FreeMind Reviews
Overall rating
Filter by
Company size
Time used
18 Reviews
- Industry: Marketing & Advertising
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Easy way to quickly capture concepts and plan projects, activity
Reviewed on 09/12/2019
I use FreeMind to first brainstorm, then document and systematize various processes related to my...
I use FreeMind to first brainstorm, then document and systematize various processes related to my business activities. You can be as general or as granular as you choose, linking to websites, documents etc., to implement or collaborate on them.
The various graphic icons available allow you to create industry-standard flows which everyone can recognize and understand.
It's also very easy to import the most common mind-mapping file types, so finding cool mindmaps and editing for your own processes is a breeze. Plus, the price is right so if you're just getting your feet wet it's the perfect solution. Highly recommend.
Pros
I love the simplicity and clean graphic style which translates into easy-to-follow conceptualizations of processes and activities.
Cons
There's really nothing to dislike about FreeMind. It works exactly as advertised, the price is right and it's very easy to use.
- Industry: Management Consulting
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Simple mind mapping for most purposes
Reviewed on 28/08/2024
Whenever I'm beginning a complex project, Freemind is my starting point. It's a way to start...
Whenever I'm beginning a complex project, Freemind is my starting point. It's a way to start collecting random thoughts in a structured manner and see how all the bits fit together. I can then get a good overview of what I'm doing and turn it into something actionable. It's easy to start with some top-level concepts and then dig down to whatever level you need, then use arrows and links to see how everything interrelates.
Pros
A quick and easy way to turn complex issues into structured thoughts.
Cons
Occasionally it has some odd display issues on my Mac which require the app to be restarted.
Alternatives Considered
MindMeisterReasons for Switching to FreeMind
Recommendation from friends and co-workers. Also I wanted something that would run on my laptop, not online.
- Industry: Publishing
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Monthly for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 2.0 /10
Wasted potential, now abandonware
Reviewed on 03/06/2023
My overall experience is quite negative. It's abandonware with little prospect of further developmen...
My overall experience is quite negative. It's abandonware with little prospect of further development which means that this isn't a safe platform to rely upon for any core part of your workflow.
Pros
FreeMind is serviceable for organizing thoughts and ideas. It provides a nice free-of-charge entry into the world of mind mapping.
Cons
FreeMind is a difficult program to use and understand. The interface is clunky and unintuitive, and the documentation is sparse and unhelpful. It's also slow and buggy, and I've had a lot of trouble getting it to work properly. Furthermore, it's abandonware and has been without an update for several years as of 2023. Overall, I would not recommend FreeMind to anyone. Instead, take a look at its fork, FreePlane.
Reasons for Switching to FreeMind
I actually chose MindNode as my mind mapping platform of choice as I'm Mac/iOS/iPadOS exclusive. If I needed a cross platform tool I'd have probably chosen Xmind.- Industry: Education Management
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
It may look a bit basic, but actually it is the only thing you need for mindmapping.
Reviewed on 17/10/2019
I use a lot of mindmapping in my work for planning and ideation, especially when developing new...
I use a lot of mindmapping in my work for planning and ideation, especially when developing new projects/products with education non-profits. I used to do all my mindmaps in Freemind and also to track the progress of some projects (not on daily basis as a to-do list, but for tracking deliverables, milestones, making sure something is not forgotten or missed). Recently I have been using online mindmaps for some of these, as I usually share some of the maps with other colleagues/clients, but actually if you combine Freemind with OneDrive or Drobpox and just put the mm file in the folder that you share with the client/colleague you get the same result. And since the app is free, works on various platforms and is easy to use, with clean interface it makes it easy to do mindmapping on the same file together. Furthermore, it does not ask to open any accounts, you can have unlimited number of maps, etc. which is really an advantage over the online mindmaps.
Pros
The app is really great for making mind maps, especially if you are doing it as the planning or ideation tool, and not as a child doing a homework etc. since it looks really professional and clean, has adequate tagging options and allows you to have multiple maps. It is written in Java so it works on various platforms wherever you have the runtime which is another benefit. And the best thing is that it is not only good tool, but a free one as well, which is very important for me as I work with non-profits, educational organizations etc.
