Which Mural alternative fits: Nextcloud Whiteboard or Mural?
Mural fits teams that want a managed cloud product with its facilitation features, while Nextcloud Whiteboard fits organizations that want boards inside infrastructure they run, especially where Nextcloud already exists. The renewal decision usually turns on four questions: where the boards must physically live, how users sign in, whether a Nextcloud instance is already in place, and how much operating effort the team can absorb after cutover. Mural's own residency and identity options are tied to its plan tiers, so confirm those terms with your Mural account team before comparing them with self-hosting.
Start with data location. If a regulator, customer contract or internal policy requires boards to stay in a named country or on your own servers, Nextcloud Whiteboard keeps the board data in the Nextcloud instance you operate. Then check identity: Nextcloud can authenticate users through LDAP or Active Directory, and its documentation also covers OpenID Connect and SAML backends, so confirm which of these your directory and sign-in policies support before you plan roles and group mapping. An existing Nextcloud deployment lowers the cost of a second service, but it also means whiteboard upgrades follow the Nextcloud major-version cycle, which you should map against your own maintenance calendar.
Finally, be honest about effort. You will own backups, patching, upgrades and user support, and Nextcloud expects administrators to upgrade one major version at a time and back up before every upgrade. If your team cannot take on that work, a managed Mural plan may still be the better fit, and that is a valid outcome. If you choose Nextcloud Whiteboard, ask a partner for a written scope that covers installation, identity integration, backup and upgrade procedures before you commit to a renewal date.
Which scenarios favor each whiteboard
This table matches common situations to the whiteboard that fits them better, with the condition that makes each choice sensible. Read each row as a starting point, then confirm the condition against your own directory, hosting constraints and workshop needs before deciding.
| Scenario | Better fit | Condition that makes it so |
|---|---|---|
| Nextcloud already runs for file sharing | Nextcloud Whiteboard | Your team already administers Nextcloud, so boards can sit beside the files they relate to and reuse existing accounts and sharing rules. |
| Boards must stay on your own servers or in your country | Nextcloud Whiteboard or Excalidraw | Both can run on infrastructure you control. Confirm where your Nextcloud or excalidraw-room instance is hosted and who can reach its database and backups. |
| Workshops depend on facilitation templates and timers | Mural | Mural provides facilitation features that the open-source options do not match out of the box. Check the specific templates your facilitators use before assuming a rebuild is simple. |
| Sign-in must follow an existing corporate directory | Nextcloud Whiteboard | Nextcloud supports LDAP and Active Directory logins, plus OpenID Connect and SAML backends. Confirm that your identity provider and Nextcloud version support the method you need. |
| Small pilot team testing whiteboarding | Excalidraw or Nextcloud Whiteboard | A small group can evaluate real-time drawing on a single self-hosted instance before committing to organization-wide rollout, and can exit with the open .excalidraw format if the pilot stops. |
| Teams that need vendor-run compliance evidence | Mural | Choose the commercial service when the buyer expects a provider's own attestations. Self-hosting shifts that evidence work to your team and any independent auditor you engage. |
How Nextcloud Whiteboard keeps boards inside Nextcloud
Nextcloud Whiteboard is the official whiteboard app for Nextcloud, and it stores boards inside your Nextcloud instance rather than in a vendor cloud. The app is built on Excalidraw and licensed under AGPL-3.0, the same license as Nextcloud Server itself. For a Mural replacement, the practical point is that board files sit alongside the files, folders and permissions your organization already manages in Nextcloud, so access follows the same sharing model and the same administrator controls. Confirm the license terms with your legal team before you distribute any modified build, since AGPL-3.0 carries source obligations for network-accessible software.
