Let's be honest about Mural before making any case against it: it's one of the best infinite-canvas whiteboard tools on the market. The facilitation templates are genuinely polished, the real-time cursor tracking is smooth, and if you're running structured design sprints or remote workshops with 20 people drawing arrows at each other, Mural earns its keep. It was built for that specific job and it does it well.
The problem is that most people searching for a free Mural alternative aren't running all-day design sprints. They're trying to organize their work — capture ideas, track tasks, attach files, set reminders, and share notes with teammates. That's a different job entirely, and paying for a whiteboarding platform to do it is like renting a conference room to take a phone call. TaskLoco was built exactly for that daily organizational workflow, with sticky notes as the core metaphor, and it offers two free tiers before you spend a cent.
What Mural Actually Does Well (And Where It Stops)
Mural's strength is the infinite whiteboard. Sticky notes, diagrams, voting dots, timer widgets, facilitation locks — it's a full workshop toolkit baked into a browser tab. For UX researchers running affinity mapping sessions, or product teams doing retrospectives with distributed colleagues, the toolset is legitimately impressive. Mural also has a large library of pre-built templates that make structured exercises fast to run.
But here's where it starts to fall apart for everyday use. Mural's free tier is heavily restricted — limited boards, limited collaborators, and the real collaborative power requires a paid seat. The platform is also optimized around sessions: you open a board, do a workshop, close it. It's not designed around the idea that your notes should follow you through your day, remind you of things, attach files, and live in a calendar. Mural is a room you visit. TaskLoco is a system you live in.
TaskLoco's Free Tiers: Two Options Before You Pay Anything
TaskLoco has two genuinely free options, and they work very differently from each other — which is useful depending on what you need.
TaskLoco Lite is a native iPhone and Android app. It's completely anonymous — no account, no sign-in, no server ever sees your data. You get up to 20 notes stored in a JSON file on your device. If you just want a fast, private sticky-note pad on your phone with zero setup friction, this is it. There's no sync across devices and no reminders, but for pure local capture it's the fastest path to a note.
TaskLoco Lite Plus+ is the web app plus Chrome extension, free, with sign-in via Google. You get up to 30 notes that sync across all your devices. The Chrome extension is genuinely useful — one click captures any webpage directly into a note, which is the kind of thing that sounds like a gimmick until you actually use it and realize how much time you spend copying URLs manually. Lite Plus+ has no reminders, no file attachments, and no team sharing, but as a free cross-device capture tool it's solid.
What You Get When You Upgrade: Premium vs. Mural's Paid Tier
When the free tiers aren't enough — you need reminders, file attachments, a calendar view, or team sharing — TaskLoco Premium is where the full feature set lives. And unlike Mural's paid tier, which is optimized around workshop facilitation infrastructure, Premium is built around individual daily productivity that also happens to work with a team.
Reminders in TaskLoco Premium are delivered as push notifications directly to your phone and computer, and each reminder deep-links back to the exact note it's attached to. Optional email notifications are available at no extra cost. Optional SMS is an add-on. This is the reminder system built for actual task follow-through, not just calendar pings.
File attachments come with 10GB of storage included, with add-on tiers up to 1TB if you need more. Notes become documents. Team sharing works the way email does — you share a note, the recipient gets their own clone of it and can make it their own. No permissions matrices, no access levels to configure. Calendar view gives you a timeline across all your notes and tasks without leaving the app.
The Chrome extension works with Premium too — capture a webpage, and it becomes a full Premium note with attachments, reminders, and sharing capability from the start.
The Chrome Extension: The Free Feature Most People Miss
One of the most underrated parts of TaskLoco Lite Plus+ is the Chrome extension, and it's free. A single click on any webpage saves it as a note — the URL, title, and any content you've highlighted. For researchers, writers, anyone who spends time pulling references from the web, this is the kind of small feature that changes your actual behavior.
Mural has no equivalent. Its capture workflow is designed around pasting content onto a whiteboard manually during a session. TaskLoco's Chrome extension is designed around the solo reality of finding something useful while you're browsing and wanting to keep it without breaking your flow.
On mobile, TaskLoco Lite Plus+ and Premium run through the phone's browser — they are not native apps. The only native App Store and Play Store app is TaskLoco Lite. If native mobile is a hard requirement, Lite covers basic note capture anonymously on-device. For the full feature set on mobile, the web app works in any modern mobile browser.
