MindMeister
The collaborative mind-mapping classic — real-time co-editing in the browser, free for up to 3 maps.
About
MindMeister launched in 2007 from MeisterLabs in Germany, making it one of the first mind mappers built for the browser rather than the desktop. The provider claims more than 40 million users worldwide (provider-claimed). The free tier covers 3 mind maps with unlimited collaborators, comments, and the one-click presentation mode that turns a map into a slideshow. Paid tiers are priced in euros on the official page: Personal €6.50, Pro €10.50, and Business €15.50 per user/month on annual billing, unlocking unlimited maps, attachments, exports, custom branding, and integrations including Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, and the sister app MeisterTask, which converts map nodes directly into task cards.
Honest limits: maps are radial-layout only, so fishbone or matrix views are out; file exports and private maps sit behind paid plans; and there is no desktop app. No published performance benchmarks found.
What it can do
- Real-time co-editing with comments, @mentions, and voting
- One-click presentation mode that converts maps to slideshows
- MeisterTask integration: turn map nodes into task cards
- Unlimited collaborators even on the free tier
- Attachments, icons, styles, and map themes
- Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, and Google Workspace integrations (paid tiers)
- Export to PDF, image, Word, and PowerPoint (paid tiers)
Setup
Create a free account on the website and start mapping in the browser — nothing to install.
Prerequisites
A modern browser and an account to save maps; iOS/Android apps sync to the same account.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 9/10
Scored 9/10 (VERIFIED tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: official pricing and free-tier terms confirmed across six independent 2026 sources (toolradar, work-management.org, frontdeskreview, saasworthy, clickup, guideflow) with consistent figures; 2007 launch and 40M+ user claim per provider. Strengths: the reference collaborative mind mapper, near-zero learning curve, unlimited collaborators even on free, one-click presentation mode, brainstorm-to-task handoff via MeisterTask. Docked for: (1) paid pricing published in EUR only on the official page with regional variance; (2) exports, private maps, and attachments paywalled; no desktop app; radial layouts only. License: proprietary SaaS, freemium.
How the trust score is built
Full methodology →- Adoption · stars/downloads, log-scaled vs peers
- 10.0/10
- Maintenance · recency, releases, issue load
- 9.0/10
- Openness · license + docs
- 3.0/10
- Manual review · sanity read + red-flag check
- 9.0/10
- · 2007 launch by MeisterLabs (Germany); provider claims 40M+ users.
- · Free: 3 maps, unlimited collaborators; Personal €6.50 / Pro €10.50 / Business €15.50 per user/mo (annual, EUR).
- · Exports, private maps, and attachments paywalled; radial layouts only; no desktop app.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.