Updated after Padlet's June 30, 2026 change
Padlet alternatives for teachers and tutors, now that Sandboxes count
Padlet's free plan has been limited to 3 padlets since 2018. For a while, Sandboxes, Padlet's Jamboard replacement, were unlimited. That ended on June 30, 2026: boards and Sandboxes now share the same 3, and extras turned read-only. Here is what that means and what to use instead.
Opens in your browser. Anyone can view; a free sign-in lets you edit.
Updated
The short answer
- Padlet Free allows 3 padlets in total, boards and Sandboxes combined. Jotboard says its free plan has unlimited boards.
- The next plan for one teacher is Platinum at $120 a year. The cheaper Gold plan is no longer on Padlet's pricing page.
- Instaboard in short: Students open your link and can view with no account; to write they sign in once, free, and you set the board to "Anyone with the link can edit" (new boards start view-only). The free plan is 5 boards, 150 items and 3 pictures per board; pen strokes don't count. Pro is $59.99 a year (about $5 a month) or $7.99 monthly. Free calls on the board run up to 60 minutes per call, with a warning 10 minutes before the end; everyone signs in free, calls aren't recorded, and Pro has no limit. It runs in the browser on Windows, Mac and Chromebook (open the board in Chrome), and as an app on iPhone, iPad and Android.
- For whole-class posting without student accounts, Padlet is still a strong fit, and Whiteboard.fi beats us on account-free students. For drawing and a live call with a student who writes too, try Instaboard.
Padlet alternatives compared on what's free
| Tool | What the free plan gives you | Students need accounts? |
|---|---|---|
| Jotboard | Unlimited boards, up to 5 collaborators at a time, PDF import and export (Jotboard's own page) | No, guests join by link (Jotboard says) |
| Whiteboard.fi | A class session for up to 10 students with no account, or 20 with a free teacher account | No: students enter a name and join by link, pin code or QR code |
| Miro | Free Educator plan for verified teachers: 100 team members and unlimited boards | Students can be invited without registering |
| FigJam | Free forever with unlimited collaborators in 3 editable files | Open sessions let anyone join free for 24 hours, no account |
| Excalidraw | Free: 1 infinite scene, unlimited collaborators, share by link. Plus is $6 a month per user | Collaborators join by link |
| Wakelet | Starter: create and publish up to 3 collections, add up to 250 items (3 collections of 50 items plus 100 unsorted, per its help pages); no iPhone or Android store app, it runs as a mobile web app | Not checked |
| Lino | Its home page calls it a free sticky and canvas service that needs only a web browser; stickies can carry due dates and file attachments. Its plans page didn't load when we tried, so limits are unchecked | Not stated on its home page |
| Digipad | Free: La Digitale's tools are open source and funded by donations, per its blog. Walls take files from your device and links; plan limits not found on its pages | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Canva Whiteboards | Free for verified teachers and students | Yes, invited by email |
| Instaboard (us) | 5 boards, 150 cards and items (pen strokes don't count), unlimited collaborators | To view, no. To write, a free sign-in |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
From each tool's own pricing, help or education page, checked November 2 and 3, 2026 (Lino and Digipad November 11; Canva November 2; Wakelet November 5). Padlet Free is 3 padlets, boards and Sandboxes combined.
On a Chromebook, open the board in the Chrome browser; students sign in free to write.
Pick on the one limit that bites you. A free Padlet wall is a good fit while you stay under 3. If you need more boards without paying, Jotboard says it has no board cap. If you teach one to one and want the student to write on the board with you, Instaboard is built for that.
Which Padlet alternative for which need
| If you need | Look at | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|
| More than 3 boards for free | Jotboard (says unlimited), Miro Educator for verified teachers | Jotboard's free plan allows 5 collaborators at a time; Miro Educator needs verification |
| Students who never sign in | Padlet, Whiteboard.fi, Jotboard | Instaboard is not the one: students sign in free to write. Whiteboard.fi caps a session at 10 students with no account |
| Moderation and school safety | Padlet Classroom or School | Paid: $160 a year for 2 teachers, or from $1,200 a year for 10. Instaboard has no moderation tools |
| To see each student's own board | Whiteboard.fi | A class tool, not a shared wall. Instaboard has no class mode (students can follow your view by tapping your face, but you can't lock the board) |
| Due-date email reminders on sticky notes | Lino | Its plans page didn't load when we checked, so its limits are unchecked. Instaboard sends no reminders |
| A free wall of files and links your students post | Digipad | The pages we read describe a wall of posts and name no drawing or call. Instaboard has both, with a free sign-in to write |
| A free sketchpad, no frills | Excalidraw | 1 scene on the free plan, no wall of posts |
| Drawing and a live call with one student writing too | Instaboard | Free sign-in to write, 5 boards, no recording |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
From the pricing, help and education pages listed under Sources, checked November 3, 2026.
