Almost every mind mapping app says it supports "notes". Very few do it well. I rebuilt the same 60-node research map in 11 apps and pushed each note editor until it broke. This is what I found.
What is the best mind mapping app for note taking in 2026?
Mindomo is the best mind mapping app for note taking in 2026 (best for the richest toolbar and document exports), followed by MindMap AI (best for Markdown notes with tables and equations on a free plan), Freeplane (best free offline option) and TheBrain (best for large personal knowledge bases). MindMap AI's edge: a Markdown note editor with no length limit that its AI can write and edit.
Quick recommendations
- Richest note toolbar and document exports: Mindomo
- Markdown notes with tables, code and LaTeX, free: MindMap AI (made by us, scored with the same rubric as everyone else)
- Free and offline, with search and Markdown export: Freeplane
- Thousands of notes in one knowledge base: TheBrain
- Accessible editor for neurodiverse users: Ayoa
- Polished mapper where notes are a side feature: Xmind
- Teams writing notes together in real time: MindMeister
The matchups most people decide between
| If you're choosing between | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mindomo vs MindMap AI | Mindomo for search inside notes and Word export today; MindMap AI for tables, LaTeX, AI-written notes and unlimited free maps | Both score 5/5 on formatting depth. They differ on search, exports and price. |
| Xmind vs MindMeister | Xmind | Same score (6.4). Xmind wins the tie on node attachments and a 10-map free plan vs 3. |
| TheBrain vs Freeplane | Freeplane if the budget is zero; TheBrain if you'll store thousands of notes | Both search inside notes and export to Markdown. Both have dated interfaces. |
| A one-time purchase vs a subscription | SimpleMind | $29.99 once, offline, but no Markdown export and no note search. |
How I tested these mind mapping apps
Vendors describe notes in one word on the pricing page and then never explain them. So I ignored the marketing pages and built the same thing in every tool.
What I built: a 60-node literature review map on remote work. One central topic, six themes, and roughly nine sources under each. Every source node got a real note, not a placeholder.
What I did in each app, over four weeks:
- Pasted a 1,200-word interview transcript into a single node's note to see whether the editor slowed down, truncated the text, or reflowed the map.
- Counted the formatting the note editor can render against a fixed checklist of 18 elements: headings, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, bullet list, numbered list, nested lists, links, inline code, code block, blockquote, checklist, table, math (LaTeX), text colour or highlight, inline image, and sub/superscript.
- Attached a 4 MB PDF and a PNG screenshot to a node, then reopened the map the next day to confirm both were still there.
- Searched for a phrase that existed only inside a note ("asynchronous handover") to find out whether note text is indexed or invisible to search.
- Exported to Markdown and checked whether the notes came across. I dropped PDF from the test. In this category a PDF export is almost always a picture of the map, so notes rarely survive it, and when they do the result is not a usable document. Where a tool offers a Word export I mention it in its entry, but only Markdown was scored.
- Opened the same map on an iPhone to see whether long notes were readable and editable on mobile.
Testing ran on a Windows 11 laptop, a MacBook Air (M2) and an iPhone 14. All testing was done on free plans or trials. Where a feature sits behind a paid tier I could not reach, I say so in the entry and score it as not confirmed.
Why notes matter this much: note-taking research going back to Kiewra's encoding-storage review (Kiewra, 1989, Educational Psychology Review) shows that the storage half of the job, being able to find and reread what you wrote, is where most of the value lives. A note you cannot search or export is a note you will not reread.
