Mind mapping software is a tool that allows you to visually brainstorm, arrange, and present ideas. It provides the core elements and techniques needed to draw a mind map. A mind map is a visual representation of concepts, ideas, and theories. These maps enable people to easily grasp the concepts and knowledge presented by their counterparts. Mind mapping software is essential for enterprises that generate a lot of ideas that need to be put through multiple units as it can enhance interdepartmental understanding. This application can be useful for tasks such as outlining interview steps, planning office events, forecasting, charting product development, marketing, and sales, and others. Start by checking our leader FreeMind, and other recommended solutions in this category.
To come up with this list of best Mind Mapping Software we have researched 224 various systems currently present on the market, contrasting their features, how easy are they are to learn, client support, available integrations with other systems and mobile support with our patented SmartScoreTM rating system. This list has been created by Nestor Gilbert, our software aurhority responsible for the Mind Mapping Software category.
In order to achieve full objectivity the position in our CloudRank™ is based on:
We’ve calculated a score for each product based on the average experience shared by our users in their product reviews and arranged the list in three tiers. You can see the methodology below on how the calculations were made.
Regardless of their tier, all products included in our CloudRank™ are popular, quality products considered top-performers by our team of experts. Make sure you read a more detailed review of each solution to find one that will work best for your specific needs and budget.
Show lessMARKET POSITION
A score between 1 and 10 based on popularity and market reach of each product.
TOTAL score
A score between 1 and 10 based on the average of our Expert Score and User Score.
Market Position
A score between 1 and 10 based on popularity and market reach of each product.
Total Score
A score between 1 and 10 based on the average of our Expert Score and User Score.
CloudRank™ tier
Based on product's total score.
Rising Star
Contender
Front Runners
Here is a list of all 25 Mind Mapping Software solutions evaluated with our CloudRank™ analysis. We have compared their features, user satisfaction, market presence and other key factors in an in-depth analysis you can find below:
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Our report covered 25 most popular products from the Mind Mapping Software category. We’ve analyzed their features, performance, integration, customer support, pricing, and several other key buying factors and combined it with feedback from user reviews to come up with the current list of best solutions:
MindMesiter tops our 2021 CloudRank for Mind Mapping Software garnering a high user satisfaction rating and excellent showing in feature set, ease of use and mobile support. It has a solid market presence and social media engagement, adding to its overall performance in this year’s report.
Its strongest features include the use of images and templates, the ability to create business charts, the usability of its brainstorming mode and clip art library tools.
MindMeister is web-based and allows for quick signup through Google or Facebook accounts. Users can access it from any device that supports Windows, Mac OS, Linux or iOS. Its flexible accessibility accounts for its strong showing, allowing anyone to create mind maps and share or present them in real-time.
The app adapts to a variety of uses, too, from brainstorming to note-taking and to project planning and creative tasks. Managers, creatives, teachers and students will find the tools intuitive to their project.
The app allows for dynamic slideshows and supports PNG or HTML that can be embedded on your website. Likewise, integrating the mind mapping app with MeisterTask extends the features to include basic project management tools. This further reinforces your ability to collaborate, present or share ideas with ease and convenience.
Coupled with the app’s highly customizable interface, where you can change alignments, import images and video, attach files and more, MindMeister has proven to be a leading solution in this software category.
Most users of Mind Mapping Software solutions confirm that in most cases these tools allow them to reach the following business goals:
The Summer 2021 version of the report includes a total of 25 Mind Mapping Software products that were compared and analyzed by our team. We selected them based on the following factors:
The convergence of the physical and digital world points industries towards a digitization and data-driven future where mind mapping software finds itself as a frontline tool that can help businesses visualize, manipulate and understand insights off big data. This trend will be exacerbated by the rapid acceleration in the internet and mobile technologies, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, among others.
Mind mapping tools intuitive to the complex needs of forward-looking businesses will be positioning their products, if they haven’t yet, as a visual big-picture platform that provides decision-makers a holistic view of their datasets, enabling them to make smarter decisions.
It will not be surprising to have mind mapping tools merging with analytics tools, or vice-versa, as the former allows users to look at data, processes and knowledge from different perspectives.
Consider what a typical software features today in this niche including free mind-mapping apps一diagrams, charts, brainstorming mode, tags, filters, task conversion, dynamic customization and integrations一and you have a tool critical to leveraging big data across key business functions including sales and marketing, production, purchasing and management.
