MindMeister vs Xmind

by Gralio Apr 29, 2025

MindMeister and Xmind both offer robust mind mapping and collaboration, but cater to slightly different needs. MindMeister is strong for purely online teams integrated with specific tools like MeisterTask or Google Workspace. Xmind provides greater flexibility with cross-platform desktop apps, more advanced mapping features including AI, and potentially better perceived value due to clearer pricing structures and richer features.

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This comparison was created by analysing 485 reviews and 60 websites, saving 3 hours, 11 minutes of reading.

Logo of MindMeister
Logo of Xmind

About

MindMeister is online mind mapping software that lets you brainstorm and organize ideas visually, turning them into colorful diagrams. It's used for project planning, brainstorming sessions, and creating presentations. You can collaborate with your team in real-time, adding comments and attachments like links and images. MindMeister also integrates with MeisterTask, a task management tool, to help you put your plans into action. You can access MindMeister on any device through their website or mobile app.
Xmind is a mind mapping software designed for individuals and teams of all sizes. It offers tools for brainstorming, organizing ideas, planning projects, and creating presentations. Xmind provides a range of features, including AI-powered idea generation, real-time collaboration, various export options, and customizable design elements. It's available on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and web. Xmind offers a free plan with paid options for additional features.

Summary

Main difference
MindMeister excels in seamless online collaboration and specific workflow integrations, particularly with MeisterTask. Xmind offers broader platform support, including strong desktop apps, and a wider array of advanced mapping features like AI and diverse structural layouts.

Relative strengths of MindMeister (compared to Xmind)

  • MindMeister offers tighter integration with specific tools like MeisterTask, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Teams, beneficial for teams heavily using these platforms.

  • MindMeister provides a focused online collaboration experience, ideal for teams who primarily work within a web browser.

  • MindMeister includes specific viewing options like Focus Mode and Outline Mode, which help users manage and navigate large or complex mind maps effectively.

Relative weaknesses of MindMeister (compared to Xmind)

  • MindMeister has limited platform availability compared to Xmind, lacking dedicated desktop applications for Windows, macOS, and Linux, which Xmind offers.

  • MindMeister possesses fewer advanced mapping features; Xmind provides a richer toolkit with AI capabilities, more unique structures (like Grid, Brace Map), and structure combination options.

  • MindMeister faces negative sentiment regarding pricing transparency and value, along with reports of slow customer service, potentially making Xmind a better value proposition for budget-conscious teams seeking clear pricing.

Who should use MindMeister VS. Xmind

We find MindMeister is a great tool for teams and individuals who need to brainstorm and organize ideas visually. Users really appreciate how intuitive it is and how easy it makes real-time collaboration for things like project planning or meeting notes. While it works for many, it seems especially helpful for turning messy brainstorms into clear, actionable plans, particularly when used alongside MeisterTask

Xmind helps individuals and teams visualize and organize their thoughts. We've seen it work well for brainstorming, planning projects, and even creating presentations. Users often praise its intuitive interface and collaboration tools, making it easy to work together across different devices. While some find the free version limited, the paid plans offer more robust features for those needing advanced capabilities. It's a solid choice for turning ideas into structured plans.

  • In our experience, MindMeister works well for individuals and teams of any size, proving particularly effective for small to medium businesses.

  • We've seen MindMeister successfully used across many different industries, making it a versatile choice for visual planning and brainstorming.

  • In our experience, Xmind is a great fit for small and medium businesses, but it scales effectively for large enterprise teams too.

  • We find Xmind is particularly useful for Software & IT companies, but its flexible mind mapping tools are beneficial across most industries.

MindMeister and Xmind features

Supported
Partially supported
Not supported
Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

  • Custom Styles
    Supported

    MindMeister offers extensive style customization for individual elements and pre-made themes.

    Supported

    Xmind allows users to customize colors, themes, text styles, and illustrations.

  • Focus Mode
    Supported

    MindMeister offers Focus Mode to hide UI elements and highlight selected topics.

    Supported

    Xmind has Zen Mode which declutters the workspace for better focus.

  • Combined diagram structures
    Partially supported

    MindMeister allows combining org chart and list layouts within the same mind map.

