Mind mapping is a powerful brainstorming tool that comes in many forms. Mind Maps can be used to organize ideas, jot down notes, or plan a strategy, and do so much more. In this blog post, we’ll show you the best mind mapping applications for both the web/social and mobile platforms.
Table of Contents
Mind Mapping Tools
1. MindNode
If you want an app that is build for Mac and brings a fluid mind-mapping experience, MindNode is the one for you. It has a beautiful UI and works buttery smooth. If you are just starting out, MindNode will help you learn the basics of the mind mapping technique without in your face instructions. It also has iCloud sync and an app for iPad and iPhone. Its interface is designed in such a way that you are not losing much functionality even if you are using it on mobile devices. The nodes are foldable hence allowing to create a large mind mapping tree without being overwhelmed by the data.{}
You also get awesome features including the ability to create outlines, a quick entry shortcut for quickly adding ideas, support for stickers and themes, visual tags, notes, and more. MindNode is what a great Mac app looks and feels like and I like it. Its’ one of the best mind mapping apps for Mac.
Install: (Free trial, $39.99)
2. Ayoa
Previously known as iMindMap — Ayoa, is one of the most powerful mind mapping applications on the market right now. Where is MindNode is for users who are looking for a fluid and simple mind mapping experience, Ayoa is for individual and teams that need all the features. One of the beloved features of Ayoa is the radial maps feature that allows you to create mind maps in concentric circles. This is great for organizing as it gives you a broad overview of your goals and projects.
Then there are normal mind maps that you can create by using nodes and connecting lines. What’s great here is that you can share these mind maps with your co-workers, allowing you to easily communicate your thoughts and brainstorming process. There’s also something called speed mind mapping, that allows you to quickly create mind maps by stripping all the extra features and serving you with basic mind mapping features. If you are in a hurry to jot down ideas, this is the perfect place to start.
Ayola also brings productivity features for teams such as a Gnatt timeline view that allows you to create Gnatt chats for easily managing time. You get a visual task manager along with built-in team chat features. Overall, I would say Ayola is great for teams that want to break out from mundane project planning and use a more visual approach. You can also use it as an individual, but it makes more sense for a team. Thankfully, there’s a generous free tier so you can check it out without paying a penny.
Install: Free, premium plans start at $10/month
3. XMind
XMind got itself on this list due to its theming capability. Of course, it does everything a mind mapping software is supposed to do. You can create mind maps, attach photos, links, and notes. You can share it or print it into PDF of OPML. It also allows you to directly share your mind maps to your Evernote account. You can choose from pre-formatted templates or you can create you own from scratch. You can change the theme of your mind maps at any given time. There are dozens of themes to chose from and each one looks better than the other. If you like theming, give it a go.
It also has a free version, however, it is fairly restricted. You are only allowed to create maps and you can neither save nor share them. You can read the full details in the link below.
Install: (Free/$79/$99)
4. Mindomo
Mindomo, like other apps on this list, does everything a mind mapping software is required to do. What sets it apart from others is that it allows us to attach audio notes, go into presentation mode and its cross platforms availability. It also has theming capabilities like XMind. Since it is available for both Android and iOS, you can be sure that you will have your mind maps with you all the time no matter which mobile OS you use. The only thing that holds Mindomo back is its pricing strategy. It follows a subscription based payment which is always a pain. While it does offer a free version, it’s heavily limited, as it only lets you create 3 maps.
Install: (Free, Subscriptions start at $36/6 months)
5. Mindly
If you are looking for a unique mind-mapping experience on Mac, check out Mindly. Mindly is a beautiful mind mapping application that uses a solar-system approach to mind mapping. Your main idea remains in the center (like Sun) and then you can add related ideas around its perimeter in a circle. You can in-turn use the related idea as the center and create ideas around it, and so on. What I like about this approach is that it lets me get a quick overview without getting overwhelmed.
I also love the animations here. The animation for bouncing back and forth between circles is just fun. Apart from adding ideas, you can add notes, images, and links. But that’s pretty much it. Mindly though beautiful, is not a powerful mind mapping software. It’s simple and elegant and lets the creative juices flow, but if you are looking for more features, you should check out other options on this list.
Install: $29.99
6. Milanote
Talking about uniqueness, Milanote takes a very different approach to mind mapping. Instead of letting you play with nodes and lines, Milanote gives you an infinite canvas, where you can create, add, and link anything you want. It’s perfect for users who like to think on boards. You can add notes, links, images, columns, comments, tasks, and more. Apart from the features, I also love the UI of the software.
It uses minimal lines and clean UI that makes the board look soothing. Milanote is also great for teams as you can share boards with members and assign tasks to them, right there on the board. If you love visual boards, this is the best mind-mapping software for you.
