Mural vs Parabol (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Mural and Parabol share a 2.6 GPA, both have a free plan, and Parabol starts cheaper, at $8 a month for each person against $9.99 a month for each person.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Mural grades higher on platforms. Parabol grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mural
Online whiteboard with built-in facilitation tools for workshops
Parabol
Retrospectives, standups and sprint poker for agile teams
Which one is for you
Pick Mural if
- Fits if you run workshops, retros or design-thinking sessions and need the group to follow you
- Works for large groups, as Free has no member limit, though only 3 murals stay editable
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, with only 3 murals editable at a time and view-only visitors
- Skip it if you want the AI without paying, as Mural AI starts at Team+, $9.99 a member a month
- Pricey if you need SSO or ongoing guests, which start at Business, $17.99 a member a month billed annually only
- Watch out: SCIM, audit logs and data residency are Enterprise only, which has no public price
- Too light for docs, tables or slides on the board, which Miro has and Mural doesn't
Pick Parabol if
- Fits if your agile team wants retros, standups and poker in one app
- Works for small groups, since the free plan allows unlimited users
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 2 teams, 10 meetings a month and 30 days of history
- Pricey if many people join, as Team is billed per active user
- Skip it if you need SAML SSO, SCIM or Jira Data Center, all Enterprise only
- Watch out: no desktop or mobile apps are listed on the pages we read
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAMuralGood | 2.6GPAParabolGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CTeam+ is $9.99 a member a month billed annually, $12 if you pay monthly, which is right at the dear end of normal here: this category's dearer quarter starts at $9.99. SSO and ongoing guests wait for Business at $17.99, annual billing only. | C$8 per active user a month, which is the category's middle, and it rises with how many people take part. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree has unlimited members and every facilitation tool. But only 3 murals are editable at a time, visitors can look and not edit, and Mural AI isn't in it at all. | BStarter is free for up to 2 teams, 10 meetings a month and unlimited users, with 30 days of history. One team could live on it. |
| Features | BSticky notes, drawing and connected diagrams on an infinite or resizable canvas, 250-plus templates, and a facilitator kit on every plan: summon, timer, anonymous votes, private mode, hidden steps. Mural AI clusters stickies and draws mind maps. The whiteboard job covered, without Miro's docs, tables and slide formats. | BRetros, standups, sprint poker, Team Health checks and AI prompts, plus links to the backlog tools. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the meeting job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and this is a web board where the work is building the board: you start from a blank canvas or pick through 250-plus templates and set the session up yourself. One-time visitors can at least join without a paid seat. | CNo store rating on record. You choose templates and set up teams before the first meeting. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, so every device type. Murals open inside Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Webex meetings, and it ties into Jira, Slack, Google Workspace and Confluence, with Asana tasks syncing both ways. | BWeb only, but it connects to Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Linear, Azure DevOps, Slack, Teams and Mattermost. |
| Best for | facilitated workshops and retros | retros, standups and sprint poker in one app |
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: Mural and Parabol. How we grade
Price against what you get
Mural starts at $9.99 a month for each person and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Parabol starts at $8 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Mural scores higher, and starts $1.99 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, 2 score higher than Mural for less, and 6 score higher than Parabol 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
- Parabol is open source, according to its own site.
- Mural also covers whiteboard, mind mapping and diagrams.
- Parabol also covers tasks.
At a glance
| Mural | Parabol | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 per member / month, billed annually | $8 per active user / month |
| Free plan | 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. | Starter: up to 2 teams, 10 meetings per month, unlimited users and 30 days of meeting history. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Mural | Parabol |
| Price read from | mural.co | parabol.co |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Parabol
- The free Starter plan is limited to 2 teams and 10 meetings per month, with 30 days of history.
- The Team plan is priced per active user per month, so the bill moves with how many people take part.
- SAML SSO, SCIM and the Jira Data Center and self-managed GitLab integrations are Enterprise only.
- Parabol runs in a browser; the pages read list no desktop or mobile apps.
Key features
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.
Parabol
- Retrospectives
- Teams add anonymous suggestions, group them, vote and create tasks as they go, with discussion threads that document the conversation.
- Other meeting formats
- Standups, team check-ins and sprint poker run in the same app, and more than 90 meeting templates are included.
- Team Health checks
- Recurring, research-backed health checks with anonymous answers and trends. The vendor lists it on the Team and Enterprise plans.
- AI assistance
- AI discussion prompts and related discussions are on every plan; meeting summaries, group suggestions and icebreakers are on the paid plans.
- Backlog and chat integrations
- Tasks can be sent to Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Linear or Azure DevOps, and meeting reminders and summaries can go to Slack, Microsoft Teams or Mattermost.
Plans
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.
Parabol
Starter$0
Up to 2 teams, 10 meetings per month, 30 days of history, 2 custom templates and 3 AI retrospective summaries.
Team$8
per active user / month, billed monthly
Unlimited teams, meetings, history and custom templates, private teams, Team Health, AI summaries and icebreakers.
EnterpriseCustom
Annual contract with user tiers, SAML SSO, SCIM, org admin role, uptime SLA and optional on-prem or single-tenant hosting.
Ways to pay less
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.
Parabol
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mural or Parabol?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Parabol is cheaper to start with: $8 a month for each person, against $9.99 a month for each person for Mural. Mural starts at $9.99 per member / month, billed annually, and Parabol starts at $8 per active user / month.
Which has a free plan, Mural or Parabol?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Mural and Parabol have a free plan.
Which platforms do Mural and Parabol run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Mural lists macOS, 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.