IdeaBoardz
2.9Free shared brainstorming boards
IdeaBoardz is a long-standing free brainstorming and retrospective board where anyone can spin up a shared URL, add ideas in customisable sections, vote, and export to PDF or Excel. The site is still online and the app still works, but the product appears to be in maintenance mode at best — Terms were last updated in April 2020 and there is no blog, changelog or roadmap to suggest active development.
Full review →
Metro Retro
3.1Now rebranded as Ludi — the playful retro whiteboard lives on under a new name
Metro Retro was a fun, freeform online whiteboard built for sprint retrospectives, known for its playful templates, timer and engagement features. In 2024 the product was rebranded: metroretro.io now redirects to ludi.co, and the maker (Deqo Software Limited) positions Ludi as the continuation — 'Metro Retro is now Ludi.' If you are searching for Metro Retro, the product you want is Ludi; the original Metro Retro brand and domain are no longer maintained.
Full review →Summary
IdeaBoardz scores 2.9 overall and is best for throwaway retros and quick distributed brainstorms when nobody wants to sign up. It offers a free tier.
Metro Retro scores 3.1 overall and is best for searchers looking for Metro Retro — the product now exists as Ludi. Use Ludi (or a dedicated retro tool) instead. It offers custom pricing.
IdeaBoardz leads on ease of use and value. Metro Retro leads on retro toolkit, fun factor, integrations and enterprise-grade.
Across our seven scoring dimensions, Metro Retro edges ahead with an overall score of 3.1. That said, the right pick depends on your team — see the dimension-by-dimension breakdown below.
Scores compared
| Detail | IdeaBoardz | Metro Retro |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Retrospectives | Whiteboard |
| Team size | Small | Small |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Free limit | Fully free, no paid tier | |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Est. 3 teams × 8 people | Free (no paid tier) | N/A — rebranded as Ludi; see the Ludi listing |
| Enterprise | No | No |
| Founded | 2012 | — |
| HQ | Pune, India | United Kingdom |
| Data residency | — | — |
| Languages | English only | English only |
| Features | 7 | 7 |
| Integrations | 0 | 0 |
Feature & integration comparison
Side-by-side checklist across features, integrations and security. Hover a note for details.
| Capability | IdeaBoardz | Metro Retro |
|---|---|---|
| Features | ||
| AI Summaries | — | — |
| AI grouping/clustering | — | — |
| AI action items | — | — |
| Action tracking | — | — |
| Team Insights | — | — |
| Polling | — | — |
| Action dashboard | — | — |
| Custom templates | ✓ note | — |
| Anonymous input | ✓ | — |
| Independent voting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Async mode | ✓ | — |
| Agile Estimations | — | — |
| Health Checks | — | — |
| Team Kudos | — | — |
| Whiteboard | — | ✓ |
| Integrations | ||
| Asana | — | — |
| Azure DevOps | — | — |
| Basecamp | — | — |
| ClickUp | — | — |
| Confluence | — | — |
| GitHub | — | — |
| GitLab | — | — |
| Jira | — | — |
| Linear | — | — |
| Microsoft Teams | — | — |
| Monday.com | — | — |
| Notion | — | — |
| Shortcut | — | — |
| Slack | — | — |
| Trello | — | — |
| Security & Privacy | ||
| SOC 2 | — | — |
| GDPR | — | — |
| SSO / SAML | — | — |
| SCIM provisioning | — | — |
| ISO 27001 | — | — |
| On-premises | — | — |
| Public API | — | — |
| Webhooks | — | — |
IdeaBoardz — pros
- + Genuinely free, no paywall, no paid tier
- + No signup required to participate — just share a URL
- + 1-10 customisable sections cover most retro formats (Start/Stop/Continue, 4Ls, etc.)
- + PDF and Excel export built in
- + Voting and async input out of the box
IdeaBoardz — cons
- − UI is unchanged from the early 2010s and shows it
- − No timer, no facilitation phases, no drag-and-drop grouping
- − Zero integrations with the agile stack (Jira, Slack, Teams, Confluence, etc.)
- − Only a few starter board presets; no real template library, no health checks, no AI features
- − Boards are public-by-URL with no SSO, SOC 2, or stated privacy controls
- − Apparently in maintenance mode — Terms last updated April 2020, no changelog or blog
Metro Retro — pros
- + The product you remember still exists — it's now called Ludi
- + Carried its playful templates, timer, GIFs and icebreakers into the rebrand
- + Freeform whiteboard canvas that's friendly for engagement-first retros
Metro Retro — cons
- − The Metro Retro brand and metroretro.io domain are retired (the domain now redirects to ludi.co)
- − No standalone free tier under the new brand — Ludi is a 30-day trial then paid
- − Light on the agile stack: no Jira/Slack/Teams integrations, no SSO, no SOC 2, no AI
- − Not a dedicated retro platform — it's a general whiteboard you adapt for retros