Freeplane
Freeplane is a free, open-source application for creating mind maps and navigating mapped information at work, school or home.
What Freeplane is
Freeplane is a free, open-source application for creating mind maps and navigating mapped information at work, school or home. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with a compatible Java runtime, and can operate offline, locally or portably from removable storage. Presentation mode supports showing mapped content, while AI assistance is available in recent versions. AI setup documentation covers OpenRouter, Gemini and Ollama; depending on the provider and configuration, map content sent to AI may leave the machine, and tool permissions can be configured. Freeplane exports to formats including Markdown, Asciidoc, PDF, HTML, SVG, PNG, JPEG, OPML and LaTeX, along with office and project formats. Add-ons can extend or customize functions, although some are not supplied by core developers. Windows offers installers and a portable distribution. Bundled macOS versions use Java 21 and require macOS 14 or later; Linux packages require Java 11 to 21. Real-time collaboration is not available. The project provides community discussions for questions, bug reports and feature requests.
Good
- Free and open-source application
- Works offline on three desktop platforms
- Portable removable-storage option
- Broad document, image and project exports
- Presentation mode and AI assistance
Watch out
- No real-time collaboration
- Java runtime requirements vary by platform
- Some AI features require newer versions
- AI data may leave the machine
Who it suits
Freeplane suits users who want free desktop mind mapping across Windows, macOS or Linux. It is also suited to people needing offline use, portable operation, exports or configurable AI tools.
Verdict
Freeplane offers a broad offline mind-mapping toolkit with portable use, presentation mode, extensive exports and configurable AI integration. Users should check Java and version requirements and review AI data settings before use.
Plans and prices
From Freeplane's own pricing page, checked 9 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Freeplane | Free | Free and open source application · runs on operating systems with a compatible Java runtime |
The facts
Each one read from Freeplane's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Add-ons
- Add-ons extend or customize Freeplane and can provide functions or bundles of functions bound to menu items.checked 9 Oct 2026
- AI assistance
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- AI data and controls
- The documentation says map content sent to AI may leave the machine depending on provider and setup, and AI tool permissions can be configured.checked 9 Oct 2026
- AI integration
- AI integration is available starting with Freeplane 1.13.1, while several newer AI features require version 1.13.3 or later.checked 9 Oct 2026
- AI providers
- The AI setup documentation describes configuring OpenRouter, Gemini, or Ollama as providers.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Audience
- The project describes its capabilities as appealing to power users and says it is also a robust alternative for typical users of mind mapping software.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Export formats
- Asciidoc,MediaWiki,Markdown,XBEL,Twiki,PDF,OPML,LaTeX,JPEG,PNG,SVG,XML,XHTML,HTML,Microsoft Excel 2003,Word 2003,Project 2003,OpenOffice,TaskJuggler,Freeplane 1.1checked 20 Sep 2026
- Offline mode
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Portability
- Freeplane can run locally or portably from removable storage such as a USB drive.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Presentation mode
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Purpose
- Freeplane is a free and open source application for mind mapping and navigating mapped information, aimed at use at work, school, and home.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Real-time collaboration
- Nochecked 20 Sep 2026
- Support
- Freeplane is a non-commercial project that provides community discussions for feature and usage questions and separate places to report bugs and request features.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Technology
- Freeplane is written in Java using OSGi and Java Swing.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Third-party add-ons
- The documentation notes that add-ons are not necessarily provided by Freeplane core developers.checked 9 Oct 2026
Money
- Free plan
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
Where it runs
- Linux
- Linux distributions include a Debian installer and a ZIP archive, both requiring Java 11 to 21.checked 9 Oct 2026
- macOS
- Bundled macOS distributions use Java 21 and require macOS 14 or later.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- windows,macos,linuxchecked 20 Sep 2026
- Windows
- Windows downloads include installers with or without embedded Java and a portable distribution.checked 9 Oct 2026
Alternatives to Freeplane
- 1
Mind Elixir App
Free planOpen sourceAndroidiOSWebAPI8.9From $19 a year - 2
Xmind
Free planAndroidiOSWebLinux8.8From $4.92 a month - 3
EdrawMind
Free planAndroidiOSWebLinux8.8Free plan - 4
Mindomo
Free planAndroidiOSWebLinux8.7From €6 a month - 5
GoMind
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI8.7From $19.90 a year - 6
Coggle
Free planiOSWebAPIExtension8.6From $5 a month