Cons
Although it should run without problems on all platforms as it is written in Java, the Mac version has been a challenge to have working properly. When I changed from Windows to Mac I found the process a bit problematic and actually that was the time when I started doing my mindmapping primarily online. This has more to do with Apple than Freemind itself, but it is worth noting for mac users.
- Industry: Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing
- Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Top mind mapping SW
Reviewed on 27/02/2020
I've tried many mind mapping apps, also tried swithing from FreeMind to others, but each time I...
I've tried many mind mapping apps, also tried swithing from FreeMind to others, but each time I ended up using FreeMind. Simply the best mind mapping SW I've came accross.
Pros
It allows users create mind map, associate nodes with each other, insert links, icons, colors, images... It allows me not only to map my thoughts, but also manage complex projects and tasks. The app is also very fast! Ultra productive using keyboard short-cuts for working with nodes.
Cons
It would be great if one could chose from a library of other icons or create his own icons that would better fit specific purposes, e.g. project management, thoughts mind mapping, learning, etc.
Also calendar/timer/notifications need more development (not really user friendly).
- Industry: Marketing & Advertising
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Get Your Ideas Out Of Your Head
Reviewed on 02/11/2019
Overall it was helpful when I initially started writing books to get the ideas out of my head and...
Overall it was helpful when I initially started writing books to get the ideas out of my head and into a format where I could see them coming together as 1 big idea. I used it for quite a while before using a different method that flowed easier for me while writing books.
Pros
FreeMind is incredibly simple to use, but powerful for getting ideas out of your head and into a format where you can use them. We all have a million ideas in our head, FreeMind helps you sort them by creating primary ideas and then branching other ideas off of them.
Cons
In this case, the simplicity of the software means it lacks the pretty touch we've all grown accustomed to in modern software. It's a no frills experience for the most part, which is ok if you're looking at it from the functionality perspective, which it does very well.
- Industry: Marketing & Advertising
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 5.0 /10
Good for free software but dated
Reviewed on 10/01/2020
It's great for free but worth paying more for paid mindmap software
It's great for free but worth paying more for paid mindmap software
Pros
For a free tool it does the basic mind map making task very well with standard functionality included
Cons
It has a dated UI and some of the features are hard to find and hidden away
- Industry: Computer Software
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 6-12 months
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
The standard Open Source mind mapping tool
Reviewed on 30/03/2019
Pros
Freemind has all the basic functionality that you can ask from a tool like this. It has one of the easiest and most logic key shortcuts to create and navigate through the maps. It’s great to take notes or brainstorming, as it shows the relations visually. It’s built on java, which means that it is multi-platform. And it’s free in all ways.
This has become the standard Open Source tool for mind maps. If you find any application out there that exports to any mind map specific format (outside OPML, that it’s not mind mapping specific) it will be Freemind.
Cons
The simplicity in this case translates to simple graphical results. It’s not bad by itself, it lets you do the work without distraction. But if you want to impress your audience making an screenshot and putting it in a slideshow, you may want to try other tools, more oriented to the visual and graphic result.
- Industry: Computer Networking
- Company size: 201–500 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10
Freemind
Reviewed on 17/03/2022
Pros
I used this app because is free and open. Really easy to use and useful
Cons
I don't know how can I sync my mind maps between devices
- Industry: Computer Software
- Company size: 10,000+ Employees
- Used Monthly for 6-12 months
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10
Good free mindmap tool
Reviewed on 24/09/2020
Since its a freeware, it basically give me the capability to cretae a quick mind map, and this was...
Since its a freeware, it basically give me the capability to cretae a quick mind map, and this was what I was looking for. So it works for me.
Pros
It's free, gives the basic capability to quickly create mind maps.
Looks that all the capabilities to create a mind map are available
Cons
UI is outdated. Looks to have all the functionality but it's complex to operate. It has strange and non-standard icons, so it's hard to understand how to operate the application
- Industry: Executive Office
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Monthly for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Freemind Best Value for Brainstorming and Mind Mapping
Reviewed on 29/06/2021
Excellent. I use it both personally and for work groups. It allows the team to focus and fosters...
Excellent. I use it both personally and for work groups. It allows the team to focus and fosters creativity. Huge fan.
Pros
I have been an avid mind mapping software user for decades. I use mind mapping and brainstorming for almost every project and strategy I work on. I have used a variety of software tools but by far the best value is Freemind. It has all the functionality you need, simple and easy to use and best of all its free.