Real-time collaboration is a separate piece. Nextcloud Whiteboard relies on a collaboration backend that the operator must install, configure and keep running alongside the Nextcloud server. That backend is where simultaneous editing happens, so a board can open and save in Nextcloud while live co-editing fails if the backend is misconfigured, unreachable or behind a proxy that drops websocket connections. Excalidraw itself is MIT licensed, and its collaboration server, excalidraw-room, is also MIT licensed, so the components underneath are permissively licensed. Excalidraw+ is a separate paid product with its own plans and terms, and it is not required to run the self-hosted stack. Before you commit, test a live session with several users across your network boundary and record who operates the backend, how it is upgraded and what happens to open boards when it is down.
Nextcloud Server is also AGPL-3.0, and a Nextcloud Enterprise subscription is optional rather than required to run the community edition. Ask your team to confirm which edition and support model you need, and whether the whiteboard app and its backend are covered by any support terms you buy. Check the Nextcloud Whiteboard repository for the version compatible with your Nextcloud release, and plan an upgrade test in a staging instance, because Nextcloud requires one major version at a time and recommends disabling third-party apps until they are confirmed compatible.
How sharing, permissions, SSO and facilitation compare
This table compares Mural with Nextcloud Whiteboard across collaboration, sharing, identity, facilitation and export. Where the supplied research does not confirm a Mural capability, the cell tells you what to confirm with Mural before deciding. The main takeaway is that Nextcloud Whiteboard's access model follows Nextcloud's, while facilitation depth is the area to verify.
| Capability | Mural | Nextcloud Whiteboard |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time collaboration | Multi-user cloud whiteboard; confirm concurrency and limits for your plan with Mural | Built on Excalidraw with real-time collaboration through a collaboration backend that you host |
| Sharing and permissions | Board-level sharing; confirm role granularity and guest access with Mural | Boards live in Nextcloud, so access follows Nextcloud file sharing and group permissions |
| SSO and directory integration | SSO on Business plan and SCIM on Enterprise, per Mural's plan structure; confirm details | LDAP and Active Directory login through the LDAP app, plus documented OpenID Connect and SAML backends |
| Facilitation and templates | Workshop templates and facilitation tooling; confirm which features your plan includes | Excalidraw-based drawing and shape libraries; dedicated facilitation features are not covered by the supplied research, so test them |
| Export formats | PDF and PNG exports; confirm current options with Mural | Open .excalidraw JSON, PNG and SVG exports, with the drawing format readable outside the app |
| Data location | Vendor-hosted; regional residency tied to plan level, so confirm with Mural | Stored on the servers you run, in the Nextcloud instance you control |
| Admin controls | Centralized admin features depend on plan; confirm audit logs and policies with Mural | Controlled through Nextcloud administration, including user, group and app management |
| Upgrade and maintenance | Handled by the vendor as part of the subscription | Your team or partner applies Nextcloud major and monthly releases, one major version at a time |
Where boards live and who controls them
A Nextcloud Whiteboard deployment keeps boards inside a Nextcloud instance that you operate. Where that data physically sits, who can reach it and what evidence you can produce depend on your hosting choices, so each card below names one decision to make before comparing the two products.
Data location follows the operator
Boards are stored in your Nextcloud instance, so residency is set by where you host that instance: your own data center, a private cloud or a provider region you select. Mural's Enterprise plan offers regional residency as a contracted option, which is a comparison point to verify in its current terms. With Nextcloud, confirm the storage location, backup location and any database or object store replicas in writing, because none of these are decided by the software alone.
All-in-One for a single server
Nextcloud All-in-One is the official installation method and bundles Redis and APCu caching, PostgreSQL, Talk, BorgBackup-based backups, ClamAV and full-text search. It suits a single-server deployment where one team can run the containers, apply updates and restore from backup. Confirm that your server sizing, container runtime and backup target meet your availability needs before committing to it.
Manual install or Kubernetes
A manual installation on Apache or nginx with php-fpm gives you direct control over PHP, database and web tier configuration, and it fits organizations with existing server standards. A Helm chart is available for Kubernetes, which suits platform teams already running clusters. Either path adds operating work: patching the stack, managing the database and monitoring the Whiteboard backend. Ask who owns each layer before choosing.