The scoring rubric
Each app was scored 1 to 5 on six criteria. The weighted total is scaled to a score out of 10, computed in code, and the ranking below follows the score strictly. The same rubric applies to every app, including MindMap AI.
| Criterion | Weight | What 5 means | What 1 means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formatting depth | 25% | 13 or more of the 18 checklist elements render | 3 or fewer |
| Note experience | 20% | The 1,200-word paste stayed fast, notes live in a panel rather than on the canvas, and the editor is modern with no learning curve | Notes render on the canvas or the interface gets in the way |
| Attachments | 15% | Files and images attach to a node on the free plan | No attachments |
| Note search | 10% | Search finds text that exists only inside a note | Search ignores note text or there is no search |
| Markdown export | 15% | Notes survive a Markdown export | No Markdown export, or notes are dropped |
| Value | 15% | Notes fully usable on free with generous caps and a low entry price | Notes are paid-only or the entry price is high |
Formatting depth and note experience carry 45% together because the whole point of a note is to hold a full document behind a short branch label. Attachments are scored at node level because that is what the test did.
Pricing note: all prices were checked in September 2026. Prices are in USD unless stated, with the billing basis given each time. This category changes often, so check each vendor's pricing page before you rely on a number.
Quick comparison: all 11 mind mapping apps for note taking
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Formatting (of 18) | Notes in Markdown export | Starting price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mindomo | Richest toolbar, document exports | 3 diagrams | 13 | Yes (paid plans) | €6/mo billed yearly | 8.9 |
| MindMap AI | Markdown notes with tables and LaTeX | Unlimited manual maps + 50 AI credits/mo | 16 | Yes (free) | $4.99/mo billed yearly | 8.6 |
| Freeplane | Free, offline, open source | Everything | 11 | Yes | $0 | 7.9 |
| TheBrain | Large knowledge bases | Full app, local use | 8 | Yes | $180/yr | 7.5 |
| Ayoa | Neurodiverse users | Personal use only | 12 | No | $13/user/mo billed yearly | 6.6 |
| Xmind | Polished mapping, notes on the side | 10 online maps | 7 | Not confirmed (paid) | $4.92/mo billed yearly | 6.4 |
| MindMeister | Team note collaboration | 3 maps | 8 | No | $6.50/user/mo billed yearly | 6.4 |
| MindMup | Notes in your Google Drive | 5 maps | 8 | Not on Starter | $6/mo billed yearly | 6.1 |
| SimpleMind | One-time purchase, offline | Mobile edition | 5 | No | $29.99 one-time | 5.6 |
| GitMind | AI summaries on a budget | 3 files, 60 nodes/map | 6 | No | $4.92/mo billed yearly | 5.6 |
| Creately | Notes on a big visual canvas | 45 items per canvas | 6 | No | $5/mo billed yearly | 5.6 |
How to read this: the formatting column is the count of checklist elements each note editor rendered in my test. The score is the weighted total across all six criteria. Ties are broken as stated in each entry.
The 11 best mind mapping apps for note taking, ranked
1. Mindomo
Best for: researchers and students who want notes to look like real documents and to leave the app as documents.
Score: 8.9/10 (formatting 5, experience 5, attachments 4, search 4, Markdown 5, value 3)
Mindomo has the most complete note toolbar of any app here. Headings, alignment, bullet and numbered lists, bold, italic, strikethrough, underline, a code block, blockquote, checkbox task lists, text colour and highlight, links and inline images, all in one row. When I pasted the transcript and started marking it up, it felt like a document editor, not a side panel.
What I counted: 13 of 18 elements. Missing: tables, math, inline code (it has a code block) and sub/superscript.
Key features
- Full rich-text toolbar including code block, blockquote, checklists and highlighting.
- Inline images inside notes, not just files hanging off the node.
- Notes carry into Markdown, Word and PDF exports on paid plans, according to Mindomo's own documentation. I could not test this on the free plan.
- Dashboard search covers topic text, notes and comments across all your diagrams, again per Mindomo's documentation, and takes you to the node that holds the note.
- Multiple diagram types from the same content: mind map, concept map, outline, Gantt chart.
What's free
Three diagrams, unlimited collaborators, sharing and publishing, and a single AI credit. Notes are fully usable on the free plan, but file and image attachments, exports and printing need Premium.
