If you’re a distributed team in different parts of the world trying to get ideas across, a digital collaboration tool comes to your rescue and keeps you all connected, and the information flowing.
Mural and Microsoft Whiteboard are two popular tools that let you and your team work together on shared whiteboards and flowcharts—no matter where you are.
Picking one of them? The choice isn’t easy.
Mural has dynamic templates and integrates with platforms like Google Drive to let you store your digital drawings. Microsoft Whiteboard offers an endless canvas and close integration with Microsoft products, so you don’t have to change your workflows even as your stack grows with other tools.
Let’s dive deeper to figure out which tool fits your team better.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Is Mural?
Mural is a digital collaboration tool offering a vibrant, user-friendly canvas for teams to brainstorm, plan, and execute their most innovative projects.
With Mural, teams across various industries—design, engineering, or marketing—can collaborate in real-time, regardless of their physical locations. With its extensive templates, you can conduct structured brainstorming sessions, strategic planning, and everything in between.
Mural’s integration capabilities with other major platforms like Microsoft Teams and Google Drive help you streamline workflows and easily share files, feedback, and updates.
Whether working on a small project or managing complex processes, you can enhance team productivity and bring your collective vision to fruition with Mural’s flexible and engaging workspace.
Mural features
Mural’s toolbox is packed with features that make teamwork easy and engaging. Let’s look at some unique capabilities it has:
1. Real-time collaboration
Mural’s real-time collaboration feature brings your global, dispersed team together. You’ll be able to see updates in real-time, ensuring everyone is aligned. It’s like working in the same room, no matter where you are.
This feature is crucial for fast-paced projects that need immediate feedback and iterative design processes. It enhances your team’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to changes.
2. Ready-to-use templates
One of the most exciting features of Mural is its vast library of templates. These are not just templates; they’re designed to kickstart your project, whether you’re simply brainstorming, planning a sprint, or conducting a SWOT analysis.
The library helps you save time and promote consistency across projects, eliminating the need to build workflows from scratch.
With Mural, you get straight to the work that matters, with a framework proven to drive productivity and creativity.
3. Digital sticky notes
You and your team members can quickly jot down ideas and organize them on a virtual whiteboard using Mural’s sticky notes.
This feature is handy for visual thinkers as it helps categorize thoughts, vote for ideas, and prioritize tasks.
The simplicity of sticky notes, combined with the power of digital organization, improves your team’s ability to brainstorm effectively, making it easier to visualize concepts and make decisions faster.
4. Smooth integration
Integration with other tools is where Mural truly shines. It connects with multiple platforms, including Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, and Slack.
If your team works in other ecosystems but is looking for an enhanced whiteboarding experience, this interoperability is something to try.
It simplifies the transfer of information and centralizes communication, making it easier to maintain a single source of truth for your projects.
Mural enables you to spend less time juggling apps and focus on collaboration and execution instead.
Mural pricing
- Free: Free
- Team+: $12/member per month
- Business: $17.99/member per month (billed annually)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Is Microsoft Whiteboard?
Microsoft Whiteboard is a digital collaboration tool that functions like a virtual whiteboard. Unlike a physical whiteboard, Microsoft Whiteboard offers an infinite canvas where people can write, draw, add images, and sticky notes. The infinite canvas means you always have enough room to jot down your ideas.
And if you like using a pen, you’ll appreciate its intuitive pen and touch capabilities. With features like different pen types and colors, shapes, and templates, you get a more natural writing and drawing experience.
As part of Microsoft’s suite of productivity software and tools, it ensures a level of interoperability and security that businesses expect. This makes it a compelling choice for organizations deeply embedded in Microsoft products.
Microsoft Whiteboard features
With its well-rounded features, Microsoft Whiteboard transforms your digital workspace into a dynamic space for ideas, strategy, and teamwork.
1. Intuitive ink
Designed to mimic the fluidity of pen on paper, MS Whiteboard’s intuitive ink tool lets you sketch, doodle, and write with precision and ease.
You can annotate documents, use images, create diagrams, or jot down notes during a brainstorming session. You can also take handwritten notes converted to text for easier organization and sharing. The intuitive ink feature makes Microsoft Whiteboard a mood board software for visual thinkers.
2. Limitless workspace
Step into a world where your ideas know no bounds with Microsoft Whiteboard’s infinite canvas. This feature redefines the concept of space in digital collaboration, allowing you and your team to keep expanding your thoughts without running out of room.
The infinite canvas ensures you capture every detail, perfect for complex brainstorming sessions or expansive project planning. It’s like having an endless digital paper roll that scrolls as your creativity flows.
3. Seamless integration with Microsoft ecosystem
You can leverage the full power of the Microsoft ecosystem with Whiteboard’s seamless integration capabilities.
