StoryboardHero vs Boords (2026): Which AI Storyboard Tool Fits Your Work

Key Takeaways

Last updated October 11, 2026. Storyflow is our product and is listed first as our pick; the two tools in the title are compared head to head on their own pages' facts, read on that date.

• Storyflow turns a script into a storyboard without drawing, then builds the shot list, strip board and call sheet PDF on the same board, from $7.99 a month billed annually.
• StoryboardHero for pitching a concept to a client: it writes the script from a brief, generates the frames and exports a branded PDF or an MP4.
• Boords for boarding something you are going to shoot: a timed animatic with a soundtrack, versions, and clients who comment frame by frame and approve.
• StoryboardHero Solo is now $19 a month with unlimited standard AI images and 100 Premium images. Boords Solo is $26 a month billed yearly ($39 monthly) with 250 AI images.
• Boords has a free plan with 5 active storyboards. StoryboardHero has a 7-day free trial and no free plan. Storyflow is paid.
• Neither title tool plans the shoot. Storyflow does not time an animatic. A spot that is pitched, timed and shot can use two or all three.

StoryboardHero vs Boords: The Short Answer

Choose StoryboardHero when the storyboard's next stop is a client email, and Boords when its next stop is a shoot day or an edit timeline. Before either, our pick is Storyflow when you have a script and no board yet, because Storyflow turns the script into a storyboard without drawing and keeps the shot list on the same canvas.

The order on this page is our pick first, then the two tools in the title, compared head to head. Readers who only want StoryboardHero against Boords will find that comparison complete in the pricing, head-to-head and "where each wins" sections.

The Split: Selling It vs Making It

A storyboard does one of three jobs: selling an idea, making the film, or planning the shoot. StoryboardHero is built for selling it, Boords for making it, and Storyflow for planning it from the script. Almost every disagreement about which is better dissolves once you say which job you have.

Selling it. The board exists so a client, a commissioner or a funder can see the idea before committing money. It needs to look convincing, arrive as something you can send, carry your branding, and be produced while the pitch is still warm. Accuracy matters less than persuasiveness; nobody will shoot from these frames.

Making it. The board exists so a crew and an editor can execute. It needs timing, because the question is whether the sequence works at length. It needs versions, because it will change. Persuasiveness matters less than precision.

Planning it. The board exists to turn a script into a shoot: which scenes, which shots, which days, who is called. It needs the script's own scene numbers, a shot list that matches them and paperwork that comes from the same source. This is the job neither title tool takes on, and it is where Storyflow is first.

The tell: if the storyboard's next stop is a client email, StoryboardHero. If its next stop is an edit timeline, Boords. If its next stop is a shot list and a call sheet, Storyflow.

Five Questions That Decide It

Five questions settle StoryboardHero vs Boords, and whether Storyflow should come first: is there a script yet, is the length fixed, must one character hold, who signs off, and what happens after approval. Answer them in that order and the choice is usually made by the third.

1. Is there a script yet? If not, StoryboardHero writes one from a brief, and Storyflow's "Write a script for my video" drafts one on the board. If there is, Storyflow builds the storyboard from it in the script's own scene numbers, and Boords converts a pasted screenplay into frames.
2. Is the running time fixed? A 30 or 60 second slot needs an animatic, which means Boords. Storyflow can give each beat a timecode range on a beat sheet, but it cannot play the board back.
3. Must one character look the same in every frame? Boords' saved cast or StoryboardHero's consistent characters and sketch artists. Storyflow has no saved cast.
4. Who signs off, and how formally? Frame-by-frame approval from a client is Boords. Guest comments on scenes is StoryboardHero. A view link with signed-in comments is Storyflow.
5. What happens after approval? If the answer is a shoot, the next documents are a shot list, a schedule and a call sheet, and Storyflow builds all three from the script. Neither title tool lists a call sheet.

Pricing, Both Tools, Every Tier

StoryboardHero starts at $19 a month for one seat and Boords at $26 a month billed yearly, or $39 monthly. Both meter AI images, and that quota is what you are really buying. Storyflow, for comparison, starts at $7.99 a month billed annually, with AI-generated frames on Pro at $14.

