Concept Map Maker

Q: What are the different types of concept maps?

There are many types of concept maps. The most popular are; Spider maps - used to branch out and build upon a single idea. Flowcharts - used to visualize processes easily. Hierarchy maps - used to provide a picture from the highest to the lowest point of an organization or concept. System maps - used to visualize a system, especially to understand how a team is functioning or a system is working.

Q: How do students create a concept map?

Students can create a concept map by following these steps; Choose a Topic – Start by identifying the main idea or focus of the concept map. This could be a subject from a lesson, a research topic, or a problem to explore. Gather Key Concepts – Brainstorm and list all related ideas and concepts. Organize them from general to specific for a logical structure. Use a Concept Map Maker – A free concept map maker for students, like Creately, helps visualize ideas effortlessly. Use templates or start from scratch with drag-and-drop tools. Connect the Concepts – Draw lines or arrows between related ideas and add linking words to explain the relationships. Use color coding to improve clarity. Review and Refine – Check for missing links, rearrange concepts for better understanding, and finalize the layout for presentation or study purposes. With tools like Creately’s concept map maker, students can collaborate in real time, add notes, and customize their maps for a more interactive learning experience.

Visualize Concepts and Their Relationships with a Powerful Concept Map Creator

Organize ideas visually and map out relationships between concepts with an intuitive online concept map. Simplify complex information and enhance learning with customizable concept map designs.

Create a Concept Map

Professionally designed concept map templates for quick customization
An AI-powered concept map maker for effortless structuring
Attach notes, data, and comments to visual concept map designs

Edit Online

Over 10 Million people and 1000s of teams already use Creately

Diagramming

Visual Collaboration

Org Chart

Used by Over 10 Million people and 1000s of teams

A Comprehensive Tool for Visual Collaboration and Diagramming

it is ease of collaborative diagramming and real-time editing. This allows teams to brainstorm, create, and refine diagrams together in a way that feels intuitive and seamless, regardless of location.

JUAN LEONARDO G

Small-Business

Efficient and User-Friendly Diagramming Tool

I love how easy it is to create and collaborate on diagrams with Creately. The real-time collaboration feature is incredibly helpful for team projects, and the extensive library of templates and shapes saves a lot of time

Aymen G

Small-Business

Creately provides best diagram structure.

Creately has proven to be an incredibly creative tool, enhancing the visual appeal of our company tasks significantly. Additionally, its pricing is highly competitive, offering great value for the features it provides.

Ruchika N

Assistant Manager

Creately: Simple Diagram Tool

I like that Creately is easy to use. It helps me create diagrams quickly and easily.

Ananya G

Executive Committee Member

Creately: A smart choice for expressing ideas over diagrams

Creately is a simple and user-friendly application for creating diagrams to visualize complex technical ideas and data flow on wireframes, flow charts, and other visual options. The best part of this tool is its real-time collaboration features, which help us to enhance the workflows in the team.

Gulam M

Software Engineer

User friendly and visually appealing!!

The interface is easy to use. The look is aesthetically pleasing as well. Love the functionality.

Chrisoula

Small-Business

Intuitive Design and Effortless Creativity

What I like best about Creately is its intuitive design and the ease with which it allows me to create attractive designs. From the moment I started using it, I was impressed by how easy it was to navigate the platform and how quickly I could bring my ideas to life in visually appealing diagrams and charts.

DARWIN M.

Mid-Market

Creatly Awesome App

In creatly easy to use and easy to design our all network diagrams for the clients and easy to export and Creately offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for users to create various types of diagrams without extensive training or experience. We used creately on daily basis for making diagram.

Surya Prakash M

Tech Lead Security

Easy to use

Creately has better options than Canva. It has great templates. it is a great product to use for visual org charts.

Jennifer D.

Initial Implementation

Great AI features

AI Modelling capability. It gives Prompt examples so user can learn how to create effective prompts

Karma A.

Business Manager

How to Make a Concept Map Online?

