Creativity and fresh ideas are vital to push, develop and make a company grow, but also to improve one’s work and productivity on a project.
Companies are always on the lookout for new perspectives. They love encouraging their colleagues to rack their brains and develop smart ideas which make their business grow in revenue and expand into different markets. Without a doubt, the process of jotting down your thoughts is the best way of generating fresh ideas. This concept comes from a Dutch proverb literally saying that ‘there are more ideas in two heads than in one’, or ‘two heads are better than one’ as we would say it. To be precise, according to Linternaute.fr, a mind map (or thought showers) is “a meeting where we collectively look for original ideas”.
The best mindmapping apps are:
- us
- XMind
- Coggle
- WiseMapping
- MindMeister
- LucidChart
- IdeaFlip
- Popplet
- Mindjet
- Mind42
In order to better organise and carry out your thought conceptualisation, especially when the team isn’t all based in the same place, have a look at eight handy collaborative tools that will boost creativity in your team and will help communication run effectively!
Bubbl.us
Bubbl.us is a simple and effective software to create mind maps, which are graphic representations of your ideas. This app focuses uniquely on making these! The advantage of Bubbl.us is that there’s no need to download it but you can use it on any device able to connect to the internet.
Bubbl.us offers two versions: the first one has all the standard functions and is free for up to three mind maps, the second one is Premium for €4,30 ($4,91) a month and it has more options, such as live file sharing. You can try the Premium version for free for the first 30 days.
XMind
Xmind is considered one of the most popular professional mind mapping tools. It has already attracted many important clients such as Continental, Barclays and Generali.
XMind allows you to clarify and organise your thoughts, evaluate and connect your ideas, give them structure and manage them more effectively. This online software has several options, for example it allows you to convert your mind maps into Gantt charts or export them onto Office or a PDF. You will organise your mind maps more effectively and the presentation of your projects will be done just with a few clicks!
More price options are available on their website:
- XMind ZEN from €1,10 ($1,24) a month (for office computer, mobile or both);
- XMind 8 Pro for €115 ($129)
Coggle
This online software allows you to share complex information in a straightforward way. There’s nothing to download or install, you can immediately start creating mind maps! You visualise your ideas easily, share them with as many people as you like and, thanks to the live sharing tool, all the changes will appear in real time.
Coggle has three available options:
- Free – ideal for an occasional use;
- Awesome – offering advanced options for €4,40 (5) a month;
- Organisational – ideal for professional teams for €7 ($8) a month.
WiseMapping
This online mind mapping tool is totally free and it perfectly suits both independent and team work. If you are concerned about the safety of your data, you can download WiseMapping directly on your server.
In addition, you can make a gift to help the program improve, finance the options or ask to adjust them.
MindMeister
This mental mapping online software allows you to reflect, make notes, transform ideas into tasks and run a project. You can create maps according to a predefined structure and work on them from anywhere thanks to the mobile apps.
The use of MindMeister is free up to three mind maps. After that the price varies from €4,99 to €12,49 a month and provides more functions.
LucidChart
With LucidChart, you can create charts and flow charts online in a very simple way, discuss live with your colleagues, leave comments, incorporate your documents with any online support (blog, website, wiki etc.) and make changes in real time.
You can incorporate your work with Jire, Confluence, G Suite and Dropbox.
On the website, prices start from €4,95 a month for a basic individual use and go up to €20 a month for a three-person team and include advanced options.
IdeaFlip
It’s time to end those boring and counterproductive meetings! IdeaFlip is a simple and collaborative online app, for mind mapping which allows all the team-members to share their thoughts and ideas, to clarify, develop and improve them regardless of where and with which device.
As for pricing, it varies from €8 a month for a Basic plan, ideal for individual work or for small teams up to €130 for companies. You can try IdeaFlip for free for 14 days.
Popplet
Grab and organise your ideas with a few clicks with Popplet!
Created for iPad and for the web, this mind mapping app is widely used both in the teaching sphere, by teachers and students, and in the professional one. Popplet is very visual, with plenty of pictures and colours in the maps and charts.
Mindjet
Software publisher of the Mindmanager solution, Mindjet allows you to map ideas starting from predefined models (projects, timeline, strategy, etc). Its simple and intuitive interface provides all the tools to capture, analyse, and organise ideas, as well as share knowledge.
The prices start from €349 on Windows and €179 on Mac for a lifetime license.
You can purchase it online or find partner resellers near you. You can try Mindjet for free for 30 days.
Mind42
Free, fast and straightforward are the three adjectives used to describe Mind42 (pronounced Mind For Two). This online mind mapping app offers basic key functions. Although not very attractive, this product designed for collaborative mind mapping will entice you for its ease of use. It will allow you to jot down your ideas, organise and develop them. It’s ideal regardless of whether you’re working individually or in a team.
Have you just finished your mind mapping session where your team has stocked up on fresh ideas? It’s time to turn your ideas into concrete projects! Gather all the ideas and give them life through a project management software like Wimi – the vital supplement to a mind mapping software! Wimi will enable its users to join forces on projects under optimal conditions for productivity.