Install: Free, $9.99/month
7. SimpleMind
SimpleMind, as it name suggests, is a very easy to use software which gets the job done. It also has a iOS client and cloud sync. It has a very colourful UI which is pleasant to look at. The app also comes with a couple of themes to customize the look and feel of your mind maps. It does not have any complex features and the sync is almost instant allowing to hand over your work between Mac and iPhone. The best part is that it also has a free version which is as powerful as the paid one. The only big missing feature is that there is no cloud support for the free version hence you cannot sync your maps across devices.
Install: (Free, $29.99)
8. The Brain
The Brain is a mind mapping software which is not suitable for the average user. This is for someone who wants to use mind mapping for business. It has a lot of inbuilt mind mapping templates dedicated to different aspects of business such as marketing, operations and much more. The best feature of this app is its nesting ability. It is far superior to any other apps on this list when its come to nesting. Hence, you can create a large multi-layered mind map without being overwhelmed. It also has very good organisational tools.
As mentioned, the app specifically targets businesses and it is also priced like one. If you need a great brainstorming, idea mapping and organisational tool for business, look nowhere else. For an average user, it is too costly and too complex to be used.
Install: ($219/month)
9. MindJet MindManager
This software is probably one of the first mind mapping software ever built. It has gone through a number of iterations to receive its current form. It used to be one of the best but now it has become very complex and is not suitable for an average user. Don’t get me wrong, it is excellent when it comes to features and you cannot go wrong in choosing it. However, the learning curve is too steep and the price is too high. It might be suitable for big businesses, just like TheBrain, but not for individual users. You are better off spending your money somewhere else. The only reason it is on this list is because of its legacy and to inform our readers to not to make a choice depending on its past performance.
Install: ($Starts at $205)
10. FreeMind
If you are looking for a completely free mind mapping software without any strings attached, look no further. FreeMind is an open source software, which is completely free to download and use forever. It has all the required features and goes head to head with the paid apps on this list. The only thing you are really sacrificing on is its UI and sync feature. The UI looks outdated, and creating a rich looking map which catches your eye is not possible. Also, it does not have any sync feature hence your maps will live only on your Mac. However, you can export the maps in PDF and share it. Considering it is a free software, it packs a punch way above its weight.
Install: (Free)
mind mapping software for students
1. Popplet
Popplet is a great tool for creating and sharing mind maps. The way it works is simple and easy: simply drag and drop then add images, videos, drawings, and text and when you are done share your mind maps with others. There is also Popplet for Education which offers a wide variety of student-friendly features including real time collaboration. Popplet for Education also offers a special discount for the educational community.
Pricing: the free version offers limited features and allows for the creation of only one popplet. The Solo version comes at $2.99 per month or 29.99 per year and offers way more features. There is also the Groups and Schools version which offers custom pricing.
2. AYOA
AYOA is another great tool for creating and sharing mind maps. AYOA offers numerous features ideal for us in education. These include real time collaboration, commenting, and branch voting. Using Team view, users can get a quick overview of collaborators availability and view what everyone is working on.
Mind maps created by AYOA can include attachments, imagery, text, videos and many more. Besides mind maps, AYOA can be used to create radial map which is a pie-chat style map ideal for setting goals and visualizing steps in a project. The Whiteboards feature further allows users to capture and organize ideas using sticky notes, annotations and more.
Pricing: Mind Map ($5.75 per user/month when billed annually), Pro ($10 per user/month/ when billed annually), and Ultimate ($13 per user/month/when billed annually).
3. SimpleMind
Simple enables you to create beautiful mind maps using free-form layout and auto-layouts. There are also over 15 style sheets to choose from or you can create your own style sheets. Other interesting features provided by SimpleMind include the ability to add multimedia materials to your mind maps such as images, icons, labels, checkboxes, links to documents or webpages; customize your templates the way you want; share mind maps in different formats including as PDF, seamless integration with cloud-based tools such as Dropbox, iCloudDrive, and Google Drive, among others.
Pricing: Free version with limited functionality (no ads, no registration and works only on iPad, iPhone, and Android)
4. MindMup
MindMup is another mind mapping creation tool that lets you create unlimited mind maps. Everything you create on MindMup is stored online for you to access anytime, anywhere and across different devices. More importantly, ‘Maps saved to MindMup Cloud support concurrent editing for teams and classrooms, enabling you to instantly see updates made to your map by other users’.
Mind maps created in MindMup can be easily converted to PDF, PowerPoint, and outlines. Other interesting features provided by this tool include: the ability to attach various elements to your maps including longer text, videos, spreadsheets, images, icons; link to other project documents on Google Drive; integration with Office 365 and Google Drive, among others.
Pricing: Free version offers: unlimited number of maps, no account/login required, community, publish maps for up to six months. More advanced features are embedded in the premium plans: Personal Gold plan costs $2.99 and Organizational Gold costs $100.
