EdrawMind is a cross-platform mind-mapping app with AI tools that create maps from text, PDFs and images. The free version limits features and watermarks exports; the individual plan is about $4.90 a month.
Markmap is a free, MIT-licensed open-source tool that turns Markdown outlines into interactive mind maps, with an online editor and a VS Code extension. It has no built-in AI.
Markmap is an open-source project that visualises Markdown as a mind map. Its site uses the tagline Visualize your Markdown with mindmaps, and the GitHub repository describes it as a way to build mind maps with plain text. Headings and list items in a Markdown document become branches, and the resulting map can be zoomed and expanded or collapsed in the browser.
The source is published under the MIT licence on GitHub in the markmap organisation. The website credits the developer gera2ld, and the Vim, Emacs and VS Code integrations point to the same account, though the pages do not formally name a maintainer or company, so we list none. Besides the online try-it-out editor, the site links to docs, an API reference and a VS Code extension that is also on Open VSX. The repository lists third-party plugins for Neovim and Emacs, and two community AI projects: an MCP server and an agent skill that create a Markmap from a file, URL or topic.
There are no paid plans, only a donate link, so the price is zero. Markmap itself has no built-in AI. In practice, people ask a chatbot to write a Markdown outline and paste it into Markmap, so the quality of the map depends on the outline you provide. Input must be Markdown rather than free-form text, which makes it less convenient for non-technical users than tools that accept pasted paragraphs, documents or videos. Because it is open source, it can be run on your own machine.
Yes. It is open source under the MIT licence. The site mentions no paid plans and only has a donate link.
Not on its own. You write or generate a Markdown outline elsewhere and paste it in. Community projects add MCP and agent-skill support.
In the browser through the online editor, and in VS Code through the extension. Community plugins exist for Vim, Neovim and Emacs.
Website: https://markmap.js.org/
Free open-source Markdown-to-mind-map renderer with an online editor and VS Code extension. No built-in AI, so input must be a Markdown outline; a chatbot can write it.
| Pricing model | Open source |
|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes · Entirely free; MIT licence; no paid tier · no credit card required |
| Starting price | Not verified |
| Data residency | Not verified |
| Compliance (as stated by vendor) | Not verified |
| Integrations | VS Code |
| Public API | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes |
| Official site | Not verified |
| Can a general AI assistant replace it? | A chatbot can draft the Markdown outline but cannot draw the map. Markmap renders it for free; text-only input is its main limit. |
| Last verified | 2026-10-10 by editor |
EdrawMind is a cross-platform mind-mapping app with AI tools that create maps from text, PDFs and images. The free version limits features and watermarks exports; the individual plan is about $4.90 a month.
Miro is an online whiteboard and visual collaboration platform with AI features and an AI mind map generator in its tools menu. The Free plan has 3 editable boards; Starter is $8 per member billed yearly.
MindMeister is a browser-based mind-mapping tool with real-time collaboration and a beta AI feature that builds maps from a prompt or file. The free plan allows 3 mind maps.
Napkin AI turns text into diagrams, flowcharts, mind maps, infographics and slides on the web. The Free plan gives 500 AI credits per week; Plus is listed at $9 per person per month.
GitMind is an AI mind-mapping app that turns text, files, links, videos and audio into mind maps, summaries and diagrams. Free users get limited trials of AI features; no prices were readable.
Mapify turns text, PDFs, YouTube videos, web pages and audio into mind maps with AI. The Free plan gives 30 one-time credits; Basic is $9.99 a month billed monthly.
Need the outcome rather than the software?