Comparison

Headspace vs Outliner for iPad

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Headspace

This app offers a unique 3D approach to organizing thoughts and creating hierarchical outlines. Visualize your information in a floating space, navigate with intuitive gestures, and connect related ideas with visual links. It's designed for a dynamic and engaging way to manage lists and mind maps.

Highlights
  • Build hierarchical outlines in 3D space
  • Navigate and zoom with familiar finger gestures
  • Connect related items with link lines
  • Change item color and opacity
  • Universal app for iPhone and iPad
  • Sync files with Dropbox
  • PDF export with active note links
Features
Read full description

*** PLEASE NOTE: This NOT the meditation app! *** (There is another app called "Headspace: Guided Meditation and Mindfulness" and this is NOT that app!) This is the *original* Headspace! HEADSPACE is iOS's coolest 3D outliner and mind-mapping app! Do your list-making and mind-mapping in 3D space with the *original* Headspace. "Five stars on iPhone, completely off the scale on iPad" "This is the app I've most wanted to run on the iPad since the day it was announced, and the app that anyone looking over your shoulder will immediately want to buy an iPad just to run. " "Love the program. Favorite app. Useful and looks great. " "The implementation is beautiful! In my opinion, Headspace is becoming one of the best apps in the store." "I bought Headspace last night on a whim - been fooling around with mindmapping apps lately. This is a little piece of brilliance, you know that, right? " "This app could not just be a mindmapping program, It has the capability to become a new kind of U.I. That in my opinion that improved over apples U.I." Headspace allows you to create items and groups of items on a floating plane in three-dimensional space. The hierarchy of items and their various sub-items make for a beautiful display of information as they recede into the distance. Simple and familiar finger gestures allow you to move around the space. Use the menu button to travel between various groups. Easily create links and travel between them. The beautiful animated interface is like something from a sci-fi movie, but it isn't just eye-candy. You can go from an "eagle-eye" view of your entire map to focusing on a single item with a simple pinch of your fingers. There's just something about being able to manipulate the scale and space that goes perfectly with the idea of outlining. Here's a rundown on all its cool features: ● build hierarchical outlines in 3D space ● use familiar finger gestures to navigate and zoom ● connect related items with link lines - even between files! ● change item color and opacity ● change text color ● 'Flick' up or down to travel to top or bottom of lists ● special characters and foreign-language support ● universal app -- runs on both iphone and ipad ● easy travel between groups and files ● cut-and-paste items ● search in spaces, notes, and files ● item notes for supplemental information (text/photo/url) ● optional accelerometer rotate ● customizable color palette ● "to-do" style item checkboxes ● 2D orthogonal mode ● sync files between your iphone and iPad with Dropbox ● file support for Freemind, the free multi-platform desktop mind-mapping program ● stunning PDF export w/ active note links Get some perspective on your thoughts. Try Headspace today! Let us know what else you'd like to see added, email headspace@flatblackfilms.com!

About

Outliner for iPad

This application is an iPad-exclusive outlining tool. It is a legacy version, with a universal app available for new users. Contact the developer for any inquiries.

Highlights
  • Outlining tool
  • iPad exclusive
Read full description

** This is the iPad only version of Outliner. Outliner is now a Universal app, so new users should purchase that version instead. Please contact us for any questions. Thanks! **

Screenshots

Headspace4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Outliner for iPad at 4.8 against Headspace's 4.4. Outliner for iPad also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 71%). Headspace's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Headspace costs $3.99 and Outliner for iPad $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Outliner for iPad holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 13 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Headspace's written reviews are positive against 82% of Outliner for iPad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Headspace ships an update every 2 months, Outliner for iPad every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and July 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Headspace versus Outliner for iPad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeadspaceOutliner for iPad
Price$3.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.4 (10 ratings)4.8 (13 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews81.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1013 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFlat Black FilmsCarbonFin

Customer experience

Headspace

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews182 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral12.6%
Negative15.9%

Outliner for iPad

All ratings13 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews130 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral5.4%
Negative13.1%

