Best Mind Mapping Software For Mac 2016
What Is Mind Mapping Software?
There are many very good options for mind mapping software to help you capture and organize your ideas, but we think that MindNode is the best for most people because it has a beautiful design, is easy to use, supports very reliable iCloud sync, and there are just enough import/export options to be.
- For a more up to date list, check out our more recent Hive Five on the best mind mapping applications. Five Best Mind Mapping Tools Mind mapping is a great way to brainstorm, make a plan, or turn.
- Is an easy to use Mind Map application for Windows and won a Swiss App Award and Best of Swiss Apps Bronze. You can use M8! For your thoughts, ideas, for taking notes, for your studies or as an organizer for your business tasks.
- Combined with a streamlined Mac-friendly interface and the industry's best Microsoft Office integration available for mind mapping software, MindView Mac guarantees a clear understanding of ideas and increases ROI for mind mapping users.
If your teams and key creative workers are getting bogged down by an increasing workload of rote tasks or maybe simply swamped by too much information in this new world of interconnected big data, then mind mapping software might be able to help. These solutions focus on helping workers ideate, innovate, and even eventually execute.
This review roundup focuses on leading mind mapping software solutions in overlapping subcategories. None of the products in this category are name brands but most of them have impressive customer lists. At the low end, applications cost just a few dollars per user, and those costs extend to several hundred dollars for enterprise-worthy versions.
Two products, Bloomfire and Front & Main Honey, emphasize social aspects of traditional knowledge management approaches. Both products have a similar user experience (UX) to those of Facebook and Reddit. You could think of these as social intranets in other words. Their general use involves posting a series of online surveys, questions, or suggestions for colleagues' consideration. Colleagues, in turn, post answers and comments. Anyone can search for past discussion topics, and there's typically a way to 'like' and share the most useful threads.
For example, a product engineer could post an early draft of your company's latest widget to get department-wide feedback. A saleswoman could answer negotiation questions posed by junior staff or the entire team could have a discussion about their upcoming holiday party. Traditionally, such activities would happen by email or, at best, by using an intranet message board (if not physical memos). Modern software makes these collaboration tasks easier.
Bloomfire has some integration with Salesforce Chatter. But we think the general opportunity for Bloomfire, Front & Main Honey, or similar products is limited to the extent that tech giants such as Facebook fail to make headway in selling private installations to businesses.
Three other products—Mindjet MindManager 2016 for Windows, Expert Software Applications Mindomo, and XMind—are designed with mind mapping as their main function. Such apps are a mixture of flow charting and project management tools. Among these three, XMind stands out for being based on an open-source platform. Take the same scenarios as stated earlier. Rather than just discussing company ideas in a social environment (perhaps with kludged diagrams), the mind mapping tools let colleagues consider every detail of a plan in a very formal way. They aren't nearly as fun but their structure is more appropriate for conservative corporations—which is to say, most offices, even if the social products are sexier.
Expert Software Applications Mindomo is the Editors' Choice winner in this review roundup. It has all of the same basic features as XMind and Mindjet MindManager 2016 for Windows, but also includes a basic level of social networking. It's pricey but not to an extent that would intimidate many organizations. Hitler wears hermes 4 download. Plus, it can ease a business into a more social decision-making mindset.
The Mind Mapping Concept
Image credit: tonybuzan.com
Mind mapping is simply a visual way to convey your thoughts and ideas. As a concept, mind mapping is widely attributed to inventor Tony Buzan who believes they are the best way to take notes. Buzan says a mind map 'harnesses the full range of cortical skills—word, image, number, logic, rhythm, color and spatial awareness—in a single, uniquely powerful manner.' In the book, The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential,' co-author Buzan describes mind maps as 'being constructed in a colorful, tree-like fashion.'
And in his article on mind maps, PCMag's Rob Marvin explains mind mapping as a 'visual means of organizing information, typically through a web-like diagram,' and describes ways in which project managers can use mind maps to visualize every moving part of their project workflow.
Ideas for Improvement
We have a few suggestions for how mind mapping products could be more even more useful; these suggestions center around adding artificial intelligence (AI) and wiki integration and beefing up security. In the social-first services, we think an interesting addition would be AI software that scans users' browsing, customer relationship management (CRM), email, and database activities to automatically suggest when useful information should be captured.
