AI Mind Map Generator
Turn your PDFs, lecture notes, Word docs, slides, or a typed topic into a one-page visual mind map — central concept, branching sub-topics, and labeled relationships, grounded in your own material.
Free to start · No credit card · Up to 3 sources per map
Why students love AI Mind Maps
Stop re-reading dense chapters. See how every concept connects on a single page.
See the connections
A mind map shows a central concept with branching sub-topics and labeled relationships — so you grasp how ideas fit together, not just a list of facts.
Built from your material
Combine up to 3 sources — PDFs, Word docs, PowerPoint, text files, Google Drive documents, or a typed prompt — into one map. Synthesize multiple chapters at once.
Grounded, not made up
The map is extracted from your actual uploaded sources, not a model's generic knowledge — so it covers exactly your syllabus and your wording.
How it works
Three steps from your source material to a finished, saveable mind map.
1. Add your sources
Upload PDFs, Word docs, PowerPoint, or text files — or pick from your library or Google Drive (up to 3 sources). Or skip the file and just type a study prompt like "Mind map the Krebs cycle with inputs, outputs, and key steps".
2. Choose a style
Pick one of 5 visual styles — Radial, Concept Map, Sketchnote, Minimal, or Freestyle — and optionally add custom instructions (up to 500 characters) to shape the layout, emphasis, or label length. Premium users can also choose the AI model.
3. Generate and save
Click Generate Mind Map. Scholarly processes your sources asynchronously — usually under a minute — and saves the result as an SVG image in your workspace, ready to view full-page or download.
Pick a visual style
The same concepts, drawn five different ways. Each style is its own look — choose the one that fits your subject and how you like to study.
Radial Map
DefaultA central concept with branches radiating outward — the classic mind-map look, ideal for hierarchical topics.
Concept Map
FreeNodes connected by labeled relationship lines — best for showing how ideas, causes, and processes link together.
Sketchnote
FreeA hand-drawn, doodle-style layout that feels like illustrated study notes — friendly and memorable.
Minimal
FreeClean lines and restrained type with no visual clutter — distraction-free structure for quick review.
Freestyle
FreeGives the AI creative freedom over fonts and layout to fit your topic — great when you want something less templated.
Choose a specific style, or let the AI auto-select the best one for your material. Free users get the default model; premium users can pick from additional AI models in the customization panel.
Everything in a Scholarly mind map
More than a picture — a grounded study artifact that lives in your workspace.
Multiple input sources
Combine PDFs, Word docs, PowerPoint, text files, and Google Drive documents in a single map — up to 3 sources, with hybrid input like two PDFs plus a prompt.
5 visual styles
Radial Map, Concept Map, Sketchnote, Minimal, or Freestyle — or let the AI auto-select the best fit for your topic.
Custom instructions
Refine layout, emphasis, or label length in plain text (up to 500 characters) — for example, "emphasize the enzymes" or "keep labels short".
Multi-language
Generate maps in your preferred language, set once in your assistant preferences and applied to every map you create.
Grounded generation
Concepts and relationships are extracted from your actual uploaded sources, not generic AI knowledge — so the map matches your course.
Saved to your workspace
Each map becomes an image component on a page in your workspace with one click — open it, view full-page, or keep it alongside your other study material.
Premium model selection
Free users get the default AI model; Ultimate users unlock additional AI model options and higher daily generation limits.
Central concept + branches
Every map has one central concept with branching sub-concepts and labeled relationships, so the structure of the topic is clear at a glance.
Interactive viewer
Open the map in your workspace and use zoom and pan to explore dense maps, or view it full-page for review.
Download and export
Save your mind map as a PNG or SVG to share with classmates, drop into slides, or keep for offline study.
Hybrid sources
Mix and match up to 3 inputs in one request — combine two chapters and a topic prompt, or a slide deck and your notes.
One-page summary
Dense chapters condensed into a single visual page you can take in at once — perfect for last-minute review.
Great for every subject
From cell biology to compilers — mind maps adapt to the structure of your material.
