There is enterprise-level software for surveying Wi-Fi networks, but even in large wireless networks, simple freeware tools are handy for a quick peek at the airwaves during design, deployment or troubleshooting.

Here is a look at eight free tools – some for Windows and some for Mac OS X – that provide basic details about nearby Wi-Fi signals: SSIDs, signal strength, channels, MAC addresses and security status. Some can even reveal “hidden” or non-broadcasted SSIDs, display the noise levels, or display statistics on successful and failed packets of your wireless connection. One of them includes Wi-Fi password-cracking tools that are useful for educational or penetration testing purposes.

Most of these tools are the free versions of for-pay tools made by the same vendors, and lack some of the features included in the commercial versions.

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Acrylic Wi-Fi Home 3.1 (Windows)

Tarlogic Security offers Acrylic Wi-Fi Home, a Wi-Fi stumbler that is a scaled down version of their commercial offering. The 3.1 version looked at here offers some great wireless details and graphs.

The free edition has a simple but attractive GUI. You always see the list of SSIDs and their details on the top portion of the application. It shows negative dBm values for RSSI, can name the 802.11 standard (including 802.11ac), recognizes larger bandwidths and displays the multiple channels that are utilized. It does not reveal the actual hidden SSIDs, but does show the other network details of hidden SSIDs.

The application has an inventory feature to assign and save names of detected SSIDs and/or clients. The free edition has a five-entry limit.

By default, the bottom portion of the application shows the network ratings of the selected SSID, and one graph showing each SSID’s signal strength. Though a bit hidden, there’s an advanced mode that displays two additional graphs, one for 2.4GHz and one for 5GHz. Is displays channel usage, including channel-bonding, and signal strength at the same time.

For exporting or saving the captured data, the application is limited to copying up to one row of data to the clipboard and pasting the plain text into a text document or spreadsheet. There’s also a Tweet feature to post a screenshot to Twitter.

Overall, Acrylic Wi-Fi Home Free is a solid Wi-Fi stumbler given that it costs nothing. It displays both textual and graphical details, which is great for simple Wi-Fi surveying needs. It would be nice if they offered better data exporting, however.

Cain & Abel (Windows)

Cain & Abel is a multi-purpose password recovery and cracking application that also features Wi-Fi stumbling, sniffing and cracking tools. Like Acrylic WiFi, it also has a monitor or promiscuous mode to capture more traffic.

Its GUI has an older, simplistic look and feel. It has an old-style toolbar on the top with icons to bring up different utilities. The main portion of the application is tabbed; clicking the tabs shows the different utilities.

The Wireless tab is where the Wi-Fi stumbler resides. In addition to the typical SSID and signal info, it shows a list of and details for the connected clients. For SSIDs and clients the stumbler provides numbers of certain packets detected: all packets, unique WEP IVs and ARP requests. Like Acrylic WiFi, any hidden SSIDs discovered from packets are revealed in the GUI as well. Most of status and data captured can be exported into a simple text file.

Due to lacking graphs and inability to distinguish 802.11ac APs and larger channel-widths, Cain & Abel might not be a great choice for general Wi-Fi stumbling and surveying. But it certainly would be useful when performing penetration testing.

Ekahau HeatMapper (Windows)

Ekahau HeatMapper is a free map-based site survey tool for home-use, a slimmed down version of their professional product. It shows similar network details as a Wi-Fi stumbler, but also generates a heatmap of the Wi-Fi so you can visualize the signal levels. Version 1.1.4 is reviewed here.

The app offers the option to create a floorplan or layout of the building being surveyed or a grid layout for a rough guideline.

The left side of the main screen displays a listing of the SSIDs and their details that is sortable by signal, channel, SSID, MAC address and security method. It includes the main network details, but lacks the signal levels in dBm and percentage values. It only shows signal bars on the list. The app shows 802.11ac networks as 802.11n.

Like other map-based survey tools, you click your location on the map as you walk around the building so it can generate the heatmap. It will automatically estimate access point (AP) locations and place them onto the map. After it captures some data, hovering over the AP icons shows their individual coverages. When hovering over the heatmap areas, it shows a tooltip pop-up with the signal level range in negative dBm values. The only export or saving functionality of the app is taking a simple screenshot of the heatmap.