IDEATE

Brainstorm and Create Complex Concept Maps in Minutes

Snapshot of Creately's Free Concept Map Maker depicting a Nursing Concept Map

Visualize and connect ideas in real time with an infinite canvas and interactive whiteboarding tools.
Drag and drop concepts, link them instantly, and use smart formatting to keep your map organized.
Access ready-made concept map templates and customizable shapes to speed up your workflow.
Ideal for students, educators, and teams looking for a free concept map maker that supports brainstorming, planning, and knowledge mapping.

Snapshot of Creately's Concept Map Creator depicting a Cellular Respiration Concept Map

CONNECT & ORGANIZE

Develop a Shared Understanding with a Customizable Concept Map

Customize every element with color themes, icons, shapes, and smart formatting to clarify relationships and highlight key ideas.
Create a concept map online for free by embedding rich content like images, PDFs, links, and videos directly for added context.
Connect to external data sources, documents, or knowledge bases to create dynamic, up-to-date concept maps.
Add notes, comments, and data fields to each concept to provide deeper context and keep supporting information in one place.

ANALYZE & REFINE

Gain Deeper Insights and Optimize Your Concept Map with AI

Snapshot of Creately's Concept Map Template with additional data

Automatically expand concept maps with AI-powered suggestions for related ideas and missing links.
Uncover hidden patterns and connections using our AI-powered concept map generator that suggests relationships and helps expand your ideas.
Find exactly what you need instantly with powerful full-text search across all your concept maps, notes, and attachments.
Visualize complex data with automatic grouping and clustering to highlight key themes and relationships.

Snapshot of Creately's Free Concept Map Creator depicting a Concept Map Template

COLLABORATE

Seamlessly Collaborate with Your Team on a Visual Concept Map

Work together in real time on a shared canvas — co-create, organize, and connect ideas simultaneously with your team or class.
Control access and editing rights with advanced sharing settings, perfect for managing feedback and contributions.
Communicate directly on the canvas using comments, mentions, and threads to keep discussions focused and actionable.
Track updates as they happen with live cursors, synced changes, and version control for a transparent collaboration experience

EXECUTE & EXTEND

Empower Your Workflow with a Free Online Concept Map Maker

Snapshot of Creately's Concept Map Maker depicting a Science Concept Map

Organize multiple concept maps efficiently by building a centralized knowledge base or wiki using folders, databases, and labels.
Use presentation mode to turn your concept map into a guided, slide-based walkthrough for clearer communication.
Export your concept maps in SVG, PDF, PNG, or JPEG formats for presentations, documentation, or offline use.
Integrate with tools like Google Drive, Confluence, and Slack to embed, sync, and extend your workflow seamlessly.

Ideate, plan, and execute ideas better with Creately

Create a Concept Map Request a Demo

A concept map maker is an online or digital tool designed to help users visually organize ideas, concepts, and their relationships. It allows you to create structured diagrams where concepts are represented as nodes and connected by linking phrases to illustrate their relationships.

With a concept map software, you can easily design and customize concept map designs to break down complex topics, brainstorm new ideas, and enhance learning or strategic planning. Advanced features like drag-and-drop editing, collaboration tools, and AI-powered suggestions make it easier to build clear, informative concept maps.

How to Create a Concept Map Online?

Launch Creately

Sign in to your account and open a new workspace. Creately’s concept map software gives you an infinite canvas and drag-and-drop tools to map out ideas effortlessly. New users can sign up for free to start building right away.

Pick a Template or Start from Scratch

Choose from a wide collection of professionally designed concept map templates to save time, or begin with a blank canvas. Templates help you quickly visualize common structures, while the blank workspace gives full flexibility for a custom concept map design.

Add and Customize Your Concepts

Place your central idea in the middle, then branch out with related nodes. Use arrows and linking words to show connections between concepts. With Creately’s concept map builder, you can apply color coding, different shapes, and layouts to make your concept map design easy to understand.

Collaborate and Refine in Real Time

Work together with your team by adding sticky notes, attaching files, or using the notes panel to provide context. Use comments and @mentions to refine the map quickly. The collaborative features of Creately’s concept map tool ensure that every idea is captured and organized.

