The 7 Best Retro Tools for Agile Teams (2026)

All right, for the impatient among you who don’t want the complete comparison of the 7 best retro board software tools: You can start a retro directly for free in our retro software or run your team’s retrospective online and see for yourself by clicking here:

For everyone else, I made an in depth comparison of the best team retrospective board tools to facilitate retros online below. Why do I think they are the best free retrospective software tools? I tried to be objective and simply looked at their website traffic. Find more on this below.

The 7 Best Retrospective Software Tools for Your Teams Retro

We will compare the following best retrospective software tools to do retros online:

Table: The 7 Best Retro Tools Compared

Here is a brief overview of the 7 tools and their functions:

Evaluation criteria Echometer Retrium Board Team Retro EasyRetro (formerly FunRetro) Ludi (formerly MetroRetro) Parabol Board Kollabe
Interactive online retrospectives Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Automatically generated retro summaries Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Support of facilitator (e.g. automated check-ins) Yes Yes Partially No Yes Partially Yes
Templates for every level of team maturity Yes Partially Partially No Yes No Partially
Continuous tracking of action items</br> (retro to retro) Yes Partially Partially No Yes Yes Yes
Team development measured over time Yes Partially Yes No Partially No No
Collecting feedback before retros (optional) Yes No No No No Yes No
Organizational Health Checks Yes No No No No No No
Health Check Item Pool with Nudges (Food for thought) Yes No No No Partially No No
Support for mobile devices </br>(for on-site or hybrid retros) Yes No No No Partially No No
Integrated Online-Whiteboard Yes No No No Yes No No
Data protection (developed and hosted in Germany) Yes No No No Partially No No
Free version (after trial) Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes

The 7 Best Retro Tools in Detail

7 Tools for Retrospectives | Tool No. 1

Echometer: Mindset Retros

Echometer retro tool

Echometer Review on Capterra: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4.5/5)

Brief Introduction to Echometer

Many Scrum Masters & Engineering Managers are going around in circles. They fix superficial symptoms. It’s time to use psychology and address the mindset directly - with the Echometer Retrospective Software.

Echometer website: https://echometerapp.com/

Echometer

Feature overview

Core features

Features to foster outputsFeatures to foster outcomes
☑️ Action item Support & Tracking☑️ ROTI Measurement
☑️ Flexible whiteboard or similar☑️ Team Health Check’s
☑️ Various retro methods☑️ Team Health Templates
☑️ Support of facilitator
☑️ Effective timer
☑️ Optional anonymity
⚠️ Intuitive UX et attractive design
More Screenshots Echometer

More Screenshots Echometer

Whiteboard Check-In echometer retro tool check in

Health Check Visualization Echometer retro tool health check item

Health Check Items echometer retro tool health check templates

Templates by Maturity Level echometer retro tool maturity level
templates

Cross-Team Heatmap & Radar echometer retro tool workspace health

Cross-Team Overview echometer retro tool workspace health 2

Two more quick hints regarding Echometer:

  1. If you are looking for a free retrospective tool without login are looking for, or an online retrospective tool without registration, then Echometer is the right choice. You can simply look around in the entire retro without registration. If you are logged in yourself in a retro, you can invite colleagues without them having to log in - so it’s also a retrospective tool without login.
  2. Echometer has an integration with Jira. So if you are looking for a retrospective tool in Jira, our tool might be something for you.

Echometer

Pro & Contra

☀️ Pro ☀️🌧 Cons 🌧
👍 All central features💔 Prescribes the structure of the retrospective
👍 Extensive analysis options for data-driven work💔 Learning curve due to high functional depth
👍 Even cross-team health checks possible
👍 Psychologically sound methods (impact on retro outcomes)

Echometer

Prices & Access

  • Free trial: 21 days
  • Free version (after the free trial): Yes
  • Basic price (after the free trial): From €29 per team per month (see link below for possible changes to the pricing model)

You can find the entire pricing model here: Echometer Pricing .

In summary, Echometer is easy to use for IT team leaders (whether Engineering Manager, Scrum Master, Agile Coaches, Product Owner or other retrospective moderators). And it even optionally offers some “premium features” for IT managers in an environment for ” Agile at scale ” (see screenshots above).

Simply select a retro method to open your first retro now and optionally invite your agile team to our Sprint Retro App via link:

Echometer is the right choice for you if you want to develop individual teams and organizations at all levels. It offers you and your team a continuous Health Check of the team’s maturity level, makes successes of your agile transformation visible (as a Team Radar online tool) and is one of the few tools with an integrated online whiteboard for your retrospective. With this in mind and given the comparison here, Echometer is probably the best retrospective board software tool on the market.

In the following video, by the way, a Tech Lead, an Echometer customer, explains his 5 favorite features of the Echometer Retro Tool. Spoiler: He was positively “shocked”. 😄

Play

Tools for Retrospectives | Tool No. 2

Teamretro: Easy retros

team retro action item retro board

Team Retro review on Capterra: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.8/5)

Brief Introduction to TeamRetro

TeamRetro is an Enterprise Online Retrospective Tool for Remote Teams. Our guided retrospective methods ensure that your retrospectives are worthwhile - every time.

Team retro website: https://www.teamretro.com/

Teamretro

Feature overview

Core features

Features to foster outputsFeatures to foster outcomes
☑️ Action item Support & Tracking⚠️ ROTI metric
⚠️ Flexible whiteboard or similar☑️ Team Health Check’s
☑️ Various retro methods⚠️ Team Health Templates
⚠️ Support for moderation
☑️ Effective timer
☑️ Optional anonymity
⚠️ Intuitive UX et attractive design
More Screenshots Teamretro

More Screenshots Teamretro

Retro Summary team retrospective tool comparison

Retro Tool Board teamretro retrospective tool board

Retro Preparation teamretro retro tool format

Teamretro

Pro & Contra

☀️ Pro ☀️🌧 Cons 🌧
👍 Long list of features💔 One of many GroupMap products - accordingly, no development focus
👍 Relevant integrations💔 No clear unique selling proposition
👍 Business API💔 No “forever free” version

Teamretro

Prices & Access

  • Free trial: 30 days
  • Free version (after the free trial): No
  • Basic price (after the free trial): Beginning at €25/team/month

Here you can find the whole pricing model: Team retro pricing (English). And you can try it out directly via this link: Free Trial. Also, here is a detailed comparison: Echometer as TeamRetro alternative .

Teamretro

Conclusion & Tips

If you look at this analysis holistically, this tool deserves the title of one of the best retro tools for remote teams. You can read here who else made it onto the list: The best retro tools for remote teams . It is not only an anonymous retrospective tool, but also has the ROTI functionality (More info on: Free anonymous retrospective tool ).

I believe that the quality of retrospectives is already an indication of the maturity of teams. Against this background the ROTI (Return on time invest) score is basically also that: An agile KPI . Namely one that you should consider when it comes to: Measuring agile maturity .

If you want to learn more about why I believe that, take a look at my post “ 7 tips for teams with retro fatigue ”. “Retro fatigue” means: The team signals that it does not consider the sprint retrospective necessary. What can a Scrum Master do about it? This is what this text is about..

Excuse the digression. I just wanted to say: I think it’s great that the Teamretro Retro Meeting Tool also offers this function of measuring the ROTI score (More on: Retrospective Meeting Tool ). And it is also a Team Radar Online Tool - #ILike. Based on the criteria above, however, Echometer is generally considered the better Retro Software than TeamRetro. Now let’s move on to the next free agile retrospective tool that helps conduct retrospectives online.

Tools for Retrospectives | Tool No. 3

Easyretro: Remote Collaboration

easy retro fun retro menu

Easyretro.io (formerly FunRetro) Review on Capterra: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.6/5)

Brief introduction EasyRetro

Improve with fun sprint retrospectives: Collaborate with your remote team and improve your work with a simple, intuitive and beautiful tool

Easyretro.io (formerly FunRetro) website: https://easyretro.io/

Easyretro io (formerly FunRetro)

Feature overview

Core features

Features to foster outputsFeatures to foster outcomes
⚠️ Action item Support & Tracking❌ ROTI metric
⚠️ Flexible whiteboard or similar❌ Team Health Check’s
☑️ Various retro methods❌ Team Health Templates
❌ Support of facilitator
☑️ Effective timer
☑️ Optional anonymity
⚠️ Intuitive UX et attractive design
More screenshots Easyretro

More screenshots Easyretro

Retro Board easyretro funretro retro tool

Tool Formats easy retro fun retro tool formats

Settings in preparation easyretro funretro alternative setup
options

Easyretro io (formerly FunRetro)

Pro & Contra

☀️ Pro ☀️🌧 Cons 🌧
👍 Long list of retro methods💔 None of the features to promote retro outcomes (see above)
👍 Relevant integrations💔 Graphically not very appealing
💔 Although it’s called “EasyRetro”, unfortunately not quite as intuitive UX

Easyretro io (formerly FunRetro)

Prices & Access

  • Free trial: 7 days
  • Free version (after free trial): Yes, incl. 3 public retro boards
  • Basic price (after free trial): Beginning at €26/team/month

Here you will find the entire pricing model and access to the free trial: Easyretro.io Pricing model (English). I also compare it with Echometer in detail on this page: EasyRetro vs. Echometer.

