Mindscope vs Cloud Outliner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mindscope
Organize your thoughts and ideas with a powerful yet simple outliner. Create nested boards, sort entries, and export your work. Unlock advanced features like search and cross-linking with an in-app purchase.
- Create and drag text entries
- Nested sub-boards
- Sort thoughts into categories
- Export as bullet list
- Import .mindscope files
- In-app purchase for advanced features
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Mindscope is a new and powerfully simple way to store your thoughts without getting lost in the details. • Quickly create text entries with a double-tap and drag them around, aligning them to each other. Perfect for brainstorming, capturing, and sorting thoughts or taking notes. • Tapping an entry enters its own page where you can create more entries (and as many sub-boards as you like). • Drag entries into other entries to quickly sort your thoughts into categories and projects. • Keep track of lists, todos, notes, and anything else you feel like keeping track of, for example a list of ways to be funny when writing an app description. Or something. • Copy and paste entries including their sub-entries • Export all entries and sub-entries of a board via e-mail as a bullet list. • Import any saved .mindscope file. • Set a default font size for any board (long-press on a font size and select "Set As Default" All of the above, as a universal app, with iCloud sync...completely for free! Yeah, I know, I can't believe it either. You can "pay" me with an App Store review, how does that sound? However, if you are up for spending money, with the "Unlock Everything" in-app purchase, you can also save your own .mindscope files, search through all your entries instantly, create cross-links between boards, create arrows and lines between entries, set up a grid background for a page, set your own colors per page, and export boards to an OPML file (suitable for opening in most major mind-mapping programs). Any upcoming features in future updates will be included for the unlocked version at no extra cost. See a video of Mindscope in action at http://www.mindscopeapp.com Quotes from happy customers: "It’s hitting a sweet spot for me. I have pretty much every single Mind-Mapping or Outlining app for iOS, and this is among the best.” “This is EXACTLY what I've been hoping for. I so need to send flowers to your mother for having you.” "Mindscope is a terrific app, elegant, easy to use, and incredibly useful.” "Scapple for Mac comes closest to Mindscope in its combination of function, ease of use and minimalism but Mindscope is better." "A very cool app. Think of it as Workflowy unbound from the outline."
Cloud Outliner
This app helps you structure your thoughts and tasks into clear, organized lists. It offers visual organization, synchronization across devices, and rich editing features for easy management of your ideas and plans. Share your organized content easily with others.
- Multi-level document management
- Drag & drop reordering
- Swipe to indent
- Rich text formatting
- iCloud synchronization
- Export to PDF and OPML
- Password protection
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Cloud Outliner helps you turn ideas and tasks into clear, structured lists. Capture thoughts instantly, organize them visually, and keep everything synchronized across your Mac, iPhone, and iPad with iCloud. With rich editing, intuitive gestures, and easy sharing, staying organized has never been easier. Install Cloud Outliner and bring clarity to your work and life. Key Features Organize and Protect • Multi-level document manager • Color tags for quick highlights • Password protection • Custom templates • Duplicate documents Powerful Outline Editor • Drag & drop to reorder • Swipe to change indentation • Multi-select for bulk actions • Checkboxes and auto-numbering • Notes for list items • Rich text formatting and highlighting • Collapse or expand any level • Filters, undo/redo, copy/paste • Link and phone number detection • Read-only mode • Wireless keyboard support with shortcuts Sync and Share • Sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud* • Mac version available • Export to PDF, OPML, plain text • Import OPML files • Print via AirPrint • Share by email or messenger Extra • Light and Dark mode • Clean, intuitive design • Portrait and landscape support * Sync with Mac requires Cloud Outliner Pro for macOS, sold separately.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Cloud Outliner at 4.5 against Mindscope's 4.0. Cloud Outliner also leads on ratings volume (751 vs 46). Mindscope's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Mindscope sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Cloud Outliner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Cloud Outliner holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cloud Outliner has 751 ratings behind it against 46, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 81% and 80% positive.
Mindscope ships an update every 2 weeks, Cloud Outliner every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mindscope | Cloud Outliner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (46 ratings) | 4.5 (751 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.7% of reviews — better | 80.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 46 | 751 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Goering | Denys Ievenko |
Customer experience
Mindscope
Cloud Outliner
User reviews
Mindscope
From 46 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Intuitive and easy-to-learn interface
- 💡 Unique hybrid of mind-mapping, outliner, and note-taking
- 🎯 Excellent for organizing thoughts without clutter
- ⚡ Fast and responsive performance
- 💰 Affordable one-time purchase ($5)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 📱 Poor iPad optimization and crashes
- ⚠️ Text overlapping in free version
- 🔄 Sync issues across multiple devices
- 📵 Limited iCloud functionality and hanging
Cloud Outliner
From 751 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
- 🚀 Seamless syncing across devices
- 📝 Great for organizing thoughts and ideas
- 🔍 Helpful for creating checklists and to-do lists
- 💻 Works well on both mobile and desktop
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional syncing issues and data loss
- 🔍 Limited search and filtering capabilities
- 💻 Lack of split-screen support on iPad
- 🔄 Frequent prompts to rate the app
- 🎨 Limited customization options for text and formatting
Bugs and requests
Mindscope
Reported bugs
15 issues- App crashes when adding entries
- Text input box disappears before typing
- Crashes on iPad with iOS 15 upgrade
- iCloud access causes app to hang indefinitely
- Crashes when exporting to plain text
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- Data loss during iOS version upgrades
- Layout issues when rotating device orientation
- Crashes when searching linked elements
- Crashes when inserting text
- Bluetooth keyboard input not working (earlier versions)
- Audio playback interruption
- Alignment and sync issues across devices
- Copy-paste groups items on top of originals
- Undo/redo sequence inconsistencies
- Version 1.5 splash screen hang on startup
Requested features
19 requests- Image and photo insertion capability
- Apple Pencil handwriting support
- Text formatting (bold, colors, font options)
- Infinite or larger canvas with zoom
- iPhone app version
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- Cloud sync (Dropbox, iCloud improvements)
- Multiple independent maps/documents
- Dark mode theme
- Better file management system
- Import from other mind-mapping apps
- Color-coding individual entries
- Calendar and reminders integration
- Web version or Mac companion app
- Notification features
- Improved animation controls
- Circular context menu for faster access
- Plain text export without HTML markup
- Randomize board item locations
- Flowchart options
Cloud Outliner
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes and freezes on certain devices
- Issues with restoring Pro purchases on new devices
- Inconsistent syncing behavior between iOS and macOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for attaching files and images
- Improve export options beyond OPML
- Introduce a true dark mode with black text on dark background
- Add keyboard shortcuts for common actions
- Enhance the ability to move and reorganize outline items
In-app purchases
Mindscope
- Unlock Everything$3.99
Cloud Outliner
- Unlock Pro Features$4.99