We found Ekahau HeatMapper to be a very simplistic map-based Wi-Fi survey tool. Though it lacks any advanced features, it could be used for small networks or to give an idea of how these map-based tools work.

Homedale (Windows)

Homedale is a relatively simple and portable Windows-based stumbler with an optional command-line interface. Other than showing basic network and signal details, it supports GPS and other geolocation detection. This is a review of version 1.7.

This utility has a simple GUI that resembles more of a multi-tabbed dialog box than a full application. The first tab, Adapter Overview, displays a listing of all the network adapters and their IP gateway and MAC addresses.

The Access Points tab shows many essential details. It doesn’t display the 802.11 standard of each SSID, but it does show the supported data rates and the multiple channels used by any SSIDs with larger channel-widths. Additionally, it does not reveal the actual hidden SSIDs, but does show the other network details of hidden SSIDs. One feature we liked allows saving notes to individual SSIDs, which are then included in any data exports.

The Access Point Signal Graph tab shows a line graph of the signal levels for each SSID selected. The Frequency Usage tab displays channel visualizations for the 2.4GHz band and each sub-set of the 5GHz band. They do the job of showing channel usage (including channel-bonding) and signal strength, but it would be nice if they had a single view of the entire 5GHz band instead of dividing it into four different graphs.

For a free application, Homedale offers great exporting capabilities. It supports saving the network list as a CSV, logging networks from every scan (useful if moving while scanning), and saving an image of each graph.

Although the GUI is very simple, Homedale provides some advanced functionality. We were impressed with its exporting, logging and location-aware features.

LizardSystems Wi-Fi Scanner (Windows)

LizardSystems offers a free edition of their Wi-Fi Scanner application for non-commercial use, which has the same features and functionality as their paid product. This is a review of version 3.4. In addition to the Wi-Fi stumbling, it offers some great analysis and reporting capabilities.

The application has a modern-looking GUI that’s easy to get around and understand. On the Scanner tab is a list of detected SSIDs. Along with the typical details, it shows signal strength in both negative dBm values and percentages. It even shows the number of clients connected to each SSID. Along with specifying the 802.11 standards, it shows the multiple channels used by any SSIDs with larger channel-widths.

You can use a list on the left to filter the SSIDs shown based upon the signal level, 802.11 standard, security method and frequency band. On the bottom of the Scanner tab, you can flip between several graphs. In addition to the typical signal level and channel usage graphs, there are visualizations for the data rates, channel utilization and the number of clients. The Network Details on the bottom shows details of the current connection. The Advanced Details tab shows details down to raw packets.

The Current Connection tab displays more details about the current wireless connection. It enables accessing and managing the list of wireless network profiles saved in Windows 10, which can be useful since Windows doesn’t allow native access to or management of that list anymore. On the Wireless Statistics tab are graphs and statistics on many different MAC layer and PHY layer packets types, useful for advanced network analysis.

Wi-Fi Scanner offers great exporting and reporting features. The basic export feature can save the network list to a plain text file. Additionally, it can generate a report showing a summary of the types of networks found along with all the captured SSID details, any comments you’ve added and snapshots of the graphs. It’s quite impressive for a free stumbler.

Wi-Fi Scanner would be a great one to add to your Wi-Fi surveying tool chest, while remembering that the free edition is licensed for personal use only. We were impressed with the filtering, advanced packet details and the reporting feature.

NetSpot (Windows & Mac OS X)

NetSpot is a Wi-Fi stumbler and map-based survey tool, but for the free home edition we reviewed, the map-based survey tool is disabled. However, this is the only tool reviewed here that’s available for both Windows and Mac OS X. It’s a slimmed down version of their paid home and professional editions. We reviewed version 2.6.1.

The Netspot Discover tab is their Wi-Fi stumbler. Though a simple GUI, it’s got a modern look and feel, and the network details of the SSIDs are shown bold and clear. The signal levels are shown in negative dBm values (current, minimum, and maximum) and percentages. However, it does not show hidden networks at all on the network list. Although there’s an export button, it doesn’t work in the free edition.

