# SpiderScribe review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Free-form online mind maps that mix notes, files and places Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. SpiderScribe is a browser-based mind mapping and brainstorming tool. Maps are free-form: text notes, images, files, calendar events and location maps can be connected in any arrangement, then kept private or shared and edited together in real time. - **Category:** Whiteboards & Mind Maps - **Made by:** SpiderScribe - **Website:** https://www.spiderscribe.net - **Runs on:** Web, iOS - **Who should skip it:** Tight if you stay free, as the free plan is non-commercial with 3 private maps and 3 MB. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, SpiderScribe has a free plan, and paid plans start at $5 per month. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Personal plan for non-commercial use: unlimited public maps, 3 private maps and 3 MB of files and images. - **Free trial:** 30-day free trial on all paid plans. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Personal | $0 | Non-commercial use only: unlimited public maps, 3 private maps, 3 MB of files and images. | | Pro | $5 per month, billing basis not stated | One user with full sharing, unlimited public and private maps, 2 GB of files and images. | | Education | $19 per month, billing basis not stated | For academic institutions: unlimited users, 10 GB of storage, custom subdomain and central administration. | | Business | $25 per month for the whole team, billing basis not stated | Unlimited users, 10 GB of storage, custom subdomain and central team administration. | Read from https://www.spiderscribe.net/plans.php on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with SpiderScribe before buying. ## Key features - **Free-form maps:** Stencils can be connected in any way rather than in a fixed tree, so a map can be a loose web of related items. - **Mixed content:** A map can hold text notes, images, files, calendar events and location maps side by side. - **Real-time collaboration:** Private maps can be shared and edited by several people at once; public maps can be viewed without signing in. - **Drawing mode:** Sketching a rough circle, rectangle or triangle adds a text, file or picture stencil, and drawn lines connect them. - **Export, print and embed:** Maps can be printed, exported to images and embedded in a website or blog with an embed wizard. ## Good for - Brainstorming that mixes notes, files and map locations - Small teams that want one flat monthly price - Students and teachers using the Education plan ## Worth knowing - The plans page says the web app needs a browser with the Flash plugin enabled. - The free Personal plan is for non-commercial use and allows 3 private maps. - The pages do not say whether the monthly prices are billed monthly or yearly. - The only mobile app named on the site is SpiderScribe Jr. for iPad. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. SpiderScribe makes mind maps that join notes, images, files and map locations, with a free Personal plan and Pro at $5 a month. The free plan is for non-commercial use with 3 private maps, and the plans page is dated, with a Flash plugin mentioned and the only phone app named a version for iPad. - **Value for money: B.** Pro is $5 a month, at the edge of the category's cheapest quarter, though the page does not say how it is billed. - **Free plan and trial: C.** Free Personal plan for non-commercial use with 3 private maps and 3 MB of files, plus a 30-day trial, card not stated. - **Features: C.** Free-form maps with mixed content, real-time sharing and drawing, but it is one kind of map tool and the listing mentions a Flash plugin requirement. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and you build every map by hand. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web plus an iPad app named SpiderScribe Jr., and one integration, 5pm. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from SpiderScribe's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among whiteboard and mind map tools - SpiderScribe's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 23 of the 98 other whiteboard and mind map tools we grade, and level with 19. - It stands best on value for money (B, above 59 of 98) and worst on features (C, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $5 a month, against a middle price of $8 for the category: 14 of the 69 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 22 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/whiteboards ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** The plain part of SpiderScribe you could make: mind mapping. What surrounds it you could not. The 3 things listed below take a company, not a weekend. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 56 of the 98 other whiteboard and mind map tools grade higher. It costs $60 a year. - You could make: Mind mapping: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: A diagram editor. - You could not: A real app for iOS. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: Several people working in it at the same moment. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with 5pm **Tags:** Mind mapping, Real-time collaboration, Diagrams ## Alternatives - [MindMeister](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mindmeister): Browser-based mind mapping with real-time collaboration. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mindmeister-vs-spiderscribe) - [Coggle](https://toolgpa.com/tools/coggle): Collaborative mind maps and flowcharts in the browser. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/coggle-vs-spiderscribe) - [Mindomo](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mindomo): Mind maps, outlines and Gantt charts with real-time editing. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mindomo-vs-spiderscribe) - [Milanote](https://toolgpa.com/tools/milanote): Visual boards for organizing creative projects. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/milanote-vs-spiderscribe) - [MindMup](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mindmup): Web mind mapping with a free tier and simple paid plans. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mindmup-vs-spiderscribe) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.spiderscribe.net/plans.php - https://www.spiderscribe.net/ - https://www.spiderscribe.net/tour.php Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/spiderscribe Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).