
I’m a big fan of mind mapping for research and writing, but I was having a hard time finding an app which worked well for family history and writing. That quest resulted in an in-depth comparison of mind mapping software.
Note: A 2025 update of my comparison of mind mapping apps is available. Read 6 Mind Mapping Apps for Writers and Family History Storytellers.
If you’re not familiar with them, mind maps are visual thinking tools which represent in a graphic format. Kind of like brainstorms on steroids. Traditionally, a central idea is surrounded by “branches” of associated topics.
Mind maps help you see relationships between thoughts and ideas. That’s why they are so helpful in research.
In writing, they can help you determine themes, structures, and connections. You can assess the facts you already have and the context you’re missing. And you can develop ideas on how that context likely affected individuals in the past.
Advantages of mind mapping software versus pen and paper
If you’re like me, your mind maps sometimes run off the paper. Or you pick up the wrong color pen and you end up retracing everything. That doesn’t happen with software.You don’t end up starting over time after time when you change your mind. And they look nicer on your blog or presentation.
In addition, in Best mind map software of 2019, Ben Aston points out the importance of collaboration. Depending on the app you choose, you can have co-creators working on a mind map with you.
Mind mapping Software Comparison
When I was researching a long list of mind mapping software, I used the same premise for a handwritten mind map I’d started multiple times. Though there are many other products on the market, after making a lot of sample mind maps, I narrowed down the list for writers and family storytellers to MindMup, Coggle, MindMeister, Wisemapping, and Scapple.
Coggle Features and Pricing
Vendor website: https://coggle.it/plans

Pros
- Every change saved in real time, unlimited history to go back to earlier version of your maps
- Has 1600 icons for users
- Allows unconnected comments, chats, and texts
Cons
- Uses keyboard shortcuts rather than menu with icons, which makes interface less intuitive
- Coggle auto-arranges branches which makes it harder to fine-tune

Other Info
- Browser-based
Coggle Free Forever
- 3 private diagrams
- Unlimited public diagrams
- Real-time colloboration
- Over 1600 icons
- Unlimited image uploads
- Export as pdf, image, .mm, text, Visio
Coggle Awesome
- Unlmited private maps
- Additional shapes, text alignment
- Control line style and paths
- High-res image uploads
Coggle Organization
- Everything from Awesome plan
- User and data mangement
- Individual user workspaces
- Branded designs
MindMeister Features and Pricing
Vendor website: https://www.mindmeister.com/mind-map-pricing

Pros
- Intutitive interface
- Symbols and icons easy to use and add dimension to maps
Cons
- Not easy to customize node colors
- Free version only allows export as text outline (or take a screenshot)

Other Info
- Browser-based
- Also has a Business plan for large organizations
MindMeister Basic
Free- Up to 3 maps
- Real-time colloboration
- Email support
MindMeister Personal
- Unlmited mind maps
- File and image attachments
- Image or pdf export
MindMeister Pro
- User and data mangement
- Individual user workspaces
- G Suite integration
- Custom features
- Export as PDF, PowerPoint, or Word
WiseMapping Features and Pricing
Vendor website: https://wisemapping.com

Pros
- Intutitive interface with menu
as well as short-cuts - Easy to change colors and borders of nodes
- Branches taper towards nodes, giving appealing tree-effect
- Open sourced software is Free
Cons
- Branches auto-arrange in free version making it difficult to re-shape your map

Other Info
- Browser-based
Wisemapping Individual
Free- All features
Business or Education
- Dowload for organizational servers
- Organization responsible for backups and user credentials
MindMup Features and Pricing
Vendor website: https://www.mindmeister.com/mind-map-pricing

Pros
- Intuitve, easy to move things around, change color and font sizes.
- Attach files and notes to nodules of the map
- Download will export to image or pdf files, even outline if the map has annotated content
- Create an embed code to use mind maps on your website or blog.
Cons
- Lack of registration means it can be hard to find published maps
- Downloading as image is a multi-step process
- If you have multiple Google accounts, emailing can be awkward