Clicking on the Details button on the bottom of the app reveals a combined signal graph and channel usage graph for each band, which conveniently highlights the SSID on the graphs based upon which is selected from the network list. Plus, there’s a tabular or table view of the signal details of each SSID to see the exact levels from each scan of the app.

We found the free edition of NetSpot provides a good Wi-Fi stumbler even though it does not supporting hidden networks. The app shows non-working features in the app that’s for paid users only, but it does give you a better idea of the functionality available with the paid version. For instance, the Survey tab opens a sample survey and allows playing with the visualizations to demonstrate what it can do.

WirelessNetView (Windows)

The WirelessNetView utility is freeware from NirSoft, offered for personal or commercial purposes. It’s a very simple Windows-based Wi-Fi stumbler, available as an installable or portable download. We reviewed version 1.75.

The GUI of WirelessNetView is very simple, it’s basically just a single window with the list of networks. For the signal strength, it shows negative dBm values and for percentages, it shows values for the last signal received and the average over time. But it would be even better if it showed average signal over time in the negative dBm value, too. Another unique detail it offers is how often each SSID has been detected, which could be useful in certain situations.

Double-clicking a network pops up a dialog box with all that particular network’s details, which is useful since seeing all the details on the main list requires a lot of horizontal screen space. Right-clicking on a network on the list enables exporting details for that particular network or all networks to a text or HTML file. The Options toolbar menu shows some settings and additional features, such as filtering, MAC address formatting and display preferences.

Keep in mind, this utility lacks advanced features, like graphs, full 802.11ac support and recognizing all channels for APs utilizing larger channel-widths. However, it still might be useful for simple Wi-Fi stumbling, especially if you find some of their unique features valuable.

Wireless Diagnostics (Mac OS X Lion and later)

In Mac OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.4 and later, Apple provides the Wireless Diagnostics tool. It’s more than just a stumbler; it can help detect and fix Wi-Fi issues as well. Best of all, it’s a native tool included with the OS. We reviewed the tool in Mac OS X High Sierra 10.13.

To get started, hold the Option key and then click the Airport/Wi-Fi icon on the top of Mac OS X. This displays some more details on your current Wi-Fi connection while also making the Wireless Diagnostics shortcut available.

Opening Wireless Diagnostics pops up a wizard called the Assistant that may ask for additional details such as the location of the router and the router brand and model. Then it starts running tests to detect issues. It shows a summary of the results, and clicking the icon for each result shows further details and suggestions.

Although not really apparent, there are more tools than the wizard. While the wizard dialog box is open, clicking Window on the toolbar up top reveals additional utilities.

Here’s the good news.

Finally, we can be like Leonardo da Vinci’s in one small way. No, we are not getting his polymathic superpowers.

His penchant for taking free-flowing notes that filled notebooks with diagrams and scribblings is more achievable. Maybe, he knew that the human brain likes visuals more than words. Maybe, connecting words and images made him see things which most could not.

Today, we call these brain-cell like intertwinings mind maps.

It is the most popular brainstorming technique of all. Count the hits on Google if you don’t believe me. Check the number of books British psychologist Tony Buzan wrote for promoting it. A tiny 140.

For a student, a mind map is a memory aid to review notes. For an office worker, a mind map can be a solo brainstorming tool or a collaborative one. Brainstorming groups at work use mind mapping techniques for problem solving and decision making. Want to develop an agenda for an annual conference or plan your time as a manager? Maybe, a mind mapped SWOT analysis can help spot a weakness or an opportunity?

You can apply a mind map to any office scenario.

• Forecast revenue.
• Prepare for a hiring interview.
• Chart product development and marketing.
• Fine tune a RFP (Request for Proposal).
• Organize a trade show.
• Plan an office party.

