Mindly vs Xmind (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Mindly if

• Fits if you map ideas mostly on a phone or tablet
• Works for people who find a full-screen map too cluttered

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a computer app, as no desktop version is named
• Skip it if you want a free plan, since only a trial of unstated length exists
• Watch out: the App Store rating is 2.0, from 7 ratings only
• Watch out: the subscription is bought through the app stores, and no one-time purchase is described
• Watch out: the vendor's site cites 4.6 for the older Mindly app, not this one

Pick Xmind if

• Fits if you think in branches and want the same kind of map on your laptop, your phone and Linux
• Works for plans that have to become a presentation, since Pitch mode turns a map into slides

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want an open whiteboard with sticky notes, as Xmind sticks to structured maps
• Pricey if your team wants to edit together, since live collaboration starts at Premium, $99 a year
• Tight if you never pay: 10 online maps, watermarked exports, 3 days of version history and 50 AI credits that never refill
• Not for you if you'd rather pay by the month: Pro is $10 a month against $59 a year, and monthly plans get no trial or refund
• Watch out: desktop maps save as local files by default, so picking up an iPad map at your desk can mean going through Dropbox

Mindly

• The App Store lists iPhone and iPad only, and the site links Google Play; no desktop app is named.
• There is no free plan; the app is free to download and the subscription starts with a trial of unstated length.
• The subscription is bought through the app stores; the pages read do not describe a one-time purchase.
• The Mindly 2 App Store listing shows a 2.0 average from 7 ratings, while the vendor's site cites 4.6 for the earlier app.

Xmind

• Free and Pro cap manually created online maps at 10 and 50; unlimited collaborative maps need Premium or the Business team plan.
• Real-time collaboration, editable Gantt charts and a monthly AI credit allowance start at Premium; Free and Pro get a single grant of 50 AI credits.
• Free exports carry a watermark, and export to Word, Excel, SVG and Markdown starts at Pro.
• The free trial and the 7-day money-back guarantee cover yearly subscriptions only; monthly subscriptions and AI credit add-ons are not refunded.

Mindly

Progressive focus

Maps open one idea at a time, so a branch can be explored step by step without the whole map on screen.

Real-time collaboration

Mindly 2 lets teammates, classmates or clients work on the same map together.

Online sharing

Interactive maps can be published and opened by anyone in a browser.

Images, emojis and files

Nodes can carry images, emojis and supporting files.

Visual clipboard

A clipboard for quickly reorganizing and restructuring parts of a map.

Xmind

Mind maps and other structures

Ideas can be laid out as mind maps, timelines or matrices, grouped into Zones, and edited as a linear list in the Outliner view.

Xmind AI

Generates a map from text, a document or a link, expands and reorganizes branches, and breaks a project into tasks. Free and Pro get 50 credits; Premium gets 500 a month.

Pitch mode

Turns a map into a slide presentation: up to 5 slides on the Free plan and unlimited from Pro, where a pitch can also be exported to PowerPoint.

Gantt charts and tasks

Premium turns topics into tasks with assignees, plots them on a Gantt chart and exports tasks to a calendar file or Excel. Free and Pro can only view Gantt charts.

Real-time collaboration

On Premium and the Business team plan, several people can edit a map at once and follow one another's view, backed by 30 days of version history.

Import and export

Imports Markdown, OPML and TextBundle files and maps from other mind mapping tools. From Pro, maps export to SVG, PDF, Markdown, Word and Excel as well as PNG.

Mindly

• Monthly Subscription$3.99

  per month, in-app purchase

  Access to all Mindly features on all platforms, as the App Store listing describes it.

• Yearly Subscription$34.99

  per year, in-app purchase

  Same access as monthly. Works out to about $2.92 a month.

Xmind

• Free$0

  Up to 10 manually created online maps, basic themes and stickers, 3-day version history, 5 slides in Pitch mode and 50 AI credits.

• Pro$4.92

  per month, billed yearly ($59 a year)

  Up to 50 online maps with basic collaboration, custom themes, topic links and attachments, unlimited Pitch slides, and export without a watermark.

• Premium$8.25

  per month, billed yearly ($99 a year)

  Unlimited collaborative maps, real-time collaboration, 30-day version history, editable Gantt charts, tasks with assignees and 500 AI credits a month.

• Business$10

  per seat / month, billed yearly

  Team plan with unlimited collaborative maps, real-time collaboration, 30-day version history, Gantt charts and 800 AI credits per seat a month.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds SAML single sign-on, unlimited version history, custom AI credits, a dedicated success advisor and team onboarding sessions.

Mindly

No public discounts listed.

Xmind

• Annual discount

  Up to 50% off with yearly billing

  The pricing page advertises up to 50% off individual plans on yearly billing. The US App Store lists Pro at $59 a year or $10 a month, and Premium at $99 a year or $15 a month.

• Education

  Reduced prices for students and educators

  The education pricing tab lists Pro at $3.42 a month and Premium at $5.75 a month for students and educators, plus a custom-priced Campus plan for institutions.

• Nonprofit

  Discounted plans for nonprofits and government

  Eligible non-profits, NGOs and government organizations can get discounted plans after verifying eligibility; the offers page shows a price of $79 a year.

• Lifetime license

  SME Lifetime License for organizations

  Organizations can buy a one-time, perpetual license with volume pricing. The price is not published and is quoted by Xmind's sales team.