5. MindNode
MindNode offers a number of powerful mind mapping features that enable you to brainstorm your ideas anywhere and anytime. You can start your mind app in your iOS device and finish it in your Mac. The syncing capabilities are awesome. For a more structured and organized brainstorming you use the Outline feature, or better yet, user mind map and Outline side by side.
Other useful features provided by MindNode include the ability to add more context to maps using visual tags, focus mode to highlight key data, over 250 stickers to illustrate maps, pre-made themes that are fully customizable, the ability to share mind maps in various formats including PDF, rtf, docx, plain text, image, markdown, among others.
Pricing: MindNode free edition offers basic features that include creating new nodes, adding titles, reordering nodes, importing and exporting supported file format, folding child nodes, among others. MindNode Plus offers more features such as editable outline, visual tags, focus mode, notes, stickers, connections, layout options, and more. The introductory prices for MindNode Plus are $2.49 per month and 19.99 per year. A free 14 day trial is offered.
6. Cacoo
Cacoo is a diagramming tool that provides you with a virtual space where you can visualize your ideas and collaborate with your team. You can create, edit, share comment and chat with your collaborators in real-time. You can use the presentation mode to share your screen with others and engage with them in video chats right from within the editor. You can free-draw on a blank canvas or start with a pre-made template.
Also, you can create your data or import it from a spreadsheet and edit it in Cacoo. Similarly you can import your Visio files and edit them in Cacoo. Revision history allow you to track edits applied to a diagram over time. Your final diagrams can be exported as SVG, PDF, PowerPoint, and PostScript. Additionally, Cacoo supports numerous integrations including Google Drive, Google Docs, Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, Slack, Box, Visio, Microsoft Teams, and more.
Pricing: Cacoo free version offers the following features: 6 sheets, templates and shapes, PNG exports, real-time editing, in-app video chat, comment and chat. For more features such as revision history, 1 on 1 training, multiple export options, unlimited sheets, etc., you need a premium version. There is a Pro plan that comes at $45 per month and a Team plan for $5 per month per user.
7. Mindly
After it was an exclusive app for iOS and Android, Mindly is now available for MacOS X. Mindly helps you capture and organize your thoughts and ideas into mind maps. Features supported by Mindly include: the ability to add unlimited number of elements, attach multimedia materials (e.g., notes, images, icons, and web links), copy and paste nodes, multiple export formats (e.g., PDF, text, image or OPML), passcode your mind maps, and more.
Pricing: Free version offers very limited features. Pro version offers full functionality: $29.99 for MacOS, $6.99 on iOS devices, and $5.49 on Android.
8. Miro
Looking for a powerful whiteboard tool where you can collaborate with your team in real time (or asynchronously)? Miro has you covered. Miro is especially ideal for use in remote teaching. You and your students can use the digital whiteboard for collaborative brainstorming and ideas generation.
Some of its helpful features include video conferencing, screen sharing, presentation mode, note taking, pre-made templates, the ability to add different resources to your board including documents, spreadsheets and PDFs. Another cool feature in Miro is Stickies Capture which enables you to easily digitize your hand written notes and turn them into editable sticky notes.
Pricing: Miro’s free version offers the following features: 3 editable boards, pre-made templates, core integrations, and basic attention management. Pro plans offer way more functionalites including custom templates, private boards, unlimited visitors, unlimited editable boards, and many more. the Team plan comes at $8 per member per month billed annually, the Business plan comes at $16 per member per month billed annually, and the Enterprise plan uses custom pricing.
9. XMind
XMind is another good mind mapping tool to consider. XMind lets you design visually appealing mind maps with multiple structures. You can visually record your brainstorming into timelines, free tables, org charts, diagrams, fishbone, among others. What I personally like the most about XMind is the Hand-drawn style which allows you to convert your digital mind map into a hand-drawn look with a single click. Other interesting features provided by XMind include stickers and illustrations, Pitch mode to present your mind maps in slideshows, Math Equation to create mind maps for scientific calculations and symbols, smart color themes and more.
Pricing: For students and educators, the Academia plan costs $34.99/annually or $22.49/6 months. For the rest, XMind costs $59.99/annually. There is also a Team plan, and NGOs plan, and an Enterprise plan, each has different pricing.
10. Visio
Visio by Microsoft is another good tool to help you capture your ideas into beautiful visual configurations. Visio offers a wide variety of ready-made templates and a huge number of editable shapes that you can use on your visuals. Visio also supports real time collaboration allowing you to co-design diagrams, flowcharts, and org charts with anyone anywhere they are. The tool also supports accessibility features that include Narrator, Accessibility Checker, high contrast support, and more.
Pricing: Visio is not included in Microsoft 365 plan and you need to buy it separately. Visio offers two types of subscriptions Visio Plan 1 ($5.00 user/month) and Visio Plan 2 ($15.00 user/month).
Conclusion
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