StoryboardHero (StoryboardHero pricing, read October 11, 2026)

The page shows monthly prices only, with a 7-day free trial that needs no card and a 7-day money-back guarantee on Solo. Hand-drawn frames from its sketch artists are extra: 10 credits for $99, one credit or more per image.

Boords (Boords pricing, read October 11, 2026)

The free plan holds 5 active storyboards and 3 active scripts. Yearly billing takes a third off Solo.

The comparison people miss. At one seat, StoryboardHero's $19 buys unlimited standard AI images plus 100 Premium ones, and Boords' $26 buys 250 AI images of any kind. At five seats, Boords Pro at $50 a month billed yearly undercuts StoryboardHero Starter at $59 and carries 1,000 images against 350 Premium. Which is cheaper depends on seat count and on whether you need the Premium model for most frames.

For the wider field, the question people type is "what is the pricing for popular storyboard tools", so here it is in one table.

Head to Head: StoryboardHero vs Boords

On features alone, Boords is the more complete storyboard product and StoryboardHero the more complete pitch generator. Boords leads on animatics, timing and approvals; StoryboardHero leads on writing the concept and script, and on having human artists as a fallback. Every cell below comes from the vendor's own pages.

This page no longer carries a score out of ten for either tool. The old scores ranked two tools built for different jobs on one scale, and a single number hid the only useful fact, which is the job.

Where Storyflow Fits Against Both

Storyflow sits before both tools: Storyflow takes the script and builds the storyboard, the shot list, the strip board and the call sheet PDF on one board. StoryboardHero then wins if the board must be pitched as a branded film, and Boords wins if the board must be timed and approved frame by frame.

Storyflow is a visual AI workspace: an infinite canvas where a project's script, references, storyboard, shot list and documents sit together on boards, and an AI agent that reads the board and builds on it. That is why the storyboard is the start of the work in Storyflow and the end of it in the other two. The product page is the AI storyboard generator.

Sharing, Review and Export Compared

Storyflow, StoryboardHero and Boords all share a board by link, and they differ in who can comment and what counts as approval. Boords has the formal loop, StoryboardHero the simplest guest comments, and Storyflow the open view link beside the rest of the project.

If a client's signature on specific frames is part of your contract, that row decides for Boords. If the client only needs to read the board and reply, any of the three works, and Storyflow puts the shot list and references behind the same link.

Where StoryboardHero Wins

StoryboardHero wins when the brief is one line and the deadline is a client meeting. It writes the concept and the script, generates the frames, adds a voice-over and hands back a branded PDF or an MP4. Storyflow and Boords both start one step later, from a script that already exists.

Concept to boards in one pass. Its site says it generates concepts and scripts with AI, already divided into scenes and shots, and then the storyboard. For an agency turning a brief into something showable by Thursday, that integration is the product. Storyflow has a "Write a script for my video" workflow too, as a separate step.

The human sketch fallback. If the AI images are not good enough, StoryboardHero's own artists will draw them, for credits at 10 for $99. Boords lists no artist service and Storyflow has none. For a pitch where the frames have to be right and not merely quick, it removes the failure that makes people distrust AI boards.

Cheaper at one seat. $19 a month against Boords' $26 billed yearly or $39 monthly, with unlimited standard AI images. Storyflow is cheaper again at $7.99, though its AI-generated frames need Pro at $14.

A sendable film as well as a PDF. MP4 export with an AI voice-over per scene, or your own music and voiceover, means the client can watch the idea. Storyflow exports PNG, SVG and PDF, not video.

Where Boords Wins

Boords wins when the board has to become a film. Its animatic puts every frame on a timeline with a soundtrack, its versions are kept on record, and clients comment frame by frame and approve from a link with no login. Neither StoryboardHero's site nor Storyflow offers that timing control.

Animatics. This is the deciding feature. An animatic is the boards cut to time with audio, and it is how you find out that a sixty-second spot is actually seventy-five before you shoot it. Boords times frames on a zoomable timeline, takes an uploaded soundtrack or voiceover, and exports an MP4 animatic. Storyflow has no animatic at all.

