6 best brainstorming tools to totally check out in 2024

Growth happens on the foundation of ideas. A business can't outdo its competition without ideas that give it an upper hand in the market. Therefore, as a business, you need to give the utmost importance to brainstorming sessions and see to it that they are conducted seamlessly. Ideas ought to be exchanged, discussed, enhanced, and then made into foolproof plans. For the same reason, you will have to collect valid points from the brainstorming sessions, coordinate with team members, and then decide on the best input to be used. In a post-covid world, where businesses run on remote, hybrid, and on-site models, coordinating with each member of the team personally is nearly impossible - This is where a brainstorming tool comes in handy.

No matter where your team is, a brainstorming tool helps you coordinate with them, ideate seamlessly, and bring potential ideas to life. In this article, we discuss the 6 best brainstorming tools that can help your business grow.

6 best brainstorming tools to check out in 2024

The market of 2024 offers a myriad of brainstorming tools. We've done the heavy lifting for you and researched the most popular tools. We've then shortlisted the best brainstorming tools that can truly help your business.

1. Retable

Retable.io is an online spreadsheet and database solution that helps businesses organize ideas seamlessly in a personalized spreadsheet, share them securely, collaborate on them, and manage data smartly. You can collaborate and brainstorm with your team on different projects using Retable.io. The software is highly customizable and therefore you can create specialized solutions for individual projects and yet manage them from a single platform. Apart from this, you can be notified of each update on the platform in real time. What's more? You can convert your data in Kanban, calendar, grid, card, map, and chart views with nothing but a single click.

Here are some of the best features of Retable.io:

• Real-time team collaboration 
• Unified workspaces
• Advanced data views
• Integration with 700+ apps via Zapier, Make.com. Pabbly and Integrately

Pros:

• Highly customizable 
• Easy team collaboration
• Real-time notifications
• No-code solution

Cons:

• Being a young platform, there will be constant updates. 

Pricing:

• Pro plan starts at $12 per month. 
• Team plan starts at $30 per month.
• Contact Retable. io for Enterprise plan
• One-month free trial is available.

‍2. Miro

Miro is a unified digital whiteboard tool for remote and hybrid teams to collaborate and create ideas together no matter where they are. Your team can work together effectively by leveraging Miro's sticky notes, images, mind maps, videos, and drawing capabilities. Create powerful customer journeys, organize design sprints, build low-fi wireframes, and coordinate with stakeholders with Miro to run your business seamlessly.

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Take a look at the best features of Miro:

• Numerous pre-built templates for mind maps.
• Folder organization for whiteboard tracking
• Video call provisions
• Built-in video and chat features

Pros:

• Seamless integration
• Easy to use

Cons:

• Importing and exporting features can be better
• Expensive pricing plans

Pricing:

• The starter plan starts at $8/user/month.
• Business plan starts at $16/user/month.
• Contact the team at Miro to get a quotation for Enterprise plan.
• Free Version is also available.

3. Lucidchart

A whiteboard is a great brainstorming tool to ideate but when it comes to converting it to a solid plan, you might need a flowchart software like Lucidchart. You can simplify plans and give them an orderly approach. With Lucidchart, you can visualize your teams' processes and systems by creating a structured diagram that can break down complex ideas. Thus, accelerating collaboration and communication.

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Here are the best features of Lucidchart:

• Content design tools
• Exporting capabilities 
• Mockup creations
• Mind map templates
• Automated layout for data-driven diagrams

Pros:

• 500+ templates
• Seamless integrations

Cons:

• Restricted offline functionality
• Dated interface
• Free version has loads of limitations

Pricing:

• Individual pricing starts at $7.95 /user.
• Team plan starts at $9.00/user.
• Contact the team at Lucidchart to get a quotation for the Enterprise plan.
• Free version available.

4. Scapple

Scapple is an efficient brainstorming tool that acts as a digital notebook to scribble down ideas and connect the related ideas using arrows, shapes, and text bubbles to create a defined plan out of them. Scapple is best suited for start-ups, small businesses, and freelancers as it is a simple tool for facilitating ideation.

Take a look at the best features of Scapple:

• Drag and drop interface to connect notes
• Organize related notes in a word cloud-style
• Intuitive import and export features

Pros:

• Easy learning curve
• Neat and user-friendly interface

Cons:

• A basic software that may not be suitable for complex ideas
• Pricing structure is on the costlier side

Pricing:

• Standard pricing plan for macOS and Windows, $18
• Educational plan for macOS and Windows, $14.40

5. Ayoa

Ayoa is a multi-purpose brainstorming tool that comes with productivity capabilities like Kanban boards, whiteboards, instant messages and management. If your team prefers visual communication methods, then this tool is a great fit. Moreover, you can collaborate with your team in real time.

Here are some of the best features of Ayoa:

• Freehand branches that allow you to draw a mind map by hand using the cursor.
• Canvas view to display tasks and projects on intuitive digital boards.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Highly flexible

Cons:

• The interface is cluttered

Pricing:

• Mind Map starts at $10 per user/month.
• Task starts at $10 per user/month.
• Ultimate starts at $13 per user/month.

6. Coggle

Coggle is a popular brainstorming tool that is specialized in digital mind mapping and flowcharting. The tool is really efficient when it comes to ideating and planning processes. With Coggle you can digitally record the flow of your ideas in motion, and leverage customizable templates.

Take a look at the best features of Coggle:

• Real-time editing capabilities
• Auto-arranging of branches
• Enhance your mind map with media, floating text, etc.

Pros:

• User-friendly platform
• Neat and appealing interface

Cons:

• Auto-sorting feature not available
• Limited options to customize shapes

Pricing:

• The plan "Awesome" starts at $5 per month.
• The "Organization" plan starts at $8 per month.

Winding up

There you are - the 6 best brainstorming tools that the market of 2024  provides. But here comes the crucial question.  How do you select the right brainstorming tool fit for your organization this? Here's what you can do. Note down your goals and the requirements that you expect your brainstorming tool to fulfill. Now, compare them with the features of these 6 software. Do they check all your boxes? Well, then, don't look further, you have found the right brainstorming tool for your business.