From effortless synchronization with Office 365 documents to direct links with MS Teams for real-time collaboration, this feature ensures Whiteboard fits perfectly into your workflow.
It’s about enhancing productivity without disrupting the way your team works, making collaboration effortless and more effective.
4. Intelligent recognition
You can enhance your brainstorming sessions with Microsoft Whiteboard’s intelligent recognition feature. Make your ideas look neat and professional with this smart tool that turns rough sketches into clear, precise shapes and diagrams.
Whether outlining processes, brainstorming, or simply doodling, intelligent recognition makes it easy to focus on the quality of your thoughts, ideas, and content rather than that of your sketches and drawings.
It’s an excellent feature for quickly organizing your thoughts and improving the overall clarity of your collaborative projects.
Microsoft Whiteboard pricing
- Free
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6/user per month (billed annually)
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.5/user per month (billed annually)
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22/user per month (billed annually)
- Microsoft 365 Apps for business: $8.25/user per month (billed annually)
Summarize this article for me pleaseMural vs. Microsoft Whiteboard: Features Compared
Here’s a quick comparison of Mural’s features against those of Microsoft Whiteboard, two leading design thinking tools.
| Feature | Mural | Microsoft Whiteboard |
| Real-time Collaboration | Yes | Yes |
| Templates | Yes | Yes |
| Integration Capabilities | Yes | Yes |
| Infinite Canvas | No | Yes |
| Intuitive Drawing | Yes | Yes |
| Sticky Notes | Yes | No |
| Intelligent Shape Recognition | No | Yes |
| Interactive Content | Yes | Yes |
| Seamless Microsoft Ecosystem Integration | No | Yes |
| Facilation Tools | Yes | No |
1. Real-time collaboration
With remote teams becoming the norm, whiteboard and flowchart tools must have robust real-time collaboration features. Let’s see which tool is best for you in this department.
Mural
With Mural, real-time collaboration is a breeze. It provides a shared space where team members can see each other’s contributions evolve in real-time. They can use communication tools like comments and chats and even bring attention to specific areas of the canvas with a laser pointer feature.
Microsoft Whiteboard
Microsoft Whiteboard integrates with Microsoft Teams, offering a collaborative experience for Microsoft users.
While both tools offer robust real-time collaboration, the choice might come down to your existing workflow. Prefer Microsoft Whiteboard if your organization already relies on other Microsoft products.
However, for a more platform-agnostic approach, Mural offers a rich set of collaboration features that work well with various tools and services.
2. Templates
Mural and Microsoft Whiteboard offer templates that can significantly speed up planning.
Mural
Mural offers diverse templates that cater to different industries and project needs. From agile sprints to empathy maps, these templates are designed for quick adaptation, enabling you to start collaborative sessions with a structured approach.
Microsoft Whiteboard
Microsoft Whiteboard also provides templates but focuses on integration with other Microsoft tools, enabling consistency and compatibility within the Microsoft suite, for example, for teams using Office 365.
Mural takes the edge with a broader variety of templates, while Microsoft Whiteboard’s strength lies in its integration with the Microsoft suite.
3. Infinite canvas
What kind of projects do you work on? That would help determine whether or not you need an infinite canvas.
Mural
Mural provides a sizable canvas, but it’s not truly infinite. However, it’s generally more than adequate for most projects and collaborative sessions, and you get ample space for documenting a wide array of ideas and contributions.
Microsoft Whiteboard
The infinite canvas in Microsoft Whiteboard is perfect for mapping elaborate diagrams or extensive workflows.
It allows teams to keep expanding their workspace, a feature particularly useful for intricate and expansive brainstorming.
Summarize this article for me pleaseMural vs. Microsoft Whiteboard: Who’s the Champion?
The verdict of the showdown between Mural and Microsoft Whiteboard ultimately rests on what your team values most.
If integration within the Microsoft ecosystem and an infinite canvas are top priorities, Microsoft Whiteboard emerges as the clear winner. It’s a natural fit for teams already working with Microsoft’s suite of tools, offering a limitless space to collaborate.
Conversely, Mural triumphs with its extensive range of templates and robust integrative capabilities across all platforms, not just Microsoft tools. It’s the go-to for teams needing comprehensive features that support many project types, especially in remote settings.
In essence, Microsoft Whiteboard is your pick for infinite scalability within a familiar platform, while Mural is the all-rounder, ready to tackle complex, diverse team projects with you.
Choose Microsoft Whiteboard for a smooth Microsoft-centric experience or Mural for a versatile and feature-rich platform.
Summarize this article for me pleaseMural Vs. Microsoft Whiteboard on Reddit
Insights from Reddit show that Mural is ideal for complex tasks, while Microsoft Whiteboard is a simpler alternative for Teams users.