Hosted provider as a middle path
A Nextcloud provider or managed partner can run the instance in a region you specify, which can reduce the operating load while keeping data under a contract you can audit. Compare the provider's data processing terms, subprocessors, backup retention and exit process against what Mural's Enterprise residency terms guarantee. Treat the provider's own certifications as claims to request as evidence, not as proof that your deployment is compliant.
Identity through Nextcloud
Nextcloud can authenticate users against LDAP or Active Directory, and it documents OpenID Connect and SAML backends. This means board access follows the same directory groups and login policies you already manage, instead of a separate per-member seat list. Confirm that your identity provider supports the chosen protocol, and test deprovisioning, because a removed account should lose access to boards it previously shared.
Compliance readiness versus certification
DeployOpen prepares the hosting, access, backup, upgrade and evidence records that an assessment will examine, but independent auditors issue any attestation or certification. Mural's Enterprise offer is positioned around residency and SCIM, so compare them against the controls your framework requires, not against a logo. Ask your assessor which evidence they need for whiteboard data, such as access logs, retention settings and backup test records.
What running Nextcloud Whiteboard requires from your team
Nextcloud Whiteboard runs inside Nextcloud, so the whiteboard is only as current as the Nextcloud server under it. Nextcloud publishes a new major version every four months, and each major version receives one year of support through monthly maintenance releases that address known critical bugs and security problems. Nextcloud 35 (Hub 26 Summer) was released on 16 September 2026 and reaches end of life in September 2027. Nextcloud 34 is supported until June 2027, Nextcloud 33 until February 2027, and Nextcloud 36 (Hub 27 Winter) is scheduled for 17 February 2027. Check these dates against the Nextcloud maintenance and release schedule before you pick a starting version, and plan a yearly calendar slot for upgrades rather than treating them as occasional events.
Nextcloud does not allow skipping major releases, so a server several versions behind must be brought forward one major version at a time. Before every upgrade, back up the database, the data directory and the configuration, and disable third-party apps until each one is confirmed compatible with the target release. Whiteboard is one of those apps, so confirm its compatibility with the target Nextcloud version before you start. The Nextcloud upgrade manual sets out the steps. Ask whoever owns operations to write the upgrade runbook, test it on a copy of production, and record how long a restore took in that test.
The system requirements for Nextcloud 35 recommend MariaDB 11.8 or PostgreSQL 18 as the database, PHP 8.5 (with 8.3 and 8.4 also supported), and Apache 2.4 or nginx with php-fpm as the web server. Oracle Database is available only with an enterprise subscription. Confirm these components against the Nextcloud 35 system requirements when you build the environment, because the database and PHP versions you standardize on will need to move with each major release. Your team should also decide who owns each component, who receives security patch notices, and who has authority to hold an upgrade when a critical app is not yet compatible.
What drives the cost of each option
How much does Mural cost per member and what changes between plan tiers?
Mural is billed per member, so the subscription scales with the number of people who need edit access, and the tier you buy determines which controls come with it. Single sign-on is tied to the Business tier and SCIM provisioning and data residency sit on Enterprise, so identity and residency needs are often what move a buyer up a tier. This is a recurring cost that runs for as long as the subscription does. Ask the vendor for the per-member rate at your seat count, which features each tier includes, whether viewers or guests are billed, and how renewal uplifts are capped.
Is Nextcloud Server free, and what does the community edition still cost?
Nextcloud Server is licensed under AGPL-3.0, so the community edition carries no license fee. Costs shift to the infrastructure it runs on, staff time to operate it, and any support contract you choose to buy. The Nextcloud Whiteboard app is also AGPL-3.0 licensed, so its code adds no fee either. Recurring costs are compute, storage, backups, and the admin hours for monthly maintenance releases. Your own sizing of users and file volume drives those figures more than the software does.
