Miro suits teams that want a whiteboard that doubles as a workspace, with docs, tables, kanban and slides on the same canvas. Mural suits teams that run structured workshops, with facilitation frameworks and unlimited members on its free plan. Both free plans keep 3 boards editable, so the real choice is about visitors, guests and the way you run sessions.
An online whiteboard gives a remote team somewhere to think out loud together. Miro and Mural are two of the big names in that space, and they're often weighed up side by side. I read both companies' plan pages, and every detail below comes from them.
Miro and Mural free plans side by side
| Miro | Mural | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, Free | Yes, Free for unlimited members |
| Editable boards on free | 3 (create unlimited, the three most recent stay editable) | 3 editable murals at a time |
| Visitors on free | Not covered on the plans page | Unlimited, view-only |
| Visitor editing | From Starter, no sign-in needed | From Team+ |
| External guests | Not covered in the plan summary | Unlimited from Business |
| Templates | 7,000+ | 250+ expert templates |
| Integrations | 250+, including Microsoft, Slack, Google and Adobe | Teams, Webex, Zoom, Jira, Google Workspace, Slack |
| AI | Included on free; 25 AI credits per member on Starter | Mural AI from Team+ |
| Beyond the canvas | Docs, Tables, Timelines, Kanban and Slides | LUMA frameworks on Business |
Miro: the canvas that holds everything
Miro's free plan is for small teams getting started. You can create and share unlimited boards, and the three most recent stay editable. It includes 7,000+ templates, docs, tables, timelines, kanban and slides on the canvas, AI that generates diagrams, tables and summaries, and 250+ integrations. Miro also connects to AI tools like Claude, Cursor and Copilot through MCP.
Starter opens up unlimited and private boards, lets visitors edit without signing in, adds high-resolution exports, a timer and voting for workshops, and 25 AI credits per member a month.
That's a lot of canvas for a free plan, and it's handy if you'd rather not juggle a separate doc tool for meeting notes, plans and task lists.
Mural: built for facilitated sessions
Mural's free plan is for unlimited members, with 3 editable murals at a time, unlimited view-only visitors, open rooms and all the visual collaboration tools. Team+ makes every mural editable, lets visitors edit, adds private rooms and Mural AI. Business adds single sign-on, unlimited external guests, advanced integrations and LUMA frameworks, a set of structured methods for running workshops.
Because Mural's free plan doesn't cap members, you can invite your whole team on day one, and they'll all share the same 3 editable murals until you upgrade.
The sharing rule to check first
Here's the part that matters when clients or freelancers join your sessions. On Mural's free plan, visitors can view but not edit, and editing for visitors starts on Team+. On Miro, visitor editing with no sign-in starts on Starter. So if your workshops depend on people outside your team adding sticky notes, plan for an upgraded plan on either tool. If your team just needs a shared space to think, both free plans give you 3 live boards.
It's also worth checking where your meetings happen. Mural lists integrations with Microsoft Teams, Webex, Zoom and Jira Cloud, and Miro lists Microsoft, Slack, Google and Adobe among its 250+. If people can open the board inside the call they're already on, they won't need to switch windows, and that's when they'll join in.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Which team each whiteboard suits
Miro suits product, marketing and remote teams who want the board to hold plans, docs and kanban as well as ideas. Mural suits facilitators, consultants and larger organisations that run repeatable workshops and want frameworks to follow. For more on working well apart, see my guide to cloud collaboration tools for teams and this one on what makes a great remote team manager.
My advice for your first workshop
Run the same short session on both free plans with two or three colleagues: a brainstorm, a vote and a next-steps list. Notice which board people found faster to use without help. Then think about who joins from outside. If clients need to edit, plan around Miro Starter or Mural Team+, and keep your three free boards for the projects you're running right now.
Do you make whiteboard or collaboration software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place in comparisons like this one.
Frequently asked questions
Is Miro free?
Yes. Miro's free plan lets you create unlimited boards, with the three most recent staying editable, plus 7,000+ templates and 250+ integrations.
Is Mural free?
Yes. Mural's free plan covers unlimited members, with 3 editable murals at a time and unlimited view-only visitors.
Can visitors edit boards for free?
Not on Mural's free plan, where visitors are view-only. Visitor editing starts on Mural Team+ and on Miro Starter.
Which whiteboard has more templates?
Miro lists 7,000+ templates. Mural lists 250+ expert templates plus custom template creation.
