7 Best Free Retro Boards | 60+ fun retrospective ideas

Online whiteboards or retro boards or perhaps project management tools such as Jira? There are now many ways to conduct digital retrospectives. In this article, I will show you which retro boards are available and what advantages the various online boards offer for retrospectives. 

We compare the 7 best retro boards one by one for a short or extensive decision-making basis.

Retro board with 60+ fun retro methods

For the impatient among you: The retro board from the tool Echometer includes more than 60 interactive, fun and free retrospective ideas. 

If you are interested in what these look like, you are welcome to explore them without logging in:

Retro boards: Table as a brief overview

Before we go into the individual retro software in detail, here is a brief overview of the retro boards:

For those who are looking for more detailed information, the following is a detailed comparison of the 7 best retro board tools. We always consider and compare certain criteria - you can find more information behind the respective toggles in the presentation of the respective Kanban retro board tool (More on: Retrospective Kanban Board ).

In summary, Echometer is an excellent free retro board. You can definitely call it a simple or easy retro board (in terms of operation & UX), and a fun retro board as well - feel free to try it out.

As discussed, one of the nice things about the Echometer sprint retrospective board is that it is a free retro board without login. You can directly open our retro templates below. 

Or simply browse our library of retro methods (see “Discover more”) - have fun:

In the following video, by the way, a tech lead, a customer of Echometer, explains his 5 favorite features of the Echometer Retro Board Tool.

Spoiler: He was positively “shocked.” 😄

Play

To summarize, this is not a bad free retro board. Like the other retro boards, it can be described as a simple retro board (based on the name alone) and a fun retro board.

However, based on the comparison table above, Echometer can be considered a better retro board tool than EasyRetro.

In summary, Teamretro is a decent free retro board. You can call it a fun retrospective board and an easy retro board (in terms of UX), similar to the other retro boards. And it is even is an Azure DevOps retrospective board and a retro board in jira, as it has an integration to both Azure Devops and Jira.

However, based on the comparison table above, Echometer can be considered a better retro board tool than TeamRetro.

In summary, Parabol is another decent free retro board. It deserves to be called a fun retro board and simple retro board (in terms of UX).

However, based on the comparison table above, Echometer can be considered a better retro board tool than Parabol.

Play

Metro Retro is a good free retro board, which is characterized in particular by its flexibility. It’s quite a fun retro board, and also an easy retro board (if users have some whiteboard experience).

However, based on the comparison table above, Echometer can be considered a better retro board tool than Metro Retro.

Retrium is a decent free retro board that can probably be considered one of the most used tools. Much like the other tools, it’s a fun retro board and equally easy retro board.

However, based on the comparison table above, Echometer can be considered a better retro board tool than Retrium.

Last but not least, Neatro is also one of the best free retro boards. Depending on the design of the retro and preparation, it can be described as a fun retro board and also a simple retro board.

However, based on the comparison table above, Echometer can be considered a better retro board tool than Neatro.

Would you prefer to hear what users of a Retro Board have to say before making a decision? Then we have an exciting video for you here.

When you use Echometer as a retro tool for the first time, you might be shocked at how sub-optimally you worked before.

See for yourself:

Play

By comparing the 7 best retro board tools we want to find out: Which is the best retro board tool ever? 

In the following, you will find a summary of how retro board tools can actually be differentiated and what we paid attention to in our comparison. Overall, especially Echometer makes a good impression - find more on that above.

Retrospective Remote Teams: Online whiteboard

Online whiteboards are generic tools that can be used for retros, but obviously also for many other kinds of online collaboration.

The typical online whiteboard allows you and your team to collaborate in real time. You can use whiteboards for the entire retrospective or simply for specific parts of it, like for example brainstorming action items . For this reason, sometimes whiteboards are integrated into the retro tools themselves, as is the case for the Echometer tool.

Popular online whiteboards for retrospectives include (apart from Echometer & Metro Retro as 2 exceptions):

• Miro
• Mural
• Concept board

Free Retro boards Online

Retro Boards present the questions of a retrospective in columns (More on: Retrospective Board Columns ). Many retro tools rely on this column view for structured moderation.

In contrast to online whiteboards, free retro boards offer you more structure to present discussed topics in an orderly manner, support with facilitation (e.g. by automatically displaying suitable “food for thought”) and oftentimes a feature for tracking the action items from your retrospectives.

With the structure and retro templates already in place, you usually need much less time to prepare a retro and your team doesn’t lose track during the retro as easily. In addition to the retro board, some retro tools also have the option to flexibly integrate whiteboards.