    Supported

    Xmind allows combining multiple structures like fishbone and matrix on the same branch.

  • Mind maps
    Supported

    MindMeister offers various customizable mind map templates for different use cases.

    Supported

    Xmind offers various templates for mind mapping, including brainstorming and presentation templates.

  • Flowcharts
    Not supported

    Flowcharts are not supported.

    Supported

    Xmind supports creating flowcharts, as confirmed by their official blog and tutorials.

  • Real-time collaboration
    Supported

    Team members can simultaneously edit diagrams in MindMeister.

    Supported

    Xmind supports real-time collaboration for mind map editing.

Qualities

  • Value and Pricing Transparency
    -1
    Strongly negative sentiment
    No data
  • Ease of Use
    No data
    +0.5
    Rather positive sentiment

MindMeister and Xmind Pricing

No data

User sentiment

Strongly negative
-1

See full Pricing page

Xmind offers individual and team plans with monthly and annual billing options. The individual plans include Free, Pro, and Premium, while the team plans consist of Free, Business, and Enterprise. AI credits are available for AI-powered features, and users can upgrade or downgrade their plan at any time.
Plans

See full Pricing page

MindMeister and Xmind review insights

485 reviews analysed from and

Users love

  • Easy to use and intuitive interface
  • Real-time collaboration features enhance teamwork
  • Excellent for brainstorming and organizing ideas visually
  • Integrates well with MeisterTask for task management
  • Variety of templates available for different use cases
  • Intuitive and user-friendly interface.
  • Real-time collaboration features.
  • Cross-platform compatibility.
  • Variety of export options.
  • Customizable design elements and templates.

Users dislike

  • Limited export options in the free version
  • Limited customization options for map layouts
  • Mobile app functionality could be improved
  • Occasional syncing issues and performance lags
  • Customer service response times can be slow
  • Limited icons and no easy way to add more.
  • Free version lacks essential features.
  • Slow loading times and occasional freezing.
  • Suboptimal arrangement of shapes, requiring manual reorganization.
  • Mac version lacks smooth scrolling.

MindMeister and Xmind Ratings

  • G2
    4.2/5
    (32)
  • Capterra
    4.6/5
    (285)
  • Glassdoor
    4.0/5
    (21)
  • G2
    4.3/5
    (52)
  • Capterra
    4.5/5
    (116)

Company health

Employee growth

2% decrease in the last year
8% increase in the last year

Web traffic

9% decrease in the last quarter
1% increase in the last quarter

Financing

January 2021 - $52M
No data

How user-friendly is each product's mobile app experience?

Based on user feedback, MindMeister's mobile app experience could be improved, as users specifically mention this as a point of dislike. Xmind offers mobile apps for iOS and Android as part of its cross-platform availability, however, the provided information does not contain specific user commentary on the friendliness or usability of its mobile app experience.

Which product offers better integration with existing productivity tools?

Based on the provided information, MindMeister offers better integration with existing productivity tools. It explicitly mentions integrations with major platforms like Google Workspace and Microsoft Teams, in addition to its companion product, MeisterTask. Xmind's description does not highlight specific integrations with similar external productivity suites.

What are the advantages of MindMeister?

MindMeister excels with its easy-to-use and intuitive interface, making it highly effective for visual brainstorming and organizing ideas. Its real-time collaboration features, including comments and notifications, enhance teamwork. Specific advantages include a Focus Mode to concentrate on map sections, the ability to use Mixed Map Layouts within a single map, and an Outline Mode for viewing ideas linearly. Furthermore, MindMeister integrates with key platforms like MeisterTask, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Teams, and offers a variety of templates.

What are the disadvantages of MindMeister?

Based on user feedback and product information, MindMeister's disadvantages include limited export options in its free version and restricted customization for map layouts. Users also report that the mobile app functionality could be improved, and occasional syncing issues or performance lags can occur. Additionally, customer service response times have been noted as slow, and there is a negative sentiment regarding its pricing and value transparency.

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Page co-authored by
MK
Michal Kaczor
CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

TT
Tymon Terlikiewicz
CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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