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Back in the dark days when I used to run windows I used to use MindJet Mindmanager and I found it to be very good. Since I have been using Ubuntu as my main operating system I have been trying to find a replacement mind map software to use but have not had any luck finding a good replacment. So far I have tried VYM, kdisset and Semantik. I have either found them not to be very good or have a nasty habit of crashing.

So I was wondering could anyone recommend good mind mapping software to use under Ubuntu?

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12 Answers 12

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I like FreeMind Install freemind very much, which is a Java mindmapping tool. Colleagues of me like XMind most.

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    A small note on Freemind (which I too like): I couldn't get it to function with OpenJDK on a clean 10.04 install. I had to remove all openjdk and icedtea packages and install the proprietary sun-java6-jre packages instead. (Incidentally, I also had to do this to get the Firefox Zotero-to-OpenOffice plugin to work).
    – eugenemarshall
    Aug 1, 2010 at 10:40
  • I will try at home and tell you.
    – ddeimeke
    Aug 3, 2010 at 5:39
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    Freemind does seem good is there a way to make it automatically balance the tree?
    – Mark Davidson
    Aug 3, 2010 at 7:28
  • Unfortunately I do not know how to auto-balance the tree. Concerning openjdk, I took a look at the start script. Maybe installing libgcj9-0-awt or libgcj10-awt is an option.
    – ddeimeke
    Aug 3, 2010 at 15:58
  • Freemind is working well with OpenJDK in the current state of the 11.04 development branch of Ubuntu. So it should be working fine when 11.04 is released.
    – practicalli-john
    Dec 17, 2010 at 1:40
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XMind has better graphics than Freemind but it's much heavier.

Pro's include:

  1. Good customizable GUI.
  2. Available for any major platform.
  3. There's a portable version for the USB.

Con's:

  1. It's java based. That makes it a bit slow.
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  • I use Xmind free version too.
    – User
    Aug 1, 2010 at 15:52
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    I started with freemind on Windows. When I moved to Ubuntu I had trouble configuring it. Then I tried Xmind and stuck with it. It's multiplatmform too. I use it with dropbox to sync maps between machines.
    – lamcro
    Sep 15, 2010 at 9:43
  • XMind 8 has serious performance issue - typing delay is few seconds (on each typed letter).
    – Dimitar II
    Aug 31, 2017 at 18:52
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Try using Freeplane Install freeplane.

Freeplane is a powerful and free software for building the mind maps. It is a redesigned version of the well known FreeMind, and is created by one of FreeMind's key developers. I prefer it over FreeMind since there are more options. Also, questions or problems with the program are answered and fixed MUCH faster.

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Mindmeister — online lightweight mind mapping tool.

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After browsing through the various options here, which mostly aren't in 16.04 repos I think, I tried xournal, which I noticed Yann LeCun uses in his lectures. It works pretty well. I modified it slightly so its easier to autorecognize lines https://github.com/hughperkins/xournal/tree/easier-autolines

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  • Edit: finally I use labyrinth. Again, I hacked it a bit, to use a desktop load/save/new paradigm, rather than the mobile-paradigm in mainstream. My hacked labyrinth github.com/hughperkins/labyrinth
    – Hugh Perkins
    May 27, 2016 at 16:01
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Minder is available as a flatpak in Pop!_OS, so it should work similarly in Ubuntu: https://github.com/phase1geo/Minder

It is styled after Elementary OS

These answers should be updated as many of these programs appear to be obsoleted. Here is a more current list: https://www.fossmint.com/free-mind-mapping-software-for-linux/ which does NOT include Minder for some reason (probably due to naming, it is difficult to search for "Minder mind mapping software" without a search auto-correcting you away from intended results due to assuming you had a typo or duplicate word)

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  • Minder is a great modern tool, thanks for the tip! Agreed. The answers should be updated to exclude obsolete/unmaintainted software.
    – tjanez
    Jul 18, 2020 at 9:55
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You could always try running MindJet MindManager under Wine. Apparently some people have had some success doing so. If all else fails, you could run a windows guest system on an Ubuntu host via Virtualbox.

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I started using VYM (View your Mind) http://www.insilmaril.de/vym/

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Another good one to try is Personal Brain, it has a free flow feel to it.

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It is VUE Visual Understanding Environment whic can be download from: https://vue.tufts.edu/download/index.cfm, I use it in Windows 7 & love it and having a Ubuntu version is an add to the software...

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I've tried Freemind and really didn't like it. The one I liked the most on Ubuntu was Semantik, both for its ease of use and because Semantik mind-maps are exportable to ODT as outlines.

One downside is that it's a KDE app so it wouldn't integrate with your desktop well.

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  • Semantik is hard to use.
    – jeremiah
    Oct 14, 2014 at 9:53
  • I use KDE so i prefer a KDE-based app.
    – Nande
    Apr 7, 2023 at 1:17
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Labyrinth is a lightweight mindmapping tool in the ubuntu repository. It's features are not much compared to freeplane. But it can do basic mind mapping.

Install it with sudo apt install labyrinth

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