The Honest Comparison
| Feature | TaskLoco | Mural |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier availability | Two free tiers: Lite (20 notes, no sign-in, native app) and Lite Plus+ (30 notes, synced, web + Chrome ext) FREE | Limited free plan with restricted boards and collaborators |
| No account required | TaskLoco Lite is fully anonymous — no sign-in, no account ever FREE | Account required for all tiers |
| Sticky note–based task management | Core design metaphor — sticky notes are the primary unit of work | Sticky notes on a whiteboard canvas, optimized for workshop sessions not daily task management |
| Infinite-canvas whiteboarding | Wall view for organizing notes — not an infinite drawing canvas | Full infinite canvas with drawing tools, shapes, connectors, facilitation features |
| Workshop facilitation templates | Not a feature — TaskLoco is not a workshop tool | Large library of polished facilitation templates for design sprints, retros, and more |
| Cross-device sync (free) | Lite Plus+ syncs across all devices for free via web app FREE | Sync available but tied to paid plans for meaningful use |
| Chrome extension — webpage capture | One-click webpage capture into a note — free with Lite Plus+ FREE | No Chrome extension for individual capture |
| Push notification reminders | Premium: push notifications to phone and computer, each deep-linking back to the note | Not a core feature — Mural is not a reminder-based task system |
| File attachments | Premium: 10GB included, expandable add-on tiers up to 1TB | File embedding on boards available but not designed as a personal file system |
| Calendar view | Premium: full calendar view across all notes and tasks | No calendar view — not a scheduling tool |
| Team sharing model | Yes — included with Premium. Each team member requires a separate subscription — currently $9.99/month per person, but TaskLoco is offering a Charter Member special: 50% off for life, currently $4.99/month per person for the first 500 subscribers with code CHARTER50. | Real-time collaborative canvas — multiple people edit the same board simultaneously |
| Real-time multi-cursor collaboration | Team sharing with real-time sync — not live cursor/drawing collaboration | Live multi-cursor collaboration is a core feature — designed for it |
| Native mobile app | TaskLoco Lite is native iPhone and Android — anonymous, 20 notes, no sync. Premium runs in mobile browser. | Native mobile app available |
| Unlimited notes | Premium: unlimited notes, tasks, and calendar events | Board and object limits depend on plan tier |
| Pricing model | $9.99/month per person (currently $4.99/month per person for first 500 charter members with code CHARTER50) | Per-seat pricing at higher tiers |
| 7-day free trial (Premium) | Yes — no charge until day 8, cancel anytime | Trial availability varies by plan |
| Gantt charts / project timelines | Not available — TaskLoco is note and task focused, not project management | Timeline and dependency features available |
Who Should Use Each
Use the TaskLoco if…
- You want a sticky-note system that follows you through your day — not just your workshops
- You need reminders that push to your phone and deep-link back to the exact note
- You capture ideas, links, and files constantly and want one place that holds all of it
- You want a completely anonymous, no-sign-in option for private local notes
- You want cross-device sync and Chrome extension capture for free before committing to paid
- You need team sharing without building out permissions and access levels
- You want a 7-day free trial with no charge until day 8 and no commitment
Use Mural if…
- Your team runs structured visual workshops, design sprints, or facilitated retros regularly
- You need an infinite drawing canvas with shapes, connectors, and live multi-cursor collaboration
- Real-time visual co-creation with a large group is your primary use case
- You need a large library of structured facilitation templates
- Your organization requires native mobile apps for the full feature set
TaskLoco Premium is regularly $9.99/month per person. Right now, charter members can lock in 50% off the regular price — forever. That means $4.99/month per person today. And if our price ever goes up, you still pay half. Always.
Code CHARTER50 auto-applies at checkout. First 500 spots only — once they're gone, this offer is gone permanently. Act fast while spots last.
Every Premium subscription includes unlimited notes, 10GB file storage, reminders, calendar, and team sharing. Each team member requires a separate subscription. 7-day free trial — no charge until day 8. Cancel anytime.
Free Options: TaskLoco vs Mural
TaskLoco Lite
- Native iPhone & Android app
- Completely anonymous — no sign-in
- Data stays on your device
- Up to 20 notes
- Free forever
TaskLoco Lite Plus+
- Web app + Chrome extension
- Sign in with Google
- Wall syncs across all devices
- Up to 30 notes
- Free forever
Lock In 50% Off — Forever
7-day free trial. No charge until day 8. CHARTER50 auto-applies at checkout.
🔒 Lock In My Charter SpotSee TaskLoco in Action
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a completely free Mural alternative?
Yes — TaskLoco has two free tiers. TaskLoco Lite is a native iPhone and Android app, completely anonymous with no sign-in required, storing up to 20 notes on your device. TaskLoco Lite Plus+ is the web app plus Chrome extension, free with a Google sign-in, syncing up to 30 notes across all your devices. Neither requires a credit card.
What does TaskLoco do that Mural doesn't?
TaskLoco is built around daily task management, not workshop facilitation. That means push notification reminders that deep-link back to your note, file attachments with 10GB storage, a calendar view across all your tasks, and team sharing that works like email — no permissions to configure. Mural has none of these because it's designed for whiteboard sessions, not ongoing personal productivity.
What does Mural do that TaskLoco doesn't?
Mural has a genuine infinite whiteboard canvas with drawing tools, connectors, live multi-cursor collaboration, and a large library of facilitation templates for design sprints and retros. If running structured visual workshops is your primary use case, Mural is specifically built for it. TaskLoco is not a whiteboard tool.
Does TaskLoco work without creating an account?
TaskLoco Lite — the native iPhone and Android app — is completely anonymous. No sign-in, no account, no data ever sent to a server. Your notes live in a JSON file on your device only. If you want sync across devices for free, TaskLoco Lite Plus+ uses a Google sign-in.
How does TaskLoco Premium pricing work?
$9.99/month per person (currently $4.99/month per person for first 500 charter members with code CHARTER50)
Can I use TaskLoco on my phone?
Yes. TaskLoco Lite is a native iPhone and Android app — anonymous, no sign-in, up to 20 notes stored locally on device. TaskLoco Lite Plus+ and Premium are the web app plus Chrome extension, which run on mobile through your phone's browser — they are not native apps. Reminders, file attachments, team sharing, and unlimited notes are Premium features accessed via the web app.
Does the TaskLoco Chrome extension work on free plans?
Yes — the Chrome extension is available free with TaskLoco Lite Plus+. One click on any webpage saves it as a note, capturing the URL, title, and any content you've selected. It also works with Premium, where captured notes gain the full feature set including reminders, attachments, and sharing.
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TaskLoco is available on iPhone, Android, Chrome, and every web browser.