Data privacy/security
%Costs
%Relevant data not collected
%Inadequate analytical know-how in the company
%Lack of resources/investment
%Lack of awareness in the organization
%Source: Kuppingercole & BARC
Designed byWith artificial intelligence and big data comes information overload that sees big businesses turning to enterprise AI solutions for semantic analysis to organize data. These sophisticated but expensive analytics leave out small businesses. Mind mapping tools are bridging this gap, enabling belt-tightening companies to analyze complex data with a less costly alternative.
Observers call this scenario the democratization of data, which also happens within an organization where end-users with no I.T. background are now able to analyze complex information using mind maps. These maps are often no more complex than notes, graphs, links, and charts, yet effective tools to help small businesses make sense of their data.
Source: Tata Consultancy Services
AI platforms are helping businesses analyze large amounts of data, organizing information into categories, relations, sentiment and other entities. Even then, the results can be complex, a web of organized lists and categories that require the trained eye and patience of a data analyst. For C-level executives, having a mind mapping tool that will further fine-tune the relations of the semantic analysis outputs of an AI platform is key to understanding the results. Already, efforts are undertaken to integrate mind mapping tools into AI platforms. We should see more mind mapping software solutions integrating, iif not merging, with enterprise solutions in the coming years.
Mind mapping software provides the tools necessary to create useful mind maps. There are numerous good quality platforms in this niche, which makes it difficult to do educated comparisons to choose the best mind mapping software available. We make your task easier with this guide, which provides details on the main features that mark the best mind mapping tools from the ordinary ones.
The best way to start your quest is to sign up for the free trial or demo of popular tools. Leading mind mapping software providers offer this convenience to help you check out their application’s features and do a generation comparison with other programs. We recommend you test drive Lucidchart, XMind, Cacoo, Mindjet, and MindManager because these solutions have been given high rankings in our mind mapping software reviews.
Mind mapping software tools can be helpful for buyers such as:
Mind mapping software can be utilized to create the following types of maps
Communication features. The latest mind mapping solutions improve collaboration in large teams by enabling members to view revision history, chat with prospects, provide comments on mind maps and more.
Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is revolutionizing the business world and the mind mapping sector is no exception. Mind mapping software developers are using AI to add built-in search features that enable you to find related videos and images to enhance your visual representations.
Mind mapping software can pose the following challenges to users:
Not ideal for logical thinkers. The application is essential for brainstorming sessions as it encourages innovation and creativity. But logical people may find it hard to use this platform because they are naturally suspicious of intuition and creativity as their thinking pattern is dominated by logic and reason.
Making other people understand. You might be able to use the software to create and personalize your mind maps easily, but it is another matter altogether whether your colleagues and partners are able to comprehend all your concepts and ideas.
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The first and most important thing is to make certain the app is right for your company’s requirements. Do not worry about the delivery method and pricing model and focus on getting the appropriate program. Second, you should invest some time to do proper homework on the background of the vendor and the functionality of the product. Otherwise, you may end up paying a high price if the platform proves to be a bad fit.
Another important point is you should always browse the contract and understand the terms and conditions. SaaS agreements are known for clever phrasing, so make sure you know what you are getting into. Do not get suckered into an evergreen contract. Be certain about the renewal terms as well as the notice time needed to cancel the renewal.
You will be surprised to learn the gains you can get by negotiating intelligently. SaaS software is a competitive market and vendors will be willing to offer you a price reduction to earn your business and continue it. Make use of this chance to save some money.
Realize that the teaser rate is offered only for a short period. Learn about the total cost you need to shell out after the initial discount ends. Also, estimate the long-term cost to know what you are getting into.
The best mind mapping software in the market is Freemind. Besides providing customizable diagrams, the platform is equipped with interactive tools for tracking projects, creating an organization-wide knowledge base, and noting down details in brainstorming sessions.
Freemind’s mind-mapping solutions are comprehensive as the diagrams can be fashioned to reflect company strategies or the development of a strategy from an idea. Moreover, it simplifies mind map creation with its drag and drop interface, instead of constructing a flowchart from scratch. So, what used to be a time-consuming process can be completed in a few minutes. You can also take advantage of its one-click navigation functionality to streamline the procedure even further.
In addition to the abovementioned features, Freemind lets you affix HTML codes to quickly access information rather than manually entering data and captioning the entries. As for repetitive processes, you can copy multiple nodes to swiftly build your diagram. The platform even exports maps to HTML and convert them using XSLT.