In the following, we compare (based on  these criteria ) the 7 best retro boards:

• Echometer
• FunRetro former EasyRetro Board
• Retro board free: TeamRetro
• Parabol Board
• MetroRetro Board
• Retrium Board
• Neatro

Advantages of retro boards over whiteboards

Maybe you’re currently doing a whiteboard retrospective, using a generic online whiteboard for your retro? Here are some good reasons why you should check out digital retrospective boards from tools designed specifically for agile retrospectives:

• ✅ Retrospectives can be structured and moderated more easily in retro boards
  By mapping the different phases of a retrospective in a retro tool, there is less risk of teams trying to define action items too early or of sinking into chaos during discussions. In whiteboards, structure is easily lost and intervention from facilitators is needed more often.
• ✅ Retro boards are less distracting than online whiteboards
  To give just a few examples: on a whiteboard, all the notes move at the same time, notes regularly overlap, everyone sees what the others are typing and, thus, the results of team members is biased.
• ✅ Retro boards are easier to use than online whiteboards
  Online whiteboards have more functions than you need for a retrospective. This extra functionality makes it more difficult to find your way around and causes more problems when using it - especially for whiteboard-inexperienced participants.
• ✅ Less administrative effort for Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
  Using whiteboards, the unstructured data and resulting action items have to be transferred manually for documentation and tracking into your project management tool like Jira, Trello etc.. With retro boards online, archiving and action item tracking is oftentimes automated and integrated into the sprint retro board online itself.

I would like to add one thing at this point: Regular one-on-one meetings or coaching sessions with your colleagues can have a decisive effect on your team performance (especially when combined with retrospectives). And they can even be carried out in a data-driven way! If you are interested in this topic, take a look here: Here you will find 129 one-to-one meeting (or appraisal interview) questions and Here are the 3 best one-on-one meeting tools in comparison .

Sprint Retro board free: What makes a good retro board?

In this article we have wrote in detail about the outputs and outcomes of retrospectives. Based on that, we deduced which one might be the the 7 best retro tools on the market in general. 

In the article at hand, we focus specifically on the retro board: what makes a good board, that is perfect for the successful facilitation of a retro?

There are a few features to look for when choosing a retro board. Here is an overview of the most important ones:

Start without login & participation without registration 🔓

Nothing is more annoying than having to laboriously log in yourself at the beginning - and then all team members have to register for the new retro tool in order to actively participate in the retro. Therefore, we take direct access to the board without registration and login with in the comparison.

Flexibility & optional whiteboard 🧭

Whiteboards are not a “must” for a successful retrospective. However, it can be extremely helpful to spontaneously open a blank retrospective whiteboard to delve deeper into topics and feedbacks of team members.

That’s why good retro boards have the option of integrating whiteboards and even linking these to feedbacks that are given within the retro. Additionally, this allows retrospective ideas and methods that are based on whiteboards to be perfectly integrated into retrospectives, for example to brainstorm sustainable action items through the 5-times-why method . It is this flexibility in retrospective ideas & methods that is a prerequisite for creative retros (More on: Creative Retrospective Board ).

Integrated action tracking ☑️

Speaking of action items… The “cherry on the top” is when retro boards also offer the possibility to link action items with retro topics from the retro board. In this way, you can understand why action items were created in the first place, thereby getting a feeling of the progress regarding agile maturity over time.

In turn, the action items that have been decided on will automatically be placed on the agenda of the next retrospective for review. By doing this, the team is held responsible for implementing the action items that have been decided upon - and automatically reflects on the effectiveness of the action items.

Optimally, measures can also be integrated into other task or project management tools such as Jira, Asana, Trello or Microsoft Teams.

(Optional) Anonymity 🥸

A good retro thrives on openly shared feedback. Having the option of “anonymity” is important to make sure the feedback of team members is not biasing the gather data phase and prioritization. Retro boards - the Reetro board and most other tools do this - should therefore allow for anonymous feedback when the situation calls for it (an anonymous retrospective online can especially of value for teams with little psychological safety ). 

If team members want to, they can of course openly share their opinion when discussing the feedback. The goal should be to have to use the “anonymity feature” less often as the team matures.

Sort, group and link topics 🔗

Oftentimes, feedbacks of different team members are very similar on a retro board. Good retro boards support you in organizing these feedbacks so that you don’t lose track.

Specifically, similar topics should be grouped, and maybe even linked to related retro elements such as action items or whiteboards. 

