Stormz

Stormz is a French facilitation board, and it is not a free canvas in the way Conceptboard or Excalidraw are. The facilitator designs a workshop in advance, participants join and work through brainstorming, grouping and voting steps, and Stormz adds a live quiz and survey mode and AI boosters.

Stormz describes the tool as simpler than a whiteboard, which is accurate: nobody draws diagrams freely. The operator is Stormz SAS, registered in Pontoise under number 750 296 741, and the French company register shows it was created in March 2012. Teams that need diagrams should look at Conceptboard or Sketchboard instead.

The legal notice names Bearstech in Paris as hosting provider, and the privacy policy says data is kept on Bearstech servers in France and is not transferred outside the European Union in connection with the services.

The terms of service are governed by French law, with the courts of Paris as venue. Some wording is dated. The terms carry an effective date of December 2015 and give a Paris head office, while the legal notice gives Presles, and the footer shows both SAS and SASU. Stormz names no security certification on the pages read.

Stormz has a free plan that it says has existed since 2012: you can design sessions and test them with up to 2 participants.

Paid plans are sized by participants per session and priced in US dollars, excluding VAT for EU customers: Starter USD 10 per month for 10 participants, Pro with AI boosters USD 50 for 50, Pro XL with AI boosters USD 200 for 200, and Team from USD 6,000 per year with three or more facilitators. A 10-day trial needs no credit card, and Stormz states that Pro XL is free for education and nonprofit organisations.

What Stormz does well

• Stormz states that its data is kept on Bearstech servers in France and is not transferred outside the European Union.
• The Stormz terms are governed by French law with the courts of Paris as venue.
• The Stormz free plan has existed since 2012 and needs no credit card.
• Stormz prices by participants per session, from USD 10 per month for 10 participants.
• Stormz states that Pro XL is free for education and nonprofit organisations.

Where Stormz falls short

• Stormz is a guided workshop board, not a free canvas for diagrams and freehand drawing.
• The free Stormz plan allows only 2 participants, so it is a design and test plan rather than a working one.
• Stormz prices only in US dollars and names no security certification on the pages read.
• The Stormz terms date from December 2015 and give a different head office from the legal notice.

Standout feature. Stormz is built around a facilitator guiding a session, with quiz, survey and AI boosters included and its data kept on servers in France.