Mural vs Whimsical

Mural and Whimsical are both online collaboration tools, which means they exist in that strange digital realm where humans attempt to turn chaotic thoughts into something vaguely resembling productivity. They let multiple people poke at the same screen in real time, producing diagrams, flowcharts and ideas that might change the world—or at least get the next meeting over with faster. Both come with pre-made templates, because staring at a blank canvas is as terrifying as meeting your in-laws for the first time.

Mural has been around since 2011, emerging from Argentina like an ambitious digital conquistador. It aims at enterprise teams who enjoy long workshops and post-it notes, but in a virtual, slightly less sticky form. It boasts facilitation tools like voting and private mode, ensuring that even in cyberspace, people can still pretend to think carefully before making decisions. Design thinking, UX brainstorming and large-scale creative chaos are its natural habitat, where it thrives like a particularly energetic digital octopus.

Whimsical, meanwhile, popped up in 2017 from the United States, with the noble goal of helping smaller teams and individuals make sense of their tangled thoughts. Unlike Mural’s freeform approach, Whimsical believes in structure, with a grid system so tidy it might make a perfectionist weep with joy. It focuses on quick, no-fuss diagramming, giving users flowcharts and wireframes so neatly arranged they might actually feel in control of their work, if only for a fleeting moment.

See also: Top 10 Visual Collaboration software