Voting function (voting) 🗳

This feature is a real advantage over whiteboard tools. With the voting feature, you save time when prioritizing, helping you to focus when putting down good action items .

Automatic archiving 🗂

After a retrospective, the next retro is already waiting. Thus, there should be an automatic archive for retro boards, so that the action items are not lost and can still be traced after the retro. Your team should still have access to discussed topics, linked whiteboards and comments etc.. It can have a very positive effect on the agile mindset of team members, when you show how much you improved (compared to the problems from last year’s retro’s).

Timer for timeboxing ⏰

Very simple and super effective. With an integrated timer in a sprint retrospective app, the team does not lose track of time. Slipping into (too) long discussions is over. The timer should be clearly visible in order to fulfill its feature. Automated hints like on the Echometer sprint retrospective board - if you are spending too much time on a topic - are nice to have, too.

Measuring retro quality (ROTI) 🔟

Measuring ROTI “Return on Time Invested” score (typically on a scale from 0 to 10) helps both you as the facilitator and the team. It strengthens the team spirit if a short feedback on the retro is given after everything is over: How well was the time invested in the retro online meeting?

As you have seen above, there are several really good retro boards. But…

Of course there are many other retro boards from other providers that are worth mentioning in case you need even more input: 

Free Retro Board Alternative: Retro Board

Retro Board website: https://reetro.io/

According to its own statement, the Reetro Board Tool focuses on the “small interactions” that are necessary for good retros. At first glance, the Reetro Board looks similar to many other free retro tools. Their website presents the Reetro Board very positively - so it’s certainly worth a look, although Echometer performs better with regard to our comparison criteria mentioned above (see also: Patreon Retrospective Board Comparison).

Free Retro Board Alternative: Retrotool io

Retrotool io website: retrotool.io

A simple and free retro board that covers the basic functions of a retro. With this tool you can personalize the background. With regard to the above-mentioned criteria, Echometer is the better retro board software compared to retrotool.io.

Free Retro board Alternative: Sprintlio

Sprintlio website: sprintlio.com

With this retro board, the name says it all. Sprintlio is aimed at teams that work in sprints. Integration with Jira and Slack is possible. More information about the Sprintlio alternative Echometer can be found here: Sprintlio vs. Echometer . With regard to the above-mentioned criteria, Echometer is the better retro board software compared to Sprintlio.

Free Retro Board Alternative: Teleretro

Teleretro website: Teleretro.com

Teleretro is aimed at remote teams. To break the ice quickly, this virtual retro board has some fun check-in questions, music and videos (More on: Virtual Retro Board ). With regard to the above-mentioned criteria, Echometer is the better retro board software compared to Teleretro.

Free Retro Board Alternative: Timbo Retro

Timbo Retro website: timboretro.com

Timbo not only covers retros, but specializes in meetings in general: From Sprint Planning to Daily, this tool offers an overarching platform (More on: Retrospective Meeting Board ). With regard to the above-mentioned criteria, Echometer is the better retro board software compared to Timbo Retro.

Without a doubt, there are now several good retro boards that you can use to conduct simple, structured, and results-oriented retrospectives. In our view, Echometer’s retro board comes out on top due to its simplicity and range of functions. 🏆

Some retro boards are very simple and focus only on the board itself, while others go further and offer significantly more functionality for team development with Team Health Checks & Co. - just like Echometer.

When conducting retrospectives, it is on you and your team how professional you want to do the retrospective online. Surely you will find a digital retrospective board that fits your needs. At least you know which criteria are important when choosing a retro board.

I hope this comparison helped you decide which online retro board to choose. In order to get a valid overview and insight into the tools, I recommend to simply try out a retrospective in the respective retro boards online.

With Echometer, this is very easy without logging in. One of the reasons why, in our view, it is the best retrospective board software tool compared to alternatives.

It should be added that as the developers of Echometer, obviously, we are biased. The rationale in this text and in our in-depth retro tool comparison hopefully helps to understand why we think our tool is the best 🙂.

Next step: 54 Retro Methods for Beginners & Pros

Retrospectives are not just about the tool, but also about the retro format itself - especially when it comes to variety and fun.

Of course, every Scrum Master has their own retro formats. Good retro tools suggest new retro formats on a regular basis to add variety. 

Given this, in this article you will find 54 Kickass Retrospective Ideas for Agile Teams , which you can use for your next retro. May it be the Keep-Stop-Start, Harry Potter or “Vacation retro”, you can be sure to find a new, creative retro format.

Here is an example from the article:

You can find more retro ideas in our collection 32 Retrospective Methods .

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