Paid from: €6/month (about $7) billed yearly on Premium, rising to €7 (about $8.50) on the six-month plan. Premium adds unlimited diagrams, attachments, exports, printing, 50 AI credits per month and API access. Professional at €13.50/month (about $16) adds guest editing, Gantt charts and 60 AI credits.
Pros
- The richest toolbar in the roundup. Checklists, colour and inline images are rare here.
- Notes survive into three document formats on paid plans, so they rarely get trapped.
- Search reaches inside notes.
Cons
- A three-diagram free tier is the tightest freemium limit in this list.
- Attachments and every export sit behind the paid tier, so the free plan is notes-only.
- No tables and no equations in notes.
2. MindMap AI
Best for: anyone who writes long, structured notes in Markdown, needs tables or equations, and wants the AI to draft or tidy those notes.
Score: 8.6/10 (formatting 5, experience 5, attachments 3, search 1, Markdown 5, value 5)
Full disclosure: we build MindMap AI, so I held it to the same rubric as everyone else. It came second, and the two criteria that kept it out of first place are real gaps, not rounding.
Notes on nodes shipped in September 2026 (version history). The editor is Markdown-native. You write Markdown, or paste it, and it renders in a panel on the right of the canvas without moving a single node. There is no length limit. The 1,200-word transcript went in, rendered, and the map did not flinch.
What I counted: 16 of 18 elements, the highest in the test. Headings, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, bullet and numbered lists, nested lists, links, inline code, code blocks, blockquotes, task lists, tables, inline and block LaTeX, and sub/superscript through HTML tags. Missing: text colour or highlight, and inline images (images go on the node instead).
The two things no other app on this list combined:
- Tables and LaTeX in notes. Only two of the 11 apps I tested render equations inside a note, MindMap AI and TheBrain. Three apps here handle tables in notes (MindMap AI, Ayoa and Freeplane), and MindMap AI is the only one of the three that also renders equations. If your notes hold formulas or comparison grids, this decides it.
- The AI writes and edits notes. The same chat that builds and reorganises the map can draft a note for a node, expand it, or rewrite it. Notes are not a manual-only corner of the product.
Key features
- Markdown note editor in a side panel with an edit and preview toggle and a raw Markdown view.
- Headings, nested lists, code blocks, blockquotes, task lists, tables and LaTeX math, all rendered.
- AI chat that generates, expands, summarises and reorganises the map, and writes and edits notes.
- Inputs from a prompt, PDF, document, image, audio, video or web page, so a note can start from a source.
- Notes readable and editable in the iOS and Android apps.
- Notes carry into the Markdown export.
What's free
Unlimited manual maps with no node cap, the full note editor with no length limit, and 50 AI credits a month that renew. Notes are not gated to any plan.
Paid from: $4.99/month billed yearly on Basic ($9.99 month to month). Pro is $7.99/month billed yearly ($14.99 monthly). Paid plans add AI credits and remove the export watermark. Verified students get a discount. Current numbers are on the pricing page.
Pros
- The deepest formatting of the test: 16 of 18 elements, including tables and LaTeX.
- No length limit, and the note panel never disturbs the map.
- The AI can write the note, not just the map.
- Notes fully free, on unlimited maps.
Cons
- No search inside note text yet. The map search finds nodes, not note content. Search inside notes is on our roadmap.
- No file attachments inside notes. Images attach to nodes; PDFs and other files do not.
- Notes export to Markdown only.
- Image and PDF exports carry a watermark on the free plan.
Verdict: if you take notes in Markdown, need tables or equations, or want the AI to draft notes from a source, this is the pick. If you need search inside thousands of notes today, or a Word export, choose Mindomo or TheBrain.
3. Freeplane
Best for: anyone who wants searchable, exportable notes for exactly zero money and does not mind a 2000s interface.
Score: 7.9/10 (formatting 4, experience 1, attachments 5, search 5, Markdown 5, value 5)
Freeplane is open source and free forever. Its notes are HTML under the hood, which is why the editor does more than its looks suggest: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, font colour, background colour, a paragraph style dropdown for headings, alignment, both list types with nesting, links and tables. There is even an HTML code view for the raw source.
