Top 10 Free Padlet Alternatives
Padlet is the wall everyone knows, but its free plan stops at three padlets with 20 MB uploads. Anyone who runs a board per class, per sprint, or per week hits the cap fast, and then the choice is deleting student work or paying. If what you need is a shared board people can post to for free, there are real options.
We checked the pricing pages of the tools people recommend instead and kept the ten where a group can genuinely keep posting for nothing. The order is our recommendation, weighted toward how close the tool is to a Padlet-style wall, how far the free tier goes, and whether contributors can post without an account. Reviews are grouped by the kind of tool you get.
How we picked these
- You can keep making boards. Padlet's free plan stops at three padlets. Every pick here either has no board cap or says its cap up front. Miro, Mural, and Wakelet were dropped for capping free users at three boards or collections - the exact limit people are escaping.
- Checked against live pages. Every limit quoted here comes from the tool's own pricing or help page as of September 25, 2026, linked in each review. Free tiers change; the links let you re-check.
- A shared board, not a solo canvas. Each tool lets several people post notes to one board in a plain browser. Dead and dying options are out: Google Jamboard shut down at the end of 2024, and Microsoft Whiteboard stops personal-account editing in September 2026.
- Low friction for the people posting. A class or team should not need thirty new accounts. Tools where contributors post through a bare link or join code rank higher, and every review says who has to sign in.
All ten at a glance
Ranked by how well each replaces Padlet for free. Each card links to the full review.
Lino
The closest free stand-in for Padlet's wall: sticky notes, photos, and videos on as many shared canvases as you want.
IdeaBoardz
A spartan free sticky-note board with columns, voting, and free PDF or Excel export - no tiers anywhere.
StickyArchive boards
A permanent public wall of sticky notes. Anyone with the link posts without an account, and nothing expires.
Canva Whiteboard
Sticky notes, images, and templates on Canva's free plan, with no stated cap on how many whiteboards you create.
Excalidraw
An open-source hand-drawn whiteboard: open the site, draw, share a live collaboration link. No account exists to ask for.
FigJam
Figma's sticky-note whiteboard: three free team boards, 24-hour open sessions for guests, and free unlimited use for verified educators.
tldraw
A very fast infinite whiteboard that calls itself 'free online whiteboard, no sign up' - open it and share the link.
Flinga
A Finnish classroom tool where students join a board with a short code and no account. Free accounts hold five sessions.
Netboard.me
Teacher-oriented content boards: collect links, docs, and media on unlimited free netboards, with edit access via link.
Stormboard
A structured sticky-note meeting tool, free for up to five people per board on the Personal plan.
Free limits as listed on each tool's pricing or help page, September 25, 2026.
Sticky note walls closest to Padlet
These work the way Padlet does: a board, a link, people add notes. None of them caps you at three boards, and on all three, contributors can post without creating an account.
1. Lino
Unlimited canvasesGuests post if you allow itBest for: a Padlet-style wall with photos, minus the three-board cap
Lino has been running sticky-note canvases since before Padlet existed, and its free tier still does the whole basic job: create a canvas, put sticky notes, photos, and videos on it, and share the link. There is no cap on how many canvases you make, and a public canvas can be set to 'Allow guests to put stickies', so a class or team posts without creating accounts.
The 2010s interface is the trade: it works everywhere, but it looks dated next to Padlet, and heavier use pushes you toward the $3-a-month Premium. It is run by Asteria Corporation and has stayed alive and free while trendier boards came and went.
- No cap on the number of canvases
- Guests post without an account when allowed
- Photos, videos, and file stickies
- Due dates with email reminders
- Groups for private class or team canvases
2. IdeaBoardz
Fully freeNo account needed to postBest for: retros, exit tickets, and quick brainstorms with zero setup
IdeaBoardz is the fastest route from 'we need a board' to people typing: name a board, pick columns, share the URL. Nobody logs in unless they want to, nothing is paid, and the finished board exports to PDF or Excel for free. The site's own counter showed over 36 million notes across 3.4 million boards when we checked.
It is retro-shaped rather than wall-shaped: columns like 'went well / needs work' suit sprint reviews and classroom exit tickets better than a freeform photo wall. Text-only stickies and an old-school interface are the whole product - which, for many of the things people use Padlet for, is exactly enough.
- Completely free, no tiers at all
- Posting needs no account
- Free PDF and Excel export
- Column layouts with voting
- Running since the early 2010s
3. StickyArchive boards
Unlimited, kept foreverPosting needs no accountBest for: a class or team wall you keep forever rather than reset each term
Full disclosure: StickyArchive is this site. A board here is a shared wall of handwritten-style sticky notes - sign in once to create it, then anyone with the link adds a note without an account, and notes appear instantly. There is no board limit and no post limit, and everything is archived permanently; readers can heart notes and sort the wall by latest or most loved.
