XMind Alternatives for Mind Mapping on Any Device

XMind is still developed and still the default mind mapper for many people. The XMind pricing page today lists three tiers: Free, Pro and Premium. Free gives you up to 10 online maps, 3 days of version history and 5 Pitch slides. Pro is displayed at $4.92 a month and raises the limit to 50 online maps with watermark-free export; Premium, at $8.25, adds real-time collaboration, Gantt charts and 500 AI credits a month. Yearly billing saves up to 50%, and the 7-day trial applies only to yearly plans.

The usual reasons to leave are the subscription, the map cap on the free plan, and AI features you may not want to pay for. The apps below include a buy-once desktop tool, a free open source one, Apple-only and browser-only choices, and two whiteboard tools for teams that map together.

Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

SimpleMind

SimpleMind is the answer for people who are done with mind map subscriptions. The SimpleMind full edition page calls Pro a one-time purchase per platform with no monthly or annual fees: $29.99 for Mac or Windows, $54.99 for a licence that covers both, and $49.99 for a 4-user family or team pack on one platform. The iPhone and iPad app starts at $10.99 on the App Store, and Android at 10.99 EUR on Google Play.

It is still moving. Version 2.10 came out on August 31, 2026 with custom backgrounds, outline search and a better read-only mode.

Best for: Solo users who want XMind-level maps on desktop and phone without a subscription.

Pricing:

• Free edition: no images, colours or hyperlinks
• Pro, Mac or Windows: $29.99 once
• Pro, Mac and Windows: $54.99 once
• Family or team, 4 users: $49.99 once
• 10 users: $114.99 once
• iOS: from $10.99; Android: from 10.99 EUR
• Prices exclude VAT

Watch out for:

• You pay per platform. A Windows licence does not cover the iPad app, so a full set of devices costs more than one XMind year.
• Real-time co-editing is not part of the product. Sharing means sending files or using a sync folder.

Official site: SimpleMind.

Freeplane

Freeplane is the free, open source descendant of FreeMind and the strongest option for people who map offline. It is written in Java, runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and ChromeOS, and can run portably from a USB stick. Its SourceForge project page lists version 1.13.4, a last update on October 30, 2026, a GPLv2 licence and close to 48,000 downloads a week.

Where XMind hides structure behind themes, Freeplane exposes it. Nodes can carry attributes, formulas, scripts, filters and styles, so a map can work as a small knowledge base.

Best for: Power users who want unlimited local maps for free and do not mind a learning curve.

Pricing:

• Free and open source, GPLv2

Watch out for:

• A February 2025 SourceForge review lists a steep learning curve, a dated interface, slow performance on very large maps and limited real-time collaboration.
• Updates can break small things. A July 2026 review says mailto links stopped working after 1.13.3 until the user rolled back.

Official site: Freeplane.

MindNode

MindNode is alive and still Apple-only. The MindNode site shows blog posts from September and October 2026, including one on iOS 27 and macOS 27 support. IdeasOnCanvas, the Vienna developer, says the app is still owned by its founder, and maps sync through your personal iCloud, stored encrypted.

The current app is free for basic mind mapping, import and export. MindNode Plus, at $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year, adds outlining, themes, collaboration and Apple Watch support, and it includes the older MindNode Classic app.

Best for: Mac and iPad users who want a calmer, more polished mapper than XMind.

Pricing:

• Free: mind mapping, import and export
• MindNode Plus: $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year, free trial
• MindNode Classic: included with Plus

Watch out for:

• There is no Windows, Android or web app. A team with PC users cannot open maps natively.
• Outlining, themes and collaboration all need Plus, so the free tier is a mapper and nothing more.

Official site: MindNode.

Coggle

Coggle runs in the browser and is built for sharing. Several people can edit the same map at once, and maps can include images and flowchart shapes. Nothing needs installing, which helps with students or clients on locked-down laptops.

The free plan gives 3 private diagrams and unlimited public ones. The Coggle site lists Awesome at $5 a month for unlimited private diagrams and Organisation at $8 per member per month with SAML single sign-on. An enterprise version can run on-premise.

Best for: Teachers, students and small teams who map together in real time.

Pricing:

• Free: 3 private diagrams, unlimited public
• Awesome: $5 a month
• Organisation: $8 per member per month
• Enterprise: contact sales, on-premise available

Watch out for:

• Only three maps can be private on the free plan. Anything more is public or needs Awesome.
• It is browser-only, with no offline desktop app like XMind's.

Official site: Coggle.

MindMeister

MindMeister is part of the MeisterLabs family alongside the MeisterTask project tool, so map branches can turn into tasks on a board. It is a cloud app with real-time editing, comments and presentation mode, which suits teams more than solo XMind users.

The MindMeister pricing page keeps the free plan small: up to 3 mind maps, whiteboards free during their beta, and 500 AI credits per user each month. Personal, Pro and Business raise the AI allowance to 2,000, 5,000 and unlimited credits.

Best for: Teams that brainstorm in a map and then hand the branches off as tasks.

Pricing:

• Free: up to 3 mind maps, 500 AI credits a month
• Personal, Pro, Business: EUR prices per user, excluding VAT, on MindMeister's pricing page, with yearly and 6-month billing

Watch out for:

• Three maps on the free plan is fewer than XMind's 10 online maps.
• Prices are listed in euros excluding VAT, so US buyers see the final cost only at checkout.

Official site: MindMeister.

Miro

Miro is not a dedicated mind mapper, but its mind map tool is good enough for team brainstorms, and the map can sit next to sticky notes, flowcharts and a kanban on one board. That is the reason to pick it over XMind: the map is one part of a workshop rather than a file.

The free plan allows 3 editable boards. On the Miro plans page, Starter costs $8 per member per month billed yearly and adds unlimited boards, and Business costs $20.

Best for: Product and design teams who map ideas during live workshops.

Pricing:

• Free: 3 editable boards
• Starter: $8 per member per month, billed yearly
• Business: $20 per member per month, billed yearly
• Enterprise: custom, from 30 members

Watch out for:

• Per-member pricing adds up for a large team that only needs mind maps.
• Past three boards on the free plan, only the three most recent stay editable.

Official site: Miro.

draw.io

draw.io, also known as diagrams.net, is free with no sign-up and no paywall. The draw.io site says the code is Apache 2.0 licensed, and that you save diagrams to Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint or your own device, so the service never holds your files. A desktop app works offline.

It also plugs into Confluence and Jira, which makes it handy when a map has to live in team documentation. The site states there is no Enterprise tier for SSO and no paid upgrade.

Best for: People who want a free tool for mind maps and every other kind of diagram.

Pricing:

• Free, Apache 2.0, no sign-up

Watch out for:

• It is a general diagram editor, and the site does not mention mind map templates. Expect more manual layout than XMind's automatic branches.

Official site: draw.io.

How to choose

When to stay with XMind

Stay with XMind if you need one subscription across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android and the web. The pricing page says one plan covers up to 5 computers and 5 mobile devices, and few rivals here run on Linux and phones at once. Premium also adds Gantt charts and tasks with assignees, which none of the dedicated mappers above include.

Frequently asked questions