The catch is how notes are shown. Freeplane renders the note on the canvas under the node. A 1,200-word note turns a tidy branch into a wall of text and the map stops being a map. The toolbar looks like desktop software from another decade, there is no mobile app, and there is no AI.
What I counted: 11 of 18 elements. Missing: inline code, code block, blockquote, checklist, math, inline image and sub/superscript.
Key features
- Full formatting toolbar including colour, background colour, tables and a clear-formatting button.
- Search finds text inside notes.
- Notes survive the Markdown export.
- Attachments and images with no account and no cloud.
What's free
All of it. There is no paid tier.
Paid from: nothing to buy.
Pros
- Search, Markdown export, tables and attachments, all free.
- No account, no cloud, no data leaving your machine.
- Extensible through scripts and add-ons.
Cons
- Long notes render on the canvas and make the map unusable.
- The interface looks and feels like software from the early 2000s.
- No mobile app, no collaboration, no AI.
4. TheBrain
Best for: people building a knowledge base where the notes matter more than the map.
Score: 7.5/10 (formatting 3, experience 2, attachments 5, search 5, Markdown 5, value 4)
TheBrain is barely a mind mapping app. It is a networked note system with a visual front end. The note editor has paragraph styles, bold, italic, underline, bullet lists, checkboxes, alignment, links, inline comments and an attach button, plus a Markdown mode, and it is one of only two apps here that render LaTeX equations inside a note. Search finds text inside notes, and the Markdown export carries them.
Where it loses points is the experience. The interface is dated, and the "thoughts and links" model is not a mind map. It takes a while to think in it.
What I counted: 8 of 18 elements from the toolbar and the Markdown mode. The Markdown mode may render more than I could confirm.
Key features
- Note editor with checkboxes, comments, attachments and a Markdown mode with LaTeX.
- Any thought can link to any other thought, so notes cross-reference instead of nesting.
- Search that reaches inside notes.
- Cerebro AI can generate new thoughts, notes and research structures inside an existing brain.
- Encrypted sync and backup, with 30 GB of online storage on Pro Service.
What's free
More than you'd expect. The full app is free forever for personal and commercial use, no account required. That includes unlimited thoughts, unlimited local notes, images and file attachments, and all advanced features. The limits are in the cloud: private sync stops at 1,000 thoughts, online attachment storage caps at 100 MB, and Cerebro AI is a daily taste rather than a full allowance.
Paid from: $180/year on Pro Service (about $15/month), which adds unlimited private sync, the full daily Cerebro AI allowance, 30 GB of online storage and encrypted backup. TeamBrain is $299/year per person. Max Service is $479/year.
Pros
- Unlimited local notes and attachments at $0.
- Search inside notes, Markdown export and LaTeX.
- Built for scale: unlimited thoughts, links and brains.
Cons
- Dated interface and a real learning curve.
- At $180/year it is the most expensive individual subscription here.
- No PDF export, and cross-device use effectively needs the paid plan.
5. Ayoa
Best for: neurodiverse users who need mapping, notes and tasks in one accessible workspace.
Score: 6.6/10 (formatting 4, experience 5, attachments 5, search 1, Markdown 1, value 2)
Ayoa is the only tool in this roundup built with explicit dyslexia, ADHD and autism support, and its "Document Notes" panel shows it: generous spacing, a word count, and menus rather than a strip of tiny icons. The font menu holds colour, size, font family, background colour, subscript, superscript and strikethrough. The paragraph menu holds alignment, numbering, bullets, line height and indentation. The insert menu adds images, tables and links.
What I counted: 12 of 18 elements. Missing: heading styles, inline code, code block, blockquote, checklist and math.
Key features
- Document Notes panel with font, paragraph and insert menus, plus a live word count.
- Tables and inline images in notes.
- Importers with AI summaries that turn an uploaded document into node notes.