What do Nextcloud Enterprise tiers cost and why is there a 100-user minimum?
Nextcloud GmbH sells Nextcloud Enterprise in Standard, Premium and Ultimate tiers, with a 100-user minimum. The pricing page lists starting rates of 71.29 euros, 104.99 euros and 204.75 euros per user per year respectively for 100 or more users, with lower rates from 200 users. Standard includes one year of maintenance, Premium adds a maintenance lifecycle of five or more years and clustered instance support, and Ultimate adds support up to 24/7 with response times down to one hour. These are recurring annual costs. Confirm the current figures on the vendor's pricing page before budgeting.
What infrastructure and setup costs come with self-hosting a whiteboard?
Setup costs are mostly one-time, covering installation, database and web server configuration, and the Whiteboard app with its collaboration backend. Recurring infrastructure costs include the virtual machines or Kubernetes capacity, the database, storage, and network egress. Nextcloud's system requirements name supported databases, PHP and web servers, so your platform choices affect licensing and staffing. Oracle Database requires an enterprise subscription. Ask for a written sizing based on concurrent editors, board volume and retention, and confirm whether the quote includes high availability.
How does identity integration change the cost of a Nextcloud deployment?
Identity integration is a one-time configuration effort that also reduces ongoing administration. Nextcloud's LDAP app lets Active Directory and LDAP users sign in with their directory credentials, and OpenID Connect and SAML backends are also documented. The cost drivers are the number of identity sources, the complexity of group mapping, and how many access policies must be tested. Compared with Mural SSO on the Business tier, the spend moves from a subscription line to your own configuration and testing time. Request the scope of directory mappings and the test plan in any quote.
What do backups and upgrades cost in a self-hosted Nextcloud setup?
Backups and upgrades are recurring operational costs that are easy to underestimate. Nextcloud does not allow skipping major releases, so each upgrade is a sequence of one-version steps, with a backup taken before each step and third-party apps disabled until confirmed compatible. Nextcloud All-in-One includes BorgBackup-based backups, which reduces tooling work but still needs storage and retention decisions. Major releases are published every four months and each receives one year of monthly maintenance. Ask for the upgrade calendar, the backup retention policy, and the restore test frequency.
What support and staffing should I budget for after go-live?
Support is the cost category most dependent on who operates the platform. Options range from in-house administrators handling monthly releases and incidents, to a vendor support tier, to a retainer with an implementation partner for ongoing upgrades and testing. Mural's support is included in the subscription, while self-hosting moves that responsibility to your team or a contracted provider. Compare the Nextcloud Enterprise response times with your internal on-call expectations. DeployOpen offers ongoing support and upgrades as retainers under a written scope, and quotes follow from that scope.
What should I request in a quote to compare these costs fairly?
A fair comparison needs the same assumptions on both sides. Ask every bidder and the vendor for:
- Seat counts split by editors and viewers, with growth over three years
- Infrastructure sizing, high availability needs, and backup retention
- Identity integration scope, including directories and group mappings
- Upgrade, patching and support responsibilities in writing
- Migration effort for existing boards, including exports and rebuilds
If a quote does not list one of these items, treat that cost as unknown and ask for it before deciding.
How a move from Mural to Nextcloud Whiteboard unfolds
The sequence moves active boards and templates out of Mural with an archive first, rebuilds only the boards that still matter, and cuts over to Nextcloud Whiteboard after a pilot team has worked through a real workshop. Each step closes with a check the team can confirm before moving on.
Inventory boards, templates and users
List every active mural, the workshop templates teams reuse, the owners of each board and the people who need access after cutover. Mural administrators can usually produce the board list from the workspace, but confirm what the export and reporting options cover in your plan. The step is done when each board has a named owner, a status of keep, archive or retire, and a list of templates that will need a replacement.