Easyretro io (formerly FunRetro)

Conclusion & Tips

Given these characteristics, Easyretro is a fundamentally good and functional free retrospective tool for distributed Scrum teams.

If you want to learn more about Easyretro’s or Funretro’s pricing, the anonymity feature or their retro board etc., just take a look at their website. In any case, it is one of the few free tools for anonymous retrospectives. We have put together a compilation on this: Free tools for anonymous retrospectives .

Regardless of how you conduct the agile retrospective online and which retrospective tool you choose, you should consider the following: The 5 phases of a retrospective . Each of the 5 phases, including the check-in and check-out, has its raison d’être and should be part of an online retro.

Did you know this exists: The sixth phase of a retrospective ? It is a phase that is often missing. Basically, it’s about taking time for something essential in every retro: The development really good measures .

In summary, based on the criteria above, Echometer is generally considered the better retro software than EasyRetro. Okay, let’s move on to the next in our list of the best free retrospective tools (Scrum).

Retrospective Tools Online | Tool No. 4

Ludi: Good retros (formerly Metro Retro)

Metro retro tool

Metro Retro Review on Capterra: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4.0/5)

Brief introduction Metro Retro

Ludi (formerly Metro Retro) enables teams working in different locations to conduct productive, engaging, and entertaining retrospectives.

Ludi (formerly Metro Retro) Website: https://ludi.co/

Metro Retro

Feature overview

Core features

Features to foster outputsFeatures to foster outcomes
❌ Action item Support & Tracking❌ ROTI metric
☑️ Flexible whiteboard or similar❌ Team Health Check’s
☑️ Various retro methods❌ Team Health Templates
⚠️ Support for moderation
☑️ Effective timer
☑️ Optional anonymity
☑️ Intuitive UX & attractive design
More screenshots Metro Retro

More screenshots Metro Retro

Methods in preparation Metro retro formats

Metro Retro

Pro & Contra

☀️ Pro ☀️🌧 Cons 🌧
👍 Partially pretty retro methods💔 None of the features to promote retro outcomes (see above)
👍 Very flexible whiteboard💔 Further development announced a long time ago, but not yet implemented (only 1-2 software developers behind it)

Metro Retro

Prices & Access

  • Free trial: 30 days
  • Free version (after free trial): Yes (max. 3000 board items)
  • Basic price (after the free trial): Beginning at 6$/team member/month

Here you can find the whole pricing model: MetroRetro pricing (English). And here you can try it out: Free trial. Also, here is a detailed comparison to Echometer: Metro Retro vs. Echometer .

Given these characteristics, Metro Retro is a good free retrospective software for distributed Scrum sprint teams.

If you want to learn more about MetroRetro’s pricing, the anonymity feature or their retro board etc., just take a look at their website.

As I mentioned above, you could say that there are 6 phases of a retrospective. And the sixth phase focuses on the development of measures.

I am convinced that good measures play a key role when it comes to improving the maturity of teams. They are the output that is the prerequisite for one of the main outcomes of retros: Continuous improvement.

And they are also closely linked to learning the agile mindset. Why am I telling you all this? Because I believe that retro whiteboards (digital or on paper) are a great place for flexible brainstorming of actions. So this is a slight advantage of Metro Retro (and Echometer) over the other tools for remote retrospective: You have an online whiteboard for your retrospective (More on: Tools for Remote Retrospective ).

To be more precise, using the “5 Why” or the “Impact Effort Matrix” to develop measures, for example, is a good way to improve their quality and effectiveness. Click here to go directly to it: 5 Examples of Retro Whiteboard Templates for Brainstorming Good Measures .

In summary, based on the criteria above, Echometer is still the better retro software than Metro Retro. But back to our online retrospective tools (free of course), to the next sprint retro app that helps you run retrospectives online. It doesn’t have retro whiteboard functionality, but it does have some other fancy add-ons.

Retrospective Tools Online | No. 5

Parabol: Agile meetings

Parabol Review on Capterra: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.7/5)

Brief introduction Parabol

Better meetings, less effort. All your agile meetings in one place.

Parabol website: https://www.parabol.co/

Parabol Board

Feature overview

Overall, the Parabol Tool has 6.5 of 10 of the key features of a retrospective tool (see Toggle; more on Team Retrospective Tool) and therefore performs worse than Echometer.

Core features

Features to foster outputsFeatures to foster outcomes
☑️ Action item Support & Tracking❌ ROTI metric
⚠️ Flexible whiteboard or similar❌ Team Health Check’s
☑️ Various retro methods❌ Team Health Templates
☑️ Support of facilitator
☑️ Effective timer
☑️ Optional anonymity
☑️ Intuitive UX & attractive design
More screenshots Parabol

More screenshots Parabol

Retro Summary parabolic retro tool summary

Retro Tool Board Parabolic retro tool

Check-in inside the retro Parabolic retro tool check-in view

Parabol Board

Pro & Contra

☀️ Pro ☀️🌧 Cons 🌧
👍 Open Source Tool💔 None of the features to promote retro outcomes (see above)
👍 More meeting formats besides retros💔 Pricing rather high

Parabol Board

Prices & Access

  • Free Trial: No
  • Free version: Yes, up to 2 teams
  • Base price: From 6$/team member/month

Here you can find the whole pricing model: Parabol pricing (English). And here you can try it out: Free trial. Also, here is a detailed comparison to Echometer: Echometer as Parabol alternative .

Parabol Board

Conclusion & Tips

Looking at this analysis, it can be said that Parabol is generally a good choice in the category: Retrospective Meeting Tool . And it is to my knowledge the only remote retro tool that is open source.

If you want to learn more about Parabol’s pricing, the anonymity feature or their retro board etc., just take a look at their website. Also, the following Parabol video review should help you, in which a user of Parabol and Echometer compares the two software tools while sharing the screen and analyzing concrete features: Video Comparison Echometer and Parabol Review .

I agree with Woody Zuill, who said, “If you only introduce one agile practice, it should be retrospectives. Everything else will follow.”

Retrospectives are the central ceremony in Scrum. But of course, there are other types of meetings that play a role. Therefore, I like Parabol’s approach of integrating other agile meetings into their platform.

In summary, based on the criteria above, Echometer is still generally the better retro software than Parabol. Let’s move on to the next free retrospective remote tool: Kollabe.

Retrospective Tools Online | No. 6

Collab: Simple retros

Kollabe Review on Capterra: No reviews yet.

Brief introduction Kollabe

Agile Meetings, Made Easy. Purpose-built tools for productive teams.

Kollabe Website: http://kollabe.com/

Kollabe

Feature overview

Core features

Features to foster outputsFeatures to foster outcomes
☑️ Action item Support & Tracking❌ ROTI metric
❌ Flexible whiteboard or similar⚠️ Team Health Check’s
☑️ Various retro methods❌ Team Health Templates
☑️ Support of facilitator
☑️ Effective timer
☑️ Optional anonymity
☑️ Intuitive UX & attractive design

Kollabe

Pro & Contra

☀️ Pro ☀️🌧 Cons 🌧
👍 Simple design💔 Only 7 days history in free version
👍 Flexible settings💔 Limited meetings per month

Kollabe

Prices & Access

  • Free trial: 7 days
  • Free version (after the free trial): Yes
  • Base price (after the free trial): 29$/team/month

Here you can find the whole pricing model: Kollabe pricing model (English). And here you can try it out: Free trial. Also, here is a detailed comparison to Echometer: Echometer vs. Kollabe.

Kollabe

Conclusion & Tips

Kollabe is a good retro board with particular strengths in the flexibility of the settings.

In an overall comparison of features, however, Echometer performs better than Kollabe: Echometer places a stronger emphasis on holistic team development and fun in the retrospective. In particular, companies that value data protection will also greatly appreciate Echometer’s GDPR compliance and server location.

Let’s continue with Retrium.

Play

Retrospective Tools Online | No. 7

Retrium: Enabling conversations

rear tool overview

Retrium Review on Capterra: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.7/5)

Brief introduction Retrium

Retrium enables agile teams to have effective conversations, gain new insights, and create action plans.