- Multiple mind mapping styles plus whiteboards, task boards, Gantt and outline views on the same content.
What's free
There is a free plan, but it is restricted to personal use. Freelancers and businesses need a paid seat. A 7-day trial of Ultimate opens up the premium features.
Paid from: $13/user/month billed yearly, or about $17/user/month billed monthly. Ultimate is the single paid plan and covers everything.
Pros
- Best-in-class accessibility support for dyslexic and ADHD users.
- Tables and images inside notes.
- One plan, no feature-hunting across tiers.
Cons
- Search finds nodes, not note text.
- No Markdown export. The Word export I got was an image of the map inside a document.
- The free plan is personal-use only, and $13/user/month is high for individuals.
6. Xmind
Best for: people who want a fast, good-looking map and treat notes as a side feature.
Score: 6.4/10 (formatting 3, experience 5, attachments 4, search 1, Markdown 1, value 4). Tied with MindMeister; Xmind ranks higher on node attachments and a 10-map free plan.
Xmind's note popup was the one I never thought about. The 1,200-word transcript pasted cleanly, stayed fast, and the map did not reflow. The mapping side is still the polished, keyboard-driven Xmind people already like. The notes themselves are basic: bold, italic, underline, bulleted and numbered lists with nesting, and a link button. Markdown is not supported inside notes.
What I counted: 7 of 18 elements. Missing: headings, strikethrough, code, blockquote, checklist, table, math, colour, inline image and sub/superscript.
Key features
- Fast note popup with bold, italic, underline, lists and links.
- Node attachments on paid plans.
- Export to PNG, SVG, PDF, Markdown and Office formats. Markdown, Word and OPML export are on Pro and above.
- AI that can summarise long text, files and links straight into map structure.
What's free
10 online maps, unlimited local maps, basic themes and stickers, 3-day version history and 50 trial AI credits. Notes work on the free plan. Attachments and document exports do not.
Paid from: $4.92/month on Pro, billed yearly. Pro unlocks 50 online maps, attachments, custom themes, Markdown and Word export, and watermark-free export. Premium at $8.25/month adds unlimited maps, real-time collaboration, 30-day history, Gantt charts and 500 monthly AI credits.
Pros
- Long notes stay fast, with no lag at 1,200 words.
- Cheapest tier that includes node attachments is $4.92/month.
- The best-looking maps in the test.
Cons
- No headings, code, blockquote or tables in notes.
- Notes do not appear in the PDF export. I could not confirm whether they survive the paid Markdown or Word export.
- Search does not reach note text, and the free plan caps you at 10 online maps.
7. MindMeister
Best for: small teams brainstorming and writing notes on the same map at once.
Score: 6.4/10 (formatting 3, experience 5, attachments 3, search 4, Markdown 1, value 3)
MindMeister's note popup covers more ground than most: two heading levels, bold, italic, strikethrough, bulleted and numbered lists, links, emoji and inline code. Combined with real-time collaboration, it was the easiest app in the test for two people to co-write a note on the same node without stepping on each other. Search finds the node that holds a phrase inside a note, though it does not jump to the exact line.
What I counted: 8 of 18 elements. Missing: underline, nested lists, code block, blockquote, checklist, table, math, colour, inline image and sub/superscript.
Key features
- Note editor with H1 and H2, inline code, emoji and both list types.
- Real-time collaboration with commenting and voting on the same map.
- Search that finds notes at node level.
- Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams and MeisterTask integrations.
What's free
The free Basic plan covers three mind maps with the core editor. Since June 30, 2026, exports and printing are paid-only.
Paid from: $6.50/user/month on Personal, billed yearly ($7.50 on six-month billing, no monthly plan). Personal adds unlimited maps, two attachments per map, 7-day history, private maps and file export. Pro at $10.50 adds unlimited attachments and all-time version history. Business at $15.50 adds SSO and compliance exports.
Pros
- Best real-time collaborative note editing in the test.
- Headings and inline code in notes.