Pick a Free Mind Map Tool

Choosing from the many excellent mind mapping sites and brainstorming web apps and tools is a matter of nitpicking. But how should you go about selecting the right tool that doesn’t befuddle you? Keeping your needs front and center, here are few standout features you can look at:

• Free or paid. When you are starting out with mind mapping take what you find for free. Mind mapping is a habit before it is a practice, so build up the habit first without paying a dime.
• Offline or online. There are many mindmapping web apps, but if you are on a spotty connection then definitely an offline tool works best. Also, storing mind maps containing confidential or sensitive information online could be a security issue.
• Ease of use. The easiest tool to mind map with is pen and paper. Compare any software you pick with that ease. The fluidity of putting your thoughts on screen matters a lot in rapid brainstorming.
• Look and feel. The aesthetic appeal of your mind maps will be a factor, if you need to display them to a team. Also, beautiful mind maps draw the eye (and mind) when you need to come back to them.
• Template variety. With brainstorming templates8 MS Word Templates That Help You Brainstorm & Mind Map Your Ideas Quickly8 MS Word Templates That Help You Brainstorm & Mind Map Your Ideas QuicklyFree Word templates are not just about beautiful documents, perfect resumes, and cover pages. They can be vital for brainstorming and mind maps too. Here are eight Word templates for your ideation needs.Read More, you can save a lot of time when every mind map is imagined around a few common organizational processes.
• Import and export options. A critical feature as you wouldn’t want your lovely creations trapped in one format. Many popular mind map tools, e.g. FreeMind, also accept other formats for import. An export format like PDF is necessary. Export to Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, or Project helps with document integration.
• Collaboration. Another critical feature, if you are working within a shared workspace and perform team brainstorms.

We have covered many mindmapping tools here at MakeUseOf. You might have discarded some and may have settled on one. FreeMind, XMind, and MindJet are popular. As not every tool will tick all the boxes, here are a few more mind mapping tools to consider.

1. Coggle

Platforms: Web, Chrome

This mind mapping Chrome extensionTrap Your Best Thoughts with 10 Note-Taking Chrome ExtensionsTrap Your Best Thoughts with 10 Note-Taking Chrome ExtensionsNotes are the simplest self-management tools. With information overload on your mind, use these ten extensions to jot down quick notes, manage them better, or just share them with others.Read More deserves a look again for its sheer simplicity. Use it in the browser instead of installing it on Chrome. Coggle saves your work in the browser just as well. Coggle comes in three flavors – Free, Awesome, and Organization.

The free version allows you to create unlimited maps, so it should be good enough for your needs. The commercial versions come with features like presentation modes and unlimited private mind maps.

Noteworthy Features:

• Create mind maps with colored nodes and branches.
• Add comments or detailed notes to branches. Supports Markdown.
• Drag and drop images from the desktop into the mind map. No image limits.
• Coggle mind maps are also collaborative. Work alone or invite team members.
• Version tracking with a history mode. See who changed what and when.
• Message team members, leave notes, and even chat in real time.
• Download mind maps as PDF, text, PNG, or mind map (.mm) files.

2. MindMapple

Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS

MindMapple (ver. 1.71) is a desktop and iOS application that has free and pro versions on offer. The ribbon interface should be familiar.

MindMapple is pre-loaded with themes and templates. Visual thinkers will like the software because it allows use of pictures and clip-art. Select any topic on your mind map and use the Clip Art library to add appropriate graphics. Cloud sharing via Google Drive is a key beta feature, but it’s not functional due to API changes.

MindMapple has powerful set of features for handling larger projects. Multiple mind maps can be collated in one document. You can track topics with priority and schedules – an essential for project managementThe Fool Proof System to Plan & Manage Multiple ProjectsThe Fool Proof System to Plan & Manage Multiple ProjectsFull Horizon Planning is an easy system to manage multiple active and dormant projects. It's superbly unbreakable when it comes to those guaranteed, daily distractions. We show you how to set it up digitally.Read More.

I would definitely recommend MindMapple for its completeness. The Pro version gives you advanced features like PDF export, password security, and advanced Microsoft Office exporting.

Noteworthy Features:

• Add relationships, boundaries, hyperlinks, and files to a mind map.
• Add extra information by adding topic notes and attachments.
• Labels and bookmarks allow you to manage complex mind maps with ease.
• Export your mind maps as PowerPoint, Word, Excel, HTML, TXT, image files, and XMind files.
• Import mind maps created in FreeMind and MindManager.