Retro site: https://www.retrium.com/

Retrium Board

Feature overview

Core features

Features to foster outputsFeatures to foster outcomes
☑️ Action item Support & Tracking⚠️ ROTI metric
⚠️ Flexible whiteboard or similar⚠️ Team Health Check’s
☑️ Various retro methods☑️ Team Health Templates
☑️ Support of facilitator
☑️ Effective timer
☑️ Optional anonymity
☑️ Intuitive UX & attractive design
More screenshots Retrium

More screenshots Retrium

Action Management retro tool action item

ROTI Scores rear retro tool ROTI measurement

Retro Preparation retrium retro tool formats

Retrium Board

Pro & Contra

☀️ Pro ☀️🌧 Cons 🌧
👍 Long list of features💔 Rather high prices
👍 Basic Team Health Check integrated💔 No “forever free” version

Retrium Board

Prices & Access

  • Free trial: 30 days
  • Free version (after the free trial): No
  • Basic price (after the free trial): Beginning at 39$/team/month

Here you can find the whole pricing model: Retrium pricing model (English). And here you can try it out: Free trial. Also, here is a detailed comparison to Echometer: Echometer as Retrium alternative .

Retrium Board

Conclusion & Tips

Looking at this analysis, this tool deserves to be called one of the best retro tools for remote teams.

I think one of Retrium’s strengths is its UX. It’s easy to use. But one might ask at this point: Is an intuitive UX even important? Or is the question rather: When is an intuitive UX important?

I believe that the user interface should play an important role in choosing the right free online retro tool, especially when it is used by a rather immature team. Immature teams (i.e. teams with a low level of agile maturity) are often skeptical when it comes to agile frameworks, whether Scrum or Kanban (More on: Retrospective Kanban Board ). They don’t have much patience and motivation to understand the respective tool.

For these types of teams, you should choose a retro online tool that is fun and offers a very intuitive user experience. For example, the classic should not be missing: Sailboat Retrospective Board . Of course, other retrospective formats should also be included.

Both apply to Retrium and Echometer. In summary, however, Echometer is to be described as the better retro software than Retrium based on the criteria above. Now let’s move on to the last free retro tool: Neatro.

Retrospective Tools Online | No. 8

Neatro: Effective retros

neatro retro tool menu

Neatro Review on Capterra: No reviews available yet.

Brief introduction Neatro

Neatro is an online retrospective tool for remote teams who want to continuously improve and stay agile.

Neatro website: https://www.neatro.io/

Neatro Board

Feature overview

Core features

Features to foster outputsFeatures to foster outcomes
☑️ Action item Support & Tracking⚠️ ROTI metric
⚠️ Flexible whiteboard or similar⚠️ Team Health Check’s
☑️ Various retro methods☑️ Team Health Templates
☑️ Support of facilitator
☑️ Effective timer
☑️ Optional anonymity
⚠️ Intuitive UX et attractive design
More screenshots Neatro

More screenshots Neatro

Retro Summary netro retro summary

Retro check-in neatro retro tool check in

Retro Preparation neatro retro preparation

Neatro Board

Pro & Contra

☀️ Pro ☀️🌧 Cons 🌧
👍 Diverse list of retro methods💔 No “forever free” version
👍 Basic Team Health Check integrated

Neatro Board

Prices & Access

  • Free trial: 30 days
  • Free version (after the free trial): No
  • Basic price (after the free trial): Beginning at 20$/team/month

Here you can find the whole pricing model: Neatro pricing (English). And here you can test it: Free trial.

Neatro Board

Conclusion & Tips

Neatro - another team radar online tool, nice! Looking at this analysis, this tool deserves the designation of being one of the best retro tools for remote teams.

And something else to keep in mind, because it correlates with team success: (Perceived) psychological safety in agile teams . And sharing feedback anonymously is an easy way for less mature agile teams to learn psychological safety over time in a Scrum Sprint Retrospective.

With that in mind, I’m happy that Neatro and most other popular Sprint retro apps offer the option of anonymous feedback. This is, by the way, a disadvantage of many whiteboard tools like Miro and Mural, which do not offer this feature (compared to the retro tools we are discussing here). In summary, however, Echometer is generally to be described as the better retro software than Neatro based on the criteria above.

Okay, we’re through. That went faster than expected. For those of you who want to better understand why we compared exactly these 10 core functions of retro tools - below you will find my reasoning.

Evaluation of 7 Online Retrospective Software Tools - what we looked at (summary)

Which online retro board software is right for your agile team? To summarize, we looked at 8 different variables for each retro tool to answer this question:

These 8 “retro board decision criteria” were compared

I organized the comparison of free retro online tools in 8 categories:

  • Screenshot of the agile retro board tool
  • Capterra Rating, as one of the key platforms that gives reviews of online cloud tools
  • Short intro of the free online retrospective web tool, based on its website introduction (More about: Retrospective Web Tool )
  • Feature comparison of the agile retro board
  • Advantages and disadvantages of the online retro board software
  • A few example screenshots of what the free sprint retrospective online tools looks like
  • One example testimonial of the agile retro tool
  • Information on their pricing, including links to free trial and access to the retro tool

For those of you who are only looking for purely free retro board tools: TeamRetro, Retrium and Neatro are each a Sprint Retro app that do not offer a free version of their retro online tool, only a free trial. You could therefore ignore these three tools in your comparison.

Play

How to choose the right retro board software in a smart way?

How can you find the right retrospective board software for your team and company? Good question! It is related to the question: What is a good retrospective actually about? Only if I know what a good retrospective is about can I meaningfully compare tools.

That is why I have also written a lot about the outputs of retrospective tools and the outcomes of retrospectives in general. This gives us a valid decision framework for evaluating the different online retro board tools for Scrum that you can use in your teams. At the end of my analysis, you will know which free online scrum retrospective tool is the right one for your online retro. This will definitely help you to conduct a good remote retro.

This post is also intended to help you with the following question: How do you conduct a retrospective online at all? This is actually quite simple if the retrospective tool has a good user experience (UX). Therefore, the easiest way to understand how to conduct a retrospective online is to try out a retro tool - you can find direct access at the very top of this post.

Of course, these short words are just a small hint of what these Scrum Retrospective Tools for Agile really focus on — and how they can support you in running a remote retro. We’ll dive deeper into the details later. But first, let’s clarify what we should actually focus on in our analysis: What makes a great online sprint retrospective board?

As mentioned earlier, to answer the question of the best (free) retro tools, we should ask ourselves the following questions: What are the outputs and outcomes of retrospectives? Regardless of whether we use retrospective tools for distributed teams or for on-site teams…

Given this, let’s first align on what outcomes and outputs actually are.

Definition Outcomes: Outcomes are, so to speak, your abstract overall goals, i.e. what the company ultimately wants to achieve.

Example Outcome: The outcome of a change initiative in the company is higher employee satisfaction.

Definition Outputs: Outputs are the measures or specific elements that contribute to achieving this outcome. You could say they are the prerequisites or the operational things that are necessary to achieve the goal or outcome (e.g. what functions a retrospective web tool offers; More on: Retrospective Web Tool ).

Example Output: The outputs of a change initiative are regular employee workshops.

Many argue that outcomes are more important than outputs. There is even a book titled “Outcomes over outputs”. However, since we are comparing tools in this text, I will not overemphasize the “outcome” of the tools and pretend that both are equally important.

Software Retrospective: Our “Core Features”

If we ask the question of “why” for retrospectives, we can answer what makes a good retrospective web tool (More on: Retrospective Web Tool ). “Why” do we need retros? To answer this question, we should make the important distinction between outputs and outcomes to answer this question.

What should be the outputs of retrospective software tools, and what should be the outcomes of retrospectives in general? Which product features does this relate to? To give you a quick answer, have a look at the 2 graphics:

I am further elaborating on this below after the Comparison of online retro board tools ’ that compares solutions to facilitate retrospectives online. So if you want to learn more about which outcomes and outputs your teams retro should have, simply scroll down. Firstly, these are the Outcomes of retros in general and the product features related to them:

Which of the best free online retrospective tools is actually the best one with helping you get the given outputs and outcomes of agile retrospectives, doing retrospectives online?

I will now explain specifically what the outputs of retrospectives and the outcome of any online tool for agile retrospectives should be (More on: Agile Retrospective Board ). I will also name the specific features that - from my point of view - are directly related to these outputs and outcomes. An example: If we have anonymous retrospective software, what is actually the outcome that I would expect from this feature (anonymity)?

sprint retrospective output vs. outcomes

Outputs of a Retrospective Software Tool

Here we go - overall I see 7 different outputs of retrospectives, online and offline.