- Search reaches notes.
Cons
- No Markdown export, and every export now needs a paid plan.
- The free plan's three-map cap fills up fast.
- AI features are still labelled beta across all tiers.
8. MindMup
Best for: free note-taking that lives in your Google Drive.
Score: 6.1/10 (formatting 3, experience 5, attachments 4, search 1, Markdown 1, value 3)
MindMup's note editor is better than its minimal interface suggests: two heading levels, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, both list types and links, in a clean right-hand panel that lists every note on the map. It is also the only tool here whose natural storage home is your own Google Drive.
On the free Starter plan I found no export of any kind and no search that reached note text. MindMup's documentation describes a notes export to Word, Markdown and HTML and a note search in the notes panel. I could not reach either on Starter, so neither is credited here. If you are on a paid plan, check them.
What I counted: 8 of 18 elements. Missing: nested lists, code, blockquote, checklist, table, math, colour, inline image and sub/superscript.
Key features
- Notes with H1 and H2, four text styles, lists and links.
- Google Drive storage and Google Workspace sign-in as a first-class path.
- Image and file attachments from the Personal plan.
- Publish and share maps with notes intact.
What's free
The Starter plan is free and covers up to 5 mind maps with note-taking, annotation, sharing and publishing.
Paid from: $6/month billed yearly on Personal ($9 monthly) for unlimited maps, image and file attachments and advanced sharing. Collaborative use moved to per-seat pricing in April 2026: $3 per seat/month billed yearly ($5 monthly), with a 3-seat minimum on Team and a 5-seat minimum on Organization, so $9/month and $15/month respectively at the smallest size.
Pros
- Headings in notes on a free tier.
- Google Drive storage keeps your notes in your own account.
- Clean, distraction-free editor that loads instantly.
Cons
- No AI features at all.
- No export and no note search that I could reach on the free plan.
- Sparse visual styling next to Xmind or MindMeister.
9. SimpleMind
Best for: people who want to buy once, work offline, and never see a subscription again.
Score: 5.6/10 (formatting 2, experience 5, attachments 4, search 1, Markdown 1, value 3). Tied with GitMind and Creately; SimpleMind ranks highest of the three on its one-time price.
SimpleMind is the anti-subscription option. A one-time licence gets you a desktop app with a note panel that handles bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and superscript/subscript. Everything works offline, so long notes never depend on a connection.
What I counted: 5 of 18 elements. Missing: headings, lists, links, code, blockquote, checklist, table, math, colour and inline image.
Key features
- One-time licence rather than a subscription, per platform.
- Note formatting including superscript and subscript.
- Cross-platform sync across Windows, macOS, iOS and Android.
- Local-first storage. Your maps and notes sit on your own machine.
What's free
The free edition is mobile only. On desktop you get a trial. The full note and attachment handling comes with the Pro licence.
Paid from: $29.99 one-time for a single-platform, single-user Pro licence. Windows plus Mac is $54.99. A 4-user family or team licence is $49.99 ($99.98 for both platforms). A 10-user licence is $114.99.
Pros
- Pays for itself against most subscriptions here within about six months.
- Fully offline. No cloud dependency for long notes.
- Sub and superscript, which only Ayoa and MindMap AI also offer.
Cons
- No lists, headings or links in notes.
- No Markdown or Word export and no note search. SimpleMind's documentation describes an HTML or text outline that includes notes.
- No AI, no real-time collaboration, no web app, and licences are per platform.
10. GitMind
Best for: turning long source material into a map on a small budget.
Score: 5.6/10 (formatting 2, experience 5, attachments 4, search 1, Markdown 1, value 3). Tied with SimpleMind and Creately; ranks above Creately on the free plan.
GitMind's note formatting is basic: bold, italic, underline, highlighter, bulleted and numbered lists in a right-hand panel. Its AI is the reason to look at it. The Pro tier at $5.75/month includes 2,000 monthly credits for summarising text, web pages, files, audio and YouTube videos.