Why teachers look for something else
Padlet's own pricing page shows what the free plan holds: 3 padlets, 20 MB uploads, 1 user account, 2-minute video recordings and 5-minute audio recordings. The first paid steps are Platinum at $120 a year for one person and Classroom at $160 a year for 2 teachers. Comparison sites such as flat.social also name the 3-padlet cap, the wall-and-grid layouts and mostly one-way posting as reasons people leave; those are their opinions, not Padlet facts.
What Padlet's free plan includes
| Free plan (called Neon in the help center) | Platinum, $120 a year |
|---|---|
| 3 padlets in total, boards and Sandboxes | Unlimited padlets |
| Unlimited posts, no ads, folders, slideshow | Everything in Free |
| 20 MB per upload | 500 MB per upload |
| Video recordings up to 2 minutes, audio up to 5 | Video up to 15 minutes, audio up to 30 |
| 1 user account | 1 user account, API access |
From padlet.com/site/subscriptions and the Padlet Help article on subscription plans, checked November 3, 2026.
All seven formats are on the free plan: Columns (formerly Shelf), Freeform (formerly Canvas), Maps, Stream, Grid, Wall and Timeline. Padlet Classroom is $160 a year for 2 teachers and lists 100 free student accounts. School and District start at $1,200 a year for 10 teachers.
What changed on Padlet's free plan
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| April 2018 | Free accounts were limited to 3 padlets. |
| December 2024 | Padlet removed the Archive folder, so free users had to export or delete old padlets. |
| September 2025 to June 30, 2026 | A promotion let free accounts make unlimited Sandboxes. |
| July 1, 2026 | Free accounts are back to 3 padlets in total, boards and Sandboxes combined. Extras became read-only. |
From Padlet's pricing page, help center and blog, checked October 22, 2026.
Nothing over the limit was deleted. Extra padlets are frozen: you can still open and export them, but to make a new one you have to trash some or upgrade.
Padlet and Instaboard side by side
| Padlet | Instaboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 3 padlets (boards and Sandboxes), unlimited posts | 5 boards, 150 cards and items (pen strokes don't count) |
| Paid, one teacher | Platinum $120 a year ($15 monthly) | Pro $59.99 a year ($7.99 monthly) |
| Students post without an account | Yes by default; you can require a login with the Secret - Log in link privacy | No: students view without an account and sign in free to write |
| Drawing | In Sandboxes: pen, highlighter, shapes | Pressure-sensitive pen, highlighter and laser pointer on an open board |
| Live video call | No (video recordings in posts) | Yes, on the board: up to 60 minutes per call with a warning 10 minutes before the end, everyone signs in free, no recording. Pro has no limit |
| Files on the free plan | 20 MB per upload | 3 images and 1 file (10 MB) per board |
| Tasks and dates | No | Checklists, assignees, due dates, calendar lists |
| Moderation and school admin | Content safety features on Classroom and School plans; LMS and SSO on School | No |
| Offline | No offline mode | Changes are kept and sync when you're back online |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Padlet facts from padlet.com/site/subscriptions and Padlet's help center, checked November 3, 2026 (offline mode: October 22).
When to stay on Padlet
- Whole-class walls. Contributors can post without signing in unless you turn on a login requirement.
- Formats. Columns, Freeform, Maps, Stream, Grid, Wall and Timeline are all on the free plan, and slideshow turns a padlet into a presentation.
- School safety. Content safety features on Classroom and School plans, plus student accounts on Classroom and LMS integration and SSO on School.
- Your school already pays for it.
When Instaboard fits better
- Tutoring and small groups. Start a call on the board, your student writes on the same page, and the board is still there next week.
- One board per student or unit, with your PDF worksheets imported as pages you can write on.
- Lesson planning: lists, due dates and a timer next to your drawings.
- A paid step that costs less than Platinum if you outgrow 5 boards: Pro is $59.99 a year ($7.99 monthly) against Platinum at $120.
What to know before you switch
- Students need a free sign-in (Google, Apple or email) to write. That's a poor fit for young children without accounts.
- There are no moderation tools or school admin features.
- The free plan has 5 boards, 150 cards and items, and 3 images per board.
- No Padlet import. Export a padlet as a PDF and import the PDF into Instaboard. Each imported PDF uses one of your 5 boards.