  1. Action items: The online retrospective app tool should take into account the 6th phase of a retrospective (see above, explanations for Easyretro aka Funretro).
  2. Feature: Action Item Support & Tracking.
  3. Fun, engagement and flexibility: A retro as an agile ceremony can be very interactive and fun compared to other ceremonies. It should also be very flexible - the agenda can change due to urgent issues.
  4. Feature: Fun, interactive and flexible design (i.e., flexibility of a digital retro whiteboard).
  5. The right questions: The retrospective meeting tool should help ask the right questions and be flexible, i.e., adaptable to the team’s needs (More on: Retrospective Meeting Board ).
  6. Feature: Varied templates with good questions to reflect on past sprints and improve the team.
  7. Efficiency: The Sprint Retrospective Board is designed to help save time in the preparation and follow-up of the retrospective.
  8. Features: Pre-defined templates, optional asynchronous survey, support in facilitation, the right integrations with other tools, automated action item follow up.
  9. Good time boxing: To keep the team’s focus and the ROTI “Return on time invest” in balance.
  10. Feature: Effective timer.
  11. Safe atmosphere: To be able to speak up and share ideas without the fear of being judged by colleagues
  12. Feature: Optional anonymity when sharing feedback.
  13. Professionalism: Being perceived as a professional coach or engineering manager to gain the trust required for the long-term development of a team.
  14. Feature: Professionally designed & working retrospective software with intuitive UX. Mobile support for hybrid teams (More on: Free agile retrospective software ).

You can find an image above that shows a quick summary of the features I am mentioning here that any good free retrospective tool online should have.

All of these outputs have an influence on the outcomes of the retrospective (for any retro online and offline).

Outcomes of a teams retro

I see 4 different outcomes of doing retrospectives online (or offline and in general).

  1. Continuous improvement: One of the core ideas of Agile is continuous improvement - and the retrospective is the central ceremony to support this.
  2. Feature: Measuring the ROTI score, “Return on time invest”, as an indicator of the perceived quality of a retrospective (correlating with whether the time is worth it or whether you are actually improving).
  3. Agile Mindset: Regularly experiencing the positive effect of retrospectives, i.e. improving teamwork, leads to a phenomenon called “self-efficacy” in psychology. This phenomenon can have a massive impact on the “belief” in agile methods, in other words, on the agile growth mindset - more on this in the linked article.
  4. Feature: Team health checks (or I should rather say Team fitness checks ) including analysis options over time can be a great help in regularly demonstrating how the team has improved in terms of agile maturity over time - which is very conducive to the agile mindset.
  5. Team spirit: One outcome of sprint retrospectives should be increased motivation and satisfaction of team members (i.e. something that could be called team spirit, although this is not a psychological term).
  6. Feature: A good team fitness check (incl. psychological validity & reliability) not only measures how you develop, but also to reflect on the psychological preconditions of team spirit & morale (e.g., the agile values).
  7. Psychological safety: Psychological safety is a precondition for sharing one’s ideas and thoughts openly, which is a precondition for learning and thus continuous improvement.
  8. Feature: Retrospective templates and questions that specifically foster psychological safety.

If you generally want to learn more about this, have a look at my post about 5 examples for outputs and outcomes of retros right now.

What’s pretty interesting given this: These outputs and outcomes match the overall impact of Agile Coaches pretty well, according to the State of Agile Q1/2022 (see graphic):

state of agile coaching report - retro tool

So there is a reason why retrospectives are called the core ceremony in Scrum (see: Retrospectives as a core ceremony): They can help you solve/achieve the key challenges/goals of Engineering Managers, Team Leads, Delivery Managers and Agile Coaches. Given these examples and facts, I hope you can understand why many argue that outcomes are more important than outputs (in general, not just in relation to Scrum Retros in Remote Sprint Teams).

So now you know why I am listing these 10 features as core features of (free) agile Retrospective tools that enable online retrospectives. Next, I’ll explain why I claim we’re comparing the 7 best retro tools.

##*Why are these the 7 “best” Retro Board Softwares?

I have written that these are the best retro board software for your teams’ retrospective and for conducting a remote retrospective. Why do I claim this - that they are the best?

Well, to be rather objective here, we tried to use numbers. In our case, we looked at website traffic. In the last months, these have been the pages with the highest traffic:

As you can see, Parabol (red line) and Easyretro (formerly FunRetro; purple line) have the highest traffic overall, followed at some distance by Echometer (blue) and the other tools for online retrospectives - which are all at a similar level. I must add that Neatro is not listed here, simply because the comparison tool we used here (Ubersuggest) only allows you to compare 6 tools at the same time. I excluded it because Neatro has the least traffic from all the tools.

What you also can’t see: Of course, we also compared many other retro tools for conducting retrospectives online (see the honorable mentions below). These simply had less traffic compared to the top 7 tools we present in this post - but they may still be suitable, of course.

We also checked the traffic via Similarweb by the way, to have two different sources for the traffic data. It showed a similar pattern for the traffic of the Scrum retrospective tools. You can use Similarweb for free. So if you want to double check the traffic of the online retro tools on your own, feel free to do so.

Finally, it should be pointed out that higher traffic does not clearly prove that it is one of the “best” retro tools. However, for the purpose of this article, it served as a handy indicator as it was rather neutral.

Retrospective Board online: Some honorable mentions

To let you know which other online retro boards we have reviewed in our traffic comparison, I have added honorable mentions to the following section. To find even more remote retro tools, feel free to jump to our retro board comparison.

Online Retro Board Tool Alternative: Outro

“A new kind of retrospective for progressive teams.”

Outro website: https://outro.co/

What I like about it: Outro is a little side project by Taylor and Danny from NYC, who have a lot of experience with retrospectives. You can read their story and more about their tool on their website (More on: Project Retrospective Tool ).

Online Retrospective App Alternative: GoRetro

“GoRetro is an easy, fun and customizable agile retrospective tool that uses sprint data and team sentiment to drive continuous improvement.”

GoRetro website: https://www.goretro.ai/

I haven’t tried this free online sprint retrospective tool, but it sounds and looks like a decent simple retrospective tool to do retrospectives online. Feel free to investigate on your own.

Online Retro Tool Alternative: Retrocat

“Simple retros for you and your team.”

Retrocat website: https://retrocat.app/

Retrocat offers the basic features of a free online retro tool. I didn’t dive deep enough to know how it stacks up against the core features mentioned above - but it’s worth a look. I have to admit: What I don’t understand about this tool is the connection to cats…

Online Retro Tool Alternative: Miro

“Where teams fulfill their work.”

Miro website: https://miro.com/

Okay, you probably already know Miro. It’s probably the most popular digital whiteboard tool out there. Why am I mentioning it here? Because I know that many Agile Coaches, Engineering Managers and Scrum Masters use Miro for their free online retrospectives by simply using an online whiteboard for their remote retrospective. 

Advantages: Many people are used to using a whiteboard tool.

Disadvantage: You cannot call Miro or other pure whiteboard tools a software tool for agile retrospectives. It does not have many of the necessary features of an online retro board tool, including anonymity, action item support, ROTI score and health checks.

If you are looking for an online whiteboard for a retrospective, I would rather choose the following software as described above: Echometer or Metro Retro . The choice is yours! Both are creative retrospective boards (More about: Creative Retrospective Board ).

Online Retro Board Tool Alternative: Scatterspoke

“Run Better Retros. Build Happier Teams.”

Scatterspoke website: https://www.scatterspoke.com/

Scatterspoke describes itself as a “data-driven” tool. Which (as you may have noticed) I like, because I believe that data can be a great help when it comes to getting the necessary outcomes from retrospectives. An online tool for agile retrospectives to keep an eye on.

Online Retrospective App Alternative: retros.work

“Better team performance with online retrospectives.”

Retros.work website (pretty obvious): https://retros.work/

It looks like “retros.work” is a free online retrospective tool from a one-man show in the Netherlands - not bad! For that reason alone, this tool for online retros is worth a look (More on: Retrospective Collaboration Tool ). But now, after all these retro tools, let’s draw a conclusion.

The best online retro tools compared

Conclusion: Who wins in the retrospective tool comparison?

The market for free retrospective board tools is confusing. This makes it difficult to decide on a software tool. As my selection has shown, many online retro boards have their own approaches to improving teamwork. At the same time, however, many retro apps also offer the same features, so it is often not clear at first glance which tool is suitable for which requirements.

Hopefully this comparison has given you some guidance on which online retro board tool is best to use. As we are developers of one of these tools ourselves, we are of course biased as to which software tool we recommend. But I’ve tried to explain our decision-making framework for this recommendation as logically as possible. Feel free to give us feedback on our logic and the conclusion that Echometer is the best retrospective software board.

If you are looking for some fun retrospective questions, feel free to have a look at these 54 kickass retrospective ideas (More on: Software Retrospective Ideas ).

By the way: One of the most effective ways to sustainably develop the “mindset” of teams is to hold regular one-on-one meetings between engineering leads (or generally Servant Leaders) and software developers. We have developed a specialized software tool for this very purpose - you can take a look at it here: Echometers 1-to-1 Meeting Software .