Cons
The only think I do not like is a slight inconsistency in use of insert vs return at the first nodes of a map.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used for 6-12 months
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10
Bringing order to chaotic thinking
Reviewed on 02/08/2019
I use it to plan marketing actions that require the coordination of many disciplines. By mapping...
I use it to plan marketing actions that require the coordination of many disciplines. By mapping the whole thing in FreeMind, I'm able to see the entirety of a complex plan with all it's branches at one quick glance, and better understand the relationship between all the factors at play. By mapping, I am able to resolve information classification and hierarchy, data flow channels, attributions and responsibilities of each employee or department involved, main end channels for a particular campaign, etc...
Pros
It is very easy and intuitive to use, with very few commands to learn. The branching structure allows the organization of a lot of information in a directly accessible format. Very useful for planning complex processes and actions.
Cons
I think it lacks flexibility to allow for more than one root node or tools that allow non-branching planning as in sequential flowcharts (If, then & else operations).
- Industry: Computer Networking
- Company size: 201–500 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Freemind
Reviewed on 18/09/2022
Pros
I love this software for brainstorming because its fast editing
Cons
I prefer kanban to manage projects. The worst of this software is the no online possibility
- Industry: E-Learning
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Excellent free software
Reviewed on 01/07/2020
I have been using this software for several years and always served me perfectly in the free version
I have been using this software for several years and always served me perfectly in the free version
Pros
I used it in the free version. I use it on the computer and it is very simple to use. It is very good in the way of exporting the files and allowing to transform maps into text documents.
Cons
I see no problems, as the free version already serves me in everything I need. I never needed support.
- Industry: Education Management
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Monthly for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
FREEMIND - a powerful tool for displaying information graphically
Reviewed on 14/03/2022
Fast and easy to use, allowing one to concentrate on what needs to be done.
Fast and easy to use, allowing one to concentrate on what needs to be done.
Pros
Simple tools - easy to learn and to become adept at using them. Printing out the files is easy and several programs have the ability to import FREEMIMD files and convert them to their own format.
Cons
There isn't much choice in how to display the units of information. There is no option for coloring the outline and fill of the nodes and connecting lines
- Industry: Writing & Editing
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Monthly for 1-5 months
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Great tool to make mind maps
Reviewed on 10/12/2022
Pros
Easy to use, free of charge, easy to export documents
Cons
I cannot think about any negative feature
- Industry: Information Technology & Services
- Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
FREEMIND - un outil puissant pour afficher des informations sous forme graphique
Reviewed on 18/12/2022
J'utilise ce logiciel depuis plusieurs années et il m'a toujours parfaitement servi pour faire des...
J'utilise ce logiciel depuis plusieurs années et il m'a toujours parfaitement servi pour faire des mind maps.
Pros
FreeMind est incroyablement simple à utiliser, mais puissant pour cartographier les idées. Il permet aux utilisateurs de créer des mind maps, d'associer des nœuds les uns aux autres, d'insérer des liens, des icônes, des couleurs, des images... Il me permet non seulement de cartographier mes idées, mais aussi de gérer des projets et des tâches complexes. Et le mieux, c'est que ce n'est pas seulement un bon outil, mais aussi un outil gratuit, ce qui est très important pour moi qui travaille avec des organisations éducatives et des étudiants.
Cons
L'interface utilisateur est un peu ancienne et certaines fonctions sont difficiles à trouver et sont cachées.
- Industry: Management Consulting
- Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
- Used Weekly for 1+ year
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
FreeMind, uma mão na roda!
Reviewed on 16/01/2023
Eu utilizo o FreeMind para a elaboração de Mapas Mentais e estou muito satisfeito com os resultados...
Eu utilizo o FreeMind para a elaboração de Mapas Mentais e estou muito satisfeito com os resultados obtidos. É um software leve, fácil de se operar, os arquivos salvos também ficam bem pequenos. Adoro a praticidade do software.
Pros
O FreeMind é uma feramenta leve, fácil de se operar e apresenta resultados incríveis, principalmente na elaboração de mapas mentais.
Cons
O visual dos mapas mentais não possui muitas opções gráficas. Os esquemas elaborados acabam ficando um pouco simples.