Export archives as PDF or PNG
Export the boards marked for archive as PDF or PNG and store them in the records system your organization already uses. Treat these files as read-only records, because a static export cannot carry editable sticky notes, connectors or frame structure. Ask Mural which export formats and bulk options your subscription includes, and confirm with your records team how long archives must be kept. The step is done when every archived board has been opened from the archive location and checked by its owner.
Decide which boards to rebuild
Review the keep list with workshop leads and decide which boards are worth recreating in Nextcloud Whiteboard, which can be recreated from a template and which should stay as a static record only. Boards that are still in use for live facilitation usually need a rebuilt template. Document the decision for each board so no one is surprised after cutover. The step is done when the rebuild list is agreed in writing and each template has an owner for its replacement.
Set up Nextcloud and the whiteboard app
Install Nextcloud, install the Whiteboard app and configure the collaboration backend that real-time editing depends on. Check the current Nextcloud system requirements for the database, PHP and web server versions, and confirm which major release you will start on, because upgrades must move one major version at a time. Back up the instance before any later upgrade. The step is done when two test users can open the same board from separate browsers, edit it at the same time and see each other's changes.
Connect identity to Nextcloud
Connect the users from the inventory to Nextcloud using the directory your organization already runs. Nextcloud can use LDAP or Active Directory accounts, and it also documents OpenID Connect and SAML backends, so confirm which one matches your identity provider and how groups map to sharing rights. Test sign-in, removal of a leaver and sharing to a group before any workshop depends on it. The step is done when access follows directory group membership and a test account without rights cannot open a restricted board.
Rebuild templates and pilot with one workshop team
Recreate the agreed templates in Nextcloud Whiteboard and run one live workshop with a team that already uses Mural regularly. Ask the facilitator to record which steps, such as timers, voting or sticky-note grouping, worked as before and which needed a workaround. Log every gap so it can be judged against the facilitation features you chose to give up. The step is done when the facilitator signs off that the workshop ran end to end and the gap list has an owner for each item.
Cut over and retire Mural
Announce the cutover date, move the remaining active teams to Nextcloud Whiteboard, and make Mural read-only for new work before the subscription ends. Keep the archive accessible for the retention period your records policy sets. Confirm with Mural how your data is removed when the subscription ends, and keep a copy of the completion record. The step is done when no new boards are created in Mural, the archive is verified, and the owner of the Nextcloud instance has accepted responsibility for backups and upgrades.
Questions buyers ask before choosing Nextcloud Whiteboard
What drives the cost of running Nextcloud Whiteboard?
The main drivers are the servers and storage that host Nextcloud, the staff time to install, configure, back up and upgrade it, and the identity integration work. Nextcloud Server and Nextcloud Whiteboard are both open source, so there is no per-member license fee for the software itself. Costs recur through infrastructure, staff hours for patching and upgrades, and any outside support you buy. Ask any provider for a quote that separates one-time setup from recurring operations, and that states who maintains the Whiteboard app and the Nextcloud version it runs on.
How long does a Nextcloud Whiteboard pilot take?
The pilot length depends on how many teams participate, whether an existing Nextcloud is in place, and how many Mural boards need to be rebuilt or archived. A team with a running Nextcloud can add the Whiteboard app and test with a small group quickly. A new deployment takes longer because it includes server build, database, backups and identity setup. No duration is set in this page, so ask for a timeline in writing against a defined scope before the pilot starts.
What does my team need to provide for the work?
You need a named technical owner, access to the hosting environment, a decision on the database and web server, and someone who can approve identity integration with your directory. Your facilitators should also list the templates and workshop formats they rely on in Mural, because those are rebuilt rather than imported. Nextcloud documents PostgreSQL and MariaDB as supported databases and Apache or nginx with php-fpm as web server options, so confirm which of these your standards already cover before work begins.
Can we run Nextcloud Whiteboard ourselves without outside help?
