Mural vs Miro vs FigJam — what each does best.
Short answer
Miro is the most feature-complete digital whiteboard, best for complex workshops and large distributed teams. FigJam is the fastest and cleanest tool, best for design teams already in Figma. Mural has the strongest facilitation structure, best for professional workshop facilitators and consulting teams. All three are digital tools — none replaces the speed and engagement of a real whiteboard in the same room.
All three are digital whiteboard tools for remote and hybrid collaboration. The differences matter depending on your workflow.
Miro. The broadest feature set: sticky notes, mind maps, kanban boards, flowcharts, timelines, voting widgets, and 2,500+ templates. Integrates with Jira, Confluence, Asana, and most enterprise tools. Used by teams at Microsoft, Netflix, Spotify. Best for: large distributed teams running complex multi-hour workshops. Pricing starts free (3 boards), Teams at $8/month/user. Limitation: the breadth of features means a steeper learning curve; new users often feel lost. Also, the canvas can become cluttered quickly without strong facilitation.
FigJam. Built by Figma, designed for speed and simplicity. Familiar to any designer who uses Figma. Templates for retros, standups, and brainstorms. Strong emoji/sticker reaction system that makes async participation feel human. Best for: product and design teams, quick brainstorms, and async collaboration. Pricing: free for 3 files, Professional at $5/month/editor (part of Figma's plan). Limitation: fewer enterprise integrations, less suited for non-design workflows (no Jira or Asana native sync).
Mural. Built specifically for structured facilitation. Has guided "facilitation mode" where the facilitator controls what participants see. Strong template library oriented toward business and consulting workshops (journey maps, SWOT, value proposition canvas). Used heavily by consulting firms and large enterprises running client-facing workshops. Best for: professional facilitators running structured sessions with participants who are not regular tool users. Pricing: free tier (3 murals), Team+ at $9.99/month/user. Limitation: has fallen behind Miro in feature development over the last two years; some users find the interface less intuitive.
What they all can't do. None of them replace a real whiteboard in the room. Physical whiteboards produce faster alignment in co-located sessions, better spatial memory (people remember where things were on the board), and higher engagement — research consistently shows in-person whiteboarding outperforms digital for creative work when participants are co-located.
For hybrid sessions — some remote, some in-room — the best setup is a physical whiteboard for in-room participants plus a screen sharing the digital board for remote participants. After the session, snap the physical whiteboard with BoardSnap to capture the physical content as a clean, searchable summary alongside the digital board.
Frequently asked
Is FigJam free?
FigJam is free for up to 3 files with unlimited collaborators on those files. The Professional plan ($5/editor/month, billed as part of Figma Professional) removes the file limit and adds version history.
Can non-designers use FigJam?
Yes. FigJam is substantially simpler than Figma — it's designed for everyone in the organization, not just designers. The learning curve is about 5 minutes for basic use. Non-designers comfortable with any collaboration tool (Google Docs, Notion) adapt to FigJam quickly.
Which tool is best for a workshop with external clients?
Mural, because its facilitation mode lets you control what participants see — useful for guiding clients who are unfamiliar with the tool. Miro also works well, but its open canvas can be overwhelming for first-time users. FigJam is best suited for internal teams who are already in the Figma ecosystem.
See it work in ten seconds.
BoardSnap is free on the App Store. Snap a board — get a summary and action plan.