Explore 10 powerful brainstorming tools that help startups generate ideas, collaborate in real time, and scale creative thinking.

Brainstorming is at the heart of every great startup idea, but managing creativity can be challenging without the right tools. The “Best 10 Tools for Brainstorming Recommended for Startups” article explores how digital platforms can help teams capture ideas, organize thoughts, and collaborate in real time. From visual mapping and design boards to AI assistants, these tools make the brainstorming process more structured, productive, and inspiring, thus helping startups turn raw ideas into actionable strategies.

Best brainstorming tools

1. Miro

Miro is a visual collaboration platform built for teams that need to brainstorm, plan, and create together in real time. Its infinite online whiteboard makes it easy to map out startup ideas, design workflows, or run creative workshops. With ready-made templates, sticky notes, and integrations with tools like Slack and Notion, Miro helps teams move from messy brainstorming to structured strategies.

Best features

Miro offers an infinite online whiteboard where teams can brainstorm, plan, and collaborate visually. It supports sticky notes, templates, diagrams, and integrations with popular office apps like Slack and Notion. Real-time collaboration and built-in video chat make it ideal for distributed startup teams working on creative ideas together.

Limitations

Miro's free plan restricts users to only three editable boards, rendering older boards view-only unless deleted or upgraded to a payed plan. This limitation can hinder teams from maintaining an organized brainstorming workflow and it can be overwhelming for small teams or those on a budget. Additionally, Miro's flexible canvas can become cluttered with extensive content, potentially reducing clarity and focus during brainstorming sessions.

Pricing

• 0€ Free plan, including 3 editable whiteboards, access to ready-made templates and 10 credits/month for Miro AI feature

• 8€ (per month, per member) Starter plan, including unlimited whiteboards, unlimited visitors (no sign-in required), 25 credits/month for Miro AI feature and more

• 16€ (per month, per member) Business plan, including unlimited whiteboards, unlimited guests (sign-in required) and 50 credits/month for Miro AI feature + more

• Customised Enterprise plan which offers custom price for 30 members

2. Lucidchart

Lucidchart is a powerful diagramming tool that helps startups bring clarity to complex ideas. Whether you’re sketching business models, creating flowcharts, or mapping customer journeys, Lucidchart makes visual collaboration seamless. Its drag-and-drop interface and cloud-based access mean your whole team can contribute, brainstorm, and refine ideas in one shared space.

Best features

Lucidchart is known for its intuitive diagramming tools that simplify complex ideas into clear visuals. It supports flowcharts, wireframes, and process maps, making it perfect for structuring brainstorming outputs. Its real-time collaboration and data linking make teamwork efficient and organized.

Limitations

Lucidchart's free plan permits only 60 objects per document, which may be insufficient for comprehensive brainstorming sessions. Moreover, the platform's steep learning curve can be challenging for new users, potentially slowing down the ideation process. These constraints can impede startups from fully leveraging the tool's capabilities for effective brainstorming.

Pricing

• 0$ Free plan, including 3 editable Lucidchart documents, 60 shapes per Lucidchart document and 100 templates

• 9$ Individual plan, including unlimited editable documents, unlimited objects per document, premium templates and more

• 10$/user Team plan, including access to developer platform, visual activities advanced controls, revision history with versioning, call others to me

• Customised Enterprise plan, with access to the full visual collaboration suite

3. Idea Morph

Idea Morph is a tool designed to take raw thoughts and shape them into actionable concepts. It guides teams through a creative process, offering inspiration packs, creativity exercises, and anonymous voting to surface the best ideas. With features like AI-assisted concept development and real-time analytics, Idea Morph empowers startups to innovate efficiently and collaboratively. 

Best features

Idea Morph is not just a tool for idea management. It offers creativity prompts, inspiration nuggets and framing exercises as part of a guided process meant to facilitate ideation. Anonymous voting helps highlight the best ideas for building promising concepts. The platform is budget-friendly, easy to use, and includes AI-assisted guidance and analytics to help teams innovate faster and collaborate more effectively.

