An ultra-fast canvas that stays calm
An Apple Freeform alternative
with AI, on any device.
Apple Freeform is a lovely, free whiteboard built into iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Storyflow is the Apple Freeform alternative for people who want more than a blank canvas: describe an idea and the AI lays out the whole board, then turn it into a storyboard or plan on the same canvas. It runs in any browser, not just on Apple devices.
Creatives working for these brands already got early access
- Red Bull
- Canon
- Artlist
- Porsche
See how easy it is to get started
Watch a real project come together, from a blank board to a finished plan, clicked through step by step.
Start from a ready-made template
Pick a board to see what you can build, then let AI fill it in. Every template is a real, editable starting point on the same infinite canvas.
Mind Map
Branch one central idea out into themes and sub-points, then drag the connections around until the structure makes sense.
What can you use instead of Apple Freeform, and why switch?
Apple Freeform is genuinely good at what it does. It is a free, beautifully made infinite whiteboard that comes built into iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and it syncs cleanly through iCloud so a board you start on your phone is waiting on your Mac. For quick visual brainstorming inside the Apple ecosystem, dropping in sticky notes, shapes, photos, and sketches, it is a delight to use and there is nothing to set up.
Storyflow is an Apple Freeform alternative for a different kind of work. Freeform is a blank canvas that stays blank until you fill it, and it has no AI. In Storyflow you describe what you are making, a mind map for a topic, a brand moodboard, a marketing campaign, and the AI lays out a full board of cards for you to shape. You still drag, recolor, and arrange everything by hand, you just are not staring at an empty board every time you open a new project.
Two more reasons people switch. First, the board does not stay a board: turn a mind map into a storyboard, a moodboard into a shot list, or a brainstorm into a campaign plan on the same canvas, something a blank whiteboard was never built to do. Second, it is not tied to Apple hardware: Storyflow runs in any browser, so a board you make is open on a Windows laptop, an Android phone, or a Chromebook, and a view-only link works for anyone regardless of what they own.
Ultra fast from brief to board
Go from a blank whiteboard to a filled board in four steps.
You bring the idea. The AI lays out the first board, so the work starts with something already on the canvas.
01
Open your canvas
Start in any browser and set up your account. No app to install and no Apple device required, just an infinite canvas ready for your first project.
02
Describe the board you want
One sentence is enough: a mind map for a launch, a moodboard for a rebrand, a campaign board for a product.
03
AI fills the board
The AI lays out cards on the canvas: notes, sections, image placeholders, and links, grouped so the board reads clearly, only you did not place every card by hand.
04
Shape it, add media, turn into plans
Drag and recolor cards, drop in your own images and PDFs, grab frames from video, then turn the board into a shot list or campaign plan, share a view-only link, or export as image or PDF.
The freeform whiteboard you love, with AI and no Apple lock-in.
Keep the freeform, visual canvas. Add an AI that fills it, a board that becomes a plan, and access from any device.
A full board from a single prompt
The AI fills the board, you shape it
Apple Freeform starts empty and you add every element yourself. Describe your project and Storyflow's AI lays out a board of notes, sections, and cards to shape from, so you are arranging instead of starting from a blank whiteboard.
See the AI whiteboard →
Any browser, any device
Not tied to iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Freeform lives inside the Apple ecosystem. Storyflow runs in any browser, so a board opens the same on a Windows laptop, an Android phone, or a Chromebook, and a view-only link works for anyone regardless of their device.
See the online whiteboard →
Frames from video, onto the board
Grab stills from YouTube and Vimeo
Collecting visual references on a whiteboard usually means saving screenshots and adding them one by one. Paste a YouTube or Vimeo link and grab frames straight onto the board, so a reference film becomes cards in seconds.
See the moodboard maker →
The board becomes the project
From brainstorm to storyboard and plan
On a Freeform board the notes and shapes are the artifact. In Storyflow the board is step one: ask the AI to turn a mind map into a storyboard, a moodboard into a shot list, or a brainstorm into a campaign plan on the same canvas.
See visual collaboration →Plans from $9.99/month. Like Freeform, but with AI.
Apple Freeform is free. Storyflow is paid-only during early access, with unlimited boards on an infinite canvas, no object cap, and no time limit on any plan. A free plan is coming before the end of 2026. The difference today is the AI that fills the board and the board that turns into a plan.
Unlimited boards on an infinite canvas, no object cap
Basic AI usage to fill and expand boards from a prompt
Attach images, PDFs, video, and links, plus 20 file uploads
Unlimited collaboration, shared boards, and view-only links
Built for people with taste
Made for the way you actually want to use a whiteboard.
Lay ideas out in space, keep everything visible, and move from a blank board to a real plan without changing tools or devices.
Cards you arrange, the AI proposes
A freeform canvas you fully control
Notes, images, links, sections: The same freeform building blocks you add to a Freeform board live on the canvas as cards you can drag, recolor, resize, and group.
AI lays out the first pass: Instead of a blank whiteboard, the AI proposes a full layout from your prompt. Keep what fits, delete the rest, add your own.
Room for everything: A truly infinite canvas with no object cap on any plan, so a growing board never runs into an edge or a limit.
Context from the board you are working on
AI that builds on what is already there
Reads your active board: The AI uses what is on the board you have open, so new cards match the direction you have already set.
Attach your sources: Add up to five documents and three boards as context: a brief, a script, or research the board should grow from.
