SimpleMind vs Map Note
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SimpleMind
Organize your thoughts, capture ideas, and generate new concepts with this intuitive mind mapping tool. Create unlimited mind maps, customize their appearance, and add rich content like notes, images, and links. Share your maps in various formats or sync them across devices.
- Unlimited mind map creation
- Customizable appearance and style sheets
- Add notes, images, icons, and links
- Collapse/expand branches and outline view
- Free-form layout and auto layouts
- Export in PDF, Image, and OPML formats
- Sync across devices via cloud services
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Mind mapping helps you organize your thoughts, remember information and generate new ideas. We've created a beautiful, intuitive app, so you can mind map wherever you are and whenever you want. ○ Free Functionality Everything you need to get started with mind mapping • Easy to use. • Create as many Mind Maps as you want. • Change the overall appearance by selecting one of the many style sheets. • Add notes. • Collapse and expand branches. • Outline view. • Brainstorm. • Continuously fine-tuned based on customer feedback. • Upgrade to Pro functionality is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Private by Design • No ads. • No tracking. • No need to sign up for an account. • We do not have access to your Mind Maps. ○ Pro Functionality Create • Place topics anywhere you want in the free-form layout. • Use various auto layouts. • Reorganize and restructure topics. • Connect any two topics with a crosslink. • Label relations. Tools to help you maintain overview • Collapse and expand branches. • Block out distractions with autofocus. • Visually group topics with group borders. • Outline view. • Search and filter. Enrich your Mind Map • Images and photos. • Notes. • Icons. • Link to a mind map, contact, file or webpage. • Checkboxes. Style your mind map • Change the overall appearance by selecting one of the many style sheets. • Create your own style sheets. • Style every detail, exactly how you want it. Share Mind Maps • PDF, Image and more. • Outline text. • Create a slideshow to present your Mind Map (tablet only). • Print. • Exchange as OPML, for example with AI apps. Safely store and sync your Mind Maps • You control where your Mind Maps are stored. • Sync Mind Maps across devices using iCloud, Dropbox or other clouds. • SimpleMind is designed to open your Mind Maps across platforms. • SimpleMind for Mac, and companion apps for other platforms, are sold separately.
Map Note
Organize your thoughts on an infinitely expanding canvas. This app is designed for non-linear thinking, allowing you to freely expand ideas radially for brainstorming and mind mapping.
- Infinitely expanding canvas
- Radial idea expansion
- Mind mapping
- Brainstorming
- Idea sketching
- Non-linear note-taking
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Using map notes, you can spread your ideas anywhere on an infinitely spread canvas. I think the brain's work when considering ideas is a random and radial working image rather than linear. Traditional notes that need to be written sequentially from left to right are not very suitable for this process. If you use this infinite size notebook application, you can freely expand ideas from the center of the page, so you can make ideas more natural. Ideal for creating rough mind maps, brainstorming and idea sketches. * Please check out MapNote 2 that can add images, add folders, and sync with iCloud.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: SimpleMind at Free against Map Note's $2.99. SimpleMind also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 56%) and ratings volume (982 vs 69). Map Note's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 2 months). On rating, ads and device support 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
SimpleMind is free to download; Map Note costs $2.99 up front. SimpleMind sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Map Note asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for SimpleMind against 4.5 for Map Note. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SimpleMind has 982 ratings behind it against 69, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of SimpleMind's written reviews are positive against 56% of Map Note's.
SimpleMind ships an update every 2 months, Map Note every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SimpleMind | Map Note |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (982 ratings) — better | 4.5 (69 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.2% of reviews — better | 56.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 982 — better | 69 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | xpt Software & Consulting B.V. | Naoya Enokida |
Customer experience
SimpleMind
Map Note
Bugs and requests
SimpleMind
Reported bugs
2 issues- Maps disappearing after device resets
- Inability to import/export certain file formats
Requested features
4 requests- Improved syncing and cloud integration
- More customization options for appearance and layout
- Keyboard shortcuts and power user features
- Better support for Apple Pencil and handwriting
Map Note
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SimpleMind
- Unlock Pro Functionality$10.99
Map Note
No in-app purchases









