Groupboard

Groupboard is a shared whiteboard with live chat and a message board, accessible by link or embedded in a web page. It suits tutors and groups that need a persistent canvas guests can use in a browser. Its main trade-off is capacity: the free plan allows five users per board, while larger groups require a paid tier.

Overview

Groupboard keeps its whiteboard contents after everyone leaves, so recurring groups can return to the same work rather than begin with a blank board. Real-time chat and a message board add conversation alongside drawing; an infinite canvas and guest collaboration support open-ended sessions. This is a practical combination for lessons or shared work that continues between meetings, but it is not a substitute for a meeting platform when video meetings are the priority.

Participants can join through a supplied link or an embedded board. The maker describes tutors, schools and universities as users for distance learning and collaboration, and says TutorCruncher and Acuity Scheduling integrations support payment and session scheduling. Its interface is translated into Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Finnish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew and Arabic. The privacy statement says servers are in Quebec, Canada, and personal data is not transmitted outside Canada.

Key features

Persistent collaboration: The board remains after users log off, which helps groups resume work across sessions. The same persistence makes it a better fit for ongoing lessons than one-off, disposable sketches.

Browser access: HTML5-capable browsers, including iOS and Android browsers, work without plugins or downloads. That lowers the barrier for guests, though the free plan’s five-user ceiling still limits group size.

Embedding and API: Paid hosted plans allow embedding on a customer's own pages and JavaScript API control and customization. These are useful for tutors or organizations building the board into an existing site, but they are not included in the free plan.

Graphics tablet support: Groupboard works with Wacom and Huion tablets, a relevant advantage for drawing-heavy instruction.

Support: Hosted subscribers receive technical support for the subscription period, with the maker saying it tries to answer emails within 24 hours. Free users instead have limited support.

Self-hosting: The maker offers versions that customers can install on their own server, giving organizations that want to host the product themselves an option beyond hosted plans.

Pricing

Groupboard is freemium, with a 7-day trial and paid hosted plans from $9.99/mo. The free plan is a reasonable way to try a small board, but its five-user limit, ads, 20 saved pictures, 10 background images and limited support make it a constrained long-term choice for teaching groups.

Free Groupboard costs nothing. It supports 5 users per whiteboard, 20 saved pictures and 10 background images, with ads and limited support. Choose it for small groups that can work within those caps; it is not suited to larger classes.

15-user Hosted Groupboard costs $9.99 a month, billed monthly or $99/year. It raises capacity to 15 users per board, 250 saved pictures and 100 background images, removes ads and includes unlimited technical support. This is the clearest fit for a tutor or small group that needs recurring sessions and support without moving to a larger tier.

50-user Hosted Groupboard costs $19.99 a month, billed monthly or $199/year. Its 50-user boards, 500 saved pictures and 200 background images suit larger classes or collaborative groups, while retaining the ad-free experience and unlimited technical support. The annual prices are lower than paying monthly for twelve months, but commit payment by year rather than month.

Both paid tiers raise the free plan's user and storage caps; the choice between them chiefly depends on whether a board needs room for 15 or 50 users. Hosted subscribers receive support during their subscription. Self-hosted versions are also offered, but no price is given for them, so they require custom pricing.

Platforms

Groupboard supports web, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux, as well as self-hosted deployment and an API. HTML5 browser support on iOS and Android means mobile participation does not require an app download. The API and embedding options are specifically associated with paid hosted plans.

Who it's for

Groupboard is strongest for tutors, schools and universities that need a shared board for distance learning, especially when students should join from a browser and the instructor wants the canvas to persist. The hosted 15-user plan is a sensible starting point for small classes; larger groups can use the 50-user tier. Solo users or groups that need a free board for more than five participants should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

Pros: Persistent board contents support work between sessions; guests can join in HTML5 browsers without downloads; hosted tiers provide embedding, API access and unlimited technical support.

Cons: The free plan is capped at five users per board and includes ads; the larger 50-user allowance requires the higher-priced tier; embedding and API access are limited to paid hosted plans.

Alternatives

For a broader shortlist, compare Collaborative Whiteboard Software and Online Whiteboard Tools.

Boardmix is another freemium option with a free plan and API, mobile, desktop, web and self-hosted platform support; choose it if you want to compare another platform with a free tier.

Canva Whiteboards has a free plan and a Canva Pro plan at $144 a year for one person; consider it if its paid plan’s templates and premium media are relevant to your work.

Miro offers a free plan with 3 editable boards, 7,000+ templates and 250+ integrations, and a Starter plan at $8 a month billed yearly. Pick it if those templates and integrations matter more than Groupboard’s larger paid user caps.

Ziteboard has a free Starter plan with 3 owned boards and unlimited shared boards and real-time collaborators, subject to limited data traffic. It is worth comparing if you need more than five collaborators without paying, and can accept the traffic limit.

Collaboard has a free plan with 3 whiteboards, 5 participants per board and 200+ templates. Choose it if templates are more important than Groupboard’s higher hosted participant limits.

Creately has a free plan with unlimited canvases and collaborators, capped at 45 items per canvas. It may fit groups that prioritize unlimited collaborators over a higher per-board item allowance.

Webex App offers a free plan with meetings up to 40 minutes and 100 attendees; choose it when time-limited meetings and larger attendee counts matter more than a persistent whiteboard.

Apache OpenMeetings is a free option for readers comparing another self-hosted collaboration tool.

Verdict

Choose Groupboard for lessons and collaborative work that need a persistent, guest-accessible whiteboard, particularly if browser access and self-hosting matter. The paid tiers make its user caps and support practical for groups up to 50 per board. Look elsewhere if you need more than five participants without paying, or if your central need is meetings rather than a shared canvas.