3. NovaMind

Platforms: cross platform

NovaMind is a cross-platform brainstorming software. Try it on Windows desktop, Windows 8, iPad, Mac OS X, or Android, and online as NovaMind Cloud. It is a commercial software but has a capable free version. NovaMind starts you off with an interactive tutorial to introduce the basic concepts. A demo mind map is built as the tutorial progresses.

The application has a useful layout engine that helps you design quickly as the topics are not allowed to overlap on top of each other. A unique user-friendly “dial” holds all the mind mapping commands.

The Lite version is useful for trying out the software. It suffers because it doesn’t offer options to save or export mind maps in different formats.

Noteworthy Features:

• Mind maps are limited to 25 topics.
• Store up to 10 NovaMind documents online on NovaMind Cloud.
• Share your documents publicly. Private sharing is not available in the free version.
• Stylize mind maps with symbols, themes, and images.
• Notes, external links, and callouts are also supported.

4. Text2Mindmap

Platform: Web

Text2Mindmap is one of my favorites for one reason – speed. As the name indicates, the online tool allows you to put down your thoughts as a text list. Each text line will become a node in the mind map. An indent (with a press of the TAB key) on the list translates into a new branch of nodes.

Text2Mindmap is free for this core purpose. Mini ($5/Month), Standard ($9/Month), and Pro ($11/Month) subscriptions open up more features, like private accounts, more storage space for maps, and printing mind maps without ads.

Noteworthy Features:

• Download mind map as an image or as PDF.
• Saved maps are available via a unique URL.
• Keyboard shortcuts are supported.

5. Blumind

Platform: Windows

Blumind is three things everyone loves — powerful, portable, and free. The download is less than 1MB. Within that small portability factor Bluemind doesn’t pack in many bells and whistles. But it has all the basics for simple mind maps.

Apart from mind maps, you can use the freeware to create org charts, logic charts, and tree diagrams too. The software has a tabbed interface. You can import pre-existing mind maps from FreeMind. Import from Excel spreadsheets is also available.

Blumind also has an internal timer. That is useful for using a timed constraint for your brainstorming sessions. I would vouch for Bluemind, if you are looking for a simple portable mind mapping alternative.

Noteworthy Features:

• The software has built in color themes and can be customized with user themes.
• Draw a variety of chart layouts like: organization chart, tree diagram, and logic diagram.
• Supports multiple export formats, including all common image formats, CSV, PDF, SVG, and text.
• Support notes, icons, progress bars and other widgets for a richer view.
• Keyboard shortcuts are supported.
• Offers multiple languages.

6. Sketchboard

Platforms: Web, Chrome

Sketchboard is more of a collaborative whiteboard rather than a dedicated mind mapping program. But whiteboards are vital for collaborative brainstorming paired with a good chat app.

You can also integrate Sketchboard with team tools like Slack, Google Drive, HipChat, GitHub, and FlowDock. Check out the Sketchboard user gallery for some fine examples.

Like the majority of mind mapping tools, Sketchboard.io also comes with a choice of free and paid plans. The free plan is for 5 users.

Noteworthy Features:

What Is The Best City Mapping Tool For Mac Osx

• Real-time collaboration. Free account is limited to 5 users.
• Create boards with endless drawing space by dragging the canvas area.
• Mix and match ideas with UML, freehand drawing, mind maps, notes, and roadmap.
• Comment and annotate while you collaborate with team members.
• Download Board as SVG, PNG, PDF.

7. Visual Understanding Environment

Platforms: Windows, Mac, OS X, Linux

The Visual Understanding Environment (VUE) is an Open Source project from Tufts University. The latest version of the software was released in October this year. The cross-platform mind mapping program is designed for teaching, learning, and research.

But you can re-purpose it according to your ideation needs. For example, VUE handles complex maps well. An Outline window is just the thing for concept maps that get too complex.

In the above screenshot example, Eva Gladek of Except Integrated Systainability uses VUE to create system maps of production processes.

