Whiteboard is free, and Vani starts at $4 per person / month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, Microsoft Whiteboard or Vani?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Microsoft Whiteboard and Vani have a free plan.
Which platforms do Microsoft Whiteboard and Vani run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Microsoft Whiteboard lists Windows, 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.