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Two kinds of board
Directors and DPs make boards for two audiences. One is themselves and the people they work with every day: a wall of references, half-formed ideas, a color that might work, the frame grab from a film nobody else has seen. The other is a client, who needs to understand the idea, say yes to it, and maybe say "less of this one".
Milanote is very good at the first. It is fast, it looks good, it is on every device you own, and the free plan is generous enough to try properly.
Cutvey's board is built for the second. It lives in the job the client already signed, it opens from a link with no account, and their reactions and approval are kept with the board.
What each one costs
| Milanote | Cutvey | |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 100 notes, images or links, 10 file uploads | No free plan for a studio |
| One person | $12.50 a month, or $9.99 a month billed yearly | Moodboards on every plan: Solo $49 a month, or $29 billed yearly |
| A team | $49 a month, billed yearly | Pro $99 a month for 5 people, or $59 billed yearly |
Checked November 2026 on Milanote's plans page. The team plan names a number of people we could not read clearly, so ask Milanote how many it covers.
For boards alone, Milanote costs less, and its free plan costs nothing. Cutvey only makes sense on price if you are already buying it to run the job.
What Milanote does well
Its own pages describe real-time collaboration on an infinite canvas, notes, images and files, templates to start from, shareable boards, and apps for phone, iPad and desktop beside a web clipper. In use it feels quick and calm, and designers, writers and filmmakers have built a lot of habits around it. If your boards are where you think, that is worth paying for.
A board with a client on the other end
In Cutvey the board belongs to a project. Pictures, notes, links, swatches, to-do lists, columns, video and audio clips, files, drawings, tables, documents, shapes, diagrams, a before-and-after compare, embedded players and maps all sit on the same canvas, and a card can open another board inside it. A card can also point at the project's own shots, locations, cast and gear, so the reference for scene 4 sits beside scene 4.
Then you share it:
- The client opens a link with no account, reacts to a card, comments on it, and approves the board or asks for changes. Your team can reply, and keep notes the client never sees.
- Present walks through the board one step at a time, in an order you can arrange.
- The lookbook is a PDF of the same steps, built when someone asks for it.
- The proposal block drops a snapshot of the board into a proposal, so the treatment and the price arrive together.
- On your website, a board can be embedded with its own link, separate from the client's.
Starter boards and your own templates give you a running start. AI help is there when you press for it, and only then.
Side by side
| Job | Milanote | Cutvey |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Apps | Phone, iPad, desktop, web clipper | In the browser and the Cutvey app |
| Editing with your team | Real time | Open copies of a board pick up each other's changes |
| Templates | Yes | Starter boards and your own |
| Client reactions, comments and approval on a link | Shareable boards. See their site for the rest | Yes, with no account |
| A lookbook PDF | Not on the pages we read | Yes |
| Cards linked to shots, locations, cast and gear | No | Yes |
| The board inside a proposal | No | A snapshot block |
| Proposals, call sheets, review, invoices | No | Yes |
Milanote features read from its plans and product pages, November 2026. Their site is the source of truth.
A treatment, both ways
A beverage brand wants a summer spot. You pull references for a week. In Milanote that is a joy: clip from the browser, drop frames in from your phone, arrange them in columns, share the board with your DP.
Then the client has to see it. From Milanote you share the board, and their answers often come back by email, which you copy into the job somewhere else.
In Cutvey you would collect the same references more slowly, since there is no web clipper. The difference arrives at the sharing step. The board is already in the job, it can go into the proposal as a block, and the client's comments and their approval stay on the cards they were about. Many directors will keep Milanote for the gathering and rebuild the final board in Cutvey for the client. That is a fair way to use both.
When to choose Milanote
- The boards are mostly for you and your team.
- You want a free plan, or the lowest price for boards alone.
- You collect references on your phone and in the browser all day.
- You do not need the board tied to a proposal, a project or an approval.
Where Cutvey falls short
There is no free plan, no web clipper and no desktop app made only for boards. Stock photo search on a board is not available yet, and there is no Milanote import.
Frequently asked
Can a client comment on a Cutvey moodboard without an account?
Yes. They open a link, react to cards, comment, and approve the board or ask for changes. Your team's internal notes stay hidden from them.
Can I export a Cutvey moodboard as a PDF?
Yes. The lookbook is a PDF of the board's steps, in the order you arrange them.
Can I import my Milanote boards?
No. There is no Milanote import, so the references move by hand.
More on this: Cutvey and StudioBinder, plan the shoot.