LiveBoard is a mobile whiteboard for individual tutors. Pencil Spaces is the whole classroom — video, content, AI, compliance, and the infrastructure to run it at scale.
LiveBoard is a single-purpose board app — workable for one tutor sketching on a tablet. A tutoring company or school needs much more: reliable video, co-browsing the live web, content, an AI co-pilot, audited compliance, and proven scale, in one room. Here is an honest, sourced look at where each one fits.
10M+ sessions taught
6 compliance frameworks
One-click join, no installs
Last updated June 2026
For teams & schools
An all-in-one AI virtual classroom for tutoring companies, schools, and platforms running sessions at scale.
For solo tutors
A mobile whiteboard app aimed at individual tutors, focused on the drawing canvas and basic math tools.
The short answer
LiveBoard is a mobile whiteboard app built around the drawing canvas, with basic math tools (LaTeX, Desmos) and a free tier, aimed at individual tutors — though it is now in maintenance mode. Pencil Spaces is an all-in-one virtual classroom platform, where the whiteboard is one surface among live video, co-browsing, a content engine, and an AI layer — built for tutoring companies and schools, with audited FERPA, HIPAA, SOC 2, COPPA and GDPR compliance and embeddable infrastructure. Choose LiveBoard if you are a solo tutor on a budget; choose Pencil Spaces when you need a classroom, not just a canvas.
A board, or a room. LiveBoard is built around the canvas; Pencil Spaces around the whole classroom.
The board itself can be glitchy. Long-time LiveBoard users report drawing-reliability problems.
AI built in. Pencil Spaces adds an in-session co-pilot and post-session coaching; LiveBoard publishes none.
Compliance you can hand to a district. COPPA, FERPA, HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR, ISO — LiveBoard publishes no certifications.
Proven at scale. 10M+ sessions on Pencil Spaces; LiveBoard is at individual and SMB scale.
Infrastructure, not just an app. Embed Pencil Spaces classrooms in your own product via Carbon.
Buyer education
LiveBoard is a whiteboard app. It runs on tablets and the web, has basic math tools, and is cheap. For a single tutor on a budget, that can be enough.
But a whiteboard is not a classroom — and a board you cannot fully rely on is its own problem.
The drawing canvas draws complaints from long-time users — strokes disappearing mid-draw — and development has clearly slowed. A tutoring program, meanwhile, needs far more than a board: shared video, co-browsing the live web, reusable content, an AI co-pilot, recordings, safeguarding, compliance a district can verify, and reliability at scale, in one room. That is what Pencil Spaces is, on infrastructure proven across 10M+ sessions.
LiveBoard gives you a canvas. Pencil Spaces gives you a classroom - and a team still building it.
Side by side
Where LiveBoard earns a check, it gets one. The pattern is not “more vs. less” — it is a single, no-longer-maintained board versus a complete, actively built classroom.
Capability
Built for teams
Built for solo tutors
The fundamentals
Was it built specifically for teaching?
A purpose-built virtual classroom — the whole room, not just a canvas.
Yes — a purpose-built teaching whiteboard.
How do students join a session?
One click in the browser — no download, install, or account.
One click by link or code, no sign-up.
What does it run on?
Any browser, on desktop, tablet, and mobile.
iOS, Android, and web.
The teaching surface
Whiteboard on a tablet with a stylus?
Yes — and built to stay responsive under classroom load.
Stylus input is supported, but the canvas draws reliability complaints — e.g. strokes erased mid-draw.
Math and STEM tools?
Yes — equation and graphing tools on the board.
Yes — a LaTeX editor, a Desmos calculator, and a graph builder.
Does student work persist between lessons?
Yes — the whole room persists: boards, documents, and student work.
Yes — boards and group folders are saved.
Beyond the board
Is there built-in video?
Yes — on its own real-time infrastructure.
Yes — built-in video, no time limit.
Co-browse the live web together?
Yes — a shared co-browser the class explores together.
Not offered.
Built-in teaching apps and content?
Yes — Quizlet, IXL, a code editor, PDF annotation, and a web viewer.
Image and PDF import plus live quizzes — no third-party app ecosystem.
