MindMeister vs. Miro

MindMeister is ideally suited for building mind maps, site maps, or similar types of data maps in the cloud without needing to install extra software. I find that it isn't quite as ideal for other types of diagrams (ERDs, flowcharts, etc) as some other tools, though it definitely can handle those things as well.

Incentivized

Appropriate:

Not formal presentations where you need the flexibility to show different whole ideas or concepts at the same time without changing between pages.

Workshops where you need to document all the ideation process.

Interviews.

Initial documentation of products.

Diagrams, prototypes and collaborative work.

Less appropriate:

Formal and strict presentation with strict audiences.

Long documentations: more than 5 pages.

Technical documents that need the use of equations and code.

Incentivized

• The UI is well laid out and easy to use. The workflow makes perfect sense and makes creating tasks a breeze.
• The collaboration features make brainstorming not only easy but fun! Everyone enjoys using the tool, which was not the case with other collaboration software we used.
• I love being able to get all of my thoughts and ideas on the screen to see them and then be able to connect them in a logical way.

Incentivized

• Makes internal coordination between admin team and tutors extremely painless. It's like a single place where everyone can drop ideas, get updates and notes without loss of context which usually happens in long email threads.
• Versioning and board history are handled very well, which drastically reduces the workload. They help me track how a policy or math guideline has evolved, and also make it easy to revert changes if something doesn't work.
• Comments stick exactly where they are meant to, making internal reviews much clearer. Admins don't have to guess which note refers to which rule or section.
• Exports are clean, so even non-Miro teammates get it instantly.

Incentivized

• I think that the free plan should offer a bit more terms of features to make the testing experience more engaging.
• My experience using the App version was not so good when compared to the web version of it. I feel more comfortable using it in my notebook.
• Paid plans could be more flexible to support small or temporary demands.

Incentivized

• Sticky notes: I don't know how to expand and reduce shape formats.
• The option, when presenting, is to get everyone on the same slide I am presenting (like on the board).
• A "hide" feature for presentations, so we can display the info as we talk.

Incentivized

I have advocate for the renew of Miro quite few times, however, it is not under my control as the decision is made in another team with their own budget. I would buy for my own entrepreneur projects (1-2 members) as I do know the value and work there 100%. So, I would pay out of my own pocket to get the value. However, If I wouldn't know the value it provides, it would be hard to decide with the current freemium features

Incentivized

I would rate Miro an 8 out of 10 for overall usability. It's easy to use and has lots of features for making the work easier. I can drag nodes, connect ideas and comment in real time without explaining much to anyone because every member of all the teams have access. For labelling schema design and maths concept mapping, it is incredibly perfect. However, issues related to lag when many nodes introduced and absence of LaTeX making complex equation writing hectic, are of great concern. If those issues were resolved, it's an easy 10.

Incentivized

I only give a 9/10 because of the speed at which it loads. I have never experienced issues with Miro logging me out early, or some other technical issue causing the program to crash, or even it just loading in perpetuity without ever actually coming up (unlike other programs such as SFDC). It take a minute for all of my boards to come up after I click on it in my favorites, but besides that, it's all good.

Incentivized

Sometimes it gets quite slow and there is a correlation between this and the size of the board. Hence we are trying to segment the boards based on product stages or projects so that the size doesn't go big. When you go from discovery to delivery on a simple board, it will get large and difficult to load, even crash or go white screen

Incentivized

Never had an issue with customer support, though we never really needed anything major as far as technical help. I do not believe they offer 24 hour customer support but we don't need it as MindMeister is not the type of tool we need need 24 hour a day support for. Overall, very happy with the level of support.

Incentivized

We have never reached out to or contacted support because Miro's platform has been incredibly intuitive and user-friendly. The comprehensive resources available, such as tutorials, documentation, and community forums, have provided all the guidance we needed. The seamless integration with our existing tools and the reliability of the platform have ensured that we rarely encounter issues that require external assistance. This self-sufficiency has allowed us to focus more on our projects and collaboration without interruptions. Overall, our experience with Miro has been smooth and efficient, eliminating the need for additional support

Incentivized

There was a series of webinars which Miro hosted with our organization that went over the basics, then progressively became more advanced with additional sections. The instructors were knowledgeable, and provided examples throughout the sessions, as well as answered peoples' questions. There was ample time and experience on the calls to cover a range of topics. The instructors were also very friendly and sociable, as well as honest. Of course Miro isn't a "God-tool" that does absolutely everything, but the instructors were aware and emphasized the strengths where Miro had them and sincerely accepted feedback.

Incentivized

Easy to learn, Miro has a series of videos on YouTube that effectively taught this program to my team members and me. The program is drag-and-drop and works excellently. People pick up on how to use it efficiently, and it's great for organizing ideas more freely. This product is more challenging for some older audiences who are not accustomed to using a touchpad, but for most, it was very easy to use.

Incentivized

I have also used LucidChart and Google Draw to create mind maps and concept maps in the past. I think that MindMeister is by far the cleanest and most user friendly of the three. Google Draw does not have anywhere near the same functionality. LucidChart tends to be clunky and the options to create your map are not always clear and intuitive.

Incentivized

I’ve used both Excalidraw+ and draw.io. Excalidraw+ is great for quick, lightweight sketches with a clean “hand-drawn” feel, but it’s less strong for running structured workshops at scale (facilitation tools, templates, board organization, stakeholder-friendly presentation). draw.io is solid for precise diagramming (flows, architecture), but collaboration and workshop mechanics feel more “diagram-first” than “team-first.” We chose Miro because it combines strong real-time + async collaboration with facilitation features (voting, timer, stickies), easy board structuring with frames, and presentation mode—so we can go from messy ideation to a shareable narrative without switching tools.

Incentivized

Maybe is possible now so... Could be useful to manage in some way source code for the projects? not to edit so when we make solutions with different components in MIro, maybe each component could redirect to the source code of this component

Incentivized

• The most positive result of using MindMeister is a visualization of each step in work and connections between different nodes(ideas, steps).
• This greatly simplifies the work, especially collaborative work, since it is easier to show it once than to explain things many times.
• Negative impact: lack of offline desktop version.

Incentivized

• The work team can find real-time updates on a specific design flow, avoiding wasting time sending emails and messages on messaging platforms.
• Work in progress can be presented to the client, who can intervene and make corrections or give their opinion before a final document is drafted.
• Thanks to the votes, we can avoid sending more examples or tests for testing, trying to work only on the ideas that convince us the most.

Incentivized