If you tutor one to one
A wall of posts is built for a class. For a tutor and one student, the board, the call and the worksheet in one place is simpler. See Instaboard as a whiteboard for online tutoring for the free limits, the student sign-in and where other tools do better.
Start from the ready board
It opens in your browser in a few seconds, with nothing to install. Sign in for free when you want to save it and share it.
Questions
How many padlets can I have for free?
Three in total. Padlet's help center says the free plan allows 3 total padlets, boards and Sandboxes combined, and since July 1, 2026 Sandboxes count toward the same limit as boards. Padlet's pricing-page FAQ words it as up to 3 active padlets, so check your own account if you are close to the limit.
What happens to padlets over the free limit?
They're frozen as read-only. You can still open and export them, but you can't make a new padlet until you're under the limit or upgrade.
Is Padlet Gold still available?
Not for new subscribers. Padlet's pricing page lists Free, Platinum ($120 a year), Team and school plans; Gold is only mentioned for existing subscribers.
Is Wakelet still a free Padlet alternative?
Not an unlimited one. Wakelet's pricing page (read November 11, 2026) says the free Starter plan lets you create up to 3 collections, publish up to 3 and add up to 250 items, and its Education Group plan is $160 a year for 1 teacher and 30 students. Wakelet's help page says it has no separate app in the App Store or Google Play and runs as a mobile web app.
Can students use Instaboard without an account?
They can open and view a shared board without one. To write on it, they sign in for free with Google, Apple or email.
Is there a free Padlet alternative with unlimited boards?
Jotboard says its free plan has unlimited boards, with up to 5 collaborators at a time (its own comparison page, checked November 3, 2026). Miro's free Educator plan, for verified teachers, lists unlimited boards and 100 team members. FigJam's free plan covers 3 editable files and Excalidraw's covers 1 scene. Instaboard's free plan has 5 boards.
Which Padlet alternative doesn't need student accounts?
On Whiteboard.fi students enter a name and join by link, pin code or QR code, with up to 10 students per session without an account and 20 with a free teacher account. Jotboard says guests join without an account. FigJam's open sessions let anyone join free for 24 hours. On Instaboard students can view without an account but sign in free to write.
Can students post on Padlet without signing in?
Yes by default. Padlet's help center says contributors can add content anonymously by not signing in, and you can require a login by setting link privacy to Secret - Log in.
What does Padlet's free plan include?
Three padlets in total, unlimited posts, all seven formats, folders, slideshow and no ads, with 20 MB per upload, 1 user account, 2-minute video and 5-minute audio recordings. Platinum at $120 a year removes the padlet limit.
Is Instaboard free?
Yes. The free plan includes 5 boards, 150 cards and items across your account (pen strokes, arrows and sections don't count), 3 images and 1 file per board, unlimited collaborators and video calls up to an hour. Pro is $5 a month billed yearly ($59.99 a year), or $7.99 monthly, and the people you invite join free.
Sources
- Padlet pricing (read November 11, 2026: Classroom $160 a year for 2 teachers, 100 free student accounts)
- Jotboard pricing
- Jotboard: Padlet alternative (checked November 3, 2026)
- Whiteboard.fi support: student limits per session (checked November 3, 2026)
- Whiteboard.fi support: how students join a class (checked November 3, 2026)
- FigJam online whiteboard (checked November 3, 2026)
- Excalidraw pricing (checked November 3, 2026)
- Lino: home page (free sticky and canvas service, due-date email reminders, file attachments; read November 11, 2026)
- Digipad: home page (collaborative multimedia walls; read November 11, 2026)
- La Digitale: free and open-source tools for education (read November 11, 2026)
- La Digitale blog on Digipad, in French (files and links on a wall; tools free and funded by donations; read November 11, 2026)
- flat.social: 9 Padlet alternatives (a competitor's opinions)
- Wakelet pricing (read November 11, 2026: Education Group $160 a year for 1 teacher and 30 students)
- Wakelet Help: How to use Wakelet on your phone or tablet (read November 5, 2026)
- Wakelet Help: About the Starter plan
- Miro for Education (checked November 3, 2026)
- Canva for Education
- Padlet Help: Subscription plans (checked November 3, 2026)
- Padlet Help: What is Sandbox?
- Padlet Help: Upgrade or downgrade your account
- Padlet blog: Sandbox card templates (promotion dates)
- Padlet Help: Prevent anonymous posting (checked November 3, 2026)
- Wakelet Help: About the Starter plan (checked November 3, 2026)
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