Re-prompt to refine: Ask for a tighter board, more reference stills, or a different angle. The AI reworks the layout while keeping your edits.
More than notes and shapes
Media-rich cards beside every idea
Drop in anything: Images, video, GIFs, PDFs, and links sit on the canvas next to the cards they support, the way a whiteboard collects references, with no object ceiling.
Frame grabs from video: Capture stills from YouTube and Vimeo straight onto the board when a reference film says it better than a note.
Notes where you need them: Longer thinking lives as documents on the same canvas, so the board stays scannable and the detail stays one click away.
The board is step one, not the deliverable
From blank board to finished plan
Turn boards into real work: Ask the AI to convert a mind map into a storyboard, a moodboard into a shot list, or a brainstorm into a campaign plan on the same canvas, with the ideas carried over.
Share with anyone: Invite collaborators free, or send a view-only link that opens in any browser with no account and no Apple device needed.
Export as image or PDF: Need the board in a deck or a brief? Export it as a clean image or PDF in one step.
Explore templates for your project
Every template opens as a real, editable board on the infinite canvas. Pick the closest fit and make it your own.
Mind Map
Branch one central idea out into themes and sub-points, then drag the connections around until the structure makes sense.
One app instead of five
Storyflow vs Apple Freeform, Miro, and Milanote.
Each tool does something well. The question is whether the board fills itself with AI, works beyond Apple devices, and turns into the next step.
Storyflow
Recommended
An AI that fills the whole board from a prompt
Free with no object cap
Works in any browser, not just Apple devices
Boards turn into storyboards and plans on the same canvas
Apple Freeform
An AI that fills the whole board from a prompt
Free with no object cap
Works in any browser, not just Apple devices
Boards turn into storyboards and plans on the same canvas
Miro
An AI that fills the whole board from a prompt
Free with no object cap
Works in any browser, not just Apple devices
Boards turn into storyboards and plans on the same canvas
Milanote
An AI that fills the whole board from a prompt
Free with no object cap
Works in any browser, not just Apple devices
Boards turn into storyboards and plans on the same canvas
What creators are saying
Join early creators getting structured workspaces and AI that remembers their projects
“Storyflow has sped up my workflow by at least 3x, which means more flow state and more projects I can actually ship. It truly changed the way me and my team create.”
Reilin Joey
Director & YouTuber
“One prompt gets me a structured board. But the tactics are my favorite. I run my YouTube scripts through them and my intros and retention got better. It's amazing.”
Justkay
YouTuber & Freelance Filmmaker
“I used to juggle five apps to plan a project. Now I describe what I am making and get boards, lists, and a schedule. All in one place.”
George
@fernwehchronicles
Apple Freeform alternative questions, answered.
Everything people ask when comparing Storyflow with Apple Freeform.
It depends on what you need. Apple Freeform is excellent as a free, simple whiteboard built into iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud sync. If you want an AI that lays out the board from a prompt, more than a blank canvas, and access from any browser on any device, Storyflow is a strong fit. It keeps the freeform visual canvas and adds AI, media-rich cards, and boards that turn into plans.
Freeform is a blank, elegant whiteboard with no AI that lives inside the Apple ecosystem. Storyflow is purpose-built to do more: describe a board and the AI lays out the first pass, boards turn into storyboards and campaign plans on the same canvas, and everything runs in any browser rather than only on Apple hardware. Freeform is free; Storyflow is paid-only during early access, with plans from $9.99 a month and a free plan coming before the end of 2026.
Not during early access, though Freeform itself is free. Storyflow is paid-only right now, with plans starting at $9.99 a month. A Free plan is coming before the end of 2026, and it will include unlimited boards on an infinite canvas with no object cap and no time limit, basic AI usage to fill and expand boards, 20 file uploads, view-only sharing, and unlimited collaborators.
Be honest about the fit. Freeform has real strengths: it is completely free, it comes built into iPhone, iPad, and Mac with nothing to set up, it syncs seamlessly over iCloud, and its handwriting and Apple Pencil support are beautifully done. If you live entirely on Apple devices and want the simplest possible whiteboard for quick sketches, Freeform is a lovely choice. Storyflow is for when you want AI, more than a blank canvas, and access beyond the Apple ecosystem.
Yes. Storyflow runs in any modern browser, so it works on Windows, Android, Chromebook, Linux, and of course Apple devices too. Apple Freeform is limited to iPhone, iPad, and Mac, so if you or your teammates use mixed devices, a browser-based board keeps everyone on the same page.
Yes, and that is a core reason to switch. Ask the AI to turn a mind map into a storyboard, a moodboard into a shot list, or a brainstorm into a campaign plan, and it builds the new board on the same canvas from the ideas you collected. On a Freeform board the notes and shapes are usually the end product, while in Storyflow the board is the first step toward the finished work.
Yes. The AI reads your active board, so cards and notes already on the canvas shape what it generates. You can also attach up to five documents and three boards, such as a brief or a script, for the AI to build from. It works from the board you have open, not from all your boards at once.
Yes. Every current plan includes unlimited collaboration and shared boards, and collaborators invited by a paid member join free. You can invite collaborators or send a view-only link that opens in any browser with no account and no Apple device needed. For a dedicated team workspace with roles and permissions, the Max plan adds that on top.
Keep the freeform canvas. Add the AI and lose the lock-in.
Describe your idea, watch the board lay itself out, and shape it from there on an infinite canvas in any browser.