A Freeform alternative that works on Windows, Android and the web

The catch with Freeform

Apple's own collaboration guide says: "To edit or view the board, everyone you share with must be signed in to their Apple Account." Full collaboration also needs Freeform turned on in iCloud and two-factor authentication, and the viewing or editing needs iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, macOS 13.1 or later.

That's fine when everyone has an iPhone. It breaks the moment your student has a Chromebook, your sister has an Android phone or your coworker is on Windows.

• Big boards get heavy. iPad users on Reddit report lag, heat and battery drain once a board holds a few pages of handwriting.
• It sketches, but it doesn't plan. There are no tasks, due dates or calendar, and a call hands you off to FaceTime instead of happening on the board.
• Some extras now cost money. Premium content and intelligence features in Freeform come with an Apple Creator Studio subscription ($12.99 a month). The app itself is still free.

Freeform and Instaboard side by side

Showing a Freeform board to someone who isn't on Apple

Freeform has three ways to share, and only one of them works for a Windows or Android user:

So a PDF is the only thing a non-Apple person can open, and they can't add anything to it. If you need them to write on the plan too, the board has to live somewhere that runs in their browser. On Instaboard, anyone with the link can view without an account, and they sign in for free with Google, Apple or email to edit. The step-by-step version is in how to share a Freeform board with Windows or Android.

Where Freeform is the better choice

• It's free with no board or item limits.
• It's already there. Freeform comes with every Apple device and uses the Apple Account you already have.
• Apple's pen tools are excellent: Scribble, the reed pen and Writing Tools for handwriting.
• More kinds of content: Scenes for presenting, tables, 700+ shapes and document scanning.

For sketching on your own, or a household where everyone uses Apple devices, Freeform is hard to beat.

When Instaboard fits better

• Someone in the group isn't on Apple. They open the link in any browser or the Android app.
• You teach or tutor. Start a call on the board, and your student writes on the same page from whatever device they have.
• You're planning, not just sketching: a trip, an event or a move, with who does what and by when.
• The plan gets big. Any card can open into its own board, so the main board stays readable.

What to know before you switch

• The free plan has limits: 5 boards, 150 cards and items, 3 images per board.
• People who want to edit need a free sign-in. Viewing needs nothing.
• No AI image generation, tables or presentation mode.
• No Freeform import. Export your board as a PDF (how to export a Freeform board) and import it into Instaboard, where it opens as pages you can write on. The PDF is a picture of the board, so its notes and shapes don't come back as separate items, and each imported PDF uses one of your 5 free boards.

Questions