Other Info
- Curvey or straight-line options
- Publish feature is for sharing mind maps on social media or embedding on blogs
- Web-based
MindMup Cloud
- Save maps under 100 kb to mind MindMup for 6 months
- Save larger maps to Google Drive
- No registration required
MindMup Gold
- Unlmited maps
- Collaborate with other Gold users
- Save large maps
- Email support
Scapple Features and Pricing
Vendor website: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scapple/overview

Pros
- Very intutitive interface
, simply double click to add a note - Software, not a subcription
- Can
be used off-line Completely free -form
Cons
- No collaboration
- Not many advanced features
- Not quite as asthetically pleasing as Coogle (in author’s opinion)

Other Info
- Designed for writers
- Straight line connectors
- Available for Windows and Mac
Scapple Free Trial
Free- Exactly same as full version
- Trial lasts 30 days – “If you use it only two days a week, the trial lasts 15 weeks.”
Scapple Purchase
- Download from Literatureandlatte.com
- Discount for educational license
Recommendations
Look at the screengrabs from my projects and see if a particular mindmapping software appeals to you. If it does, try it out.
For the money, Wisemapping and Scapple win. Because I often work in places without readily available WiFi, Scapple will be my software of choice, but I love Coggle’s looks, so I’ll probably use that for creating mind maps for presentations.
Your Turn
Do you use a mindmapping software? Which one did you choose? Is there one you’d like to investigate?
Although I’m a big fan of mindmapping and have used it in many projects over the years, I have never considered it a tool for genealogy. Thank you Laura. I really enjoyed your eye opening Blog.
Thanks for that compliment Mary. If you Google around, you’ll see how people use them to break brick walls, identify FAN clubs, etc. Good luck!
These sound good for collaboration, but for solo work I still prefer doing quick mind maps by hand. Hand to paper taps different, intuitive parts of the brain. I tried Coggle, but found myself returning to the clustering technique from Gabriele Lusser Rico’s “Writing the Natural Way.” I use it when I get stuck on a blog post, or other writing, to free things up and make the writing come alive.
I even use them for fiction to figure out what conflicts my characters are facing. Honestly, for a lot of them, pen and paper is all I need. It’s the complicated ones that make me move to the mind maps.
I never quite saw the point of mind-mapping, though I know someone who would never have finished his thesis without it.
I think it works best for visual learners and processors. Plus, my brain is very distracted and cluttered, so I need help. Other people may get that clarity in others ways.
I love mind mapping on paper but find sometimes it does get complicated. Will check this out. Great pist. #geneabloggers Sharing
That’s what I thought until I found some of these apps. I love the creativity of my 18 colored pens (not exaggerating) but when I start over for the 3rd time, I go to an app.
iThoughts is amazing. I’m really surprised you didn’t include it in your review.
I was looking at desktop apps, but I’ll look into that. Thank you for the recommendation.
I have never thought of using a mind mapping app before! Thank you for all this hard work. Now to chose one.
Thanks Valerie!
I have used coggle quite successfully for pushing research further for one ancestor – my grandfather. You can see it here https://familytreefrog.blogspot.com/2015/03/resolution-check.html I like seeing the other versions though and different ideas in terms of branches to explore. I was just seeing what primary and secondary sources I could explore but I like the idea of exploring different subjects e.g. religion. I will bookmark this and test other mind mapping sites to see what I like best. Thanks for the heads up.
I’d love to hear what you figure out.
Nice comparisons. Thanks for checking these out. I am using Scapple. And sometimes paper and pen. I don’t think it would be worth it to me to pay more but someday there might be a new feature that attracts me.
I LIKE the way you think, Laura! This is great.
Ha! Some of these mind maps reveal a scary landscape inside Laura’s head.
I LIKE the article and, the way you present it, Laura! This is nice.
I have also write on mind mapping softwares and, how/ why to use them?
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Laura,
I just read your article. It made me want to introduce you Stemic, a concept maps tool
https://stemic.app
You will see, we are a bit different of traditional mindmap tools: we do not use the tree-like form but rather the networked one, we allow to name the relations between the objects as well as to structure the vocabulary used via categories and properties, etc.
I am the tool’s designer and your feedback would be precious to me. Do not hesitate to try it, it’s free.
We would love to be on your list of mindmaps to discover.
Thanks
Perrine
Thank you, I’ll look into it.