Kumu vs Plectica (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Kumu and Plectica share a 2.0 GPA, both have a free plan, and Plectica starts cheaper, at $3 a month against $9 a month.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Kumu
Relationship maps for systems, stakeholders and networks
Plectica
Card-based visual mapping for diagrams and concept maps
Which one is for you
Pick Kumu if
- Fits if you map stakeholders or systems and are happy to share the map publicly
- Works for people who start from a spreadsheet of relationships
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if your work is private, because each private project is its own monthly charge
- Watch out: free public projects are visible to everyone and indexed by search engines
- Watch out: all kumu.io customer data lives in one shared database, and sensitive work is pointed to Enterprise
- Watch out: archived private projects cost $20 to unarchive on a Pro workspace
- Skip it if you want a desktop or phone app, as none is listed
Pick Plectica if
- Fits if you want maps where one card sits inside another
- Works for students and small groups who share maps by link
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, because Basic stops at 250 cards and 25 MB attachments
- Skip it if you want an app, since it only runs in the browser
- Watch out: the Student plan at $3 a month has no stated rule for who counts as a student
- Watch out: the site footer is dated 2017 to 2022, so it may be updated less often than others
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAKumuFair | 2.0GPAPlecticaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPrivate projects are $9 a month each on Basic, and Pro is $10 a workspace plus $20 a month per private project. That sits in the ordinary range for one project and climbs fast with more. | CPro is $8 a month on yearly billing, which is the middle of what whiteboards charge. Student is $3 but the page doesn't say who qualifies. |
| Free plan and trial | CRegistration and unlimited public projects are free, but public means anyone can see them. A two-week trial of private projects is offered. | CA free Basic plan with 250 cards and 25 MB attachments. A busy map will pass 250 cards. |
| Features | CIt does one job fully: network maps with filters, clustering and spreadsheet import. That is a narrower job than a whiteboard. | CNested cards, relationship lines, shared editing and embedding. It is browser only, and there are no integrations on record. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You import data and set up decorations before a map reads well. | CNo store rating on record, and you build your own map from cards, so there's a learning curve. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no apps and no integrations listed. | CWeb only. No desktop or phone app is listed and no integrations. |
| Best for | mapping stakeholder and systems networks | nested, linked card maps |
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: Kumu and Plectica. How we grade
Price against what you get
Kumu starts at $9 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Plectica starts at $3 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Plectica starts $6 a month lower. Of the other whiteboard and mind map tools on the chart, 28 score higher than Kumu for less, and 7 score higher than Plectica for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| Kumu | Plectica | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per month per private project | $3 per month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free registration and unlimited public projects, with unlimited collaborators, maps and views. | Basic plan: free forever, up to 250 cards, map building, storing and sharing, and file attachments up to 25 MB. |
| Free trial | Two-week free trial of private projects | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Kumu | Frameable Inc |
| Price read from | kumu.io | plectica.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Kumu
- Private projects are billed per project, so the monthly cost rises with each one: $9 on Basic, $20 on Pro.
- All kumu.io customer data lives in one shared database; the vendor points sensitive work to Kumu Enterprise.
- The Free workspace's public projects are visible to everyone and indexed by search engines.
- Archived private projects cost $20 to unarchive on a Pro workspace.
Plectica
- The Basic plan stops at 250 cards, and attachments are capped at 25 MB there.
- Plectica runs in the browser only; no desktop or mobile app is listed.
- The site's footer is dated 2017 to 2022, so the pages may be updated less often than other vendors'.
- The pricing page does not say what qualifies for the Student plan.
Key features
Kumu
- Relationship maps
- Data about people, organizations or concepts is drawn as a network, with decorations, filters and clustering applied on top.
- Spreadsheet import
- Maps can be built from imported spreadsheets rather than drawn by hand, which suits larger datasets.
- Public and private projects
- Projects can be public and visible to everyone, or private with access given to named people. Maps can be embedded on other sites.
- Workspaces
- Projects are grouped into workspaces, each with its own name and billing profile. Pro workspaces add view-only roles and branding.
- Use cases
- The vendor's examples include stakeholder maps, systems maps and causal loop diagrams, and social network maps.
Plectica
- Cards and parts
- A card is the basic unit and can stand for a person, task, object or idea. Cards can be nested inside other cards as parts.
- Relationship lines
- Any card can be linked to any other, and a relationship can itself be defined through a relationship card. Lines can be arcs or elbows.
- Shared editing
- Maps can be edited by several people, with collaborator cursors visible. Sharing is by email invitation, view-only or edit links, or a presentation link.
- Embedding
- A map can be embedded on a website from the Share menu.
- Templates and examples
- The maps page offers templates and example maps, such as a database schema, customer journey map and traffic flow.
Plans
Kumu
Basic workspace$0
Unlimited public projects; private projects cost $9 per month each; daily backups.
Pro workspace$10
per workspace / month, plus $20 per month per private project
View-only access control, custom branding, activity feeds, real-time comments, hourly backups, private project archiving.
EnterpriseCustom
Self-hosted or cloud-hosted private instance with SAML single sign-on and a 99.95% uptime SLA. Sold through sales.
Plectica
Basic$0
Up to 250 cards, map building, storing and sharing, file attachments up to 25 MB.
Student$3
per month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly)
Unlimited cards, attachments up to 250 MB and long-term backups.
Pro$8
per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)
Unlimited cards, attachments up to 250 MB, long-term backups and priority customer support.
Team$7
per seat / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)
Pro features at a lower price per team member.
OrganizationCustom
Custom packages for team knowledge management, training and innovation; quoted on request.
Ways to pay less
Kumu
- Education
Private projects for students
Students doing classroom work or doctoral research can email from a .edu address to get 3 private projects at no charge.
Plectica
- Annual discount
Annual billing saves 11% to 25%
The pricing page shows annual billing as 25% off Student, 11% off Pro and 12% off Team, compared with monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Kumu or Plectica?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Plectica is cheaper to start with: $3 a month, against $9 a month for Kumu. Kumu starts at $9 per month per private project, and Plectica starts at $3 per month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Kumu or Plectica?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Kumu and Plectica have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.