How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Board portals are quote-based: none of the nine vendors here publish pricing, so every number you see online is an estimate and every buy starts with a demo.
- Corporate and public-company boards should shortlist Diligent Boards, Nasdaq Boardvantage and Govenda for governance depth and compliance tooling.
- Nonprofits, schools and small-cap boards get the best value from BoardPro, Aprio and Boardable, which price for smaller budgets and offer nonprofit discounts.
- The features that separate the tools are agenda and minutes builders, secure document handling, voting and signatures, and how directors actually experience the mobile app.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Diligent Boards | Corporate boards that need governance depth and compliance tooling | See website (custom quote only) | No (no free trial advertised) |
 BoardEffect | Nonprofits and healthcare boards that want guided onboarding | See website (custom quote only) | No (no free trial advertised) |
 OnBoard | Boards that want a modern portal directors will actually open | See website (custom quote only) | No (no free trial advertised) |
 BoardPro | Small boards and nonprofits that need real software on a small budget | See website (custom quote only) | Free trial available |
 Aprio | Small to mid-size boards that want flat, transparent pricing | See website (custom quote only) | Free trial available |
 Convene | Boards that meet across countries and languages | See website (custom quote only) | No (no free trial advertised) |
 Boardable | Nonprofit boards that want meetings plus board management extras | See website (custom quote only) | Free trial available |
 Nasdaq Boardvantage | Public-company boards already working in the Nasdaq ecosystem | See website (custom quote only) | No (no free trial advertised) |
 Govenda | Corporate boards that want a focused, director-friendly portal | See website (custom quote only) | No (no free trial advertised) |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best board meeting software
Board meeting software, usually called a board portal, replaces the email chains and paper board packs with a secure hub for agendas, documents, minutes, voting and signatures. The buying mistake is comparing feature checklists: every serious portal has agendas and document storage. What differs is governance depth, director experience on tablets, security posture and price. These nine cover corporate boards, nonprofits and everything between.
#1
Diligent Boards
Best for: Corporate boards that need governance depth and compliance tooling
Visit diligent.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote only)
Free planNo (no free trial advertised)
Diligent Boards is the enterprise standard for corporate governance. Beyond the standard agenda builder, board pack distribution and minutes tools, it adds entity management, secure messaging, D&O questionnaires, board assessments and integrations with the rest of the Diligent governance suite. For public companies and large private companies with compliance obligations, that depth is the point.
The tradeoff is the buying process. Pricing is custom and quote-based, implementation is heavier than the mid-market tools, and a small nonprofit board would be paying for governance machinery it never uses. Diligent fits boards where governance is a formal discipline with dedicated staff, not a quarterly meeting to organize.
What we like- The deepest governance feature set in the market, including entity management and D&O questionnaires
- Strong security posture for regulated industries
- Scales to the largest global boards
Watch out for- No published pricing and enterprise sales process
- More platform than a small board needs, with the cost to match
#2
BoardEffect
Best for: Nonprofits and healthcare boards that want guided onboarding
Visit boardeffect.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote only)
Free planNo (no free trial advertised)
BoardEffect, part of the Diligent family, is the nonprofit and mission-driven counterpart to the enterprise portal. The platform covers agendas, board books, minutes, voting, surveys and document management, with workflows tuned for nonprofit governance: committee structures, board assessments and policy libraries. Onboarding is a strength, with guided implementation included.
Pricing is quote-based, though BoardEffect positions itself well below Diligent for smaller organizations. The interface will not win design awards, and public-company boards will miss the compliance depth of the enterprise tier. For a nonprofit or healthcare board that wants a serious portal without an enterprise sales cycle, it is a natural shortlist pick.
What we like- Purpose-built for nonprofit and healthcare governance with sector-specific workflows
- Highly supported onboarding at no extra cost
- Unlimited committees on the subscription
Watch out for- No published pricing
- Interface is functional rather than modern
- Corporate boards may find the governance depth thinner than Diligent
Starting priceSee website (custom quote only)
Free planNo (no free trial advertised)
OnBoard sells on adoption. The dirty secret of board portals is that directors ignore clunky software, so OnBoard invested in an interface that works well on tablets and phones, with offline access for directors who read board packs on planes. The agenda builder is genuinely simple, e-signatures and voting are built in, and engagement analytics show administrators which directors actually opened the materials.
The pricing is quote-based, and the governance ecosystem around it is thinner than Diligent's. Boards that need entity management or deep compliance modules should look upmarket. Boards whose main problem is getting directors to read the pack before the meeting should look here first.