Because these products are all intended to help manage your team members' big ideas, we think they should include tools for integrating with a wiki. Other than the Bloomfire/Salesforce.com partnership, these products don't yet work deeply with CRM software and human resources (HR) products.
And, other than normal cloud service log-ins and a way to password-protect various tidbits here and there, none of the apps focus heavily on security. Some businesses may be leery of buying a product specifically to hold their employees' best ideas unless there are extremely strong security pitches. There should be an option for marking content as only accessible when you touch your device's fingerprint sensor. That way, even if you lose your phone when it's in an unlocked mode, the person who finds it still cannot access your company's best ideas.
Still, any of the mind mapping software solutions in this review roundup will be helpful to your business as they currently stand. Giving employees a structured way to record and share their ideas with each other solves the problem of good ideas being lost to cliques and unproductive meetings or at the proverbial water cooler.
Products such as Front & Main Honey have an extremely low barrier to entry, XMind has impressive developer tools (and can be improved by letting your programmers run wild with its open-source code base), and Expert Software Applications Mindomo represents the beginning of what could be, as the subcategories of social intranets and mind mapping software discover each other. Bloomfire is a powerful cloud app, and Mindjet MindManager 2016 for Windows has strong Microsoft Office integration. The field decidedly lacks an app that does all of these things very well, but it will be interesting to check back in 12 months to see where things stand.
Featured Mind Mapping Software Reviews:
Expert Software Applications Mindomo Review
MSRP: $36.00Pros: Social and mapping features combined, not just one or the other.
Cons: Six-month licensing.
Bottom Line: Mind mapping software solution Expert Software Applications Mindomo is the Editors' Choice winner for its Comments feature that strengthens its social prowess and mind-mapping power.
Read ReviewBloomfire Review
MSRP: $9.00Pros: Gamification incentives. Strong analytics.
Cons: Limited enterprise integration.
Bottom Line: Mind mapping software solution Bloomfire is a good choice for visual-centric teams that need performance analytics.
Read ReviewIdeaflip Review
MSRP: $16.00Pros: Appealing, easy-to-use user interface (UI). Easy to collaborate. Guests invited by paid members can access boards for free.
Cons: No analytics.
Bottom Line: Ideaflip is a great mind mapping tool for capturing ideas and building mind maps, though it lacks analytics tools that some teams may require.
Read ReviewCorso Innovation Management Review
MSRP: $3.00Pros: Integrates ideas with your company's roadmap. Can set up challenges and mind maps.
Cons: Some learning curve involved.
Bottom Line: Corso Innovation Management mind mapping software offers features to manage all of your business processes including idea generation, but it's not the easiest to use.
Read ReviewMindjet MindManager 2016 for Windows Review
MSRP: $349.00Pros: Microsoft Office integration.
Cons: Built-in spreadsheet and browser are intriguing, but probably not necessary for most users.
Bottom Line: Mind mapping software solution Mindjet MindManager 2016 for Windows is a solid idea management and mind mapping performer.
Read ReviewDatastation Innovation Cloud Review
MSRP: $28.39Pros: Uncluttered user interface (UI). Lots of reports. Phone support available. Most features are customizable.
Cons: Separate websites and separate targets for regular and enterprise plans is a bit confusing;
Bottom Line: Datastation Innovation Cloud simplifies the process of collecting ideas from employees, but if you're looking for mind-mapping software, you'll have to look elsewhere.
Read ReviewiMindQ Review
MSRP: $9.19Pros: PC- and Mac-compatible. Free online version.
Cons: Collaboration only available via Microsoft SharePoint. Dated user interface (UI).
Bottom Line: iMindQ is easy to use and includes a lot of great brainstorming tools, but its collaboration features are limited.
Read ReviewXMind Review
MSRP: $79.00Pros: Good features for developers. Evernote integration. Portable installation.
Cons: Not the speediest application.
Bottom Line: Idea management software solution XMind is a good idea mapping application if your IT team can tweak it as needed.
Read ReviewFront & Main Honey Review
MSRP: $4.00Pros: Very low cost. Easy to use and learn. Alternate email interface.
Cons: Limited feature set.
Bottom Line: Idea management software solution Front & Main Honey is a useful service for small to midsize businesses (SMBs) and organizations that want a low barrier to entry.
