Collaboard

Collaboard is an online whiteboard for visual collaboration in meetings, workshops, teaching, planning, and brainstorming. Boards include sticky notes, mind maps, drawing tools, shapes, documents, multimedia, tables, comments, and exports. Its site advertises more than 250 templates for workshops, retrospectives, project planning, customer journeys, SWOT analyses, and Kanban boards. Facilitation tools include voting, ratings, a timer, pinning and locking, content hiding, presentation and focus modes, and quick links. Integrations include Jira, Pexip, Microsoft Teams, Nextcloud, Cisco Webex, and Rocket.Chat, and a public API is available for custom integrations. Advanced and Enterprise list an MCP Server beta for AI-assisted whiteboards. Cloud hosting can be in the Netherlands, Switzerland, or Germany; Enterprise also offers on-premises or private cloud deployment. Security features include TLS in transit, 256-bit AES encryption for stored content, SSO, SAML, OAuth2, optional two-factor authentication, board passwords, roles, and sharing permissions. The free plan allows three boards and five participants per board. Collaboard is optimized for desktop and offers a mobile web version. Listed prices include Free, Basic at €5/user/mo, and paid plans from €5/user/mo.

Collaboard brings board tools, templates, facilitation features, and hosting choices into one collaboration space. The free tier has board and participant limits, while organizations can consider paid plans and deployment options.

Collaboard may suit teams, companies, public administrations, and educational institutions that collaborate visually. Its hosting and access-control options may also interest organizations with higher security requirements.

Collaboard is a structured online whiteboard for meetings, workshops, teaching, planning and brainstorming. It is most suitable for teams, schools, public administrations and security-conscious organizations that need facilitation controls alongside a flexible canvas. The free edition is useful for trying the workflow, but serious collaboration quickly requires a paid tier.

Overview

Collaboard combines visual planning with tools for running organized group sessions. Its infinite canvas and diagramming support open-ended work, while templates and facilitation controls give workshops a defined structure. Teams that only want a minimal shared drawing surface may find its broader workshop emphasis unnecessary.

Cloud hosting can place data in the Netherlands, Switzerland or Germany. Enterprise adds on-premises or private-cloud deployment, making the product relevant to organizations with strict residency or infrastructure requirements. Collaboard describes the service as GDPR-compliant, with processing kept in Europe or Switzerland when required.

Key features

The board supports sticky notes, mind maps, freehand drawing, shapes, documents, multimedia, tables, comments and exports. That mix handles research, planning and presentation material without forcing every activity into one object type. More than 250 templates cover workshops, brainstorming, retrospectives, project planning, customer journeys, SWOT analysis and Kanban boards, reducing the setup work for recurring exercises.

Facilitators get voting and ratings, a timer, pinning and locking, hidden content, presentation mode, focus mode and quick links. These controls are practical when a session needs timed participation, staged reveals or attention on one part of a board. Advanced adds dedicated workshop facilitation tools and custom templates.

Jira, Pexip, Microsoft Teams, Nextcloud, Cisco Webex and Rocket.Chat integrations connect boards with common project, meeting and collaboration environments. A public API supports custom integrations. Advanced and Enterprise include an MCP Server beta for AI-assisted whiteboards, though it remains a beta capability rather than a mature core feature.

Security features include TLS for data in transit and 256-bit AES encryption for stored content. SSO, SAML, OAuth2, optional two-factor authentication, board passwords, roles and sharing permissions provide useful control for managed deployments.

Pricing

Collaboard uses a freemium model, with paid access advertised from €5/user/mo. The published plan comparison also gives these specific tiers and terms:

Free works for small demonstrations or occasional boards, but three boards and five participants impose a hard ceiling on active projects. Basic removes the board cap and raises participation while retaining a 20-guest-editor limit. Advanced is the better fit for large workshops and teams needing unlimited participants, custom templates or regional hosting choice. Enterprise is aimed at organizations that require self-hosting, directory provisioning, auditability and dedicated support.

Collaboard also offers a free trial. The published plan terms do not state a trial duration or renewal schedule, so prospective buyers should confirm those conditions before committing.

Platforms

Collaboard supports Android, iOS, web, Windows, API access and self-hosted deployment. It is optimized for desktop use and provides a mobile web version for phones, tablets and other mobile devices. Mobile access is useful for reviewing or contributing away from a desk, while facilitation-heavy sessions are better aligned with the desktop experience.

Who it's for

Choose Collaboard for teams running repeatable workshops, educational activities or collaborative planning that benefit from voting, timed exercises, templates and presentation controls. It is also a strong candidate for companies, public administrations and institutions with high security requirements, European or Swiss data-residency preferences, or a need for self-hosting.

It is less compelling for a small group that needs unlimited lightweight boards at no cost, or for users who will not use facilitation, integrations or governance features.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Purpose-built facilitation: voting, ratings, timers, focus and presentation modes give workshop leaders concrete session controls.
• Broad visual toolkit: documents, multimedia, tables, comments, diagramming and an infinite canvas support varied project work.
• Deployment flexibility: regional cloud hosting and Enterprise self-hosting address residency and infrastructure constraints.
• Governance options: SSO, SAML, OAuth2, two-factor authentication, roles and sharing permissions support managed access.

Cons

• Restrictive free tier: three boards and five participants per board limit ongoing team use.
• Plan boundaries: Basic allows only 20 guest editors, while custom templates and unlimited participation start at Advanced.
• Desktop emphasis: the mobile offering is a mobile web version, not a separately described native mobile workspace.
• Enterprise cost opacity: self-hosting, audit logs and dedicated support require a sales process and custom pricing.

Alternatives

Pick Boardmix instead if you want a freemium whiteboard with Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, web, API and self-hosted coverage; its free plan includes one team workspace, three editable boards, 100 objects per board and 1 GB of storage.

Conceptboard is an alternative for users who prefer a free plan with three active boards, 100 objects per board, 250 MB of storage and 10 MB uploads.

Consider HuddleIQ when a free workspace capped at three team members and three whiteboards, with 200 objects per board and 100 MB storage, matches your scale.

Copera Whiteboards is another free whiteboard option, with no free-trial requirement.

Choose FigJam if three editable files with unlimited collaborators on its Starter plan is the more useful starting point.

Ink suits users seeking unlimited free boards and unlimited agent collaborators, with interactive Pro blocks on three boards.

Klaxoon is a paid-oriented alternative whose free plan allows five participants, one open activity, 500 MB storage and 5 MB maximum files.

Lucidspark is an alternative collaborative whiteboard with a free tier and separate Individual and Team plans.

For broader comparisons, see AI Whiteboard Software, Collaborative Whiteboard Software and Online Whiteboard Tools.

Verdict

Collaboard is a strong choice for organizations that run facilitated collaboration and need templates, session controls, integrations and European or self-hosted deployment options in one product. Its main reason to look elsewhere is the restrictive free cap and the jump to higher tiers for unlimited participation, custom templates and enterprise governance. Start with Free for a small trial, choose Basic for expanding board capacity, and reserve Advanced or Enterprise for structured workshops and controlled deployments.