# Mindscope vs Cloud Outliner

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mindscope | Cloud Outliner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.0 (46 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mindscope-thought-organizer/id901513028/reviews) | **[4.5 (751 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cloud-outliner-nested-lists/id1018143540/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 46 | **751** |
| Positive reviews | **80.7% of reviews** | 80.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 6 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 27 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [John Goering](https://appshunter.io/developer/507507566) | [Denys Ievenko](https://appshunter.io/developer/427936468) |

## What reviewers say

### Mindscope

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mindscope-thought-organizer/id901513028)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Everything | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 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)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- Image and photo insertion capability
- Apple Pencil handwriting support
- Text formatting (bold, colors, font options)
- Infinite or larger canvas with zoom
- iPhone app version


### Cloud Outliner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cloud-outliner-nested-lists/id1018143540)

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.

**Highlights:** Multi-level document management, Drag & drop reordering, Swipe to indent, Rich text formatting, iCloud synchronization, Export to PDF and OPML, Password protection

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Pro Features | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes and freezes on certain devices
- Issues with restoring Pro purchases on new devices
- Inconsistent syncing behavior between iOS and macOS versions

**Requested features**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mindscope free?

Mindscope is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Cloud Outliner free?

Cloud Outliner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Mindscope or Cloud Outliner?

Cloud Outliner is rated higher. Mindscope averages 4.0 out of 5 from 46 ratings, while Cloud Outliner averages 4.5 from 751 ratings.

### Do Mindscope or Cloud Outliner have ads?

Neither Mindscope nor Cloud Outliner shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Mindscope or Cloud Outliner?

Mindscope ships an update every 2 weeks, and Cloud Outliner every 6 months. Most recently, Mindscope was updated on October 6, 2026 and Cloud Outliner on October 16, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*