Alternative to XMind - Detailed Comparison

XMind and Mindomo are two of the most popular mind mapping software on the market. Both have online versions, Desktop, and mobile mind map apps. That makes them complex cross-platform tools.

But which one is better and why choose it?
Let’s compare them and find out!

It’s very important to have enough features to express yourself while you create your diagrams, without being limited. 

Therefore, the diagram editing functionalities are one of the key elements for a professional mapping tool.

There are no differences between the Desktop app and the online version of Mindomo when it comes to map styling features. However, at XMind, there are some features that are available only on the Desktop app, such as topic padding, more fonts on the app, Theme Editor.

Mindomo has some map styling options that XMind doesn’t have and vice versa. Both tools offer a big variety of customization options, it depends on what is more important for you.

For example, XMind has customizable text on boundaries, and Mindomo doesn’t have it. 

XMind has some features that Mindomo also has, divided into more different ones. It gives the impression that it has extra features. For instance, the “Auto balance map”, “Compact map” or “Branch free-position” are 3 different options at XMind.

Mindomo has the “Auto balance map option” that contains all modifications of these 3 features in only one option. It’s 3 in 1, and you can have the same effect with only one click.

Mindomo has more options for line formats, topic styles, it has anchor point options, customizable weight, and freely resize topics’ width and height by dragging and dropping them, while XMind has customizable text on boundaries, etc. Mindomo has a bigger variety of map styling options overall. Taking a look at the above table helps you choose what is more important for you when you customize your diagrams.

When you create mind maps it’s very important to use a tool that gives you enough freedom to add as many files and multimedia attachments as possible. 

The variety of formats helps you create information-rich diagrams with a minimalist design. Therefore, it’s one of the most important aspects you should consider when you’re choosing professional software.

There is a huge difference in file and multimedia attachments between Mindomo and XMind. Mindomo is definitely the better option when it comes to information you can add to your mind map diagrams. It allows you to keep a huge variety of files in your topics, comments, notes, while XMind is very limited. 

There are not many differences between the online mind map tool and the Desktop version of each tool.

When it comes to features Mindomo is clearly the winner.

The online version of XMind is very limited: there is no cloud to store your maps, no presenter mode, no Gantt chart view, can’t edit without internet connection, no templates, no history of changes, no import formats, no focus modes, only 2 export formats, and many other features are missing.

The big advantage of XMind is that it has more visualization options. In other words, you can change the structure of your diagram with one click.

XMind is not a good option if you are looking for online mind mapping software. However, the Desktop app it’s different, having more to offer:

Comparing the Desktop apps features of XMind and Mindomo we see noticeable differences. XMind has some advantages over Mindomo: it has more printing formats and more visualization options. 

However, Mindomo has more advantages over XMind: online-offline synchronization with only one click, templates, a customizable presenter mode, Gantt chart view, full history of changes, more filtering options, and an Auto Night mode (it changes depending on the theme color you’re using on a diagram).

The biggest disadvantage of Xmind is that it doesn’t support synchronization. Unfortunately, there’s no cloud to sync, which makes it hard to copy your diagrams on other devices. 

The lack of mind map templates is also a huge drawback. XMind users have access to the public library of diagrams, and they can copy and edit another user’s diagrams. But there are no special templates designed by the XMind team on use cases categories, as Mindomo has.

Moreover, the Pitch mode allows you only to create an automated presentation. In other words, you are not able to customize it as you want.

The online version of XMind doesn’t offer collaboration features. You can only share your diagrams with a link or to make the public on the web from your account diagrams. While editing the map you can only share it with a link from your cloud storage service provider (like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive).

The online version of XMind has no real-time collaboration and no password-protected diagrams. It’s not the best choice if you plan to work with collaborators or share your diagrams.

The two Desktop apps have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to collaboration.

The Mindomo Desktop app comes with great benefits that XMind hasn’t: you can collaborate in real-time with other Mindomo users that are connected from their Desktop app or from the online version. 

This real-time collaboration works between users only when they have an internet connection and if the diagram is synced with the cloud.

On the other hand, XMind allows you to encrypt your local diagrams with a password from the Desktop app. In Mindomo you can only encrypt diagrams with a password from the online version (you still need to add the password when you open the diagram from the Desktop app).

In addition, XMind allows you to share your diagrams directly via the Desktop app: with a link, make them public on the XMind Gallery, share on social media, blog, Evernote, and Biggerplate. In Mindomo you can’t share diagrams directly from the Desktop app, you have to sync them with the cloud so you can further share them from the web version.

XMind (online and Desktop app) does not have special task management features built-in. You can only add topics with icons that show completion or priority level, but there are no checkboxes, comments, or votes. You can not assign tasks or schedule them either. 

If you need a tool that has task management features, Mindomo is the winner between these 2 (both online and Desktop apps).

The types of diagrams are slightly different between the two tools. XMind has some extra diagram types: brace map, tree table, and matrix. 

However, you can create a brace map with Mindomo using a template from the Mindomo library. Mindomo has Gantt charts and Concept map diagrams which XMind hasn’t. Depending on what you use more often, you can pick which tool is better at this aspect. 

The types of diagrams are the same on the online and Desktop apps.

Both Mindomo and Xmind are cross-platform tools, and they have the same available platforms.

*XMind has two Desktop apps:

XMind – the one that we compared with the Mindomo Desktop app
Xmind 8 – which is another app developed by XMind

Mindomo and XMind have different types of plans. On the online platform, XMind has only one cloud that has no cloud version, while Mindomo has 7 options including a completely free one. The other 6 subscription plans are dedicated to specific uses and they come with dedicated features and templates.

The Desktop plans are also different. Both tools offer free mind map software options and paid ones. With Mindomo you can choose an annual/6-months subscription or a lifetime unique purchase. The lifetime option gives access forever to that version and one year of updates and support. You can extend the updates and support for another year for 36€. There are custom offers for institutions, universities, etc.

XMind has no option of lifetime purchase, it only gives you the option to buy it for 6 months or a year. There is the regular subscription and offers for educational institutions, but it doesn’t give you access to special features (Mindomo has dedicated features and templates for each account type to support its use cases).

Mindomo and XMind are two great mind mapping software that offer many features for an amazing experience. They have intuitive interfaces and both are user-friendly. Both tools are cross-platform, offering an online version, Desktop apps, and mobile apps as well.

The XMind online version is limited and it offers few features, compared to Mindomo which is more advanced.

However, the Desktop app of XMind has more to offer than the online version, and compared with Mindomo there are ups and downs.

Mindomo is better at map styling, has way more options to attach files, it’s real-time collaboration, it has dedicated task management features and educational features as well. Not to mention Mindomo has a huge variety of templates, customization of presentation, cloud storage, and multiple account types for specific purposes.

In other words, Mindomo is better for collaboration, education purposes, and task management. It also has the huge advantage of having a huge variety of templates applicable for a lot of use cases. Mindomo provides specific features and resources for your use (education, personal, and work), and is not a simple mind mapping tool.

On the other hand, XMind has some great features which Mindomo hasn’t: you can switch the view of your diagrams into more formats with one click, you can make more types of diagrams (tables as well). You also have the labels on topics, dark mode, more printing formats, and smaller editing features. 

That is to say, XMind can be your choice (if you want a Desktop app) if you need to work with larger types of diagrams including tables. Otherwise, Mindomo has more to offer.

Compare more tools to find the best mind mapping software: alternatives to MindMeister, alternatives to MindManager.