Miro is a popular online visual collaboration platform used by teams for brainstorming, project management, and diagramming. Like many cloud-based tools, Miro offers a range of plans—Free, Starter, Business, and Enterprise—each with varying security features. For businesses managing subscriptions to mitigate risks such as Shadow IT, Shadow AI, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities, understanding these differences is critical. This guide compares Miro’s Free plan against its paid tiers (Starter, Business, and Enterprise) with a focus on security features, helping you make an informed decision for your organization.
Overview of Miro Plans
Miro’s pricing structure is designed to accommodate teams of all sizes, with plans tailored to different collaboration and security needs:
- Free Plan: A forever-free option for small teams or individuals starting with visual collaboration. It supports unlimited team members but limits users to 3 editable boards at a time, with no private boards.
- Starter Plan: Aimed at small teams (up to 50 users recommended), priced at $8 per user per month (annual billing) or $10 monthly. It unlocks unlimited editable boards and basic paid features.
- Business Plan: Designed for growing teams needing advanced security and collaboration, priced at $16 per user per month (annual billing) or $20 monthly. It includes features like Single Sign-On (SSO) and guest editing.
- Enterprise Plan: Tailored for large organizations requiring robust security and scalability, with custom pricing starting at 30 users (estimated at $300 per user per year for a 50-user minimum). It offers advanced security, compliance, and administrative controls.
Security Features Comparison Across Miro Plans
Below is a detailed breakdown of Miro’s security features across its plans, focusing on access control, data protection, compliance, audit capabilities, and advanced security tools.
1. Access Control and Board Privacy
- Free Plan:
The Free plan lacks board privacy, a significant security limitation. All boards in a free team are automatically shared with all team members, meaning there are no private boards. You can invite unlimited users, but only the 3 most recently created boards are editable—others become view-only. This lack of privacy makes it risky for teams handling sensitive data, as there’s no way to restrict access within the team. Anonymous visitors can view public boards if shared via a link, but there’s no granular control over permissions. - Starter Plan:
Starter introduces private boards, allowing users to control who can view or edit specific boards. This is a crucial upgrade for securing sensitive projects, as you can now limit access to designated team members. You can also invite unlimited guests with view or comment access via shareable links, and boards can be shared for public editing if desired. However, advanced permission settings like role-based access control (RBAC) are not available. - Business Plan:
Business enhances access control with the ability to invite guests who can edit private boards, free of charge. This is useful for collaborating with external partners while maintaining control over board access. It also introduces multiple teams within a subscription, allowing you to segregate projects and limit visibility across teams, reducing the risk of unauthorized access. - Enterprise Plan:
Enterprise offers the most advanced access controls, including Domain Control and Request Management. Admins can claim company domains to prevent unsanctioned Miro teams (Shadow IT) and manage join requests to ensure only authorized users gain access. It also provides collaborative freedom across unlimited workspaces, allowing cross-team collaboration while maintaining centralized management and security.
Takeaway: The Free plan’s lack of private boards makes it unsuitable for sensitive data. Starter introduces basic privacy, Business enhances external collaboration, and Enterprise provides the granular controls needed to combat Shadow IT risks.
2. Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Free Plan:
The Free plan offers basic user management but lacks advanced IAM features. There’s no support for Single Sign-On (SSO) or admin-enforced two-factor authentication (2FA). Users can enable 2FA manually, but admins can’t mandate it, increasing the risk of account compromise if passwords are weak or shared. - Starter Plan:
Starter maintains the same basic IAM as the Free plan—no SSO or 2FA enforcement. While you can manage team members (add/remove users via Team Settings > Active Users), there’s no integration with corporate identity providers like Okta or Azure AD, limiting security for larger teams. - Business Plan:
Business introduces SAML-based SSO, enabling integration with identity providers such as Okta, OneLogin, Azure AD, and AD FS. This centralizes user authentication, making onboarding more secure and manageable, especially for remote or distributed teams. 2FA enforcement is still not explicitly mentioned, but SSO typically allows for stricter access policies depending on the identity provider. - Enterprise Plan:
Enterprise includes all Business IAM features plus SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) for automated user provisioning and deprovisioning. This streamlines user management at scale, ensuring accounts are promptly deactivated when employees leave, reducing insider threats. It also offers advanced policy enforcement, such as session timeouts and device restrictions, to further secure access.
Takeaway: Free and Starter plans lack SSO and advanced IAM, posing risks for teams with sensitive workflows. Business introduces SSO for better access control, while Enterprise provides enterprise-grade IAM to mitigate Shadow IT and Shadow AI risks.
3. Data Protection and Retention
- Free Plan:
Data protection in the Free plan is basic. There’s no mention of custom encryption key management, and storage isn’t specified but is limited by the 3-board cap (editable boards). You can’t control data retention policies, and there’s no option for data residency (choosing where data is stored), which can violate regional regulations like GDPR. Boards are retained indefinitely but become view-only if they exceed the 3-board limit. - Starter Plan:
Starter doesn’t explicitly increase storage but removes the editable board limit, allowing unlimited active boards. Data retention remains user-managed (e.g., deleting boards manually), and there’s still no data residency or encryption key management. However, private boards reduce the risk of data exposure within the team. - Business Plan:
Business maintains the same storage and retention capabilities as Starter but adds features that indirectly enhance data protection, like SSO and guest editing controls. Still, there’s no explicit mention of data residency or advanced encryption options in the base plan. - Enterprise Plan:
Enterprise introduces Miro’s Enterprise Guard add-on (additional cost), which includes advanced data security features like encryption key management, allowing admins to use their own keys to control data at rest. It also offers a data residency program, enabling you to choose where your data is hosted (e.g., US, EU), ensuring compliance with regional laws. Additionally, Enterprise Guard supports content lifecycle management, automatically finding and securing sensitive data (e.g., PII) to prevent leaks.
