Awesome for documentation management, but the whiteboard feature is disappointing
February 26, 2025

Awesome for documentation management, but the whiteboard feature is disappointing

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Atlassian Confluence

Confluence is used for organization, product, and team documentation: HR processes, product information, team processes, etc. It is also used for collaborative work production, as well as note-taking. Confluence Whiteboards are used for collaborative work as well. Confluence is also used to share files, such as draw.io boards.

Pros

  • Managing the space's structure (pages, folders, etc)
  • Permission management on a space and page
  • Collaborative editing of documents

Cons

  • Confluence Whiteboards are too limited in functionality
  • Search doesn't always provide relevant information
  • Some recent UI updates in space management have made it harder to use
  • Ease of communication between teams, improving their performance
  • Fast creation of references for internal processes, making adoption easier
  • Cost saving on whiteboarding when compared to other tools, such as Miro (although at a significant cost in terms of features)
It's easy to use, even for novice users. Basic operations work in a logical way and most options are placed where it makes sense.
However, it's still not perfect. A recent UI change in the space management screens made some options a bit more difficult to use or access (such as archived pages).
Permission management customizations are also somewhat hidden - they're easy to use once you know where they are, but novice users may have a tough time finding them.
The alternatives tested are based only on the whiteboarding functionality added by Confluence Whiteboard, and not the core Confluence functionality (documentation).

This functionality is cheaper compared to Miro, but that comes at a great cost in terms of functionality - similar feedback is applicable to Excalidraw.

It is better than draw.io for collaborative editing, but more limited in terms of features.

Do you think Atlassian Confluence delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Atlassian Confluence's feature set?

Yes

Did Atlassian Confluence live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Atlassian Confluence go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Atlassian Confluence again?

Yes

I'd recommend using Confluence for the documentation backbone of the organization. It's easy to add and update documents in a collaborative way, reorganize them if needed, and manage their permissions. It can also be used to store other types of collaborative work, such as draw.io diagrams, making permission management easier. Confluence Whiteboard is too limited right now to be considered a valid alternative to other whiteboarding tools.

Confluence Feature Ratings

Project Management
4.3
Task Management
5
Workflow Automation
Not Rated
Mobile Access
Not Rated
Search
4
Visual planning tools
4
Communication
9.0
Notifications
9
Discussions
9
Internal knowledgebase
9
File Sharing & Management
9.5
Versioning
9
Video files
Not Rated
Audio files
Not Rated
Document collaboration
10
Access control
9
Advanced security features
Not Rated
Device sync
10

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