Coggle vs Whimsical
We give Coggle and Whimsical the same GPA: 3.2 out of 4.0. Coggle grades higher on value for money. Whimsical grades higher on features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Coggle
Collaborative mind maps and flowcharts in the browser
Whimsical
Whiteboard for flowcharts, wireframes, mind maps and docs
How we grade them
| 3.2GPACoggleVery good | 3.2GPAWhimsicalVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AAwesome is $5 a month, where paid plans in this category typically start around $8.33. It lifts the cap on private diagrams and adds more shapes and line controls. Organisation is $8 a member a month. The homepage only lists monthly prices. | BPro is $10 an editor a month billed annually, or $12 monthly, the dear end of typical here. Only editors are billed, which helps if most of your team just looks. AI is extra: you get 10 one-off credits, then bundles start at 250 credits for $25. SSO needs Business at $20. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree Forever comes with real-time collaboration, the full change history, unlimited image uploads and PDF, image and Visio export. But only 3 diagrams can be private. Anything you make past that is public. | BFree has unlimited boards, docs, teams and guests, with voting and a timer. But you can only add 50 new board objects and 50 doc blocks a month, exports carry a watermark, and version history is 7 days. That's a few diagrams, not a workspace. |
| Features | BBranching maps with more than one centre, loops and auto-arrange, plus simple flowcharts, over 1,600 icons and Markdown in the text. Every change is saved and you can copy from any point. Solid basics. More shapes, line styles and file attachments need Awesome. | AOne board type does flowcharts, mind maps, sequence diagrams, sticky notes and freehand sketches, with voting and a timer. Wireframes go together from drag-and-drop components, and docs sit beside boards for specs. AI drafts a flowchart, mind map or wireframe from a prompt. The whole job, with depth. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no App Store rating on record, as it runs in the browser. Nothing to install: open it, branch out from the middle and invite people by email. | BNo App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as this goes. One board type covers every kind of diagram, and wireframes are built from drag-and-drop components, so there's not much to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | BIt's a web app with a public API, and Organisation adds SAML sign-on with the likes of Okta and OneLogin. No desktop or mobile apps are listed. On a phone you save the site to your home screen. | BWeb, Mac, Windows and Linux. Boards embed live in Notion and Obsidian and preview in Slack, Jira and Google Docs. There's no dedicated mobile app, though. On a phone you can only view and comment in a browser. |
| Best for | quick mind maps a group can edit together | product teams sketching flows and wireframes |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Coggle and Whimsical. How we grade
Where they differ
- Coggle starts at $5 per month. Whimsical starts at $10 per editor / month, billed annually ($120 a year).
- Only Whimsical lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Coggle is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Coggle also covers Markdown.
- Whimsical also covers whiteboard, templates and documents.
At a glance
| Coggle | Whimsical | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per month | $10 per editor / month, billed annually ($120 a year) |
| Free plan | Free Forever plan: 3 private diagrams and unlimited public diagrams, with real-time collaboration, unlimited image uploads, full change history, and PDF, image and Visio export. | Unlimited boards, docs, teams and guests, with a monthly allowance of 50 board objects and 50 doc blocks, watermarked exports, 7-day version history and 10 one-off AI credits. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | CoggleIt Limited | Whimsical, Inc. |
| Price read from | coggle.it | whimsical.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Coggle
- Students and teams making quick collaborative mind maps
- Simple flowcharts and process maps alongside mind maps
- Occasional users who are fine with public diagrams on the free plan
- Companies that need SAML sign-on or an on-premise instance
Whimsical
- Product teams sketching flows, wireframes and specs in one place
- Teams with many occasional viewers, since only editors are billed
- Linux users: the desktop app ships as DEB and RPM packages
- Students and teachers, who can apply for a free year
Worth knowing
Coggle
- The free plan allows only 3 private diagrams; other diagrams made on it are public.
- More item shapes, line style and path controls, file attachments and high-res image uploads need the Awesome plan.
- No native desktop or mobile apps are listed; on a phone Coggle is saved to the home screen as a progressive web app.
