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The best online whiteboard for tutoring, compared honestly
Eight tools a tutor might pick in 2026, including ours, with the price each one publishes and what it is actually for. Writeboard is on the list and its row is written the same way as the others. Where we could not verify something, the cell says so.
Updated 29 August 2026. Written by a working maths tutor; prices and rival features checked on that date, with the source under each table.
The short answer
For a record of the teaching (books, past papers under ink, homework, exports), Writeboard. For calls inside the whiteboard, BitPaper or Pencil Spaces. For a quick free board with no account, Ziteboard. For recording explanations as video, Explain Everything. For note apps you already own, GoodNotes and Notability now collaborate live. Miro is a team tool that tutors sometimes use; it is not built for lessons.
| Tool | Solo price | Calls built in | PDF pages | Homework | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writeboard | Free for 3 students; £6 a month | No | Pages under ink, picker | Boxed, due dates, hand-in | Tutors who want the lesson kept as a book |
| BitPaper | $15 a month | Audio, video, chat, screen | PDF, JPEG, PNG uploads | Not listed | One link, one tab, call included |
| Pencil Spaces | $6 a month for 25 user hours, then $0.75 an hour | Yes | Not listed on pricing | Not listed on pricing | Agencies that bill by the hour |
| Ziteboard | Free; Pro $9 a month or $85 a year | Pro only | Free: first page only; Pro: full | No | A fast board with no set-up |
| LiveBoard | Free for 1 student; Premium $9.99 a month yearly | Premium | Content import | No | Recording sessions to PDF |
| Miro | Free for 3 boards; Starter $8 a member a month yearly | No | Yes | No | Team work, not lessons |
| Explain Everything | Free; Pro £5.83 a month yearly, £7.99 monthly | No (collaboration for 8) | Yes | No | Recording explanations as video |
| GoodNotes, Notability | Pricing not verified | No | Yes | No | Live pages in a note app you own |
Sources, all checked 29 August 2026: BitPaper, Pencil Spaces, Ziteboard, LiveBoard, Miro, Explain Everything. GoodNotes and Notability collaboration is from their release notes (Notability 16.0, March 2026); their tiers were not verified. Prices are as published, before tax, in the currency each vendor quotes. Corrections to hello@writeboard.uk.
What to weigh
Calls. Built-in calls save a tab and cost money: the tools with calls cost $9 to $15 a month. Many tutors run the call on a phone anyway, because a browser reload then does not drop the student.
Pages or canvas. An infinite canvas (Miro, Ziteboard) is quick and disposable. Fixed pages (Writeboard, the note apps) print and export exactly as written and can be turned to a month later. For exam work the pages win; for a one-off brainstorm the canvas wins.
What the student keeps. Only Writeboard gives the student their own shelf with the books, the homework and a hand-in button. Everywhere else the record is a link the tutor owns.
Past papers. Check whether the PDF stays under the ink when you clear the page. In Writeboard it does; in Ziteboard's free tier only the first page imports.
Questions tutors ask
What is the best free online whiteboard for tutoring?
For one-to-one tuition with a record to keep, Writeboard is free for three students with no time limit. Ziteboard's free tier imports only the first page of a PDF; LiveBoard's free tier allows one student and one session; Miro's allows three boards. Explain Everything's free tier caps videos at three minutes.
Do I need a whiteboard with video calls built in?
Only if you want one tab. BitPaper, Pencil Spaces, Ziteboard Pro and LiveBoard Premium build calls in. Writeboard and the note apps expect a call on Zoom, Meet or FaceTime, usually on a second device, which many tutors prefer because the call survives a browser reload.
Which whiteboards work with an Apple Pencil?
All of them accept pencil input in a browser. The ones built for it (Writeboard, GoodNotes, Notability) handle pressure, palm rejection and a finger-versus-pencil distinction; the browser-first tools treat the pencil as a mouse.
What does a tutoring whiteboard cost in 2026?
Between nothing and about £12 a month for a solo tutor. Writeboard £6, Explain Everything Pro £5.83 to £7.99, Miro Starter $8, Ziteboard Pro $9, LiveBoard Premium $9.99, BitPaper $15. Pencil Spaces meters by user hours from $6 a month.