Limitations

Because it focuses on structured ideation, Idea Morph is less suited for free-form brainstorming or advanced visual design. Teams looking for highly customizable diagrams or whiteboards may need to use it alongside other tools.

Pricing

• 0$ Free User plan, including unlimited ideation projects, unlimited voting projects, AI assistant, up to 5 participants/project and much more

• 0$ Free SME plan, including 3 recommended projects, unlimited ideation projects, unlimited voting projects, AI assistant, up to 50 participants/project and much more

  
  

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4. Coggle

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   Coggle is a simple yet effective mind-mapping tool perfect for brainstorming sessions. With its clean interface, you can quickly branch out from a central idea and build a visual map of your thoughts. Coggle supports real-time collaboration, image uploads, and color-coded branches, which makes it a great choice for startups looking to visualize and expand ideas without overcomplicating the process.

   
   

   Best features

   Coggle is a lightweight and user-friendly mind-mapping app that makes brainstorming fast and intuitive. It allows teams to branch ideas visually, add images or links, and color-code sections for clarity. Its simplicity keeps creative sessions focused and easy to follow.

   
   

   Limitations

   Coggle’s  minimalist design means fewer customization options compared to more complex brainstorming tools. The free version restricts private diagrams, and it may not scale well for large teams with complex projects.

   
   

   Pricing

   • 0$ Free plan, including 3 private diagrams, unlimited public diagrams, real-time collaboration and more

   • 5$ Awesome plan, including everything available in free plan + unlimited private diagrams, more item shapes and more

   • 8$ Organisations plan, ideal for teams, including everything available in awesome plan + SAML Single Sign On and Separate Personal workspace

   • Customised Enterprise plan with on-premise instances for use behind your firewall

     
     

5. MindMeister

MindMeister specializes in turning brainstorming into beautifully structured mind maps. Startups can use it to capture ideas during meetings, plan product roadmaps, or collaborate on business strategies. With features like voting, commenting, and presentation mode, MindMeister turns mind maps into interactive tools that help teams make better, faster decisions.

Best features

MindMeister excels in turning brainstorming sessions into structured mind maps. It supports real-time collaboration and commenting, being perfect for group discussions and decision-making. The clean interface and integration with task management tools like MeisterTask make it ideal for moving from ideation to execution

Limitations

Offline access is limited, and some of its advanced presentation and exporting features are locked behind paid plans. For startups looking for deep data integration, MindMeister may feel somewhat limited.

Pricing

• 0€ Free plan, including 3 mind maps, unlimited collaborators, access to templates and more

• 6€ Personal plan, including unlimited mind maps, 2 attachments per map, private maps and more

• 10€ Pro plan, including unlimited attachments, multiple admins, Google Workspace integration and more

• 15€ Business plan, including group sharing, compliance exports and backups +more

6. Ideanote

Ideanote helps startups collect, develop, and act on ideas in one place. Run brainstorming sessions, engage your team or customers, and track innovation impact efficiently.

Best features

Ideanote provides a structured platform for collecting, evaluating, and implementing ideas. It’s designed for innovation management, helping startups maintain a continuous flow of ideas rather than one-off brainstorming sessions. With features like automation, scoring, and analytics, it brings strategy into creativity.

Limitations

Because it focuses on long-term idea management, Ideanote can feel more complex than quick brainstorming tools. Smaller teams might find setup and customization take extra time before it becomes fully useful.

Pricing

• 0$ Free plan, including acces for up to 10 users, 250 ideas and 5 idea collections for one team

• 6$ Scale plan, including access for up to 50 users, unlimited ideas, 15 idea collections for 10 teams

• Customised Enterprise plan for enterprise control and support

7. Ideamap

Ideamap helps startups visualize complex ideas by organizing them into structured maps. Its focus is on clarity and simplicity, allowing teams to capture brainstorming sessions and see relationships between different concepts. With its intuitive design and collaboration tools, Ideamap makes it easier to spot patterns and prioritize which ideas to move forward with.

Best features

Ideamap helps users visually organize and connect ideas in a logical flow. Its simple drag-and-drop interface and real-time editing make it easy for teams to map relationships between concepts and prioritize key directions. It’s especially useful for visual thinkers who like to see ideas grow organically.