Versioning. Storyboards change constantly and Boords keeps every version on record. On a project running weeks, knowing which version the director approved is not a nicety, and Storyflow has no version compare.

A purpose-built approval loop. Clients comment frame by frame and approve the cut, with no account and no login. Storyflow's view link also opens with no account, but commenting needs a sign-in and there is no frame-level approval status.

A saved cast. Characters, locations and props are added once and dropped into any prompt, which is the character consistency Storyflow does not have.

A free plan. 5 active storyboards and 3 active scripts cost nothing, which neither StoryboardHero nor Storyflow matches today.

What It Takes by Hand vs in Storyflow

Getting from a script to a board and a shot list by hand is eight repeated jobs across several tools. StoryboardHero and Boords each automate the frames. Storyflow automates the frames and the paperwork after them: attach the script, answer at most two questions, accept the proposal.

The left column is eight jobs, most repeated per scene, in three or four tools. The right column is three actions and three one-line asks on one board. One recorded figure, labelled for what it is: in a recorded run (one run, rounded up), Storyflow's AI placed the pictures for a shot list in 4 minutes, against our by-hand estimate of about 2 hours at 12 minutes per picture. We have no recorded figure for a full script-to-storyboard run, so for that job this table counts steps.

What Is Boords?

Boords is an online storyboard and animatic tool that calls itself the pre-production platform loved by video agencies and their clients. You write or paste a script, turn it into frames you upload, draw or generate with AI, time them into an animatic and share a link where clients comment frame by frame and approve. Unlike Storyflow, Boords times every frame; unlike Boords, Storyflow builds the shot list and call sheet from the same board.

The Boords AI storyboard generator, in its own words, lets you paste a screenplay, break it into scenes, and generate frames that follow the narrative. Frames come in sketch, vector or realistic styles. A cast library keeps characters, locations and props consistent from frame to frame. The conversion is a snapshot, so later script edits do not update frames that already exist. Storyflow's version of the same step adds a beat note and a checklist to every scene and no saved cast.

Boords pricing in 2026: a free plan with 5 active storyboards, then Solo at $26 a month billed yearly or $39 monthly, Pro at $50 or $75, Team at $85 or $125 and Agency at $165 or $250. People also search for it as "Broods storyboard"; it is the same product.

What Is StoryboardHero?

StoryboardHero is an AI storyboard generator for video agencies and video creators. You enter a short brief, its AI writes a script divided into scenes, and it generates a storyboard you can export as a branded PDF or an MP4. Unlike Storyflow, StoryboardHero offers human sketch artists; unlike StoryboardHero, Storyflow builds the strip board and call sheet after the storyboard.

The feature list on its site runs wider than the name suggests: AI voice-over per scene or for the whole video, your own music, consistent characters, guest commenting with optional password protection, versioning, shot lists as CSV or PDF, script import as PDF or CSV, and per-shot fields for type, perspective, focus, lighting, movement and camera.

StoryboardHero pricing in 2026: Solo at $19 a month for one seat, Starter at $59 for five, Advanced at $199 for ten, each with unlimited standard AI images and a monthly Premium quota. There is no free plan, only a 7-day free trial.

Is Boords Free? Free vs Paid on Both

Boords has a real free plan: 5 active storyboards, 3 active scripts, unlimited manual frames and 8 one-off sample AI image credits, with a watermark on PDF exports. StoryboardHero has no free plan, only a 7-day free trial with no card. Storyflow is paid, from $7.99 a month billed annually.

If the requirement is free today, Boords is the answer of the three, and Storyboarder from Wonder Unit is the fully free tool for people who draw.

The AI Image Question

We did not compare image quality across StoryboardHero, Boords and Storyflow, and it shifts with every model update, so do not decide on it. Decide on consistency, quota and what happens after the frames exist. The frames are not the value; the sequence is.

Consistency across frames is the real problem. Keeping the same character recognisable across twelve frames remains the hardest thing these tools do. Boords answers it with a saved cast, StoryboardHero with consistent characters and human artists. Storyflow has no saved cast, so in Storyflow the answer is a reference image attached to each regeneration, or real photographs.

