Mainline vs Miro
Miro is where story maps are sketched. Mainline is where they ship: the same map carried through scenarios, pairing, and deploys and releases, instead of dying when the workshop ends.
| Mainline | Miro | |
|---|---|---|
| What the map is | A live data model your team works from every day | A drawing on an infinite canvas |
| What a card is | A user story with scenarios, state, and history | A sticky note with text on it |
| The map after the workshop | It is the delivery tool. It stays alive. | Decays into a screenshot, or is retyped into Jira and flattened |
| What "done" means | Released to users | The workshop ended |
| Flow metrics | Lead-time distributions from your team's finished stories | None |
| People per story | Solo, pair, or ensemble - tracked as real activations | Whoever drags the sticky |
| WIP enforcement | One active story per person - enforced, not suggested | None. The canvas holds infinite stickies. |
| Delivery integration | GitHub integration; deploy and release are separate first-class events | None |
| Discovery workshops | Fine, but a structured map, not a free canvas | Excellent. This is what Miro is for. |
| Pricing model | Flat. Free for one person. $99 / 8 people. $179 / 16 people. | Per seat. $8-$16 / member / month. |
When to choose Mainline
Your team already story maps and is tired of the map dying after the workshop. Run discovery wherever you like - when it ends, the map needs somewhere to live.
When to choose Miro
You need a whiteboard, not a delivery tool: divergent discovery, retros, journey maps. Plenty of teams use Miro for the workshop and Mainline for everything after.
We also have comparisons against Jira, Linear, and Asana. If you'd like to see Mainline compared to a tool we haven't covered, email us.
Or see Mainline running in the demo -- no signup, read-only.
Free for one person. Team trials run 14 days, no card.
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