- The homepage lists only monthly prices, and on-premise instances are arranged through Coggle for Enterprise without a public price.
Whimsical
- The Free plan allows 50 new board objects and 50 doc blocks a month and puts a watermark on exports.
- There is no dedicated mobile app: on a phone, files can be viewed and commented on in a browser, and iPad use is browser-based.
- AI credits are a one-off 10 per account on every plan; more are sold in bundles starting at 250 credits for $25.
- Private teams, SAML single sign-on and SCIM are limited to Business, at $20 per editor / month billed annually.
Key features
Coggle
- Branching mind maps
- Maps grow from one or several central items, branches can be joined into loops, and layout can be auto-arranged. Floating text and images annotate a map outside the tree.
- Real-time collaboration
- Invite people by email to edit a diagram at the same time, with changes appearing instantly. Awesome adds editing through a secret link with no login needed.
- Full change history
- Every change to a diagram is saved. You can look through the history and make a copy from any point to go back to an earlier version.
- Flowcharts
- Shapes and connected items for flowcharts and process maps are free. More shapes and control over connection paths and line styles need Awesome.
- Images, icons and Markdown
- Drag in images with no upload limit, pick from over 1,600 icons, and format item text with Markdown. Calculations can be added to diagrams.
- Import, export and embedding
- Download a diagram as a PDF or image, export it as .mm, text or a Microsoft Visio file, import .mm and text files, and embed a mind map in another page.
Whimsical
- Boards on an infinite canvas
- One board type covers flowcharts, mind maps, sequence diagrams, sticky notes and freehand sketches. Voting and a timer are included on every plan.
- Wireframes
- Wireframes are assembled from drag-and-drop components, as a quick way to explore product ideas and iterate on them.
- Whimsical AI
- A prompt generates a flowchart, a branched mind map or an editable wireframe. Each account gets 10 one-off AI credits; more are sold separately at $0.10 each.
- Docs
- Docs hold notes, project plans, briefs and specs next to the boards they describe, with Markdown support, toggles and embedded content.
- Multiplayer editing and comments
- Several people can edit a file at once and leave comments on it. Share links can grant view, comment or edit access on every plan.
- Embeds and AI tool connectors
- Boards embed live in Notion and Obsidian and preview in Slack, Jira and Google Docs. An MCP server and connectors let ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor create diagrams.
Plans
Coggle
Free Forever$0
3 private diagrams, unlimited public diagrams, real-time collaboration, full change history, shared folders, and PDF and image download.
Awesome$5
per month
Unlimited private diagrams, more item shapes, line style and path controls, file attachments, high-res image uploads, and collaboration by link or QR code.
Organisation$8
per member / month
Everything in Awesome plus SAML single sign-on, consolidated billing, bulk export, user and data management, and branded diagrams.
Coggle for EnterpriseCustom
By arrangement: on-premise instances behind a firewall, Active Directory authentication, site licenses and enterprise support.
Whimsical
Free$0
50 new board objects and 50 doc blocks a month, 5 MB uploads within 1 GB of storage, watermarked exports and 7-day version history.
Pro$10
per editor / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Unlimited board objects and doc blocks, exports without a watermark, 90-day version history, password-protected files and 100 GB of storage.
Business$20
per editor / month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly)
Private teams, SAML single sign-on, SCIM, content security lock, unlimited version history, invoicing, priority support and storage from 2 TB.
Ways to pay less
Coggle
No public discounts listed.
Whimsical
- Annual discount
2 months free with annual billing
Pro is $120 per editor billed annually against $12 a month, and Business is $240 against $24. The pricing page shows this as a 17% saving.
- Education
Free for a year for students and teachers
Teachers and students can apply for the education plan, which provides the same features as Pro free of charge for a year.
- Nonprofit
20% off for nonprofits
Whimsical offers a 20% discount to non-profit organizations that apply through its form.
- Other savings
Free for life for YouTube creators
Creators with a public YouTube channel of at least 1,000 subscribers and a video published in the past 30 days can apply for a plan that is free for life.