Limitations

Ideamap’s simplicity can be a double-edged sword, lacking the advanced integrations, templates, and automation found in larger platforms. It’s best suited for small teams or early brainstorming phases rather than complex project planning.

Pricing

• 0$ Free plan, including 5 rooms with 5 attendees per room and more

• 7$ Basic plan, including unlimited rooms with 15 attendees per room and more

• 15$ Pro plan, including unlimited rooms with 100 attendees per room and more

• Customised Enterprise plan with unlimited rooms and unlimited attendees

8. Figma

Although best known as a design tool, Figma doubles as a fantastic space for brainstorming and prototyping. Startups can sketch wireframes, co-create product ideas, or run design sprints all in one place. Its multiplayer editing lets everyone work on the same canvas at the same time, which makes brainstorming sessions highly interactive and productive.

Best features

Figma shines as a collaborative design and brainstorming tool, allowing multiple users to sketch wireframes, create prototypes, or brainstorm visually in real time. Its “multiplayer” editing and commenting make team collaboration seamless. Figma’s community templates and design systems also help startups move from ideas to product concepts efficiently.

Limitations

While great for visual brainstorming, Figma’s learning curve can be steep for non-designers. It’s also more design-oriented than idea-oriented, so teams looking for mind-mapping or concept clustering features may need a companion tool.

Pricing

• 0$ Starter plan, including unlimited drafts for personal projects, basic design file inspection and limited AI credits

• 3$/12$/16$ per month Professional plan, including unlimited files and projects, team-wide design libraries

• 5$/25$/55$ per month Organization plan, including unlimited teams, shared libraries and fonts, centralized admin tools

5$/35$/90$ per month Enterprise plan, including custom team workspaces, design system theming and APIs

9. Draw.io

Draw.io, also known as diagrams.net, is a free and flexible diagramming tool ideal for startups. It allows you to brainstorm ideas visually using flowcharts, process diagrams, and mind maps. The tool integrates seamlessly with Google Drive and other platforms, making collaboration and sharing straightforward. For teams that need a reliable brainstorming tool without added costs, Draw.io is a good pick.

Best features

Draw.io is a versatile diagramming tool that’s perfect for startups needing budget-friendly brainstorming support. It allows creation of flowcharts, process maps, and mind maps with ease, integrating smoothly with Google Drive and Confluence. Its simplicity and flexibility make it an accessible option for visual thinkers.

Limitations

Its interface is more utilitarian than polished, which can make it less engaging for creative brainstorming. Collaboration features are basic compared to premium tools, and it lacks advanced automation or AI support.

Pricing

• 0$ Free plan, including AI generated diagrams, standard support and admin only support

• 37$ per month Advanced plan, including advanced support, dedicated account manager, security reviews and more

10. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an AI-powered brainstorming partner that can help startups generate fresh ideas, refine strategies, or explore new perspectives. Whether you need creative taglines, customer journey suggestions, or innovative product concepts, ChatGPT adapts to your needs. It works as both a collaborator and a thought-expander, making it an invaluable tool for founders looking to supercharge their brainstorming sessions.

Best features

ChatGPT acts as an AI-powered brainstorming assistant that helps teams generate fresh ideas, refine strategies, and explore creative angles. It’s perfect for startups that need to break mental blocks or quickly test new concepts. The conversational interface makes idea generation fast, adaptive, and intuitive.

Limitations

ChatGPT doesn’t create visual outputs by default, so it’s best used alongside other tools for mapping or organizing ideas. The quality of results depends on the prompts you give, and it may require refinement to reach precise or niche ideas.

Pricing

• 0€ Free plan, including limited access to model GPT-5, real-time data form the web, limited file uploads and more

• 23€ Plus plan, with extended limits, voice mode with video and screensharing, access to deep research and more

• 229€ Pro plan, including everything in the plus plan and early access to new features

• 29€ per user per month Business plan, creating a collaborative workspace for growing businesses with access to many features

• Customised Enterprise plan with expanded context window that supports longer inputs and larger files