MindMeister is a browser mapper from MeisterLabs in Germany, and most people who look elsewhere do so over the cap of three maps on the free plan, the euro price per seat that repeats for every collaborator who needs more than viewing, or the wish to work in a desktop app. Some want maps stored on their own device. Others want a one-off payment, an open source licence or a tool that does more than map.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderShort answer: We open the ranking with smaller vendors and put the established brands from fourth place onward. For MindMeister users, the top three picks from our mind mapping software ranking are Mindomo, Coggle and MindNode. Pick Mindomo if you need offline editing and want no automatic renewal. Every one of the 11 products below comes from Best Mind Mapping Software in 2026, with a note on how it departs from MindMeister.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
The free plan stops at three mind maps. Personal costs 6 euros per user and Pro 10 euros, Business 15 euros, all excluding VAT, and the pricing page we read does not say whether those figures are monthly or yearly. A person who simply keeps many small maps hits the ceiling quickly.
Personal allows two attachments per map and seven days of version history. Unlimited attachments and history, multiple admins and custom branding start at Pro. Group sharing and compliance exports sit on Business. A small team can find that one needed feature pushes everyone up a tier.
The product lives in the browser and in mobile apps, with Google Drive, Microsoft Teams and MeisterTask connections. The integrations page names a bulk .zip export and no other file formats, and does not mention offline use. If maps must stay editable without a connection, or live on your own disk, the choice narrows.
| Alternative | Headquarters | Free option | Pricing model | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mindomo | Romania | Yes | Published | you need offline editing and want no automatic renewal | #1 |
| Coggle | United Kingdom | Yes | Published | a few colleagues need to draw on the same diagram at once | #3 |
| MindNode | Austria | Yes | Published | everyone you work with uses Apple devices | #2 |
| Freeplane | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | Published | you want free software you can keep indefinitely and are happy without a vendor | #6 |
| Mind Elixir | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | Published | you want local storage and a very low one-time price | #13 |
| MindMup | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | Published | you want a plain browser mapper and care little for extras | #4 |
| Scapple | United Kingdom | No free tier | See profile | you want loose, unstructured note maps on your own computer | #5 |
| SimpleMind | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | See profile | you would rather pay once than rent seats every month | #7 |
| Ayoa | United Kingdom | Yes | See profile | you want maps and task tracking in one product | #9 |
| Xmind | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | Published | you map across several of your own devices and want native apps | #8 |
| MindManager | United States | No free tier | See profile | a corporate procurement team wants a long-established desktop product | #12 |
Romania · Published
Offline editing is Mindomo's main answer to a hosted-only tool: it is made in Timisoara and ships apps for Windows, macOS and Linux. You prepay for a period and nothing renews silently. Three diagrams are free, and in place of a trial there is a refund window of 14 days.
Switch from MindMeister if you need offline editing and want no automatic renewal.
Read our review of Mindomo (position 1 of 13 on the mind mapping software list) →
United Kingdom · Published
Coggle lives in the browser and centres on several people drawing the same diagram at once, with history and pictures. Private diagrams are capped at three on free accounts while public ones are unlimited. Organisation is charged per member. A trial was not visible on the pricing page.
Switch from MindMeister if a few colleagues need to draw on the same diagram at once.
Open the Coggle profile, 3rd of 13 in the mind mapping software guide →
Austria · Published
Vienna's IdeasOnCanvas sells MindNode via the App Store and Setapp. Import and export work in the free app; Plus brings outlining, collaboration and Apple Watch support. Since only Apple hardware is supported, a colleague on Windows or Android cannot take part.
Switch from MindMeister if everyone you work with uses Apple devices.
#2 out of 13 mind mapping software products: read the MindNode review →
Not stated by the vendor · Published
Freeplane's source sits on GitHub under GPL-2.0, so no invoice arrives and no company decides the terms. Its docs describe formulas, Groovy scripts and an MCP server for AI use. Nothing we read named a support contract, a country or a hosted way to share.
Switch from MindMeister if you want free software you can keep indefinitely and are happy without a vendor.
Check Freeplane in the ranked list (6 out of 13, mind mapping software) →
Not stated by the vendor · Published
Mind Elixir weighs about 20 MB as a desktop app and keeps data on the device. The free plan includes outline mode and every export format. Personal is USD 19 a year, Lifetime USD 39 once, and AI runs against services you bring. Its terms cite Chinese law, and no country of establishment is given.
Switch from MindMeister if you want local storage and a very low one-time price.
Mind Elixir holds rank 13 among 13 entries in our mind mapping software guide →
Not stated by the vendor · Published
MindMup states plainly that it maps and does nothing else. Starter holds three maps, puts a watermark on presentations and shares view-only. Above it sit Personal, Team and Organization, quoted per month with annual billing; the last demands Google or Microsoft sign-in. A desktop app is still listed as coming soon.
