What is Apple Freeform used for?

Apple Freeform is an infinite-canvas whiteboard for Apple devices where people brainstorm, sketch and collaborate on boards in real time. It is a good fit for brainstorming with a team, visual project planning, and collecting research and inspiration.

Is Apple Freeform free?

Yes. Apple Freeform is free to use.

Is Apple Freeform open source?

No. Apple Freeform is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to Apple Freeform include Excalidraw, tldraw and Drawnix.

What are some alternatives to Apple Freeform?

Apple Freeform competes with Miro, FigJam and Microsoft Whiteboard. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Apple Freeform alternatives.

Apple Freeform: features, pricing and alternatives

About Apple Freeform

Apple Freeform is a whiteboard app from Apple built around a flexible canvas. Users pull photos, shapes, sticky notes, text, links and files onto one board to visualize ideas, plan projects or collect research, without being tied to a fixed page layout.

Boards can hold text, tables, diagrams, scanned images, drawings and arrows, and items can be moved, resized, aligned and rotated. People can be invited to a board to work together in real time. Boards stored in iCloud stay in sync, so work started on a Mac can continue on an iPhone or iPad signed in to the same Apple Account.

Freeform is included with Apple's operating systems. An Apple Creator Studio subscription adds a library of premium content and AI-powered features such as automatic cropping and advanced image generation.

Key features

Infinite canvas for boards
Sticky notes, shapes, lines and text
Tables and diagrams
Images, scans, links and files
Hand drawing and sketching
Real-time collaboration
iCloud sync across Apple devices

Good fit for

→Brainstorming with a team
→Visual project planning
→Collecting research and inspiration

Tags: whiteboard; infinite-canvas; brainstorming; collaboration; apple; icloud; sticky-notes

Apple Freeform: questions and answers

What is Apple Freeform used for?: Apple Freeform is an infinite-canvas whiteboard for Apple devices where people brainstorm, sketch and collaborate on boards in real time. It is a good fit for brainstorming with a team, visual project planning, and collecting research and inspiration.
Is Apple Freeform free?: Yes. Apple Freeform is free to use.
Is Apple Freeform open source?: No. Apple Freeform is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to Apple Freeform include Excalidraw, tldraw and Drawnix.
What are some alternatives to Apple Freeform?: Apple Freeform competes with Miro, FigJam and Microsoft Whiteboard. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Apple Freeform alternatives.