What we like- Modern interface with strong director adoption
- Agenda builder with drag-and-drop simplicity
- Analytics on board engagement and document views
Watch out for- No published pricing
- Younger vendor than Diligent with a thinner governance add-on ecosystem
- Advanced compliance features cost extra
#4
BoardPro
Best for: Small boards and nonprofits that need real software on a small budget
Visit boardpro.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote only)
Free planFree trial available
BoardPro is the small-board specialist. It covers the core workflow, agendas, board packs, minutes, actions, voting and document storage, without the enterprise modules that inflate both price and complexity. Nonprofits and education providers get meaningful discounts, and a free trial is available so the board can evaluate with real materials.
Third-party sources cite pricing starting around $150 per month, but BoardPro does not publish prices itself, so confirm in the trial. The limits are scale-related: fewer integrations, less governance depth, no public-company compliance machinery. For a board of five to fifteen people that just needs to run good meetings, that is a feature, not a bug.
What we like- Built for small enterprise, small-cap and nonprofit boards with sensible pricing
- Significant discounts for nonprofits and education
- Free trial lets the board evaluate before committing
Watch out for- No published pricing on the vendor site
- Fewer enterprise integrations
- Not the pick for public-company compliance needs
#5
Aprio
Best for: Small to mid-size boards that want flat, transparent pricing
Visit aprio.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote only)
Free planFree trial available
Aprio's pitch is transparency in a market that has none. The subscription includes 12 user licenses, any number of which can be administrators, plus unlimited committees, unlimited training and supported onboarding at no extra charge. The feature set covers agendas, minutes, calendars, annotations, voting, attendance reports and audit trails. A free trial is available.
Third-party sources cite around $100 per month, but Aprio's own site keeps the figure behind the demo, so verify it directly. The platform is Canadian, which is worth noting for US organizations with domestic-vendor procurement preferences. For a small to mid-size board that wants to know the price before the third sales call, Aprio is the most buyer-friendly option on this list.
What we like- Subscription includes 12 user licenses with unlimited committees
- Unlimited training and supported onboarding at no extra cost
- Agenda builder, minutes builder and decision tracking included
Watch out for- Vendor does not publish the actual price figure
- Canadian company, which matters for some US procurement policies
- Thinner advanced governance modules
Starting priceSee website (custom quote only)
Free planNo (no free trial advertised)
Convene, from Azeus Systems, is built for boards that operate across borders. Multi-language support, global data hosting options and workflows designed for international governance set it apart from US-centric portals. The standard toolkit is all present: agenda builder, secure document library, annotations, voting, minutes and attendance tracking, with mobile apps for directors.
The US buyer should know the brand is better established in Asia-Pacific and Europe than in North America, which affects reference customers and support coverage. Pricing is quote-based. For a board with directors in multiple countries or a parent company outside the US, the international design is a genuine differentiator.
What we like- Strong multi-language support and global meeting workflows
- Document annotation and offline access for traveling directors
- Serves corporate, nonprofit and government boards
Watch out for- No published pricing
- Brand recognition is lower in the US market
- Implementation support varies by region
#7
Boardable
Best for: Nonprofit boards that want meetings plus board management extras
Visit boardable.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote only)
Free planFree trial available
Boardable aims at the nonprofit board that needs more than meeting software but less than an enterprise portal. Alongside agendas, minutes and document storage, it adds board task tracking, polls and features that connect board work to fundraising and operations. The interface is approachable for volunteer board members who are not software people.
Pricing is quote-based with nonprofit-friendly positioning, and a free trial is available. The compliance and security story is lighter than Diligent or Nasdaq Boardvantage, which is fine for a community nonprofit and wrong for a public company. For the volunteer board that currently runs on email and Google Drive, Boardable is the right-sized upgrade.
What we like- Nonprofit-focused with meeting tools plus extras like fundraising and task tracking
- Approachable pricing for small organizations
- Free trial available
Watch out for- No published pricing
- Lighter security and compliance story than enterprise portals
- Corporate boards will outgrow it
#8
Nasdaq Boardvantage
Best for: Public-company boards already working in the Nasdaq ecosystem
Visit nasdaq.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote only)
Free planNo (no free trial advertised)
Nasdaq Boardvantage is the listed-company portal. It combines the standard board meeting workflow with the security, audit and compliance controls that public-company governance demands, and it connects to Nasdaq's wider governance, investor relations and ESG offerings. Boards of listed companies get a single vendor across several governance needs.