Have fun with your next online retrospective - hopefully with the right software tool!

You can find more retro ideas in our collection 32 Retrospective Methods .

Retro Boards: Frequently Asked Questions

The following questions will help you choose the right online retro board software.

What are popular retrospective tools in 2026?

The most popular retrospective tools in 2026 include in particular:

  • Echometer: “Retrospectives, 1:1 meetings and team health checks in a comprehensive tool for agile leadership.” 
  • Parabol: “A tool for all agile meetings – Retrospective, stand-up and planning in one workflow.” 
  • EasyRetro: “Beginner-friendly & visual – over 100 ready-made templates make retrospectives simple and easy.” 
  • Neatro: “Promotes continuous improvement with ready-to-use retreat boards that can be used live or asynchronously.” 
  • Retrium : “A toolbox approach with various retro formats and anonymous feedback, especially for Scrum and Agile teams.” 
  • TeamRetro : “Guidance and analysis-oriented for retrospectives and team health checks – with templates and metrics” 
What are the best retrospective software tools for remote development teams?

It depends on your team and your context which is the best retrospective software tool. A generally recommended software tool for virtual or remote engineering teams is Echometer. It has various features that have been specially developed for remote IT engineering teams, such as: an interactive retro board, various retrospective templates, action tracking and specialized team Health Checks for remote teams.

Where can I find retrospective software tools with customizable templates?

You can find retrospective software tools with customizable templates, formats and techniques on various platforms and in various software tools. For example, we recommend the retrospective software tool Echometer with customizable templates for retrospective questions and techniques. The templates in Echometer include selectable icebreakers and open questions for your retrospective, such as the techniques “Keep Stop Start”, “Mad Sad Glad” or the sailboat retrospective.

You can find an overview of the templates in Echometer here: https://my.echometerapp.com/retro-setup.

What is the cheapest alternative to the Retrospective Software Tool Parabol?

The more affordable alternative to the retrospective software tool Parabol is Echometer, depending on the size of your team. Parabol charges $8 per team member, while Echometer charges per team. Since Echometer costs $29 per month for a full team, Echometer is more affordable if you have more than 3 team members - which is the case for most teams.

Is the Echometer Retrospective Software Tool suitable for younger and older software developers?

Yes, Echometer is suitable for all age groups: Younger software developers will enjoy the playful elements of the software, such as the balloon shooting in the retrospective waiting room. Older software engineers will appreciate the focus on efficiency and the simplicity of the tool.

Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban: Which framework is the Echometer retrospective software tool designed for?

Echometer works independently of frameworks and is therefore ideal for teams that work according to Scrum, Waterfall or Kanban, as well as software teams that use hybrid frameworks and methods such as Scrumban. Even if you don’t use Scrum or an officially existing framework, Echometer is the right software tool for you.

What is important when choosing retrospective board software?

When deciding on a retrospective software tool, you should make sure that the online retro board can do more than just replace colorful sticky notes. Good retro software helps your team to work better together on an ongoing basis and ensures that the retros don’t become routine.

The most important criteria for choosing a retro board are:

  1. Ease of use & accessibility
    Participation should be as uncomplicated as possible – ideally also without registration or with guest access as with the Retro Board of Echometer.
  2. Templates & structure
    Different retro templates help to constantly adopt new perspectives and prevent meetings from becoming monotonous.
  3. Interactivity & moderation aids
    Features such as check-in questions, anonymous posts or live reactions increase engagement and give all team members a voice.
  4. Tracking of measures
    A retro only brings real added value if the agreed action items remain visible and are tracked until the next meeting. Only a few retro board softwares offer this feature, including Echometer.
  5. Measurable team development
    Some retro board software tools make it possible to evaluate trends and progress across multiple retros, such as Echometer –, so you can see how team dynamics are improving.

Conclusion:
Good retrospective board software makes the difference between “just talking” and “really improving”. The retrospective board tool Echometer stands out here in particular: it combines interactive retros with continuous measurement of team dynamics and helps to ensure that improvements don’t come to nothing.

With this in mind, it is definitely worth trying out Echometer for yourself – precisely because you can simply take a look at the retro software without having to log in at the following link: Access Echometer Retro Board Software without login.

What is the best retrospective software for beginners to get started with?

If an agile team does not yet have much experience with retrospectives, a tool that effectively guides you through the retrospective and offers many templates is recommended:

  • Echometer is known not only for being an intuitive online retro board, but also for offering a very effective guided flow through the retrospective. At the same time, Echometer offers whiteboards that can be flexibly integrated into the retrospective. This makes Echometer very beginner-friendly.
  • Echometer also has extremely versatile and creative templates for retrospectives and team Health Checks that stimulate team reflection. Inexperienced teams in particular are very grateful for the food for thought in Echometer.

This makes Echometer the best software recommendation for beginners with agile retrospectives or Scrum beginners. By the way, you can try out Echometer for free without logging in: Echometer Try out the retro tool

What is the best online retrospective tool for managers?

The best online retrospective tool, especially for managers of agile teams, is probably Echometer. Why?

  • Typical whiteboard tools (such as Miro or Mural) also offer tools that can be used to conduct online retrospectives. However, these whiteboards are flooded with complex functions that are not needed for simple retrospectives. What the whiteboards lack is the automatic tracking of measures from retrospectives and teams have to build their own workarounds when they use whiteboards for retrospectives. This makes whiteboard tools for retrospectives more time-consuming and also more difficult and cumbersome to use for retrospective participants.
  • Other retro tools are often relatively rigid. Echometer, on the other hand, combines a structured retrospective process with flexible online whiteboards. Echometer also has the largest selection of templates for retrospectives. As a manager in Echometer, you benefit from the extremely simple and time-saving preparation and follow-up of retrospectives and at the same time you benefit from engaging and varied retrospectives.

Conclusion: If you are a manager looking for a tool for online retrospectives, try the free version of Echometer first: Try the retro tool Echometer for free without login

What are the limitations of Parabol's retrospective tool?

Parabol is basically a good retro board tool for online retrospectives. Nevertheless, there are a few limitations and weaknesses of the Parabol software compared to Echometer as an alternative tool for team retrospectives:

  • Parabol does not have the option of integrating whiteboards into its retrospective. In Echometer you can flexibly integrate whiteboards into your retrospectives.
  • Parabol is limited to remote retrospectives. With Echometer you can conduct both remote retrospectives and on-site retrospectives thanks to simple participation with a QR code via smartphone.
  • Parabol has limited possibilities to analyze Health Check trends. Echometer can visualize trends over time and optionally over several teams.
  • Parabol does not allow the effectiveness of retrospectives to be evaluated. Echometer has an integrated ROTI query (Return On Time Invested) to query the evaluation of the team members directly during the check-out of the retrospective and to reflect on it in the team.
  • Relevant for users in the EU: Parabol’s company location and server location is in the USA. This can be a problem for companies in the EU due to compliance and data protection. You can also host Parabol yourself in the Enterprise version to avoid these problems. Or you can use Echometer, which has its company location and server location in Germany.
  • The Parabol software assumes that your team works according to the Scrum framework and also has daily standups and sprint planning meetings. So if your team does not work according to Scrum, Parabol might not be a good fit. On the other hand, you can use Echometer as an agile team even without Scrum.

As an agile team, you have to decide for yourself whether these limitations of Parabol are relevant in the team context. A tip: Just try Echometer with your team, because Echometer’s Online Retrospective Tool has its strengths exactly where Parabol has its weaknesses. You can try Echometer for free here: Try Echometer for free

What are the strengths of Echometer compared to Parabol?

Echometer’s online retrospective software has several strengths and distinguishing features compared to Parabol:

  • Integrated whiteboards: Echometer offers the option of flexibly adding further whiteboards in retrospectives. These whiteboards can be used in Echometer to discuss individual topics in a focused manner and derive measures. Parabol does not offer integrated whiteboards in retrospectives.
  • Pulse checks: Echometer enables automatic, regular team surveys, so-called pulse checks. This automation of surveys does not exist in Parabol. Feedback can only ever be obtained in Parabol in conjunction with a manually created meeting.
  • Team Health Dashboards: Echometer’s dashboards serve as a clear mood barometer over time and optionally across multiple teams.
  • Remote, hybrid and on-site: Echometer also has a mode for on-site retrospectives. Participants can share feedback and take part in the voting via their smartphone. Parabol, on the other hand, is limited to remote retrospectives.
  • Echometer is very beginner-friendly and you don’t need to be an experienced Scrum team to conduct effective team retrospectives.

We have already reported on the overlaps between the retrospective tools of Parabol and Echometer here: Comparison Echometer vs Parabol

Together with your agile team, you can see for yourself the strengths of Echometer’s Retro Board compared to Parabol by testing the free version of Echometer: Try Echometer (free of charge and without login)

What do I need to consider with Parabol as a retrospective tool?