Noteworthy Features:

• The “Merge Maps” tool can merge multiple maps into a new one for analysis.
• Search nodes and links in large maps. Search results can be highlighted, hidden or filtered.
• Add a VUE mind map to a Zotero collection. Zotero is another Open Source tool for organizing your academic research.
• Supports external data from FTP sites, RSS feeds, and Google. You can also import CSV datasets. Multiple other external resources like Twitter and Wikipedia are also supported.
• Present better mind maps on-screen by selectively fading out nodes and links. You can also zoom in and out of the map during presentations.
• VUE files can be saved on the VUE site or to a drive. Formats supported include HTML, PDF, image formats, RDF, and XML.

8. WiseMapping (Web)

Platform: Web

Start mind mapping without logging in with this free online application. WiseMapping takes minutes to master. It works on all modern browsers as it uses vector graphics and HTML5 to render the mind maps.

You can start using it without logging in. But without an account, you can create just one mind map and when you exit the program, your mind map will not be saved.

Noteworthy Features:

• Easy-to-use drag’n drop interface.
• Embed mind maps on any website or blog.
• Collaborate on maps with friends or coworkers.
• Download and save maps as images, PDF document, or FreeMind file.
• Import and export mind map files from FreeMind.

Other Mind Mapping Tools We Have Covered Before

Mind Mapping Tool

This article is about the lesser known, but capable programs out there. Do look into what has come before.

We have covered mind mapping applications for the iPadMind Mapping on the iPhone & iPad: Here Are Your OptionsMind Mapping on the iPhone & iPad: Here Are Your OptionsWhether you're using an iPhone or iPad, these mind map tools can keep your thoughts flowing on-the-go.Read More and mind mapping apps for Mac6 Free Mind Map Apps for Mac to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing6 Free Mind Map Apps for Mac to Get Your Creative Juices FlowingLooking for the best free mind map apps for Mac? Here are some great free mind mapping tools to help organize your thoughts on macOS.Read More.

What Is The Best City Mapping Tool For Mac Os High Sierra

We have also re-purposed Microsoft Word as an effective mind mapping toolHow to Build a Mind Map in Microsoft WordHow to Build a Mind Map in Microsoft WordMicrosoft Word may not be the first tool you pick for mind maps. But with these tips, Word can be effective for mind mapping.Read More.

How to Best Use a Mind Map Application?

Before you pick the right software, you have to decide its role in your workflow. Maybe, asking yourself these questions will help you choose the right one out of all the beautiful mind mapping apps available.

Your answers will help to benchmark the best fit for the job. If your needs are extensive and system-wide, then a commercial powerhouse like MindMeister or MindJet works best. If you are already on Windows 10 and not looking for that elephant gun, but something simple – choosing M8 will save you a lot of bother.

Remember, it is as much about elimination as it is about selection.

If mind mapping doesn’t cut it, you could give outlines a try instead. Check out these 5 Mac outliners to help you organize your ideas5 Mac Outliners to Help You Organize Your Projects and Ideas5 Mac Outliners to Help You Organize Your Projects and IdeasOutlining can help you keep your ideas and projects organized. Here are some great Mac apps for outlining projects and ideas.Read More.

What Is The Best City Mapping Tool For Mac Os

Image Credits:Mind Map by Ellagrin via Shutterstock

Best Mind Mapping Tool For Mac

Explore more about: Mindmapping, Organization Software, Planning Tool, Study Tips.

Free Mapping Tool

1. Hello. Great article, but there are a few broken links and some information that needs updating. It would be awesome if you guys could take care of it.
   Keep up the good work.
   Cheers!

2. Are there any mindmapping programs that integrate with SquareSpace?

3. Is there any mindmapping software that can integrate into Squarespace? We would like to include a mindmap of professional resources with images, videos, and clickable links into our company's website, rather than simply save as a .pdf where links and videos are lost. Thanks!

