Padlet is a popular tool for class boards, and I'm a teacher who built HomeRoom, so I'm biased. HomeRoom has its own Discussion Board: students join with a code and post notes, comments and photos, and you stay in control of everything on it. Here is how the two compare.
A general-purpose board tool used at home, in business and in schools. It offers map, board and freeform canvas layouts, sharing by link or QR code, and real-time comments and votes. A fit if you want a dedicated board tool, or need LMS integration and a school-wide deployment.
A classroom dashboard with about 45 free tools, including a Discussion Board. A good fit if you want a class board without student accounts, alongside your planner, timers, groups and the rest of your school day on one screen.
| HomeRoom Discussion Board | Padlet | |
|---|---|---|
| Built by | A working teacher in Nova Scotia, Canada | A company serving homes, businesses and schools. Says over 40 million people use its boards each month |
| What it is | One tool in a classroom dashboard of about 45 tools | A standalone board and collaboration platform |
| How students post | Join with a class code, then post notes, comments and photos | Share a board by link or QR code. Students can comment, vote and like posts |
| Student accounts | None needed. Students join with a code | The free plan includes none. The Classroom plan includes 100 student accounts |
| Teacher control | You can edit or remove anything on the board | Permission and privacy settings. Content safety features are listed on paid plans, not the free plan |
| Board layouts | One live class board | Map, board and freeform canvas layouts, plus slideshow view and PDF export |
| Free plan | Free forever ($0 CAD). Every tool plus the full planner, with room for 5 classes and 1 unit plan with 3 active tasks | Free: up to 3 padlets, 20MB uploads, 2-minute video recordings |
| Paid plans | Pro: $20 CAD/year (regularly $30), founder price locked in for life | Platinum: $15/month or $120/year, with no teacher or student accounts. Classroom: $160/year for 2 teachers and 100 student accounts. School: from $1,000/year for 10 teachers |
| For schools and districts | Volume pricing from $23 CAD per teacher per year for 5+ licenses | School plan adds LMS integrations, SSO and invoice billing. Says it complies with SOC 2, GDPR and FERPA |
| Beyond the board | Day and unit planner, timers, group maker, seating chart, phone remote, sub plans | Focused on boards and content collection |
| Where data lives | Names and rosters stay in your browser, with an encrypted backup hosted in Canada | See their privacy policy for where student content is stored |
Padlet details come from its public site and pricing page and may have changed. Prices are shown as listed there, and some are for a different currency than HomeRoom’s. See their pricing page for current plans. Last reviewed October 2026.
If boards are the main thing you want, or your school needs LMS integration and SSO, Padlet covers that, though most of its classroom features are on paid plans. If you want a class discussion board as part of one dashboard, without managing student accounts, HomeRoom is built for that. You can try the Discussion Board free: HomeRoom's free tier and 60-day Pro trial need no credit card.
For class discussion boards, yes. HomeRoom's Discussion Board is a live class board where students join with a code and post notes, comments and photos, and you can edit or remove anything. It sits next to your planner, timers and about 45 other tools.
No. Students join with a class code, so there are no student accounts to create or manage.
Yes. It is one of about 45 tools included in HomeRoom's free plan, which is $0 CAD forever. Pro is $20 CAD a year.
Yes. You can edit or remove anything on the board.
Padlet's free plan allows up to 3 padlets. Its Classroom plan is listed at $160 a year for 2 teachers with 100 student accounts, and its School plan starts at $1,000 a year for 10 teachers. Check their pricing page for current prices.
If you want several board layouts, or your school needs LMS integration, SSO or school-wide licensing, Padlet is built for that. HomeRoom's board is one tool in a classroom dashboard.