If you are considering using Parabol as software for agile retrospectives and retro boards, team leaders and Scrum Masters recommend that you also try out other tools such as Echometer beforehand. The decision to use retrospectives should be a well-founded, joint decision by the entire agile team.

Consider the following for Parabol as an online retrospective tool:

  • The pricing model in Parabol is difficult to calculate, as the tool is billed per team member. So if guests or new colleagues are added, it could become more expensive. In Echometer, on the other hand, you simply pay per team and the costs do not change for the team.
  • For users in the EU: Parabol is an American company with servers in the USA and only optional possibilities for hosting elsewhere. Due to the sensitive data in retrospectives, this could be a compliance and data protection issue depending on the company. Echometer has its company and server location in Germany.

Some users of Parabol switched to Echometer in 2025 and are happy with the decision, as Echometer drives team development more effectively and measurably. See: Advantages of Echometer compared to Parabol

Managers in particular are also enthusiastic about Echometer’s integrated tool for 1:1 meetings, which allows managers to get even more value from Echometer.

Our tip for users of Parabol: Take a look at the retro tool Echometer and try out the free plan: Echometer Access without login

Why is Echometer better than Parabol for agile retrospectives?

Echometer is better than Parabol for conducting agile retrospectives (also “Sprint Retrospectives”) because, in addition to the retro board, Echometer offers a wider range of features that make life easier for Scrum Masters and team managers:

  • Better retro effectiveness: Retrospectives with Echometer are very effective. You can even measure this: At the end of each retrospective in Echometer, the team is asked about the ROTI, i.e. the “Return on Time Invested”. This ensures that you maintain the quality and effectiveness of your retrospectives in Echometer in the long term. Parabol does not have such a mechanism.
  • More flexibility in Echometer: In Echometer, you can use integrated whiteboards during retrospectives to discuss individual topics in a focused way and derive measures for them. You can also create your own whiteboard templates and use them flexibly in your retrospectives. Parabol is not as flexible as Echometer and does not offer integrated whiteboards for retrospectives.
  • Long-term team health trends: In Echometer, team development can also be easily tracked over time via the Health Checks team. You can even collect and evaluate overarching metrics in Echometer via Workspace Health.
  • Automatic pulse check surveys: In Echometer, you can automate regular team health surveys and rotate topics automatically. In Parabol, you have to manually create a meeting for each data collection.
  • It is also not possible to create dashboards of agile pulse surveys as a mood barometer (or Agile / Scrum Health Check) over time.

As a manager, Echometer is therefore probably more effective, more flexible and more time-saving for you than Parabol. Ultimately, of course, your team has to help decide which tool they prefer for retrospectives. So here’s an important tip: simply try out both tools with your team. Because both tools have a free plan: Try Echometer for free without login.

You can see for yourself by testing the free version why Echometer is better than Parabol for agile retrospectives and why many users of both tools say that Echometer is “by far the best tool for online retrospectives.”

How do the prices of Echometer compare to Parabol?

The prices of the online retrospective software tool from Echometer and Parabol differ in the way they are billed:

  • Echometer charges per team (Pro plan with a monthly subscription of €35 per month)
  • Parabol billed per team member (team plan with monthly 8$ per user)

So depending on how big your team is, Echometer’s online retrospective software is usually cheaper (even significantly cheaper) than Parabol. Only if your team has 4 or less team members, Parabol is cheaper than Echometer:

  • For a team with 9 members, Parabol costs you €72 per month (€37 more expensive than Echometer).
  • For a team with 8 members, Parabol costs you €64 per month (€29 more expensive than Echometer).
  • For a team with 7 members, Parabol costs you €56 per month (€21 more expensive than Echometer).
  • For a team with 6 members, Parabol costs you €48 per month (€13 more expensive than Echometer).
  • For a team with 5 members, Parabol costs you €40 per month (€5 more expensive than Echometer).
  • Only if your team has 4 or fewer members will Parabol be just as expensive or cheaper for you at €32 than Echometer with a standard monthly subscription of €35 per team.

Tip: If you want to save money on your Echometer subscription, opt for the annual subscription and pay just €29 per month per team.

Note: For the sake of simplicity, we assume a 1:1 exchange rate between USD and EURO. This is because the prices of Parabol are quoted in USD and the prices of Echometer in EURO.

Would you like to test the Online Retro Board from Echometer with your agile team free of charge? No problem: Try Echometer Retro Board for free, without login

How does Parabol compare with Echometer's Retrospective software?

Both Echometer and Parabol are very suitable online retrospective software for conducting agile retrospectives.

Both tools include the following functions for online retrospectives:

  • Interactive online retro boards that allow grouping and prioritizing feedback
  • Integrated tracking of measures from retrospectives
  • Surveys: Obtaining anonymous feedback from team members even before the retrospective
  • Feedback on a scale for team health queries in the retrospective. The results are automatically recorded on the Retro Board.
  • AI support during the retrospective (for example when brainstorming measures)
  • Integration with Jira
  • Generated icebreakers for retrospectives
  • Retro archive, automatic retro summary via email and export of retro results

What distinguishes Echometer and Parabol are the following functions:

  • Echometer enables automatic, regular team surveys via so-called pulse checks. This automation of surveys is not possible in Parabol. Feedback can only ever be obtained in Parabol in conjunction with a retrospective.
  • Echometer also allows you to create dashboards of agile pulse surveys as a mood barometer over time: For example, the scientifically based query of Psychological Safety or the Spotify Health Check are very good templates for both retrospectives and surveys.
  • Echometer offers the option of flexibly adding further whiteboards in retrospectives. These whiteboards can be used in Echometer to discuss individual topics in a focused manner and derive measures. Parabol does not offer integrated whiteboards in retrospectives.
  • In addition to the Jira integration, Parabol also has further integrations for GitHub, GitLab, Linear and Azure Dev. Parabol also has messaging integrations with Slack, Teams and Mattermost, as well as a calendar integration with Google Calendar.
  • Echometer also has a mode for on-site retrospectives. Participants can share feedback via their smartphone and take part in the voting. Parabol, on the other hand, is limited to remote retrospectives.

Further differences in the functions and target group of Echometer and Parabol:

  • In addition to the tool for team retrospectives, Echometer also offers a tool for 1:1 meetings. This means that Echometer is optimized as a software tool for managers of agile teams.
  • In addition to the tool for team retrospectives, Parabol also offers software for Sprint Planning (Planning Poker) and Daily Standup Scrum Meetings. This means that Parabol is optimized as a software tool for remote Scrum teams.

Both Parabol and Echometer offer a generous free plan:

  • In Parabol, 2 teams are free of charge. Parbol’s free plan includes up to 10 meetings per month (including retrospectives, stand-ups, check-ins and sprint poker).
    • The meeting history in the free plan is 30 days in Parabol.
  • In Echometer, 1 team is free of charge. In Echometer’s free plan, an unlimited number of retrospectives are possible in the first 3 weeks, then 1 retrospective per month. The number of 1:1 meetings is also unlimited in the free plan.
    • In Echometer’s free plan, the history for retrospectives is 6 months.

If you are considering trying out the retrospective software tool Parabol in your agile team or scrum team, take a quick look at the online retro tool Echometer first: Echometer Access without login.

How does Miro compare with Echometer's Retrospective software?

Miro is a generic online whiteboard tool while Echometer is an online retrospective tool. However, the flow of online retrospectives differs in both software tools:

  • Structure and process of the retros: Both tools have an online retro board. However, Echometer also has a dedicated mode for carrying out online retrospectives. In Echometer, a retro therefore has several steps, whereas in Miro everything takes place on a whiteboard, which can become somewhat confusing.
  • Retro templates & preparation: Miro has many templates for retrospectives, but no dedicated mode for online retrospectives. Accordingly, retro moderators need to think very carefully about how they want to structure a retrospective in Miro beforehand. This means that retrospectives in Miro are more time-consuming to prepare, often less structured and less effective than in Echometer.

The specific advantages of Echometer over Miro for conducting online retrospectives are as follows:

  • Echometer offers integrated measure tracking with automatic resubmission of open measures in the next retro
  • Echometer offers a structured process for preparing the retrospective with many templates and ideas specifically for retrospectives (both for Scrum retrospectives and general team retrospectives)
  • Echometer enables the ROTI score to be recorded when the retro is checked out. This provides quantitative feedback on the perceived effectiveness of the retrospective by the participants.

Miro, on the other hand, has many more generic whiteboard functions compared to Echometer’s online whiteboard when it comes to designing sticky notes. For some participants in agile sprint retrospectives, the range of functions is even somewhat overwhelming because the functions of Miro go far beyond the basics and are therefore more difficult to use. Echometer’s whiteboard is very easy to use in comparison.