The quota is what you are buying. StoryboardHero's 100 Premium images a month is a handful of boards at Premium quality, with unlimited standard images underneath. Boords' 250 is a working month for one person. Estimate your frame count before choosing a tier, and remember that consistency eats regenerations.

The images are not the value. A board with rough frames in the right order beats a board with beautiful frames in the wrong one. That is why Boords' animatic matters more than image quality, and why Storyflow fills frames with captioned web references or placeholders as readily as generated images.

The Small Print That Changes the Choice

Four details from the vendors' own pages change real decisions: who owns the branding on an export, whether the free tier watermarks, what a script edit does to existing frames, and how seats are counted. Storyflow, StoryboardHero and Boords each differ on at least one.

• Branding on exports. StoryboardHero says its PDF storyboards carry only your branding, and every plan lists commercial use. Boords puts a watermark on PDF exports from the free plan. Storyflow exports the board as PNG, SVG or PDF.
• Script edits. Boords' script conversion is a snapshot, so a rewrite means regenerating frames. In Storyflow the walls are ordinary cards on a canvas, so you edit a beat note directly or ask the AI to rebuild a scene.
• Seats. StoryboardHero counts seats per plan (1, 5, 10). Boords caps users per plan (1, up to 5, up to 10, up to 30). Storyflow is priced per person, and anyone a paid member invites to a board joins free.
• Languages and formats. StoryboardHero lists multiple languages and multiple image size ratios, plus bulk image download. Check these on its site if you board for vertical formats.

Atlabs vs Boords

Atlabs and Boords are different kinds of tool. Atlabs calls itself a video creator and produces finished AI videos such as ads, explainers and social clips from a script. Boords is a pre-production platform that produces a storyboard and animatic for a film people will shoot. Storyflow sits with Boords on the planning side.

Choose Atlabs when the deliverable is the generated video itself: its site lists script to video, consistent characters across scenes, voiceovers with lip-sync and an AI storyboard generator as a step toward that video. Choose Boords when a crew will shoot the film and the board has to be timed, versioned and approved first. We do not quote review scores for either; this comparison uses what each vendor states on its own site, and Atlabs showed no prices on its homepage on October 11, 2026.

If you are choosing between them because you want a storyboard from a script without drawing, Storyflow is our pick for that job and costs less than either dedicated tool.

Which Tool for Which Team

Start with Storyflow when a script has to become a shoot, with StoryboardHero when a brief has to become a pitch, and with Boords when a board has to become an animatic. The table maps common teams to a first tool and the one to add.

Tool Reviews: Our Pick First, Then the Two in the Title

Storyflow is reviewed first because it is our pick for the job that comes before both title tools: a script turned into a storyboard without drawing. Boords and StoryboardHero follow in the order of how much of a production each covers, then Canva as the free fallback.

1. Storyflow

The verdict: Storyflow turns a script into a storyboard without drawing, and builds the shot list, strip board and call sheet PDF from the same board.

Best for: filmmakers, producers and marketing teams who start from a script or a brief and need a board that turns into a shoot.

From a script, in three actions. Storyflow's AI storyboard generator reads an attached PDF, Final Draft .fdx or Fountain script, or a pasted brief. Storyflow asks at most two questions, how many scenes and where frames come from, then builds one wall per scene in the script's own numbering. Each wall holds a frame, a beat note with two to four labels and a three to five item checklist.

Frames without drawing. Storyflow fills frames three ways: AI generated on Pro and Max, real web photographs captioned "Reference", or empty placeholders you drag and drop your own photos into.

The plan after the board. Storyflow builds a shot list with one entry per camera setup, a strip board grouped into shoot days with page counts, and a call sheet PDF that leaves anything you did not supply visibly blank. For a commercial, ask the AI for a timed beat sheet: one wall per beat with its timecode range.

Sharing and teamwork. A Storyflow view link opens with no account; the visitor signs in to comment or draw. Teams edit in real time on every paid plan, and anyone a paid member invites joins free.

Inside ChatGPT and Claude. Storyflow's MCP connector lets Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok read your projects and build boards and documents in them. Setup is on the MCP page.