It is deliberately simpler than Padlet: text notes only, no file uploads, no layouts to configure. And boards you share are public (you can keep a board private, but then only you can open it) - fine for a gratitude wall or a question wall, wrong for anything sensitive. Choose it when the point is a wall that is still there years later, not a workspace.
- No board or post limits anywhere
- Contributors post instantly, no account
- Everything archived permanently
- Hearts and most-loved sorting built in
- Nothing to configure
Free whiteboards with sticky notes
Infinite canvases rather than tidy walls. You trade Padlet's neat post feed for freedom: stickies, drawings, and images anywhere, with generous or nonexistent free limits.
4. Canva Whiteboard
Free plan, 5 GB storageEditors sign in (free)Best for: media-rich boards when everyone can sign in to Canva
Canva's free plan includes Whiteboards alongside the rest of its design tools: infinite canvases with sticky notes, shapes, images, and timers, real-time collaboration, and the template library teachers already raid for worksheets. There is no stated cap on the number of whiteboards; the free plan's ceilings are 5 GB of total storage and a small monthly AI allowance.
The friction is accounts: everyone editing a board signs in with a free Canva account, so it suits a team or an older class better than a drop-in audience. In exchange you get the most polished free canvas on this list, plus free PDF and image export.
- Whiteboards included on the free plan
- No stated cap on board count
- Sticky notes, media, timers, templates
- Free PDF and image export
- 5 GB storage on the free plan
5. Excalidraw
Free, no accountNo account for anyoneBest for: sketch-style brainstorms and diagrams with zero signup
Excalidraw is the no-questions-asked whiteboard: open excalidraw.com and start. Sticky-note rectangles, arrows, and text all get the hand-drawn look, a live collaboration session is one Share click away (end-to-end encrypted), and PNG or SVG export is free. There is no account system at all.
The board lives in your browser unless you export it or keep the session link, so treat it as a working surface rather than an archive. It is fully open source with an active repository, which is the best insurance available against a free tool disappearing.
- Free with no account, ever
- Live collaboration via one link
- Free PNG and SVG export
- Open source with an active repo
- Works offline as a browser app
6. FigJam
3 boards + open sessionsParticipants sign in (free)Best for: workshops and design-adjacent teams; unlimited in verified classrooms
FigJam is the nicest sticky-note experience on this list: stamps, votes, timers, and stickies that feel good to throw around. The free Starter plan caps a team at three FigJam boards - the same number that makes Padlet frustrating - but two doors open it up: drafts outside the team folder are unlimited, and 'open sessions' let you invite anyone into a board for 24 hours, with unlimited sessions.
The real unlock is education: verified teachers and students get Figma's education plan free, which removes the file caps entirely. If you can verify, FigJam jumps several places up this list; if you cannot, budget the three boards like you budgeted Padlet's.
- Polished sticky notes, votes, timers, stamps
- Open sessions: 24-hour guest access, unlimited sessions
- Unlimited drafts outside the team folder
- Free education plan for verified teachers and students
- PNG, JPG, PDF, and CSV export
7. tldraw
Free, no sign-upNo sign-up to drawBest for: instant shared canvases that feel great to draw on
tldraw is the modern take on the instant whiteboard: a fast, clean infinite canvas with sticky notes, shapes, and drawing tools that runs entirely in the browser and describes itself as a free online whiteboard with no sign up. Share the URL and others are on your board in seconds.
Like Excalidraw it is a canvas first and a wall second - there is no post feed, moderation, or board gallery to hand a class. The company's business is licensing the underlying SDK to other apps, which is what keeps the whiteboard itself free.
- No sign-up to start or join
- Real-time collaboration via link
- Fast, polished canvas with sticky notes
- Free image export
- Built on an actively developed open SDK
Built for classrooms and small teams
Purpose-built tools with capped but honest free tiers. Worth it when the cap matches the size of your group.
8. Flinga
5 sessions freeStudents join by codeBest for: live lessons where students post from phones in seconds
Flinga is built for exactly one scene: a teacher opens a session, students type flinga.fi and a join code into their phones, and answers appear on the shared board - nobody installs anything or makes an account. Its two modes cover most class uses: a freeform Whiteboard for idea maps and a Wall that lines up cards with voting.
A free account holds five sessions, so a running class reuses or clears them - more headroom than Padlet's three boards, same idea. It is a small Finnish product with education-research roots, and sessions can be locked so a board stops changing when the lesson ends.