So if the use case for the online whiteboard tool Miro is agile retrospectives, it is highly recommended that you at least try out classic sprint retrospective software such as Echometer and evaluate it together as a team: Echometer Retrospective Tool free trial without login

How does Mural compare with Echometer's Retrospective tool?

Mural is a generic online whiteboard tool while Echometer is an online retrospective tool.

Both tools can be used as software for Online Retro Board. However, Echometer also has a dedicated mode for conducting online retrospectives in addition to the Retro Board. Mural does not have a dedicated mode for online retrospectives. Accordingly, retrospectives in Mural are more time-consuming, less structured and less effective than in Echometer.

The advantages of Echometer over Mural for conducting agile retrospectives (or Scrum retrospectives) are as follows:

  • Echometer offers integrated measure tracking with automatic resubmission of open measures in the next retro
  • Echometer offers a structured process for preparing the retrospective with many templates and ideas specifically for retrospectives
  • Echometer enables the ROTI score to be recorded when the retro is checked out. This provides quantitative feedback on the perceived effectiveness of the retrospective by the participants.

Mural, on the other hand, has many more generic whiteboard functions compared to Echometer’s online whiteboard when it comes to designing sticky notes.

In one respect, Echometer’s whiteboard is ahead of the mural whiteboard:

  • You can write individual notes face down in Echometer and reveal them later.
  • In Mural, on the other hand, hidden notes are not a direct function. Instead, you have to use the “Bulk Mode” to create notes without showing them to the group until the moderator releases them.

So if the use case for the online whiteboard tool Mural is retrospectives, it is highly recommended to at least try out and evaluate classic sprint retrospective software such as Echometer: Echometer Retrospective Tool free trial without login

How does Neatro compare with Echometer's Retrospective Tool?

Neatro and Echometer are both tools for online retrospectives that are very popular with Scrum teams. Both share some similarities, but Echometer is much more sophisticated in the details:

  • An online retro board for sharing, grouping and voting on feedback. Both also offer a hidden brainstorming mode for the retro board so that participants do not influence each other when formulating their feedback.
  • Neatro and Echometer both have a library of templates for retrospectives. However, Echometer has a wider selection as it includes templates for open retros (more than 50), ideas for Health Checks (more than 100), ideas for icebreakers (more than 50) and whiteboard templates (more than 20).
  • Tracking measures from retrospectives works very similarly in Neatro and Echometer: both allow you to create measures based on feedback on the board, mark a due date and define a person responsible. Practical: Echometer also offers the option of having an AI suggest measures for a topic.
  • Both Neatro and Echometer offer scale surveys with rating questions. Neatro calls these “Radars” and Echometer calls them “Health Checks”. The radars in Neatro are far less sophisticated than the health checks in Echometer. In Echometer, for example, feedback on health checks can be obtained both in retrospectives and independently in team surveys, or even in cross-team surveys. Via pulse checks, Echometer even allows you to automate the sending of regular surveys.

Key differences between Neatro and Echometer for agile retrospectives:

  • Yes, both Neatro and Echometer offer a free plan. However, Neatro’s free plan is very limited in its range of functions (e.g. no export of retros) and only allows 10 participants. The free plan from Echometer is more generous and includes all functions as well as an unlimited number of participants.
  • In addition to the Retro Board, Echometer also has integrated whiteboards that can be used flexibly in the retrospective - for example, to investigate root causes or to brainstorm measures.

So our tip: If you’re thinking about trying out the Neatro retrospective software tool in your agile team, take a look at the Echometer retro tool first: Free Echometer access without login

How does TeamRetro compare with Echometer's Retrospective tool?

Both TeamRetro and Echometer offer all the essential functions for preparing and conducting online retrospectives:

  • Both TeamRetro and Echometer have an extensive retrospective board for sharing feedback, grouping and voting. However, Echometer also offers integrated whiteboards that can be used flexibly in the retrospective.
  • Both TeamRetro and Echometer have integrated Team Health Checks and offer cross-team evaluations.
  • Both TeamRetro and Echometer offer random icebreakers for retrospectives.
  • Both tools allow the creation and tracking of measures from a retrospective perspective

The main differences between TeamRetro and Echometer are as follows:

  • What sets Echometer apart from TeamRetro is its simpler handling and modern design. Users of Echometer report that it is easier in Echometer for all team members to be online quickly and that it is easier for participants to actively take part in Echometer.
  • In addition to the Retro tool, TeamRetro also offers Planning Poker. TeamRetro is therefore very focused on Scrum teams. Echometer, on the other hand, also offers a tool for 1:1 meetings in addition to its retro tool and thus focuses more on the managers of agile teams.
  • TeamRetro only has a 30-day free trial period, while Echometer offers a permanent free plan.
How does Reetro differ from Echometer?

Both retrospective software from Echometer and Reetro make it possible to conduct interactive online retrospectives:

  • Both have a retro board
  • Both support Health Checks
  • Both support action tracking
  • Both support icebreakers

Echometer and Reetro differ as follows:

  • Echometer’s free plan is more generous than Reetro’s free version:

    • Reetro only allows 9 team members in the free plan. Echometer allows an unlimited number of team members in the free plan.
    • Retro only allows 1 Team Admin and one Orga Admin in the free plan. Echometer allows an unlimited number of Team Admins and Orga Admins.
    • Echometer’s free plan includes all features: Also hiding cards and Health Checks. With Reetro, these features are only available in the paid plan.
  • Reetro has a slightly more expensive starting price of €32 per month. Echometer’s Pro Plan starts at €29 per month.

If you’re thinking about trying out the retrospective software tool Reetro, take a quick look at the retro tool Echometer. The special thing about Echometer is that you can simply open the retrospective templates and the retro tool for free and save time without logging in using this link: Echometer Access without login.

How is EasyRetro vs Echometer Retrospective software?

Both the Echometer Retrospective software and EasyRetro allow you to conduct interactive online retrospectives. Some features overlap in both tools:

  • Both offer a Google login and login via email
  • Both offer a retro board for grouping and tuning feedback
  • Both offer Jira integration for saving measures

In principle, both tools allow you to carry out good online or remote retrospectives. However, Echometer goes one step further and offers icebreakers, action reviews and a checkout (ROTI score) in addition to the retro board. In addition to the retro, Echometer also has supplementary functions such as team surveys and team Health Check dashboards.

Therefore, as the name suggests, EasyRetro is actually just a very simple retro tool, while Echometer is a more comprehensive team development tool, of which the retrospective is a central part.

Unlike Echometer, EasyRetro only allows a limited number of team members in the free version. With Echometer, the number of team members is unlimited, even in the free plan.

EasyRetro has significantly fewer features overall than Echometer, for example no integrated online whiteboards and no templates for Health Checks - for example for measuring Psychological Safety. Finally, Echometer’s generous free trial is also outstanding.

Tip: If you’re thinking about trying out the EasyRetro retrospective software tool, take a quick look at the free version of the Echometer retro tool. The special thing about Echometer is that you can open the retrospective templates and the Echometer retro board immediately, free of charge and without having to log in: Echometer Access without login.

How does the Retrium retrospective software differ from Echometer?

Both the Echometer retrospective software and Retrium make it possible to conduct interactive online retrospectives. In principle, both tool alternatives make it possible to conduct good online/remote retrospectives.

Retrium also has fewer retrospective features than Echometer:

  • Retrium, for example, does not have integrated online whiteboards and
  • not as diverse templates for retrospectives as Echometer.
  • Retrium also lacks the option of obtaining asynchronous feedback via a survey before the retrospective.

Finally, Echometer’s generous free trial is also outstanding. While Retrium, unlike Echometer, does not offer a permanent free plan. Retrium is also generally more expensive than Echometer in the paid plans.

If you are thinking about trying out the retrospective software tool Retrium, take a quick look at the free version of the retro tool Echometer. Because the special thing about Echometer is that you can try out the retrospective templates and the retro board immediately (time-saving without login) under this link: Echometer Access without login.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Echometer as a retro tool?

Advantages of using Echometer as agile retrospective software:

  • Simplicity: Simple preparation and implementation of retrospectives for the moderator, which saves time
  • Team engagement: Users report that the playful approach increases team engagement
  • Successful continuous improvement: integrated tracking of long-term trends and follow-up of retrospective measures

Disadvantages of using Echometer as an agile retrospective tool:

  • Holistic mapping of retrospectives: The tracking of measures from retrospectives should ideally also take place in Echometer in order to be able to use the full range of functions.
  • Opinionated approach: Echometer provides a certain structure for the retrospectives thanks to its psychologically based approach. Adapting this as a moderator can be somewhat cumbersome, as you may have to manually skip steps in the retrospective.
  • The free plan only offers one retrospective per month after the initial trial has expired. On the other hand, the Pro version is relatively inexpensive at €29 per team per month.
What unique features does Echometer's retro tool offer?