Biology
Map cellular processes, photosynthesis, or enzyme pathways with labeled steps and inputs/outputs branching from the core concept.
History
Lay out historical events with branching timelines, causes, and relationships between key figures and movements.
Chemistry
Visualize reaction mechanisms, molecular structures, and bonding relationships — concept-map style is built for this.
Literature
Organize character relationships, plot themes, and narrative connections in a sketchnote or radial layout.
Computer science
Map algorithms, data structures, or system architectures with clear hierarchical branching.
Mind Maps vs other map tools
Scholarly has a few ways to map and visualize concepts. Here's when to use each one.
Best for a fast, free text outline. A public browser tool that turns a typed topic into a concept map — no login needed to try it.
Outputs raw Mermaid, markdown, or structured text you can copy or download.
Includes a complexity slider (basic to comprehensive).
Plain text only — no visual rendering and not grounded in your uploaded files.
Best for visual summary posters. A one-page visual summary of your sources, with its own set of styles.
Same source picker, customization, and premium model selection.
Great for a poster-style recap of a whole chapter.
A general summary — it isn't built around nodes, branches, and relationships the way a mind map is.
Best for seeing how concepts connect. Renders a grounded, one-page visual map from your own PDFs, Office files, or a prompt.
Central concept with branching sub-concepts and labeled relationships, in 5 visual styles.
Saved into your workspace as an image you can view full-page and download as PNG or SVG.
Free to start, up to 3 combined sources, with premium model selection and higher limits.
Pick the right entry point
This page is the overview. If you know how you want to start, jump straight to the matching tool.
Mind Map Generator
Go straight to the mind map tool — add your sources or a topic prompt and generate a visual map.
Concept Map Generator
Want a fast, free text outline first? Try the public concept map tool — no login needed to start.
Infographic Generator
Prefer a poster-style visual summary of a whole chapter? Use the infographic generator instead.
Frequently asked questions
What can I turn into a mind map?
You can use PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and text files — uploaded directly, pulled from your Scholarly library, or imported from Google Drive. You can also skip files entirely and type a study prompt. You can combine up to 3 sources in a single map, including a mix of files and a prompt.
How long does it take to generate a mind map?
Generation runs asynchronously and typically completes in under a minute, depending on how much source material you include. Because it runs in the background, you can't preview the map before it's created.
What does the finished mind map look like?
Each map is a one-page SVG image with a central concept and branching sub-concepts connected by labeled relationships, rendered in the visual style you chose. It's saved as an image component on a page in your workspace, where you can open it, view it full-page, or download it.
What visual styles are available?
There are 5 styles: Radial Map, Concept Map, Sketchnote, Minimal, and Freestyle. Pick the one that fits your topic, or let the AI auto-select the best one for your material.
Can I customize the output?
Yes. Alongside the visual style, you can add custom instructions in plain text (up to 500 characters) to steer the layout, emphasis, or label length — for example, asking it to focus on a particular section or keep labels concise. Note that some instructions may be overridden by the chosen AI model.
Is the mind map generator free?
Yes, it's free to start. Free users get a default AI model and a daily AI generation limit tied to the overall Scholarly free tier. Ultimate and Premium plans unlock additional AI model options and higher daily generation limits.
Can I edit the map after it's generated?
The output is a single static SVG image, so you can't drag nodes or rewire connections after generation like an editable graph. If a map misses the mark, you generate a new one with different sources, a different style, or new custom instructions — each generation creates a new artifact rather than replacing the old one.
How is this different from the Concept Map Generator?
The Concept Map Generator is a fast, free public browser tool that outputs plain text, markdown, or Mermaid from a typed topic — handy for a quick outline. Mind Maps instead render an interactive visual artifact grounded in your uploaded PDFs and files, and save it into your workspace alongside your other study material.
Can I make a mind map without uploading a file?
Yes. Just type a study prompt — for example, "Mind map photosynthesis with light and dark reactions" — and Scholarly builds the map from that prompt. You can also combine a prompt with up to two uploaded files in the same request.