What I counted: 6 of 18 elements. Missing: headings, strikethrough, nested lists, links, code, blockquote, checklist, table, math, inline image and sub/superscript.
Key features
- Note editor with highlighting and both list types.
- AI summarisation of text, web pages, files, audio, YouTube videos and images.
- Interlinks between maps.
- Cloud storage from 10 GB (Basic) up to 50 GB (Business).
What's free
Three files with up to 60 nodes per map and 100 MB of storage, with no AI credits. Watermark-free HD export, attachments and unlimited nodes belong to the paid plans.
Paid from: $4.92/month on Basic, billed yearly, for unlimited files, HD export, attachments and 10 GB storage. Pro at $5.75/month adds 2,000 AI credits a month. Ultra is $11.58 and Business $17.42.
Pros
- Best AI credits per dollar of any app in the test.
- Attachments available on the cheapest paid tier.
- Generous cloud storage even at the entry price.
Cons
- No headings, links, code or blockquotes in notes.
- No Markdown export, and no search at all.
- Four paid tiers with overlapping features make choosing harder than it should be.
11. Creately
Best for: teams who want notes attached to shapes on a large visual canvas, not just map branches.
Score: 5.6/10 (formatting 2, experience 5, attachments 5, search 1, Markdown 1, value 2). Tied with SimpleMind and GitMind; ranks last of the three on the 45-item free cap.
Creately is a diagramming canvas first and a mind mapper second. Notes hang off any shape anywhere on an infinite canvas, in a right-hand Notes panel. The editor covers bold, italic, strikethrough, underline, text colour, highlight colour and hyperlinks, and nothing else I could find.
What I counted: 6 of 18 elements. Missing: headings, lists, code, blockquote, checklist, table, math, inline image and sub/superscript.
Key features
- Notes on any shape across an unlimited canvas.
- Text and highlight colour controls.
- Unlimited collaborators on the free plan.
- 30-day version history from the Starter plan up.
What's free
Unlimited canvases and unlimited collaborators, capped at 45 items per canvas, one folder and two imports. A 60-node research map does not fit.
Paid from: $5/month billed yearly ($60/year) on Starter, or $8 month to month. That raises the cap to 1,000 items per canvas and adds premium libraries, all exports and AI diagrams. Team is $5/user/month billed yearly. Business is $89/month billed yearly ($1,068/year) or $149 month to month.
Pros
- Text colour and highlight in notes.
- Unlimited collaborators even on the free plan.
- 30-day version history from the cheapest paid tier.
Cons
- 45 items per canvas on free is the harshest limit in the roundup for real work.
- No headings or lists in notes. It is styling, not structure.
- Notes cannot be exported (Creately's own FAQ says so), and search does not find them.
What I excluded and why
- Whiteboards: Miro, FigJam and Mural. They are whiteboards first. A mind map is one template among many, so they belong in a whiteboard comparison, not a notes comparison.
- Note apps with a graph view: Obsidian, Logseq and Notion. These are note-first tools where the map is a view of your notes rather than the surface you work on. If your notes are the product and the map is a bonus, start there and skip this list.
- Diagramming suites: Lucidchart and draw.io. Diagrams first, with a mind map shape library. Their note features exist to annotate flowcharts.
- Desktop stalwarts not retested this round: MindManager (no free plan beyond a 30-day trial) and MindNode (Apple only). Both may return in the next refresh.
Honorable mentions
- MindNode ($24.99/year, Plus): the right pick if you live inside Apple devices and want a clean native editor. Excluded only because Windows and Android users cannot use it.
- MindManager ($99/year, Essential): the enterprise-grade desktop mapper. Excluded because there is no free plan to test notes against the same bar as the others.
Conclusion
If you want the richest toolbar and document exports, Mindomo earns its first place. If you write in Markdown, need tables or equations, or want the AI to draft your notes, MindMap AI is the closest thing to a document editor inside a mind map, and it is free on unlimited maps. Freeplane and TheBrain are the picks if search and cost matter more than the interface.