AI co-pilot or post-session AI coaching?
Yes — in-session co-pilot plus automatic post-session coaching and summaries.
None in the published feature set.
Insight into engagement?
Engagement analytics and private student focus signals.
A heuristic attention tracker; reviewers note limited analytics.
Recording & content
Record and share lessons?
Yes — cloud recordings and exports, including recording without the student on camera.
Yes — record, share as video, and export boards to PDF and JPEG.
Trust, compliance & scale
Independent compliance certifications (SOC 2, FERPA, HIPAA, COPPA)?
Yes — COPPA, FERPA, HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR, and ISO.
None published.
Proven at scale?
Yes — 10M+ sessions, powering some of the largest tutoring platforms.
Individual and SMB scale (~160K monthly active users).
Actively developed, with a roadmap ahead?
Yes — ships continuously and is actively scaling.
In maintenance mode — recent releases are bug fixes, not new capability.
Embed classrooms in your own product (API / SDK)?
Yes — via Carbon, the embeddable infrastructure underneath.
Standalone app; no embed API.
Single sign-on (Google, Clever, and more)?
Yes.
Not published.
Business & operations
Built-in tutor billing, invoicing, and payments?
Pairs with a dedicated tutoring-management system for billing.
Yes, at the Organization tier — calendar billing, invoicing, and payments.
White-label and branded classrooms?
Yes.
Yes, at the Organization tier.
Sources: LiveBoard product and pricing pages (liveboard.online), iOS and Android app listings and review history, and third-party software directories, reviewed June 2026. Pencil Spaces figures reflect platform totals. Features and plans change — verify current details on each vendor's site.
Use the right tool for the job
There is a real case for LiveBoard. Here is the honest split.
You are an independent tutor who wants one simple tool, not a platform to administer.
You work mostly on a tablet and can live with occasional rough edges on the canvas.
You teach math or STEM one-on-one and want LaTeX, Desmos, and a graph builder.
Budget is the deciding factor — a free tier and a ~$9.99/mo plan are cheap.
You are a tutoring company, school, or district and procurement needs audited compliance.
You want an AI co-pilot and post-session coaching, plus co-browsing and built-in teaching apps.
You are scaling across many tutors and sessions and need reliability you can count on.
You want a vendor that is still actively building, not winding down.
If you are one tutor watching costs, LiveBoard is a cheap option. The rest of this page is for everyone whose needs do not stop at the edge of the board.
Built for your team
LiveBoard fits the solo tutor. Pencil Spaces is built for the programs around them.
Tutoring companies
Unlimited hosts and Space links, branded classrooms, recordings, and an AI co-pilot — priced for programs, not per seat.
Pass the security review
COPPA, FERPA, HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR and ISO, with K-12 safeguarding — the documentation procurement actually asks for.
Platforms & marketplaces
Build live, branded sessions into your own product on your own domain via Carbon — the infrastructure behind 10M+ sessions.
High-volume STEM programs
Equation and graphing tools on the board, joined by video, content, analytics, and AI coaching for every session.
One more thing to weigh
So it is worth knowing where each product is going. LiveBoard's most significant feature additions — a redesigned interface and Instant Assessment — date to around 2023, and more recent releases have been maintenance and bug fixes rather than new capability. Pencil Spaces ships continuously and is actively scaling alongside some of the largest tutoring platforms in the world. If you are committing a program for several years, build on the product that is still being built.
Pricing model
Two different shapes of pricing, for two different buyers.
Free (Limited): whiteboard and STEM tools, but no calls and one student per board.
Premium ≈ $9.99/mo: video, recording, board management, exports.
Organization: custom pricing, branded classrooms, billing tools. 14-day trial.
Free plan to start teaching in your browser today.
Unlimited hosts and Space links — adding a tutor is not another per-seat fee.
Team & institution plans with compliance, AI, and SSO included.
For a single tutor, LiveBoard is cheaper. For a team, the math changes — Pencil Spaces is priced around teaching, not headcount. See the Pencil Spaces pricing page for current rates.
FAQ
Start free in your browser — your branding, your domain, audited compliance included. No download, no credit card.