User reviews

Headspace

From 10 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful, visually stunning 3D interface
  • 💡 Innovative 3D mind mapping approach
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to learn
  • 🔗 Powerful linking and cross-referencing features
  • ✅ Useful checkbox functionality for to-do lists

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 💾 Data loss after updates and crashes
  • 🔧 Clunky and cumbersome user interface for basic tasks
  • 😵 Confusing workflow for adding and editing items
  • 🎮 3D gimmick can be distracting and impractical

Outliner for iPad

From 13 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple, intuitive interface
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive performance
  • 🔄 Seamless syncing across devices
  • 💾 Free cloud backup and sync service
  • 📱 Works on iPhone, iPad, and web

Room to improve

  • 🔤 Font size options too limited
  • 👁️ Text too small for accessibility needs
  • 🎨 No color or formatting options
  • 📱 Separate paid apps for iPhone and iPad
  • ⌨️ Poor keyboard support and shortcuts

Bugs and requests

Headspace

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes on creating new groups
  • Crashes when entering text on iPad
  • Text color picker fails to change colors
  • Instant crash when closing text color picker
  • Crashes on Dropbox connection
Show 10 more
  • Data loss with file format updates
  • Existing links lost after updates
  • Screen flickers between files
  • Text display issues after multiple app launches
  • Color brightness settings lost
  • Keyboard popup without dialog box
  • Accelerometer causes erratic screen movement
  • Incompatibility with iOS/iPadOS updates
  • Performance lag with large maps
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

24 requests
  • Desktop/Mac version for syncing
  • iCloud syncing between iOS devices
  • Google Drive and OneDrive support
  • Evernote integration
  • Ability to drag items between groups
Show 19 more
  • Undo functionality
  • Export to email directly
  • Different arrow/connector styles
  • OPML export format
  • Reminders and deadline notifications
  • Different text box shapes
  • Photo/image import and support
  • Web-based version
  • Ability to move items outside groups
  • Simpler gesture controls for text entry
  • List view option
  • Icons and visual indicators for content types
  • Advanced search functionality
  • Child count indicators on parent nodes
  • Customizable 3D graphics
  • Movie recording with preset paths
  • Structured data visualization capabilities
  • Automatic color selection for new groups
  • Bullet points for children items

Outliner for iPad

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Font size settings don't include larger options
  • Copy and paste functionality lost in recent updates
  • OPML export doesn't preserve outline hierarchy in Word
  • Text selection and cursor placement issues
  • Sync authentication failures causing data loss
Show 7 more
  • App crashes when creating new outlines
  • Formatting lost when cutting and pasting
  • Dropbox sync not automatic, requires manual setup per file
  • Dialog changes don't update until closed
  • Slow startup time on iPad
  • Small touch targets for expand/collapse buttons
  • Multi-line note preview not available

Requested features

20 requests
  • Larger font size options and accessibility settings
  • Color coding and text formatting (bold, italics)
  • Folder-based organization for outlines
  • Due dates and reminders for tasks
  • Password protection and encryption
Show 15 more
  • PDF export functionality
  • Keyboard shortcuts for navigation and hierarchy changes
  • Multi-select and batch operations
  • Columns for additional metadata
  • Dark mode or customizable color themes
  • Gantt chart or timeline view
  • Desktop application for Windows/Mac
  • Universal app (single purchase for iPhone and iPad)
  • Automatic syncing without manual trigger
  • Ability to move outlines between lists
  • Rich text formatting in notes
  • Web link detection and built-in browser
  • Image and attachment support
  • Numbered list export
  • Integration with Google Tasks or iOS Reminders

In-app purchases

None

Headspace

No in-app purchases

None

Outliner for iPad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Headspace free?
Headspace costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Outliner for iPad free?
Outliner for iPad costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Headspace or Outliner for iPad?
Outliner for iPad is rated higher. Headspace averages 4.4 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Outliner for iPad averages 4.8 from 13 ratings.
Do Headspace or Outliner for iPad have ads?
Neither Headspace nor Outliner for iPad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Headspace or Outliner for iPad?
Headspace ships an update every 2 months, and Outliner for iPad every 4 months. Most recently, Headspace was updated on September 22, 2026 and Outliner for iPad on July 24, 2026.

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