For the broader picture beyond notes, see our guides to the best mind map software and the best AI mind map generators.
FAQ
A note is a block of text attached to a single node and stored separately from the node's visible label. It lets you keep a short branch title on the map while holding a paragraph, a source citation or a full page of detail behind it. Good implementations add formatting, search and export.
Mindomo, if you judge by the toolbar: headings, alignment, lists, a code block, blockquotes, checklists, colour, highlighting and inline images. MindMap AI, if you judge by what renders: 16 of 18 elements, including tables, code blocks and LaTeX, from Markdown. TheBrain is the better choice if you have thousands of notes rather than richer formatting needs.
Only two of the 11 apps I tested render LaTeX inside a note: MindMap AI and TheBrain. MindMap AI renders both inline and block equations from standard LaTeX delimiters, alongside Markdown tables. TheBrain renders equations in its Markdown note mode. Every other app in this list either has no equation support or limits it to node text.
Yes. Freeplane is completely free with search and Markdown export. MindMap AI gives you the full note editor on unlimited manual maps. TheBrain's full app is free for local use. Xmind (10 online maps), MindMup (5 maps), MindMeister (3 maps), Mindomo (3 diagrams) and GitMind (3 files) all have free tiers where notes work. The limits fall on map counts, attachments and exports, not on the notes themselves.
Not in most formats. PNG and SVG exports are pictures of the map, and PDF exports usually are too. Markdown is the format to trust. In my testing, notes survived the Markdown export in MindMap AI (free), Freeplane, TheBrain, and Mindomo (paid plans, per its documentation). Xmind, MindMeister, Ayoa, GitMind, Creately and SimpleMind either have no Markdown export or dropped the notes.
Every app handled the 1,200-word test note without slowing down. The difference is where the note goes. MindMap AI, TheBrain, Ayoa, GitMind, Creately and MindMup render it in a side panel. Xmind, Mindomo and MindMeister use a popup. Freeplane renders it on the canvas, which makes a long note unusable. MindMap AI has no note length limit at all.
In TheBrain and Freeplane, yes, search finds the exact text. Mindomo and MindMeister find the node that holds the note, which is enough to get you there. Xmind, Ayoa, Creately and SimpleMind search node text only, and GitMind has no search. MindMap AI does not search note text yet. It is on our roadmap.
Usually not. Xmind, Mindomo, MindMup and SimpleMind put file attachments on paid tiers, and MindMeister allows two per map on its first paid plan. TheBrain's free app supports unlimited local notes and attachments (cloud storage is what is capped, at 100 MB), and Freeplane supports them at no cost. MindMap AI attaches images to nodes on the free plan, but not other file types.
Over a long enough horizon, yes. SimpleMind's $29.99 single-platform licence costs less than a year of most subscriptions here. The trade-off is a five-element note editor, no Markdown export, no note search, no AI, no collaboration and no web app. Freeplane costs nothing at all, if you can live with its interface.
Yes, in a few apps. MindMap AI's chat writes and edits the note on a node, and can build one from a PDF, document, audio or web page. TheBrain's Cerebro AI generates thoughts and notes inside an existing brain. Ayoa's importers generate AI summaries into notes from an uploaded document. GitMind and Xmind summarise sources into map structure rather than into notes. Treat every output as a first draft.
Mindomo or MindMap AI. Both render a full document behind each source node. Pick Mindomo if you need to search across notes and export to Word today. Pick MindMap AI if your notes include tables or equations, if you want the AI to draft a note from the source PDF, or if you want unlimited maps on the free plan. Pick TheBrain if the review will grow into thousands of notes.
Use a mind mapping app when the structure is the thinking: you move branches around, and the notes hang off them. Use a note app with a graph view when the writing is the thinking and the map is a way to browse it. If you already write in Markdown and want both, MindMap AI's Markdown notes and Markdown export keep your text portable, following the same plain-text idea behind Markdown itself.
