SimpleMind - Mind Mapping

68 of 100 · reviews
4.5of 5 · store
975ratings on the App Store
298reviews read

An editorial reading of the saved reviews

SimpleMind is a fast and reliable mind map editor with a one-time purchase instead of a subscription. It supports multiple map formats (bubbles, timeline, vertical), and runs smoothly even on older iPads. The main drawback is no handwriting input with Apple Pencil, the stylus only replaces touch input without handwriting recognition.

Screenshots

What people use it for

Solo users and students who need a fast, reliable thinking tool without a subscription and without extra features.

What reviews praise

One-time purchase with no subscription: pay once and own the editor forever, which sets it sharply apart from competitors with annual plans.

What reviews complain about

Apple Pencil does not recognize handwritten text in nodes.
The stylus works only as a finger substitute, so handwritten notes directly on the map are not possible.

What users experience

3 excerpts from the breakdown. These are individual cases, not a verdict on all users.

SimpleMind you are good. You have a lot going for you. But you are not as good as my beloved iThoughts yet. You lack the simple keyboard navigation to expand and condense nodes (or topics), and you lack the keyboard based resizing of the map to zoom in and out with ease.

For the paid app: I was looking for a mind map app that showed for non hierarchical relationships (so not just parent-child) and that didn't require a subscription and this has proved to be excellent.

However, they have no support for Apple Pencil except as a replacement for your finger.