Everything about the commercial model is enterprise: custom quotes, sales-led implementation, pricing to match. Private companies and nonprofits should not bother; Diligent, OnBoard or the mid-market tools serve them better. For a public-company board, especially one already using Nasdaq services, it belongs on the shortlist.
What we like- Built for public-company governance with strong security and compliance
- Integrates with Nasdaq's broader governance and IR offerings
- Trusted by large listed-company boards
Watch out for- Quote-based enterprise pricing
- Overkill for private companies and nonprofits
- Buying process runs through enterprise sales
#9
Govenda
Best for: Corporate boards that want a focused, director-friendly portal
Visit govenda.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote only)
Free planNo (no free trial advertised)
Govenda (formerly BoardBookit) positions between the enterprise suites and the small-board tools. The feature set is focused on the meeting itself: agenda building, board pack distribution, annotations, voting, minutes and secure messaging, with a director experience designed for quick adoption. Corporate boards that find Diligent's breadth overwhelming get the core workflow without the extra modules.
Pricing is quote-based. The vendor is smaller than Diligent or Nasdaq, so reference customers and ecosystem integrations are thinner. For a mid-size corporate board that wants a serious portal without an enterprise implementation project, Govenda is the pragmatic middle.
What we like- Focused feature set that directors learn quickly
- Strong agenda and minutes workflow
- Good fit for corporate boards that find Diligent too heavy
Watch out for- No published pricing
- Smaller vendor with a thinner partner ecosystem
- Fewer advanced governance modules
What actually separates board portals
Ignore the feature checklist and evaluate four things. First, the agenda-to-minutes workflow: how fast can your administrator build a pack, and how painless is turning the meeting into minutes and action items? This is where administrators live, and the tools differ more here than anywhere else.
Second, the director experience. Directors read packs on iPads, annotate on planes and vote from phones. A portal directors avoid is a failed purchase regardless of the admin feature list. Trial every shortlisted tool with two or three real directors, not just the administrator.
Third, security and compliance. Every vendor claims bank-grade security; ask for the specifics: SOC 2 reports, data residency options, granular permissions, audit trails and remote wipe for lost devices. Public companies and healthcare boards should weight this heaviest.
Fourth, the commercial terms. None of these vendors publish pricing, which means the quote depends on your board size, contract length and negotiation. Get at least three written quotes, ask about per-user versus flat pricing, and confirm what onboarding, training and support actually cost. The cheapest quote often excludes the implementation that makes the software work.
How we chose
We started with the categories buyers search: board meeting software, board portal software and board management software. For each candidate we opened the vendor's own site, checked the published feature set and pricing transparency, and cross-checked positioning against reviews on Capterra, G2 and TrustRadius. We split the list across corporate, nonprofit and small-board buyers because one portal does not fit all three. Where a vendor did not publish pricing, we wrote "See website" rather than repeating unverified third-party estimates.
Frequently asked questions
How much does board meeting software cost?
None of the major vendors publish pricing, so treat every number online as an estimate. Third-party sources suggest small-board tools like BoardPro and Aprio start around $100 to $150 per month, while enterprise portals like Diligent and Nasdaq Boardvantage run into the thousands per year. Get written quotes for your board size.
What is a board portal?
A board portal is secure software for running board meetings: distributing agendas and board packs, storing confidential documents, taking minutes, running votes and collecting signatures. It replaces email attachments and paper packs with a controlled environment that has audit trails and granular permissions.
Do small nonprofits need board meeting software?
Most do once the board grows past a handful of people or handles sensitive material. Tools like BoardPro, Aprio and Boardable are priced for small organizations and offer nonprofit discounts, and the audit trail alone is worth it when governance questions arise later.
Can board portals handle voting and e-signatures?
Yes, all nine tools here include voting and electronic signatures. Check the specifics that matter to your bylaws: anonymous versus recorded voting, quorum tracking, and whether signatures meet your state's requirements for board actions.
How do directors access board materials?
Through web apps and native mobile apps for iOS and Android, with offline access for reading packs without connectivity. When trialing, test the exact devices your directors use: an iPad-first board and a laptop-first board will judge the same portal differently.
Sources we checked (9)
- https://www.diligent.com/
- https://www.boardeffect.com/
- https://www.onboardmeetings.com/
- https://www.boardpro.com/
- https://www.aprio.com/
- https://www.azeusconvene.com/
- https://boardable.com/
- https://www.nasdaq.com/
- https://www.govenda.com/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.