The agile retrospective tool Echometer has various unique features that set Echometer apart from other tools for online team retrospectives such as Parabol:

  • Whiteboards for flexible brainstorming during the retrospective including “hidden notes” so as not to initially influence each other

  • The “data collection” of the retrospective can take place asynchronously via a separate survey before the retro

  • Anonymous feedback via survey or on the Retrospective Board

  • Creation of health check surveys or pulse surveys as a happiness check and mood barometer to identify trends in the team early on (e.g. increasing dissatisfaction)

  • Health Check KPIs and agile metrics in the analysis dashboard including trends and history

  • Health Check Survey or pulse surveys also possible across teams

  • Probably the most diverse library of Retrospective templates with special templates such as:

    • Spotify Squad Health Check Radar
    • Psychological safety Health Check
    • DORA Retrospective
    • 7 Dwarfs Retrospective
  • The option to conduct retrospectives both online (i.e. in remote teams) and on-site, or hybrid. In on-site retrospectives, you can use the smartphone view to give feedback and vote, while the retro board is shared via a monitor visible to all participants.

Why is Echometer the best software tool for retrospectives?

Echometer is the best software tool for retrospectives compared to alternative retrospective software tools such as Retrium, EasyRetro, Reetro, Neetro and TeamRetro for three reasons:

  1. Large selection of creative templates for retrospectives: Users of Echometer confirm that Echometer has a uniquely wide range of retro board ideas.
  2. Echometer has a simple and intuitive structure for retrospectives that guides teams through retrospectives using best practices. This also makes Echometer very beginner-friendly.
  3. Echometer offers a generous free version.

Users of Echometer particularly appreciate the unique function of Echometer to insert Health Checks into their agile retrospectives: These agile Health Checks make a massive contribution to stimulating team reflection and actively involving every team member in the retrospective.

To summarize, even alternative retrospective software tools such as Parabol do not have the unique features of the Echometer retrospective tool, which are both simple and effective. Therefore, it can be said that Echometer is the best software app for conducting agile sprint retrospective meetings.

What are the greatest strengths of Echometer's retrospective tool?

The greatest strengths of the Echometer retrospective tool are its impact on time savings, participant engagement and productivity.

  • With hundreds of ideas for retrospective templates in combination with the integrated surveys, Echometer makes it very easy to prepare great retrospectives in just a few minutes.
  • Thanks to the guided steps and the playful and interactive retrospective board, implementation is child’s play, focused and results-oriented at the same time.
  • The integrated tracking of measures and team health makes it easier to recognize trends in the team at an early stage and ensure that measures from retrospectives are not forgotten

Combined with the unique features of the agile Health Checks and flexible whiteboards, Echometer is one of the best, if not the best, retrospective tool on the market, even better than the better-known Parabol retrospective tool.

Blog category

More articles on "Tips for retros"

View all articles in this category
10 Tips for Great Retrospective Action Items incl. Examples

10 Tips for Great Retrospective Action Items incl. Examples

How do I derive good actions from retrospectives? 10 tips and examples to help define and implement meaningful actions. For value-adding retros!

5 phases of a retrospective alone are not enough: the Double Diamond model

5 phases of a retrospective alone are not enough: the Double Diamond model

Optimize your retrospectives with the Double Diamond model! Discover how to improve the 5 phases to achieve better results and teamwork.

42 Fun & Creative Retrospective Icebreakers breaking any Ice

42 Fun & Creative Retrospective Icebreakers breaking any Ice

Discover 42 creative retrospective check-ins and icebreakers for agile teams. Find the best questions and methods to make every retro interactive.

10 Simple & Important Agile Retrospective Ground Rules

10 Simple & Important Agile Retrospective Ground Rules

Agile Retrospectives: 10 Simple Rules for Effective Teamwork. Create a safe environment, encourage honesty, and focus on solutions.

What are the top-rated online retrospective software tools for agile (scrum) teams?

What are the top-rated online retrospective software tools for agile (scrum) teams?

Which online retrospective tools are best rated by agile (Scrum) teams? A comparison of Echometer, Parabol and others with advantages and disadvantages.

How do I find the right software tool for sprint retrospectives?

How do I find the right software tool for sprint retrospectives?

Which software tool is the best fit for your sprint retrospectives? We compare popular tools like Echometer, EasyRetro, and Metro Retro. Find the right one!

What is the cheapest alternative to the Neatro retrospective software tool?

What is the cheapest alternative to the Neatro retrospective software tool?

Neatro or Echometer: Which retrospective tool is more affordable? A cost and price comparison for agile teams. Discover the best & cheapest alternative!

5 whiteboard templates for brainstorming action items in retrospectives

5 whiteboard templates for brainstorming action items in retrospectives

Discover 5 Whiteboard Templates for Retrospectives to brainstorm actions! Including use cases, examples and tips for your agile team.

What are the best sprint retrospective techniques, ideas, formats & templates?

What are the best sprint retrospective techniques, ideas, formats & templates?

You can find the best "all-rounder" templates, techniques and ideas for agile sprint retrospectives in the following table. I have categorized them according to my personal score, based on my years...

Echometer Newsletter

Don't miss updates on Echometer & get inspiration for agile working

FAQs about Retrospective Tool

Top answers for anyone exploring our Retrospective Tool.

What is the ROI of the paid version of Echometer?

Good team retrospectives are a real win for companies. They have a positive impact on productivity, engagement and satisfaction - with Echometer you can tangibly and measurably increase these benefits.

Our data shows that teams achieve an average ROI increase of +120 % per retrospective when using Echometer. The ROI calculation makes all assumptions transparent, so you can enter effects as realistically as possible.

Important levers:

  • Time saving: Retro preparation, live sessions and follow-up are much faster thanks to team templates, retro themes and automated documentation. You can collect feedback asynchronously, use controlled timeboxing and record all measures directly in the tool.
  • Scalability: Your coaching resources are limited? Echometer enables teams to conduct retrospectives independently, helps new moderators get started and gives you a cross-team culture barometer.

With the Echometer ROI calculator, you can calculate exactly what added value you generate for your company - ideal as a basis for decision-making for budget managers or if you want to present the business case.
To the ROI calculator

Is a paid tool for team retrospectives worth it?

Team retrospectives can quickly turn into time-consuming processes if preparation, moderation and follow-up are implemented manually. A paid tool like Echometer helps you to standardize these processes, accelerate them and make them measurably better.

Why the investment is worth it:

  • Reusable Templates & Themes: You don’t have to rebuild retros every time. Instead, proven formats, timeboxing templates and asynchronous feedback are available.
  • Documentation & Measures: Every learning and every action item is automatically recorded. This ensures that knowledge is retained, even when team members change.
  • View of Team Health: Dashboards show trends across teams, allowing you to react seamlessly when issues arise.
  • Scalability & Independence: Teams conduct their own retrospectives, coaches remain focused, and new team members find it easy to get started.

In addition: Echometer delivers standardized ROI calculations. This allows every manager to see in black and white the time savings, productivity gains and cultural improvements achieved by the investment.

Open ROI calculator

Do I have to register to test the Retro Tool?

No, you do not need to log in to Echometer or register to test the Retro Board and Retro Tool in Echometer.

You can try out Echometer’s Retro Board via the following link without logging in: Try a Practice Round

How can I buy Echometer's retro tool?

First, simply register for free in Echometer. Then navigate to the workspace for which you would like to purchase the retro tool. If you haven’t already done so, you can do so here: Create account in Echometer 1:1 tool

You can then manage your subscription (for both the retro tool and the 1:1 software) within the workspace settings.

You can choose from various payment methods when upgrading.

If you do not have access to your company’s credit card yourself, you can simply add a buyer as a workspace admin in your Echometer workspace so that this admin can carry out the upgrade for you.

What is the difference between the Retrospective tool and the 1:1 software?

In Echometer there are two separate software solutions that are available within each workspace in Echometer:

  • 1:1 tool: Software for planning and conducting 1:1 meetings and tracking employee development
  • Retrospective tool: Software for planning and moderating retrospectives and tracking team development through team health checks

Both are independent software solutions, so they can be used separately from each other.

However, they work according to the same principles and aim to achieve the same added value: The continuous improvement of agile teams. In this respect, the simultaneous use of both software solutions is recommended.

Can I appoint several admins in Echometer?

Yes, you can assign administration rights to any number of users at both team level and workspace level. Please note the following:

  • Only workspace admins can take out and manage a Echometer subscription for a Echometer workspace.
  • Only workspace admins can create additional teams and name or remove additional workspace admins.
  • Team admins can appoint and remove additional team admins and team members for their team