- Students join by code, no accounts
- Five sessions on a free account
- Whiteboard and Wall modes with voting
- Sessions can be locked after class
- Works on any phone browser
9. Netboard.me
Unlimited boardsEdit links, no accountBest for: collecting lesson materials on boards students open without accounts
Netboard.me is the teacher's pinboard of this list: pages that mix links, documents, images, and embeds, organized with tabs and sections. The free plan does not cap how many netboards you make - the limits sit elsewhere: up to three boards shared privately, and no video or audio uploads.
Viewers need no account, and you can hand out editing rights through access links to people without accounts, which makes a class collecting research on a shared page workable. It is a small product with a plainly utilitarian look, closer to a multimedia bulletin board than a live lesson tool.
- Unlimited netboards on the free plan
- Access links let others edit without accounts
- Tabs and sections for organizing materials
- Embeds, links, docs, and images
- Learning games and cards included free
10. Stormboard
Free for 5 per stormMembers sign inBest for: small-team retros and planning sessions with templates
Stormboard does sticky notes with more structure than anyone else here: boards ('storms') come with templates for retros, SWOTs, and planning, notes group into sections, and each sticky can hold comments and files. The Personal plan is free with no credit card and includes the core canvas.
The cap that matters is people: five members per storm on the free plan, with 20 MB of storage per user. That rules out the whole-class Padlet scene and points it at exactly one audience - a small team that meets, sorts stickies, and leaves with actions.
- Free Personal plan, no credit card
- Meeting templates for retros and planning
- Notes hold comments and small files
- Structured sections instead of a loose wall
Which one should you use?
The same three facts decide it for most groups: how many boards the free tier really gives you, whether people can post without an account, and what a note can hold.
| # | Tool | Free limit | Post without account | What notes can hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lino | Unlimited canvases | If enabled | Photos & video |
| 2 | IdeaBoardz | Fully free | Yes | Text only |
| 3 | StickyArchive boards | Unlimited, kept forever | Yes | Text only |
| 4 | Canva Whiteboard | Free plan, 5 GB storage | No | Photos, video, files |
| 5 | Excalidraw | Free, no account | Yes | Drawings & images |
| 6 | FigJam | 3 boards + open sessions | No | Images & media |
| 7 | tldraw | Free, no sign-up | Yes | Drawings & images |
| 8 | Flinga | 5 sessions free | Yes | Mostly text |
| 9 | Netboard.me | Unlimited boards | Via link | Links, docs, images |
| 10 | Stormboard | Free for 5 per storm | No | Files up to 20 MB |
A straight Padlet swap with photos: Lino - unlimited canvases, and guests post once you allow it.
A class posting from phones in seconds: Flinga - students join with a code, no accounts anywhere.
A wall that is still there next year: a StickyArchive board - unlimited notes, no contributor accounts, archived permanently.
The most polished free canvas: Canva Whiteboard - if everyone in the group can sign in.
You teach and can verify it: FigJam - the free education plan removes the board caps entirely.
Start a free board on StickyArchive
A wall of sticky notes for a class, a team, or a question of the week. No board or post limits, contributors need no account, and every note is kept permanently.
Questions people actually ask
How limited is Padlet's free plan?
Padlet's own plans page lists the free tier at 3 padlets with 20 MB file uploads (checked September 25, 2026). Posts per board are not capped and visitors can post through a link, which is why the constraint sneaks up on people: the three boards fill with real work, and board four costs money.
Why aren't Miro and Mural on the list?
Both are excellent whiteboards, but their free tiers keep only 3 boards editable - the same cap that sends people away from Padlet. Miro parks everything beyond 3 boards, and Mural keeps only your 3 most recent murals editable. As an escape from a three-board limit, they are a lateral move.
What happened to Google Jamboard and Microsoft Whiteboard?
Jamboard shut down on December 31, 2024. Microsoft Whiteboard is being folded into OneDrive-backed boards for work and school accounts: from September 25, 2026, personal Microsoft accounts can no longer create or edit whiteboards, and Microsoft deletes remaining legacy boards on October 16, 2026. Neither is a safe recommendation anymore.
Which alternatives work without student accounts?
Flinga (join code), IdeaBoardz, StickyArchive, Excalidraw, and tldraw need no contributor accounts at all. Lino allows guest posting when the canvas owner enables it, and Netboard.me hands out edit access links. Canva, FigJam, and Stormboard require everyone to sign in.
Is Scrumblr still around?
Yes - scrumblr.ca still runs the free open-source sticky board with no accounts anywhere. We left it off the list because the hosted demo makes no promises about keeping your board and it is text-only, but if you can self-host, the source is on GitHub and it remains the most frictionless retro board ever made.