MindMeister vs Xmind

MindMeister

• Teams that brainstorm together in a browser
• MeisterTask users who turn map topics into tasks
• Students, educators and nonprofits, who get a 50% discount
• Organizations that want hosting in Germany and GDPR compliance

Xmind

• People who think in mind maps and want an app on every device
• Turning a map into slides or a Gantt chart without switching tools
• Linux users: packages are offered alongside Windows and macOS apps
• Students and teachers, who get reduced Pro and Premium prices

MindMeister

• The Free plan stops at 3 mind maps and has no file exports, printing, attachments or version history.
• Plans are billed in 6-month or 12-month cycles with no monthly option, and prices vary by region; the figures here are the vendor's EUR reference prices.
• Word and PowerPoint exports, custom branding and Google Workspace need Pro; SAML SSO needs Business and a request to the sales team.
• No desktop apps are listed: outside the iOS and Android apps, MindMeister runs in a browser.

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.

MindMeister

Mind map editor

Topics are arranged by drag and drop and can carry links, notes, emojis and images. Layouts include mind maps, org charts and lists, with themes and color schemes.

Real-time collaboration

Collaborators invited by link edit the same map at once, comment on topics and @mention each other. Every plan, including Free, allows unlimited collaborators.

Presentation mode

A map can be shown as a presentation directly from the editor, so a team can be walked through the ideas without building separate slides.

Outline and focus modes

Outline mode switches a map to structured bullet points, and focus mode hides menus, toolbars and icons in the editor.

AI map creation (beta)

A prompt or an uploaded file such as a PDF, presentation, spreadsheet or image produces a map, which AI can then expand or tidy. It is listed as beta on every plan.

Exports and integrations

Topics convert into MeisterTask tasks on any plan. Image and PDF exports and Microsoft Teams start at Personal; Word and PowerPoint exports and Google Workspace at Pro.

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.

MindMeister

• Free€0

  Up to 3 mind maps, unlimited collaborators, templates, presentations, outline and focus modes, the MeisterTask integration and AI map creation in beta.

• Personal€6.50

  per user / month, billed yearly (€7.50 on 6-month billing)

  Unlimited mind maps, PNG, JPG and PDF exports, printing, 2 attachments per map, 7-day version history and the Microsoft Teams integration.

• Pro€10.50

  per user / month, billed yearly (€12.50 on 6-month billing)

  Unlimited attachments, all-time version history, multiple admins, Word and PowerPoint exports, custom branding and the Google Workspace integration.

• Business€15.50

  per user / month, billed yearly (€19 on 6-month billing)

  Group sharing, compliance exports and backups, IP restriction, SAML SSO on request, priority email and phone support and a customer success manager.

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.

MindMeister

• Annual discount

  13 to 18% lower on 12-month billing

  MindMeister's pricing file says the 12-month billing cycle costs approximately 13 to 18% less than the 6-month cycle, for example €6.50 against €7.50 per user a month on Personal.

• Education

  50% off for students and educators

  Students, educators and educational institutions get a 50% discount, applied by contacting the support team.

• Nonprofit

  50% off for nonprofits

  The same 50% discount is listed for non-profit organizations, also arranged through the support team.

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.