Review, Share, and Present Your Map

Finalize your conceptual map by reviewing connections and refining details. Share it instantly via a secure link, export in formats like PDF, PNG, or SVG, or use presentation mode to walk stakeholders through your ideas. Updating is simple—just reopen your concept map generator anytime to edit and expand.

Create a Concept Map

Create Your Concept Map with Editable Templates

Business Outcome Concept Map

Edit Diagram

Marketing Presentation

Edit Diagram

Knowledge Management

Edit Diagram

Science Concept Map Template

Edit Diagram

FAQs About the Concept Map Maker in Creately

What are the different types of concept maps?

There are many types of visual concept maps. The most popular are:

Spider maps: used to branch out and build upon a single idea.
Flowcharts: used to visualize processes easily.
Hierarchy maps: used to provide a picture from the highest to the lowest point of an organization or concept.
System maps: used to visualize a system, especially to understand how a team is functioning or a system is working.

What is the use of concept maps?

Concept maps are used to visually illustrate relationships between ideas, support brainstorming sessions, improve knowledge retention, aid problem-solving, and streamline strategic planning.

Concept map maker vs. concept map creator–is there a difference?

Both terms are used interchangeably to describe online tools that simplify the creation of concept maps with features like templates, drag-and-drop functionality, and collaboration options. While the names differ, the core functionality remains similar.

Can I use Creately as a free online concept map software?

Yes, you can! Sign up for free with Creately’s basic plan, which provides you access to unlimited canvases. It offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, pre-designed templates, and real-time collaboration features, making it easy to visually organize ideas and relationships. There are certain limitations, such as the number of shapes on each canvas and export options. But you can always upgrade for unlimited access and features.

What are the advantages of using a conceptual map maker or creator?

Concept maps are a great way to lay out your information in detail to understand the bigger picture. You can branch out and include every minor detail to avoid missing vital information. Using a concept map creator like Creately, you can get a quick start with the readily available templates or use the extensive shape library to create your own. Many styles, preset colors, and precise formatting options are available to customize your concept map further. If you want to take a print, simply save it as a PDF and take a printout. You can easily share the space with your colleagues to collaborate via email or a link.

Does Google have a concept map maker?

Google does not have a dedicated concept map tool, but you can create a basic concept map using Google Docs, Google Drawings, or Google Slides. To do this in Google Docs, go to Insert > Drawing > New, where you can manually add shapes, lines, and text to create a simple concept map. However, for a more advanced and collaborative experience, tools like Creately’s concept map software offer pre-built templates, drag-and-drop functionality, and real-time collaboration features, making concept mapping much easier and more efficient.

How do students create a concept map?

Students can create a concept map by following these steps:

Choose a Topic – Start by identifying the main idea or focus of the concept map. This could be a subject from a lesson, a research topic, or a problem to explore.
Gather Key Concepts – Brainstorm and list all related ideas and concepts. Organize them from general to specific for a logical structure.
Use a Concept Map Maker – A free concept map maker for students, like Creately, helps visualize ideas effortlessly. Use templates or start from scratch with drag-and-drop tools.
Connect the Concepts – Draw lines or arrows between related ideas and add linking words to explain the relationships. Use color coding to improve clarity.
Review and Refine – Check for missing links, rearrange concepts for better understanding, and finalize the layout for presentation or study purposes.

With tools like Creately’s concept map maker, students can collaborate in real time, add notes, and customize their maps for a more interactive learning experience.

How can educators, healthcare professionals, and business teams use concept maps?

Concept maps help educators organize lesson plans, explain complex topics, and encourage student collaboration. Healthcare professionals use them to visualize patient information, track diagnoses, and plan treatments. Business teams rely on concept maps for brainstorming, process mapping, and strategic planning to improve communication and decision-making.

Streamline Your Workflows by Integrating with the Tools You Love

Creately integrates with the tools your teams use every day and supports your team’s workflow seamlessly.