Yes, many teams do, provided they have administrators comfortable with Linux, PHP-based applications, databases and backups. Nextcloud All-in-One is the official installation method and bundles caching, PostgreSQL, backups and antivirus, which reduces the number of components to assemble. The harder ongoing work is upgrades: Nextcloud does not allow skipping major releases, so each one must be applied in sequence with a backup beforehand and third-party apps checked for compatibility. Weigh that recurring effort against the staff you have, and consider a retainer for upgrades if capacity is thin.
Does an existing Nextcloud change the choice?
It usually does. If your organization already runs Nextcloud for files, you add Whiteboard to an instance you already patch, back up and monitor, so the incremental cost and effort are much lower than a new platform. Boards then sit beside the files they relate to and follow the same sharing model. The trade-off is that Nextcloud becomes a more critical service, so its availability and upgrade discipline matter more. Check the Nextcloud version you run against the release schedule before you add the app.
Can Mural exports move into Nextcloud Whiteboard?
Mural exports as PDF and PNG are static, so they serve as an archive rather than as editable boards. Rebuilding an active board in Nextcloud Whiteboard means recreating shapes, sticky notes and layouts in the Excalidraw-based editor. Whiteboard stores its boards in Nextcloud and uses the open Excalidraw drawing format, but no Mural-to-Whiteboard importer is described in the sources for this page, so confirm what your export path can carry before you commit. Decide which boards to archive and which to rebuild, and confirm this list with the owners of each board.
What should we confirm about compliance before adopting it?
Confirm where Nextcloud is hosted, who can access the server, how backups are encrypted and retained, and how your identity provider is connected. Nextcloud supports LDAP and Active Directory login, plus OpenID Connect and SAML backends, which you should map to your access policy. Compliance frameworks are assessed by independent auditors, and DeployOpen prepares systems, controls and evidence for those assessments without issuing audit reports or certifications. Ask your assessor which controls they expect to see for a self-hosted collaboration service.
Does Nextcloud Whiteboard offer vendor support, and what does it cost?
Nextcloud GmbH sells Nextcloud Enterprise in Standard, Premium and Ultimate tiers with a 100-user minimum, and the pricing page lists per-user annual rates starting at 71.29, 104.99 and 204.75 euros for 100 or more users. Standard includes one year of maintenance, Premium adds a maintenance lifecycle of five years or more, and Ultimate adds support up to 24/7 with response times down to one hour. Enterprise is optional, since the community version is free to run. Compare those tiers with the internal or DeployOpen effort you would otherwise need, and request written support terms.
How DeployOpen helps evaluate, implement or migrate
DeployOpen plans and implements self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own infrastructure, so Nextcloud Whiteboard can run next to your existing Nextcloud or on a new instance you control. Work starts from a written scope that covers identity, permissions, board migration and handover.
How we scope
- Inventory which Mural boards, templates and workshop formats need to move, and which can be archived instead
- Confirm whether an existing Nextcloud instance, its upgrade cadence and its directory integration will host the whiteboard
- Agree in writing how sharing, group permissions and SSO through Nextcloud will map to your current Mural roles
How we build
- Deploy Nextcloud Whiteboard with its collaboration backend in your cloud account, data center or air-gapped network
- Configure LDAP, OpenID Connect or SAML authentication and test group-based access before any users are onboarded
- Test board sharing, permissions and export paths, then document the results for your security and compliance reviewers
How we hand over
- Provide runbooks covering backups before each Nextcloud upgrade, one major version at a time, and disabling third-party apps until confirmed compatible
- Deliver an archive of exported Mural boards as PDF or PNG, with a record of which boards were rebuilt and which were retired
- Train administrators and facilitators on running workshops in Nextcloud Whiteboard and on the open .excalidraw format
How we support
- Engagements are fixed-scope, with scope, deliverables and timelines agreed in writing before work starts
- Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as a retainer, so patching follows the Nextcloud release schedule
- Confirm with your team which features, such as facilitation templates, your organization needs before choosing this path
