SimpleMind Reviews

I love that SimpleMind gives me a powerful, flexible tool to generate attractive mind maps, timelines, and to-do lists on mobile (I use the Pro version on iOS). The developers have remained active in keeping the app up-to-date, and have even added some new features (e.g. Brainstorm) that are super helpful, and while it offers a variety of pre-made templates to use, you can also make freeform maps and structure them however you want, and save your own custom templates for later. I use it for character development, story brainstorming, plotting/structure, keeping track of tasks and deadlines for school etc. The fact that it can sync with OneDrive or other cloud services and export to a variety of file types is also super valuable to me.

Purchasing the Pro version doesn't get you the upgrade across all platforms -- if you purchase it for iOS, you still have to pay for it on Windows (and vice versa). A lot of programs work this way, and to be fair, I rarely miss it on PC (I prefer mindmapping with a touchscreen device), and the iOS version is significantly cheaper than the Windows version, so it's not necessarily a big deal if you only need to use it on one platform -- just something to be aware when considering the upgrade from free/trial to Pro.

It's helped me organize my thoughts visually and see how my various random thoughts connect to each other (in the case of character/story development), and helped me break down my to-do list into manageable chunks (I can even mark what percentage of a task I've done and mark a deadline if I want, and link between maps if I want to have separate ones for each task, quickly get from a cast list to a specific character's psychological profile etc.).

This software does not restrict you to any way of creating a mind map, there are traditional templates but if you choose the free form layout you can create it whichever way you like.

I don't like the colour schemes and the template colours, they need better art direction to get their icons and themes colours up to scratch. I use MindMaster when I need good looking flow charts and also things like fishbones and circular mindmaps, which Simplemind lacks.

Its been a lifesaver when it comes to mind mapping academic research, ideation and seeing the bigger picture.

SimpleMind is intuitive in its simplest use case. It has plenty of advanced features, but unlike MS Word they are invisible until used. A great tutorial and help site binds it all together. This is how software/apps should be developed.

Like many touch-enabled apps, certain functionality is less discoverable - like doing a long press to enable multiple-selection (this is needed to relocate an entire region of the mindmap at once). But the help site certainly helped me through this.

Preparing presentations, organizing tasks. I've come to like its 2-D approach far more than list-oriented things, including outlining tools. Keeping the ordering step separate from the brain-storming step is the AHA moment you'll have if you use this.

The program is intuitive. It has an extensive tutorial which comes in handy after you've figured out the stuff you need to get going. It's got tons of options. But best of all, it has so many different practical applications. I am an aggressive course taker and reader. It's obviously an excellent notetaking device. I also use it for project planning, goal setting, and scheduling.

You have to pay for every device you add it to if you use one drive as your storage. Other than that holy cow. It's virtually perfect.

Try the free version briefly to get a feel for it but jump into the paid version soon. It's an excellent program worth more than its very modest price. You can read the tutorial (which is very well written) but you can actually just jump right in and discover most of what you need if not all, to run the program very effectively. This is one of the programs I use every day. Can't say enough positive about this.

I'm a blogger. I read probably 50 to a hundred articles every couple of days. Simplemind keeps my notes in order. It allows me to expand on notes, easily tucking them in where they make the most sense. This is a highly visual interface, so it helps you to literally see what you are thinking about.

What I like the best about SimpleMind is it's user friendly interface, customisation options, multiple layouts and sharing options.

Mobile version has less features compared to desktop version.

It has benefited in structuring plans. It has streamlined operations leading to cleaner strategies. It has improved communication within the team.