Do mind maps work with scanned PDFs?
Mind maps need extractable text from your sources, so a clean PDF or document works best. A scanned image-only PDF without recognized text may not extract well. If your source has selectable text, you're good to go.
Keep exploring
Keep exploring
More ways to visualize and study your material with Scholarly.
Mind Map Generator
Add sources or a topic and generate a visual mind map.
Concept Map Generator
Fast, free text-to-concept-map in your browser.
AI Infographics
Turn a source into a one-page visual summary poster.
AI Infographic Generator
The full infographic workflow with 5 visual styles.
PDF to Infographic
Convert any PDF into a shareable visual summary.
Notes to Infographic
Turn typed or uploaded notes into a visual poster.
AI Flashcards
Make flashcards from any source for spaced repetition.
AI Study Guides
Generate a structured study guide from your material.
AI Notes
Capture and organize your study notes in one place.
Turn your notes into a mind map in under a minute
Create your first mind map from a PDF, your notes, or just a topic prompt. Free to start — go Ultimate for more AI models and higher daily generation limits.
Free
- 3 AI Chat messages per day
- 3 AI creations per day
- 1 file upload per day (8MB)
- 5 quiz questions per day
- 1 exam attempt per day
- 15 voice minutes per day
- 32-page PDF to flashcards
- 500 autocomplete words per day
Use it to generate flashcards, improve a deck, make a podcast, create a video lecture or infographic, build slides, make a mind map or study guide, or process a recording.
Ultimate
$144 billed yearly
Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited normal chat & autocomplete
- Unlimited premium model messages
- Unlimited AI creations
- Unlimited file uploads (up to 300MB)
- Unlimited study sessions
- Unlimited exams & quizzes
- 1000-page PDF to flashcards
- Export to Anki
- Priority support
Pricing in USD. Local currency available in app.
Compare plans
Feature
Free
Ultimate
3/day
Unlimited
—
Unlimited
3/day total
Unlimited
Uses AI creations
Unlimited
1/day (8MB)
Unlimited (300MB)
32 pages
1000 pages
5/day
Unlimited
1/day
Unlimited
15 min/day
1 hr/day
500 words/day
Unlimited
—
Included
Standard
Priority
What students say
Scholarly has been a valuable tool for my studies. The AI-generated flashcards and intuitive features make organizing and retaining information much easier.
Briana
Student
This app is great for studying for big test. Drop your PDF's in the system and it'll do the trick. You can organize it specifically for your needs.
Kelvin
Student
I am currently preparing for a test that covers a substantial amount of material, and I've found that not having to physically write out my flashcards has been incredibly beneficia...
Isabelle
Student
Scholarly is great for students. I am enrolled in online university and my classes are all PDF based. All I do is upload the PDF and it creates flashcards decks for me. The greate...
Alexandra
Student
Your questions, answered
Is Scholarly free to use?
Yes! The free plan includes core study tools with daily limits: AI Chat messages, 3 AI creations per day, research reports, file uploads, quizzes, practice exams, and manual flashcard creation. Upgrade to Ultimate when you want unlimited AI creations and higher limits.
What uses my daily AI creation?
Generating flashcards, improving a flashcard deck, making a podcast, creating a video lecture or infographic, building slides, making a mind map or study guide, or processing a recording each use the same daily free AI creation allowance. AI Chat messages, uploads, quizzes, and exams have their own separate daily limits.
Can I cancel anytime?
Absolutely. There are no contracts or commitments. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings, and you'll keep access until the end of your billing period.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept all major credit and debit cards through Stripe. Pricing is displayed in USD by default, but local currency is available in the app.
Do you offer discounts for educators?
Yes, we offer special pricing for educators and educational institutions. Contact us at hello@scholarly.so for details.
What happens when I hit a free plan limit?
You'll see a prompt to upgrade. Your existing work is never lost — limits only apply to new daily actions like AI Chat messages, uploads, quiz questions, and new AI creations. Limits reset every day.
For Educators or Schools
Contact us for special pricing at hello@scholarly.so.