4. I like your explanation. I'll definitely use one of these with my students. I'm also looking for a mindMap software for mapping emerging knowledge of a developing brain so I need one more dimension (like layers in a CAD) which is : time

5. None of them seem to be even remotely sufficient for me. I could use something much more elastic in forms of presentation, connectivity and its levels of literality, directness, or able to find, discover and create connections, that could be completely invisible without seriously deep reflection or amount of steps leading from one place to another appearing as not in anyway connected with the prior, but after long development and evolution of the thread unvailing its strong mutual and not at all easily noticable (and absolutely unnoticable for probably quite numerous group ) correlation on much deeper uncertain and elusive planes of association forming and mutually influencing on many levels. It would for sure need to be shapable multidimensionally and multi trangressively. In visual sense, as well as meant in mental comprehensibility context. Could it be even possible that something that complex could be created? Im afraid not...

   Peace&Love

6. I created a software to create Mind Mapping 100% free, those who want to try access memorize.ninja?

7. Mind maps do help a lot in improving study and work efficiency. I've been using Edraw MindMaster since it was released in October 2017. Available for Mac, Windows and Linux, it's really worth trying! By the way, it's FREE! It's really worth trying!

   • Thanks. this is cool. and it's free !

8. As a writer, I'm looking for something that doesn't look for team involvement. What is available for someone in my position?

   • Try Scapple.

9. I recommend Coggle because I think that the Coggle is more easy for use, is colorful and specially I think that is the most accesible and Easy for de students

10. I use bubbl.us and it works great. There is a free option so I could try it out to see how it works.

11. MindMaple version 1.71 you mentioned above if the last version & it is dated 2011. Moreover, the last blog posts on the website date back to 2013, and a number of the pages they link to are 404 pages.
    Do you know if development has stopped? By the way, version 1.71 is really very impressive. I have both it & Freeplane currently installed (surprised you have not mentioned this truly free open source mindmapper) & find MindMaple slightly more attractive in a couple of aspects: you can move topics (nodes in Fp parlance) freely around without moving the other ones at the same time like Fp does, and you can attach files to MM, whereas Fp can only handle links to those files.
    I have not fully explored MM yet but already like it a lot.
    Hope you can shed some light on the development issue.

    • Is there still a free version of MindMaple to try out? I can´t seem to find v1.71 and the latest versions are obviously chargable.
      Thanks!

12. Could you help recommend the best product based on my needs?
    - Ability to access and modify maps on PC, Mac, and iOS (ideally android/web too if possible)
    - collaboration with multiple users ideally in real time
    - comments with time stamp
    - backup/filing with Evernote, Dropbox and/or OneDrive
    - drop and drag
    - voice command input
    - versatile with including new members in future projects
    - not needing to be free
    - integration with Outlook/Office (tasks/calendar)
    - export to PDF or PPT
    - presentation mode

    Thanks!! Great article

13. Hello, I'm looking for a mind map tool, in which I can add notes and pictures (photos) into the mind map. Some of the tools offers these requirements? Thank you very much.

    • ConceptDraw MindMap fitts your needs http://conceptdraw.com/products/mind-map-software

      • I attended a seminar today and really liked how this conceptdraw works. May you share some experience in using it?

14. I'm looking for a Mind Map tool with the following features:

    - Must be able to save to Box for collaborative use (I cannot save to other cloud locations)
    - Must be able to crosslink

    Any thoughts on what options these two requirements filters me down to? I've looked at now about a half-dozen solutions and it doesn't seem that the combination of these two capabilities is very common.

15. As a photographer I am of course 'visual', and I hate lists: boring and overwhelming. Kanban seems okay for project management (I only have a few at a time as a freelancer), but, although visual, KB is quite linear. I LOVE these mind maps I see (the simple and colourful ones!), but I need the program to be somewhat of a task/project manager. Can't tell which ones do that well. Can I set deadlines? To-do lists? Reminders? X-mind appears to do this under *Business toolbox, but that is only on 'Pro' at $99, drat. And when it says 'Task Management in there, how do I find out the capabilities? Any other programs you can think of that would fit a freelancer who wants mind-map style yet task management, too? (Oh, also I prefer residence ON my Mac, not cloud-dependant. Here in Thailand, where I do free projects for charity groups, the internet is NOT everywhere!) Thanks so much for how much work you put into these reviews and your expertise. Neat to see a thread where the author actually answers questions... amazing!

