Comparison

Structured Outliner vs MindPen

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

Head to head
About

Structured Outliner

Features
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Keep your entire outline in a single portable file you control. No account, no server, no lock-in, future-proof. ORGANIZE IN UNLIMITED DEPTH Build trees as deep as you need. Expand, collapse, and reorder topics with just a few taps. Every topic can have its own notes. Write as much or as little as you like. SEARCH EVERYTHING Search titles or note content at once. The tree expands automatically to show every match in context, so you always know where a result lives in your outline. CROSS-LINK TOPICS Link any note to another topic using the outlook: link format. Tap to jump directly there. Tap the back arrow to return where you came from. OPEN FILES AND URLS Tap any file path or URL inside a note to open it. Connect your outline to existing documents in the folder: PDFs, photos, or anything else you reference. COLOR LABELS Assign a background color to any topic: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, or Purple. The color flows down to all child topics that don't have their own. Use it to visually separate sections at a glance. AUTOMATIC BACKUPS The app writes a .bak backup before every save. Restore at any time from the menu. SYNC YOUR WAY Store your file in iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, or any Files-compatible provider. Open it from there on each device. No special sync setup required. MEMPAD COMPATIBLE Structured Outliner uses the same .lst format as MemPad for Windows, a portable outliner that has been around since the early 2000s. Open existing MemPad files directly, no conversion needed. FREE VERSION Structured Outliner is free to use. Development is supported by a small banner ad shown at the bottom of the screen. PRO VERSION Upgrade to Pro to remove the banner ad, unlock Color Labels and Topic + Note Search and future planned features. One-time purchase. Restore on any device from the menu.

About

MindPen

Features
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MindPen โ€” Mind Map, Idea Planner & Visual Brainstorming Turn ideas into action with MindPen, a visual mind map and planner that helps you brainstorm, organize, and execute. Build mind trees, add tasks and follow-ups to every branch, and watch your plans come together โ€” all in one beautiful, distraction-free app. Whether you are a student, freelancer, founder, parent, or daily planner โ€” MindPen keeps your thoughts clear and your plans moving. WHAT YOU CAN DO - Visual mind mapping: create unlimited branches, sub-branches, and mind nodes from a single idea. - Brainstorming canvas: a clean, pinch-to-zoom canvas for fast mental mapping and idea capture. - Tasks & follow-ups: turn any branch into actionable to-dos with due dates, reminders, and progress. - Notes per branch: attach long-form mind notes and reference material to any mind node. - Today & Calendar view: see what is due today across every plan in a single dashboard. - Templates: start fast with templates for business, study, personal goals, family events, and more. - Focus mode: hide everything except the branch you are working on. - Color-coded branches: organize visually with custom colors and priorities. - Cloud backup: Google Drive backup keeps your plans safe. - Multi-language: English, Hindi, Arabic, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Indonesian. PERFECT AS YOUR - Business planner โ€” product roadmaps, marketing plans, SOPs, OKRs, team initiatives. - Study planner โ€” exam prep, semester goals, thesis chapters, revision schedules. - Marriage planner โ€” weddings, anniversaries, family events, shared milestones. - Goal planner โ€” break long-term goals into yearly, monthly, weekly, daily branches. - Idea planner โ€” capture sparks of inspiration and grow them into full plans. - Project planner โ€” launches, content calendars, freelance work, side projects. - Personal organizer โ€” habits, errands, household, finances, travel. - Student mind mapping โ€” replace messy notes with clean visual mind trees and idea diagrams. - Author & creator planner โ€” outline books, courses, scripts, video series. - Family planner โ€” coordinate chores, schedules, shared notes. WHY MINDPEN - Simple mind map experience without overwhelming menus. - Visual & fast: a visual mind app and idea mapper that feels like real paper. - Works offline: your mind notes are always available, even without internet. - Designed for phones first, beautiful on tablets. - Private by default: your plans stay yours; cloud backup is optional and controlled by you. USE CASES Use MindPen as your daily mind organizer, brainstorming board, flow chart sketchpad, timeline maker, or simple idea diagram tool. From a quick mental mapping session to a full visual planner with tasks, follow-ups, and notes, MindPen scales with your thinking. If you have searched for a simple mind map app, mind node tool, idea mapper, visual mind app, mind notes app, mind tree, mind organizer, flowchart or diagram maker, timeline maker, brainstorming planner, business planner, study planner, marriage planner, goal planner, or idea planner โ€” MindPen brings them together in one focused, modern experience. PRO FEATURES (optional) Upgrade to MindPen Pro to unlock: - Unlimited plans, tasks, and follow-ups - Full color palette for branches - Priority levels for every sub-branch - Premium templates and themes - Priority support Start free with up to 3 plans, then upgrade anytime โ€” monthly, yearly, or one-time lifetime. SUPPORT We read every review. If something is missing or broken, please reach out โ€” we ship updates often. Privacy: https://mobizate.com/mindpen/privacy Terms: https://mobizate.com/mindpen/terms-and-conditions Make your next idea visible โ€” download MindPen and start planning the visual way.

Screenshots

Structured Outliner4 screens
MindPen3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: MindPen at none against Structured Outliner's shown. MindPen also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days) and device support (4 vs 2). On price and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Structured Outliner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and MindPen sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Structured Outliner ships an update every 9 days, MindPen every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences ยท 2 level
Structured Outliner versus MindPen: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStructured OutlinerMindPen
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 4 days โ€” better
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac โ€” better
Requires iOS17.013.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size6 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFelipe CarraroMOBIZATE

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Structured Outliner

One-time1
  • Pro Version$7.99
3 purchases

MindPen

Subscriptions2
  • MindPen Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • MindPen Premium Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • MindPen Premium Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Structured Outliner free?
Structured Outliner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MindPen free?
MindPen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Structured Outliner or MindPen have ads?
Structured Outliner shows ads; MindPen does not.
Which is updated more often, Structured Outliner or MindPen?
Structured Outliner ships an update every 9 days, and MindPen every 4 days. Most recently, Structured Outliner was updated on September 19, 2026 and MindPen on September 11, 2026.

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