Switch from MindMeister if you want a plain browser mapper and care little for extras.
Open the MindMup profile, 4th of 13 in the mind mapping software guide →
United Kingdom · See profile
There is no tree in Scapple: notes go anywhere on the page and you draw the links yourself. It comes from Literature & Latte of Cornwall, with a separate licence for macOS and for Windows and a month-long trial. Sharing with others is not described on the pages we read.
Switch from MindMeister if you want loose, unstructured note maps on your own computer.
Not stated by the vendor · See profile
Nothing recurs with SimpleMind: each platform is a separate purchase. Mac and Windows editions can be tried for 30 days, whereas the limited free version is for iPad, iPhone and Android. We found neither prices nor cloud collaboration, and the footer gives only SimpleApps as a name.
Switch from MindMeister if you would rather pay once than rent seats every month.
Read our review of SimpleMind (position 7 of 13 on the mind mapping software list) →
United Kingdom · See profile
OpenGenius in Wales makes Ayoa, which bundles whiteboards, task boards and Gantt views with the maps. A week of Ultimate comes first, then a personal-use free plan of ten maps. No amounts appeared on its pricing page for us, and the task side is part of what you pay for.
Switch from MindMeister if you want maps and task tracking in one product.
Not stated by the vendor · Published
A single Xmind subscription covers up to five computers and five phones or tablets, across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. Ten online maps cost nothing. Premium alone adds live collaboration, cloud storage and 500 monthly AI credits, against 50 on Free and Pro. Supermind Pte. Limited is the footer entity.
Switch from MindMeister if you map across several of your own devices and want native apps.
#8 out of 13 mind mapping software products: read the Xmind review →
United States · See profile
Corel acquired MindManager in August 2016. The range has a web Essentials edition, a desktop Professional edition and a negotiated Enterprise tier, with a full month of trial instead of a free plan. We could not see prices on its pricing page. It is the largest company in this list.
Switch from MindMeister if a corporate procurement team wants a long-established desktop product.
More on MindManager: ranked 12 of 13 in mind mapping software →
Mindomo: Desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux keep maps editable offline, and plans are prepaid without automatic renewal.
Freeplane: It is GPL-2.0 licensed on GitHub, with formulas and Groovy scripting in its documentation.
Mind Elixir: Lifetime is USD 39 once and the desktop version stores data locally.
MindNode: The free app covers mapping with import and export, and Plus adds collaboration.
Ayoa: One subscription includes mind maps, whiteboards, task boards and Gantt views, with a seven-day Ultimate trial.
MindMeister stays sensible for teams that want a hosted mapper without installing anything. The vendor states that its servers sit in an ISO 27001 certified data centre in Germany, with daily incremental backups and SAML 2.0 single sign-on on Business. Unlimited collaborators on the free plan, Google Drive and Teams connections and AI map generation add convenience. If your maps are few and shared widely, check whether Personal at 6 euros per user covers you before leaving.
The integrations page names a bulk .zip export of all maps and no other formats. Before cancelling, export a few real maps and open them in the new tool to see whether icons, notes, attachments and links arrive intact.
Shared maps point to MindMeister accounts. List who edits and who only views, then rebuild that in the new service. Do it before the paid term ends, since version history older than your plan allows may not be available afterwards.
Download the full set while the account is still active. Exports taken from a lapsed paid plan may be cut back to what the free plan allows.
The pricing page we read lists Free at 0 euros, Personal at 6, Pro at 10 and Business at 15 euros per user, excluding VAT. It offers yearly and six-month billing and does not show separate monthly and yearly figures, so check the live page.
Three. The free plan also includes 500 Meister AI credits per user, reset on the first day of each month, and one map generation uses 100 credits.
The security page says Meister servers are in an ISO 27001 certified data centre in Germany. Some of the certificate downloads on that page refer to MeisterTask, a sister product, so ask the vendor to confirm what applies to MindMeister.
Mindomo has desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux, Freeplane and Scapple are desktop programs, and Mind Elixir keeps data on your device. MindMeister's integrations page does not mention offline use.
SimpleMind is sold once per platform, Mind Elixir has a USD 39 Lifetime plan, and MindManager Professional has a one-time purchase option. Freeplane costs nothing.
MindMeister lists SAML 2.0 on Business through its sales team. Among the alternatives, MindMup requires Google and Microsoft sign-in on its top plan. Ask each vendor directly what their plan includes before you switch.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Author and fact-checker: Sebastiaan Smits. This page was last reviewed on 6 November 2026; our review process is public.