Takeaway: Free and Starter plans lack advanced data protection features like encryption key management and data residency. Business offers incremental improvements, while Enterprise provides robust data security for compliance and protection against leaks.
4. Audit Logs and Activity Monitoring
- Free Plan:
Audit logs are unavailable in the Free plan. Admins can’t track user activities like board access, edits, or exports, making it impossible to detect unauthorized access or Shadow AI usage (e.g., employees using Miro to process data with unapproved AI tools). This lack of visibility is a significant security gap. - Starter Plan:
Starter does not introduce audit logs, maintaining the same lack of visibility as the Free plan. While you gain private boards and better access control, there’s no way to monitor user actions for potential security incidents. - Business Plan:
Business also lacks explicit mention of audit logs in the core plan. However, since it’s designed for teams needing to comply with internal security policies, it’s likely that basic activity tracking (e.g., user logins, board sharing) is available, though not as robust as in Enterprise. - Enterprise Plan:
Enterprise provides audit logs as part of its full suite of security features. With Enterprise Guard, admins can monitor user activities across boards, track sensitive data usage, and support legal discovery needs (e.g., eDiscovery for compliance audits). This level of visibility is critical for detecting and responding to Shadow IT or Shadow AI risks.
Takeaway: Free and Starter plans offer no audit logging, leaving you blind to security incidents. Business may provide basic tracking, but Enterprise delivers comprehensive monitoring for proactive threat management.
5. Compliance and Regulatory Support
- Free Plan:
The Free plan meets basic privacy standards (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), as Miro is certified by organizations like the Cloud Security Alliance. However, it lacks compliance features like HIPAA support, data residency, or eDiscovery, making it unsuitable for regulated industries. There’s no way to control where data is stored, which can violate regional regulations. - Starter Plan:
Starter maintains the same basic compliance as the Free plan, with no additional features like data residency or HIPAA support. It’s still not suitable for industries with strict regulatory requirements. - Business Plan:
Business is positioned as a solution for teams needing to comply with internal security policies, but it doesn’t explicitly offer HIPAA or FedRAMP compliance. Data residency isn’t mentioned in the base plan, though SSO helps align with some corporate compliance requirements. - Enterprise Plan:
Enterprise supports advanced compliance, including HIPAA and FedRAMP Moderate (via certifications mentioned on Miro’s security page). The data residency program ensures compliance with regional laws like GDPR by allowing you to choose data storage locations. It also supports eDiscovery and legal preservation needs through Enterprise Guard, simplifying audits and legal holds.
Takeaway: Free and Starter plans lack compliance tools for regulated industries. Business offers some alignment with internal policies, but Enterprise provides comprehensive compliance features, including HIPAA, FedRAMP, and data residency.
6. Advanced Security and Threat Detection
- Free Plan:
Advanced security features like IP allowlisting, domain control, or threat detection are unavailable in the Free plan. This makes it vulnerable to Shadow AI risks, such as employees using Miro to share data with unapproved AI tools that lack encryption or compliance. - Starter Plan:
Starter doesn’t introduce advanced security features like IP allowlisting or domain control. While private boards reduce internal risks, there’s no protection against external threats or Shadow IT usage. - Business Plan:
Business introduces SSO as a key security feature, but it lacks IP allowlisting, domain control, or threat detection in the base plan. It’s better suited for internal security policies than external threat mitigation. - Enterprise Plan:
Enterprise includes a full suite of advanced security features: domain control to prevent Shadow IT, SCIM for automated user management, and Enterprise Guard for threat detection. Enterprise Guard can find and secure sensitive data, manage content lifecycles, and provide real-time insights into potential risks, such as unauthorized data sharing or Shadow AI usage.
Takeaway: Free and Starter plans lack the advanced security features needed to combat modern threats. Business offers SSO but little else, while Enterprise provides comprehensive threat detection and prevention capabilities.
Recommendations Based on Team Needs
- Small Teams (1-10 Users): The Free plan is suitable for testing Miro, but its lack of private boards, SSO, and audit logs makes it risky for sensitive collaboration. Upgrade to Starter for basic privacy and unlimited boards.
- Growing Teams (10-50 Users): Starter offers private boards and better access control, but you’ll likely need Business for SSO and guest editing as your team scales and security risks increase.
- Large Organizations (50+ Users): Business or Enterprise is essential. Business provides SSO and basic compliance for growing teams, while Enterprise is ideal for organizations with strict security and compliance requirements, especially those combating Shadow IT and Shadow AI risks.
Conclusion
Miro’s Free plan is a great starting point for small teams or individuals, but its lack of private boards, SSO, audit logs, and advanced security features makes it a risky choice for businesses prioritizing cybersecurity. Starter introduces basic privacy, but Business and Enterprise plans are necessary for robust protection, particularly against Shadow IT and Shadow AI risks. Upgrading to a paid plan unlocks critical security features unavailable in the Free tier, ensuring your organization stays secure, compliant, and efficient. Evaluate your team’s size, security needs, and regulatory obligations to choose the right plan, and consider tools like RiskImmune AI to further enhance subscription management and security across your Miro ecosystem.
