Xmind is a polished mind mapper, growing a map outward from a central topic, with timelines, matrices and a presentation mode on top. Filamental starts wherever you do and needs no centre at all: any node can connect to any other, each connection is a relationship you name, and every node holds a full document.
A mind map is a tree: one topic in the middle and branches running out from it, which is a fast way to break an idea down. The work that won’t sit in one tree, where a risk touches three projects and a supplier sits under two clients, is the work that keeps asking for a second map.
In Filamental there’s no root and no starting point. Anything connects to anything, and each connection is a type you name, such as “depends on”, “owns” or “contradicts”, with its own colour, direction and pull. Press Dark Energy and the layout spaces each part by how connected it is, in three dimensions or flat in 2D, so the centres show themselves, however many there turn out to be.
Every Filamental node is a full document, with headings, tables and attachments, saved as a plain Markdown file that any editor can open with Filamental closed. The structure and the writing are the same files, so they can’t drift apart, and when it’s time to hand it over, Publisher Studio turns the whole thing into a page that opens in any browser, on a phone as readily as on a desktop, with nothing to install.
Xmind’s AI runs on credits: a starter allowance on the free and Pro plans, and a monthly amount on Premium.
Filamental has no AI of its own. Connect Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, VS Code or Zed over MCP and it reads and edits the open space directly, or add your own key for the provider you choose, or run a model locally through Ollama or LM Studio. Every request goes straight to your provider, on your account, and nothing passes through us.
A Filamental space is a folder on your own disk or your own network, with no account and no telemetry of any kind. On a restricted drive it inherits that drive’s permissions, with no separate login, and nothing leaves unless you publish a link, which is encrypted on your device first.
Xmind’s free plan covers up to ten online maps and exports one map at a time as an image. The other export formats, unlimited maps and the monthly AI credits come with the subscriptions.
Filamental’s Personal plan is free and permanent, with no account and no card, unlimited spaces and everything AI. The paid tier is $120 a year, or $12 a month, and covers handing work over beyond the one live link that’s free, including presenting.
For some jobs. Xmind is a mind mapper that grows a map outward from one central topic, with timelines, matrices and presentation modes. Filamental has no central topic: any node connects to any other, each connection is a relationship type you name, every node is a full Markdown document, and the layout can arrange itself in 3D or 2D. Breaking one idea down suits a mind map, and work with several centres suits Filamental.
It can draw a mind map, but it isn’t limited to a tree. A Filamental space has no root, so a node can sit under two parents or connect across branches, and each connection carries a type you name, with a direction and a pull. The Layers layout stacks the structure in bands by type when you want a hierarchy, and Dark Energy spaces it by how connected each part is when you don’t.
Yes, through the AI. Export the map as Markdown, which Xmind’s paid plans offer, or as an image, and attach it to a message in Filamental’s built-in AI window. Ask it to build the space, with the topics as nodes and the branches as typed connections. The result is a first draft that’s yours to arrange.
No. Filamental has no AI of its own, so there are no credits from us. You connect the AI you already use: an MCP client such as Claude Desktop or Cursor, your own API key for the provider you choose, or a local model through Ollama or LM Studio. Requests go straight to your provider and are billed to your own account.
Filamental’s Personal plan is free and permanent, with no account and no card, unlimited spaces and everything AI. The paid tier, at $120 a year or $12 a month, covers handing work over beyond the one live link that’s free, such as more links, updating a link already sent, the HTML download and presenting. Xmind publishes its own prices on its pricing page.
Put both centres in, connect what touches each, name the connections, then press Dark Energy and see which one the work actually turns around.