16. Thanks, great article!

17. Really good article Why no mention of Xmind? Free, cross platform and slick.

18. This was one of the most thorough reviews of a lot of the mind mapping apps out there. But, I'm still a little lost....What do you suggest for a Chef of a restaurant where I would be doing my menus, prepping, and daily planning. Ideally, id like it to work on android and PC.

    I would love to add photos so my manager knows what the dish will look like

    Idea: dinner menu
    Topic/nodes : sides, main entrees
    Sub nodes: mashed potatoes, steak(some I may want to add photos) and
    sub sub node---perhaps a link to a recipe or something like that.

    Do you think a mindmap is for me or should I go with a flowchart and a checklist? Thanks Saikat!!

    • Hi, use Trello. As I understand the need youdont want a mindmap, lists and cards will do.

19. Hello Saikat,

    Nice article that clearly describes capabilities of mind mapping tools available out there. The videos provided gives a glimpse of the GUI that helps people to choose a tool that suites their tastes. I tried few of them but 1 major lacking I see, which common in among the tools I tried is that there is little or no option to connect sub topics of different branches together.

    I intend to use the tool for an altogether different requirement. In short, I would like to collate my customers and prospects together. For example, there is this company A,B & C and there are 5 employees in each of the company (Let's name them as 1,2,3,4 & 5). So far, so good, I can chalk this out in any of the mind mapping tools. but when it comes to mapping the individual employees of company A to employees of Company B or a particular employee of company A to company B, there is no much flexibility or options I see in the listed tools by you. Hope I have put the point across

    Can you please let me know which tool best fits for my requirement please?

20. Is there a tool (ideally for Mac OS X) to calculate the number of nodes in mind maps saved in different formats like PDF, JPEG, PNG, PowerPoint, Word, etc?

    I have hundreds of mind maps saved in such formats and would like to know the number of nodes in each other than counting it manually of course.

21. Nice article. I have used XMind for 8 years for engineering projects and organizational project management and tracking. It has been really great, one think I found a need for in it is an easier way to link and view 'sub-maps'. Came here to see if there is anything new - i like the look of VUE, going to try it out.

22. Thanks for this very useful article. Are there any you can suggest where i can create formulas to input numbers in to calculate percentages, etc ?

23. Thanks Salkat - That's a great post, really helpful. I have just tried MindMaple and found it really intuitive, so I'm going to get the Pro version. Thanks again.

24. Have a look at Mindomo, an online concept mapping software (homepage) that wasn't mentioned. Besides its concept mapping and mind mapping features, it also has an outline feature that lets you switch from the outline view to the mind map view and vice versa. Offers real-time collaboration too. I guess you can start with their free version, and if you want for example to create unlimited maps and export them as PDFs, you can upgrade.

25. Please put the date in the article! Especially when it contains phrases like 'this year'

26. Also a useful mindmaping software is YouMinds Composer which allows you to convert Mindmaps into notes, pinboards, diagrams and more.

27. Xmind works best for me. Mindmup is another one.

28. Another free platform that lets you easily create pretty good mind maps is GoConqr.com.

29. I've never really understood the reasoning behind these types of programs.

30. Take a look at Mohiomap when you have a chance. It's more of a viewing app than an actual map generation tool, but it's worth checking out because...

    It can link to your Evernote, Google Drive, Box or Dropbox and display all of your stored data as a mindmap. You'll be looking at your 'data mind' as something almost organic, instead of a flat folder tree.

    A dynamic way of seeing your files in a graphic representation, it can still do what mindmaps do best...give you a different view to spur your thinking.

    • I also meant to say that I like and use Mindmup and Draw.io! :)

31. You missed Freeplane (better version of Freemind) and IHMC CmapTools, both of which are outstanding tools.

32. The thing to keep in mind about mind maps is that the theoretical mind map is often limited by the software. A true mind map can point from any bubble to any bubble. Many, if not most, software packages cannot do this; they are really just graphical outlines and are limited by the hierarchical nature of outlines. That's not to say they can't be useful, just that they can't provide all the benefits of a true mind map.