Pricing. Storyflow is paid-only today: Plus is $7.99 a month billed annually ($9.99 monthly), Pro $14 ($19 monthly) with AI image generation and memory across conversations, and Max $39 ($49 monthly) with the most AI usage and a Team Workspace. The Free plan launches before the end of 2026.

Where Storyflow loses. Storyflow has no animatic, no frame timing and no MP4 export; Boords has all three. Storyflow has no saved character cast and no human artist service; Boords has the first and StoryboardHero both. Storyflow has no frame-level approval status and no native app.

2. Boords

The verdict: Boords is the stronger of the two title tools and the right choice over Storyflow when the board must be timed into an animatic and approved frame by frame.

Best for: agencies and production teams boarding something they will make; unlike Storyflow and StoryboardHero, Boords puts every frame on a timeline.

Animatics are the reason to buy Boords. Timing the boards with a soundtrack answers the question that matters before a shoot, which is whether the sequence works at length. Versioning and the frame-by-frame approval loop are both strong, and its AI now turns a pasted screenplay into frames with a saved cast, which Storyflow lacks.

Key features: animatic with a zoomable timeline and uploaded audio, AI frames in three styles, cast library, script editor, versions on record, frame-by-frame comments and approval with no login, PDF, PNG and MP4 export, shot lists.

Pricing: free plan with 5 active storyboards; Solo $39 monthly or $26 billed yearly, 1 user, 250 AI images; Pro $75 or $50, up to 5 users, 1,000 images; Team $125 or $85, up to 10 users; Agency $250 or $165, up to 30 users.

Pros: timing no rival here matches; versions and approvals; a free plan; more AI images per dollar than StoryboardHero's Premium quota.

Cons against Storyflow: the script conversion is a one-time snapshot; AI images are capped per plan; the brief, references, strip board and call sheet that Storyflow keeps on one canvas live elsewhere.

Choose Boords instead of Storyflow when the deliverable is an animatic or a signed-off board. Alternatives are in the best Boords alternatives.

3. StoryboardHero

The verdict: StoryboardHero is the better title tool for agencies whose storyboard is a sales document, and the choice over Storyflow when you start from a one-line brief and want human artists on call.

Best for: pitching video concepts; unlike Storyflow and Boords, StoryboardHero writes the concept and offers hand-drawn frames from its own team.

Concept, script and boards in one flow is a real advantage when the deadline is a client meeting, and the MP4 with a voice-over lets the client watch the idea. The sketch service is the standout feature, and neither Storyflow nor Boords has one. Its site does not describe an animatic timeline, which matters if you need to prove a duration.

Key features: AI concepts and scripts divided into scenes and shots, unlimited standard AI images, consistent characters, optional sketch artists, AI voice-over, branded PDF and MP4 export, guest commenting, versioning, shot lists as CSV or PDF.

Pricing: Solo $19 a month, 1 seat, 100 Premium AI images; Starter $59, 5 seats, 350; Advanced $199, 10 seats, 1,200; Enterprise by quote. 7-day free trial; 7-day money-back guarantee on Solo.

Pros: shortest route from a brief to a sendable board; human sketch fallback; cheapest entry of the two title tools.

Cons against Storyflow: no free plan; no strip board or call sheet, which Storyflow builds from the same script; no timing control described.

Choose StoryboardHero instead of Storyflow when there is no script yet and the output is a pitch.

4. Canva

The verdict: Canva is the free fallback for a simple board, and the choice over Storyflow only when cost must be zero and six panels are enough.

Best for: a concept page a client reads once; unlike Storyflow, Canva does not build the board from a script.

Canva has storyboard templates and general AI image tools, and for a six-frame board it is adequate and probably already in the team. It has no frame timing and no script-to-storyboard structure, and it is not trying to compete with Boords or StoryboardHero.

Pricing: Canva Free and Canva Pro (see Canva's pricing page). Canva's site blocks automated reads, so we quote no figure.

Pros: already in most teams; fine for a simple board; a free plan.

Cons against Storyflow: every panel is placed and captioned by hand; no shot list behind the frames.

