Gliffy vs gokanban.io vs HeyRetro: Which Is Right for You in 2026?

These three don't actually compete with each other — Gliffy draws diagrams, gokanban.io visualizes a task backlog, and HeyRetro facilitates a specific…

Gliffy

Subscription · From $10/month

Best for: Teams already living in Confluence or Jira who need process diagrams and org charts without leaving Atlassian.

gokanban.io

Free · From Free

Best for: Someone who wants a throwaway or lightweight kanban board right now, with zero account setup.

HeyRetro

Freemium · From Free

Best for: Scrum teams that run a structured retro every sprint and want built-in voting and action-item follow-through.

At a Glance

	Gliffy	gokanban.io	HeyRetro
Primary category	Project Management	Project Management	Project Management
Rating	Not documented	Not documented	Not documented
Pricing model	Subscription	Free	Freemium
Starting price	$10/month	Free	Free
Free plan	Not documented	Not documented	Yes
Free trial	Yes	Not documented	Not documented
Platforms	Web	Web	Web
Team collaboration	Not documented	Not documented	Not documented
AI features	Yes	Not documented	Not documented
Public API	Not documented	Not documented	Not documented

Standout Differences

Three different jobs, one category label

Gliffy is a diagramming tool, gokanban.io is a kanban board, and HeyRetro is a retrospective facilitator. They're grouped under project management, but a team would typically adopt all three for different moments in a sprint rather than pick one over the others.

Gliffy, gokanban.io, HeyRetro

gokanban.io's zero-friction model stands apart

Unlike Gliffy's paid subscription or HeyRetro's freemium signup flow, gokanban.io is explicitly free with no account registration — you get a syntax-based board and a shareable URL instantly. That makes it the fastest option when you just need a quick, disposable board.

gokanban.io

Gliffy is the only one tied to Atlassian

Gliffy's differentiator is its tight integration with Confluence and Jira, now under Perforce ownership. Neither gokanban.io nor HeyRetro is described as integrating with Atlassian tools, so if that ecosystem fit matters, Gliffy is the only real option among the three.

Gliffy

HeyRetro is built for a recurring ritual, not general boards

HeyRetro's live voting, timers, and persistent action-item tracking are specific to running a sprint retrospective as a meeting, not general task management. That's a materially different use case than gokanban.io's always-on kanban board or Gliffy's static diagrams.

HeyRetro

Feature-by-Feature

Pricing & Access

Feature	Gliffy	gokanban.io	HeyRetro
Free plan available	Unavailable	Available	Available
No signup required to start	Not documented	Available	Not documented

Core Function

Feature	Gliffy	gokanban.io	HeyRetro
Diagramming & flowcharts	Available	Unavailable	Unavailable
Kanban board	Unavailable	Available	Unavailable
Sprint retrospective facilitation	Unavailable	Unavailable	Available

Integrations & Collaboration

Feature	Gliffy	gokanban.io	HeyRetro
Jira / Confluence integration	Available	Not documented	Not documented
Live real-time collaboration	Not documented	Not documented	Available
Persistent action-item tracking	Unavailable	Unavailable	Available

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Gliffy

Gliffy for Confluence/Jira — $10/month (up to 10 users) monthly

Gliffy Online Professional — $10/user/month monthly

gokanban.io

Free — Free free

HeyRetro

Free — $0/month free

Team — $14/month yearly

Team Pro — $49/month monthly

Enterprise — $99/month monthly

Pros & Cons

Gliffy

Pros

Deep, native integration with Confluence and Jira
AI-powered diagram generation speeds up first drafts
Trusted by large enterprises including Disney+, Netflix, Nike, Siemens, and Starbucks
SOC 2 Type II and ISO 42001 compliant
Free trials available across all products

Cons

Main value proposition is tied to already using Atlassian Confluence or Jira
Standalone Gliffy Online is a separate purchase from the Confluence/Jira add-on
Per-user pricing can add up for larger teams
Competes with more actively marketed rivals such as Lucidchart and draw.io

gokanban.io

Pros

Completely free with no paywalls
No registration friction; works instantly
Lightweight and fast compared to full SaaS project management tools
Easy to reuse and version boards as plain text

Cons

Lacks advanced features like integrations, permissions, and automation
No accounts means no built-in access control or audit history
Not designed for large teams or long-running complex projects
Maintained by a small team rather than a dedicated support organization

HeyRetro

Pros

Free plan available for teams running occasional retros
Large library of retro templates and icebreaker games
Real-time voting and presence make remote retros feel interactive
Guest access via shareable links means participants don't need an account
Microsoft Teams integration fits into existing workflows

Cons

Free plan is limited to just one board per month
Higher-tier plans (Team Pro, Enterprise) may be costly for very small teams
Limited public information on the company behind the product
Feature set is narrowly focused on retrospectives rather than broader agile ceremonies

Use Cases

Choose Gliffy: Teams already living in Confluence or Jira who need process diagrams and org charts without leaving Atlassian.

Choose gokanban.io: Someone who wants a throwaway or lightweight kanban board right now, with zero account setup.

Choose HeyRetro: Scrum teams that run a structured retro every sprint and want built-in voting and action-item follow-through.

Gliffy

Architecture documentation in Confluence — Engineering teams documenting system architecture directly in Confluence pages.
Jira workflow diagrams — Product and IT teams creating flowcharts and process diagrams linked to Jira issues.
Standalone diagramming — Teams outside the Atlassian ecosystem using Gliffy Online for general diagramming.

gokanban.io

Kanban training sessions — Trainers preparing reusable board templates for teaching Kanban concepts.
Team retrospectives and brainstorming — Quickly spinning up a shared board for a single meeting or workshop.
Personal task tracking — Individuals wanting a lightweight Kanban view without signing up for a tool.

HeyRetro

Sprint retrospectives — Running a structured end-of-sprint retro with voting and action items.
Remote team facilitation — Using live presence and reactions to keep distributed teams engaged during a retro.
Multi-team agile programs — Running retros across many squads with organization-wide controls.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Gliffy, gokanban.io, and HeyRetro competitors?

No. They solve three different problems: Gliffy creates diagrams and flowcharts, gokanban.io is a lightweight kanban board, and HeyRetro runs sprint retrospectives with voting and action-item tracking. A team could reasonably use all three at once without overlap.

Which of these three is free?

gokanban.io is fully free with no account required. HeyRetro is freemium, starting free. Gliffy is subscription-only, starting at $10/month, with no free tier mentioned in its pricing.

Can I use gokanban.io to run a sprint retrospective?

Not really — gokanban.io is a syntax-based kanban board for visualizing tasks, not a facilitation tool. HeyRetro is purpose-built for retros with live voting, timers, and persistent action-item tracking, which gokanban.io doesn't offer.

Does Gliffy replace the need for a kanban board or retro tool?

No. Gliffy is specifically a diagramming tool for flowcharts, org charts, and technical diagrams integrated with Confluence and Jira. It doesn't provide kanban boards or retrospective facilitation, so teams still need a separate tool like gokanban.io or HeyRetro for those workflows.

Which tool works best with Jira and Confluence?

Gliffy, by a wide margin — it's built specifically for tight integration with those Atlassian products. Neither gokanban.io nor HeyRetro documents an Atlassian integration.

Should a team use all three together?

That's a reasonable setup: Gliffy for process diagrams and documentation embedded in Confluence, gokanban.io for a quick disposable task board, and HeyRetro for the recurring sprint retro. They're complementary rather than redundant.

Read the full Gliffy review · Read the full gokanban.io review · Read the full HeyRetro review

JavaScript is required for the full interactive experience.