Read ReviewIdearium Review
MSRP: $214.64Pros: Lots of plans. Helpful onboarding walkthrough.
Cons: No phone number. No response from email support. Pricey.
Bottom Line: Idearium is a decent product with a variety of plans from which to choose, but it's rather pricey, especially considering the company is unresponsive to contact attempts.
Read Review
Bill Gates mind-maps. So do Jack Canfield, Deepak Chopra, and Al Gore. Leonardo da Vinci was the most famous mind-mapper of all, his visual style of note taking immortalized in his notebooks.
Mind mapping is a technique for visualizing and developing ideas. Unlike linear note taking, mind mapping mimics the way our brain radiates ideas and connects them through natural associations. That makes them ideal for brainstorming, planning complex projects, and writing everything from business plans to novel plots.
Mind maps always start with a central concept, represented by an image or text, in the middle of the map. As you begin to free associate, you build branches out from this main node, then branch off of those ideas, and so on.
In the pre-digital world, you had to do this on paper with colored pencils. Guardians of the galaxy album download. But today there a many fantastic computer and web apps that do the heavy lifting for you. Here are four of our favorites.
MindMeister
MindMeister is one of the most popular mind-mapping tools. Building a mind map in this browser-based app is as simple as entering your central concept then hitting Tab to create each branch. You can choose from a selection of prefab map themes or customize your own with a range of color and formatting options. All your maps are securely stored in the cloud. MindMeister also features a presentation mode that transforms your finished maps into slideshows you can post or broadcast live online.
While you can easily use MindMeister for personal brainstorming, its strongest appeal is its set of collaboration features. You can share your mind maps with internal or external collaborators, exchange feedback, assign tasks to team members, and chat in real time right in the map editor. MindMeister also integrates with Google Hangouts so you and others can brainstorm together during video conferences.
MindMeister offers three tiered plans: Personal for $6 per user/per month, Pro for $10 per user/per month, and Business for $15 per user/per month. There are also free apps for iOS and Android that let you view, edit, and present your maps.
Coggle
Coggle is another browser-based mind-map tool, and all you need is your Google login to get started. You’re presented with a blank white screen with a field for your central idea at the center. To enter your first subtopic, you just click one of the the plus signs that appears when you hover your mouse over your this node. Continue in this way to build more branches. You can move any individual branch or your entire map by clicking and dragging it.
Coggle offers a full slate of collaborative tools, too, including sharing, versioning, commenting, and edit tracking. You can also chat with collaborators inside the workspace. Paid versions add presentation mode and the ability to drag-and-drop images from your desktop, among other features.
You can get Coggle in three flavors: Free, Awesome for $5 per month, and Organization—which adds more business security features—for $8 per user/per month.
MindNode 2
MindNode 2 brings powerful mind mapping to Mac users. As with the above tools, Mind Node 2 presents you with a central node for your main idea, and you add sub-nodes by clicking the appropriate plus sign. Individual and connected nodes can be dragged and dropped around the workspace.
One of MindNode 2’s unique features is Notes Popover, which allows you to add more details to a pop-up notes field attached to each node. You can also detach these notes and move them anywhere on your screen if you want them open and accessible.
Among MindNode’s other features are the ability to upload images to your map from your Mac, an outline view that displays your map in a more conventional hierarchy, and plenty of formatting and color options to make your maps more visually appealing. You can share your maps by exporting them to one of several file formats, including image, text, PDF, and OPML.
You can get MindNode2 in the Mac app store for $30. The iOS app for iPhone and iPad is free.
Text 2 Mind Map
When the ideas come fast and furious, you don’t want to bother with a lot of formatting and styling. Text 2 Mind Map is the perfect tool for these situations—it builds the mind map so you don’t have to.
You just outline your text into this browser-based tool and it will take your hierarchical points and transform them into a full-color mind map. Once the map is created, you can drag and reposition nodes or the whole map within the workspace. Text 2 Mind Map offers limited options for formatting text and colors, but mostly keeps things no-nonsense. When your map is done, you can save it to the cloud or download it to your computer.
Mind Mapping Software For Mac
Text 2 Mind Map is free to use, but you get more perks—and can save more maps—if you opt for one of the paid accounts: Mini for $5 per month; Standard for $9 per month; and Pro, which also uses industry-grad encryption, for $11 per month.
Best Mac Mind Mapping Software
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