A comment by a Redditor highlighted how Mural supported remote qualitative analysis, demonstrating its strength in facilitating international collaboration.
“We recently used this to complete a workflow analysis with our team located in China, the EU, and the US.”
The user also pointed out that Mural offers a paid subscription for board creation with free guest collaboration, showcasing its team-friendly approach. The user also advised that in case you’re searching for a Mural alternative, consider every tool’s unique features and benefits.
Conversely, Microsoft Whiteboard users appreciated its easy integration with Teams and offering a no-frills option for users already in the Microsoft ecosystem.
The decision between the two depends on your business’s specific collaboration and workflow requirements.
Summarize this article for me pleaseMeet ClickUp—The Best Alternative to Microsoft Whiteboard vs. Mural
If you’re still undecided and looking for alternatives to Microsoft Whiteboard and Mural, you must consider ClickUp.
With ClickUp, you get access to a multipurpose, feature-rich whiteboard and a unified workspace for managing your projects, enabling team collaboration, and simplifying progress tracking.
ClickUp’s versatility makes it ideal for those who want to declutter their digital workspace and focus on delivering results.
ClickUp Whiteboards: Visualize ideas and collaborate with ease
Are you struggling to capture your team’s ideas in a visually engaging and actionable way? ClickUp Whiteboards offer a powerful solution, enabling you to collaborate visually and effectively without sacrificing clarity or professionalism.
Imagine an unlimited workspace where your team can brainstorm, map projects, and design solutions, all in real-time. Whether you’re mapping out a new project or brainstorming product designs, ClickUp Whiteboards eliminate the need to switch between various tools, streamlining your workflow and maximizing efficiency.
- Transform brainstorming ideas into actionable tasks directly on the whiteboard
- Link documents and add comments to keep all essential information organized and readily accessible
- Enjoy real-time collaboration that allows every team member to contribute and be heard
ClickUp Whiteboards encourage seamless teamwork, empowering your team to co-create, iterate, and develop ideas collaboratively.
ClickUp Mind Maps: Organize your thoughts
Brainstorming is an art, and ClickUp Mind Maps are the canvas. They offer a dynamic way to capture and connect your thoughts, breaking down complex ideas into manageable chunks for improved clarity and understanding.
Capture fleeting ideas and intricate connections easily using a flexible, drag-and-drop interface. Use its task-based mind maps to connect and adjust workflows.
For more creative work or initial discussions in a project, use node-based mind maps to create diagrams. Brainstorm freely, and then directly transform your ideas into actionable tasks on the map. Once you finalize the diagrams, you can create tasks directly from the map.
Whether you’re plotting a launch or strategizing a marketing campaign, ClickUp’s mind maps help you see the bigger picture without losing sight of the details.
ClickUp also offers many mind map templates that can transform how you think and plan.
ClickUp whiteboard templates: Your blueprint for success
Why start from scratch when you can stand on the shoulders of giants? ClickUp’s whiteboard templates are your shortcut to productivity, offering a range of pre-made formats for every need.
- The ClickUp Matrix Whiteboard Template helps you prioritize tasks based on effort and importance. You can strategize on a problem or concept and make decisions through this visual tool
- ClickUp’s Roadmap Whiteboard Template paves the way for clear, actionable project timelines. Have an overview of and track the lifecycle of a project here and use the data to make decisions for future projects
- The ClickUp Research Whiteboard Template helps you organize your findings and insights for maximum impact. It’s a great template for recording the information from usability tests and consumer interviews
- ClickUp’s Project Update Whiteboard Template updates everyone with the latest project developments. Use it to get an overview of the budget status and issues
With features that cater to every aspect of project management and team collaboration, ClickUp is more than a worthy contender for a great whiteboarding tool—it’s often the best choice for teams looking to maximize their potential.
ClickUp pricing
- Free Forever: Free
- Unlimited: $7/user per month
- Business: $12/user per month
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
- ClickUp Brain is available on all paid plans for $5 per user per month
Summarize this article for me pleaseFinding Your Team’s Perfect Match
The choice between Mural and Microsoft Whiteboard depends on your team’s specific requirements. For working with a broader set of tools, Mural may be your choice; for making the most of Microsoft Office, you might lean toward Microsoft Whiteboard.
Whether you’re drawn to the versatility of Mural or the Microsoft ecosystem integration of Microsoft Whiteboard, ClickUp’s comprehensive suite of features offers the best of both collaboration tools, making it the best whiteboard software you could pick.
Sign up for ClickUp today to discover the best way to share ideas and shape them into reality.
Questions? Comments? Visit our Help Center for support.