The benefits of mind mapping software are centered on organizing information visually, be it project tasks, company strategies, departmental operations, or organizational charts. Among the major advantages it offers include:
Flexible Diagramming Solutions. Since companies deal with bulks of information daily, mind mapping systems are designed to consolidate sets of information, regardless of its nature, and diagram them into visually appealing and easy-to-understand charts and graphs. You can create something as simple as an organizational chart or as complex as a company-wide operational flowchart using one.
Simple Diagram Creation. To ensure that you can create a diagram as quickly as possible, the leading mind mapping systems employ a variety of strategies, from providing a wide selection of templates to allowing users to copy multiple nodes at the same time. By leveraging those features, you can dramatically cut the time usually spent on building flowcharts and other types of diagrams.
Promotes Collaboration. Building on ideas to form strategies is a team effort, and the makers of mind mapping software recognize that for a fact. As such, the platforms often allow multiple users to chip in ideas and accompanying justifications, each represented by a node. With the entire team involved, you can fast track brainstorming sessions and build actionable strategies quickly using any of the leading platforms.
Versatile Content Distribution. The discussion of strategies may not always take place in the office, particularly if you’re meeting with external collaborators. Thus, some mind mapping platforms are equipped with flexible content distribution tools. With some software, you can download and print your diagrams while others are mobile-friendly, making your presentations portable. There are also systems that grant access to multiple users for easier collaboration. In addition, mind mapping solutions typically support multiple file types to make things easy for the diagrams’ recipients.
Mind mapping platforms don’t always carry the same set of features. Some specialize in visuals pertaining to specific operations while others take the general route and maximize the flexibility of their solutions. Despite their differences, they possess universal functionalities that hasten and simplify the process of visualizing information.
Diagram Building Tools. Mind mapping systems allow you to build different types of diagrams, such as flowcharts, graphs, and tables. This allows you to fashion the visuals in accordance with your company’s needs, be it to map out ideas, create operation flowcharts, or visualize the breakdown of project tasks.
Collaboration Tools. Mind mapping programs typically let multiple users work on a single output, resulting in the quicker formulation of strategies and the software taking in ideas from all parties involved in the discussion.
Customizable Diagram Templates. Rather than build a diagram from scratch, you can adjust the built-in diagram and symbol templates to suit your needs. The options for diagrams are extensive, with some systems offering a selection of preset graphs, charts, and tables.
Content Distribution Options. The diagrams can be shared by giving team members access to the platform, converting them into downloadable files, sharing links to the files through email or a messaging platform, or viewing them through a mobile device. This way, the outputs can be presented in more ways than one.
Comprehensive File Support. By supporting a wide variety of file types, the platform lets you save your diagrams in formats that are most relevant to your operations. You also can convert them in accordance with the requirements of other parties.
By nature, mind mapping software solutions are designed to simplify the diagram-building process, so they are typically easy to use. However, some platforms have gone the extra mile to make the diagramming process as painless as possible. These three are the foremost examples:
Edraw MindMaster. This software is equipped with automatic layouts and ready-made symbols that allow you to swiftly produce diagrams. To flatten the learning curve, Edraw MindMaster has a smart mind mapping guide that walks you through the already-easy process. It also lets you furnish diagrams into actual presentations, which come in handy during team meetings and project proposals.
Padlet. Padlet built its bulletin-board style interface with fuss-free user experience in mind. You can transform its digital “wall” into any sort of diagram of your choosing along with a photo, video, and/or text attachment. It also supports every major file type and lets you embed content directly from the internet.
Freemind. This product streamlines not only the diagramming process but also the mind mapping process suggested by other software. You get to build diagrams by simply dragging and dropping new sections, which can be adjusted through the platform’s one-click “fold and unfold” functionality. Additionally, Freemind has a versioning capability that lets you easily backtrack in case errors were committed in diagram design.
Many of the top mind mapping products have free packages that grant you access to their core features. With all the viable solutions available in the market, here are some of the top platforms that you should consider:
Freemind. Unlike a lot of other mind mapping platforms, Freemind is absolutely free. By downloading, you can gain access to all of its features, which include a smart drag-and-drop interface, folding branches, one-click navigation, built-in icons, smart copying and pasting, and editable multiline nodes.
Canva. Canva’s free plan comes with over 8,000 free templates, over 100 types of designs, and countless graphics and photos for your diagrams. Plus, you can download the Canva mobile app, reflective of its web-based counterpart’s features, for free. This package is ideal for individuals and small groups.
MindMeister. MindMeister’s free plan lets you create up to three mind maps as well as provides you with collaboration tools for your team. You also gain access to its icon and image libraries and lets you import and export files to Freemind and Text. This is ideal for individual users and small businesses.
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