A Workflow That Uses Both

Run the plan on one Storyflow board and bring in a title tool only for the step Storyflow does not do: attach the script and build the storyboard and shot list in Storyflow, time the approved frames in Boords, and use StoryboardHero earlier if the pitch has to be won before a script exists.

Small productions skip the first and fourth rows and run everything in Storyflow. Agencies selling timed spots keep Boords. The point is that the script is attached once and every later document is built from it.

A 30-Second Spot Through All Three Tools

Take one 30-second commercial, six scenes, a product and a presenter, and run it through each tool. StoryboardHero ends at a pitch film, Boords at an approved animatic, and Storyflow at a shot list and a call sheet. The scene and setup counts below illustrate the method; they are not a recorded job.

In StoryboardHero. Enter the brief. The AI writes a script in six scenes, generates a frame for each, and adds a voice-over. You export a branded PDF and an MP4 and send both. The work stops where the pitch is won.

In Boords. Paste the approved script and generate frames, with the presenter saved to the cast so the face holds. Put the frames on the timeline with the voiceover. Say the animatic runs 34 seconds: you cut one beat before anything is booked, and the client approves frame by frame.

In Storyflow. Attach the script. Ask for a timed beat sheet, so each beat has its timecode range inside the 30 seconds, then pick "Storyboard my script" for six walls with frames, beat notes and checklists. Ask for the shot list, say fourteen setups, then a strip board for the shoot day and a call sheet PDF. Storyflow cannot prove the 34 seconds; Boords can.

The honest summary: a commercial that is pitched, timed and shot can use all three, and a small production that only shoots needs Storyflow alone.

When Neither Is the Answer

Neither StoryboardHero nor Boords is the answer when you have no budget, when the board is six frames inside a larger plan, or when you are shooting from real reference. In the last two cases Storyflow is the better fit, because the board is one part of the plan it holds.

When you need to test timing and have no budget. Cut your frames in any editor with scratch audio. That is an animatic, and the tool is not the point.

When the board is six frames inside a larger plan. A dedicated storyboard subscription for six frames a month is poor value. On a Storyflow board the six frames sit next to the treatment, the references and the shot list.

When you are shooting from real reference. On documentary and much branded work, the useful artifact is a captioned reference and a shot list, not drawn frames. Storyflow's web frames are captioned "Reference" for that reason.

When the client wants to see the actual look. No tool's AI frames are the look. A reference board of real images communicates a visual intention more honestly than generated frames.

How We Evaluated

Storyflow is our product and is listed first on a stated basis: Storyflow is the tool here that builds the storyboard from an attached script and then the shot list, strip board and call sheet from the same board. StoryboardHero and Boords are compared with each other on equal terms, from their own pages.

The criteria: what each tool starts from, whether a person who cannot draw can finish the board, what the board becomes next (a PDF, an animatic, a shoot plan), how clients review it, and what one seat and five seats cost. This is a comparison from each vendor's own product and pricing pages, read on October 11, 2026, plus our own use of Storyflow; we did not test, time or run projects on StoryboardHero or Boords. Where a site did not describe a feature, the table says "not described" and not "no".

Prices and Sources Checked October 11, 2026

Every price and feature for StoryboardHero and Boords on this page was read on the vendor's own site on October 11, 2026. Both have changed since this page was first published, and the StoryboardHero figures in particular are different.

The Bottom Line

Ask what the board is for. If you have a script and need a storyboard without drawing, then a shot list and a call sheet, our pick is Storyflow. If the board's next stop is a client email, StoryboardHero, for its brief-to-board flow and human sketch fallback. If its next stop is an edit timeline, Boords, and animatics are why.

Between the two tools in the title alone: Boords is the more complete storyboard product and has a free plan, and StoryboardHero is cheaper at one seat and writes the pitch. Check the monthly image quota against your real frame count before choosing a tier.

To see the script-to-storyboard step on your own script, start from the simple storyboarding tool page.

Author

Justkay is a documentary filmmaker and the founder of Storyflow. He has cut animatics in an editor with scratch audio for years, which remains the free version of the feature that decides the title comparison.