Today, Tectonian is officially open to everyone.
I'll skip the origin story. The short of it is: I have ADHD. Every mind mapping app I tried felt like it was built for someone else. Someone who already has their thoughts organized and just needs a pretty place to put them. That's backwards. The whole point is that the thoughts aren't organized yet. That's why you need the map. While I used Notion, and I liked Obsidian, they still felt pretty broad - not really catering to my needs.
So I built the one I wanted. And now you can benefit from it too.
What Tectonian actually is
Tectonian is a mind mapping app with end-to-end encryption. Your thoughts are encrypted before they leave your device so not even we can read them. No one can. It's your brain on screen, and it stays private.
But privacy is the foundation, not the feature. Here's what makes it different to use:
Physics-based layouts
Nodes don't sit on a rigid grid. They float, attract, repel. Your map breathes. Move one thing and everything adjusts naturally.
AI generation
Stuck? Let AI branch out from any node. It doesn't take over, it gives you starting points to react to. Way easier than staring at a blank canvas.
Focus mode
Dim everything except the branch you're working on. ADHD brains get overwhelmed by visual noise. This fixes that.
Notes sidebar
Every node can hold rich notes. Your map is the overview, the notes are the depth. Toggle between big picture and details instantly.
7 layout types
Directional, radial, rotational, and force-directed. Different ideas need different structures. Switch layouts without losing your work.
Themes & customization
Dark mode (obviously), plus multiple color themes. Make it yours. The less it feels like "software," the more your brain will actually use it.
Plus cloud save across devices, keyboard shortcuts for everything, autosave, import/export, and a growing feature set that I ship updates to constantly.
Who this is for
I built Tectonian for myself first. Then built towards something for people like me. If any of these sound familiar, you're in the right place:
- You have ADHD and your brain generates ideas faster than you can capture them
- You're autistic and/or think in systems, connections, and patterns
- You're a visual thinker who needs to see how things relate before they make sense
- You've tried other mind map tools and they felt too rigid, too corporate, or too cluttered
- You care about privacy and don't want your raw unfiltered thoughts sitting on someone's server in plaintext
That said, Tectonian works for anyone who thinks visually. Students, teachers, writers, developers, founders, therapists, researchers. The neurodivergent-first design just means it's more thoughtful about cognitive load, which benefits everyone.
The encryption thing
Most apps say "we take your privacy seriously" somewhere in their terms of service and call it a day. Tectonian does something different: your data is encrypted with a passphrase that only you know, before it ever touches our servers.
We literally cannot read your mind maps. Not if we wanted to. Not if someone subpoenaed us. Your passphrase never leaves your device.
For a lot of people, mind maps are where the rawest, most unfiltered thinking happens. That deserves real protection, not a checkbox on a compliance form.
Launch offer: 60% off your first 3 months
To celebrate launch, the first 1,000 subscribers get 60% off their first 3 months on Individual or Professional plans. After that, it reverts to the normal price. No tricks, no auto-upsell.
🚀 Launch Special — 60% Off
Individual plan: $2.80/mo for 3 months (then $7/mo)
Professional plan: $4.80/mo for 3 months (then $12/mo)
Apply at checkout · 1,000 spots total
View Plans & Get StartedWhy a cap? Honestly, I want to make sure I can support every early user well. This is a solo operation. I'd rather have 1,000 people who love the product than 10,000 who had a mediocre onboarding experience because I was stretched too thin.
Accessibility pricing
Separately from the launch offer, Tectonian has permanent accessibility pricing — 50% off the Professional plan, forever. Not a trial, not a limited-time thing. Forever. That brings Professional down to $6/mo (or $5/mo billed yearly).
This is for students, healthcare professionals, and neurodivergent individuals. The people who spend their days helping others think clearer, learn better, or just get through the day, as well as the people who know firsthand what it's like when the tools you're given weren't built with you in mind. If Tectonian helps you think and the price is a barrier, we'll fix that. A few minutes to apply, no hoops.
Can I stack both?
The launch offer and accessibility pricing are separate Stripe coupons, so only one can be active at a time. If you qualify for accessibility pricing, go with that — it's 50% off forever, which beats 60% off for 3 months in the long run.
What's next
Honestly? I'm figuring that out. Right now the priority is stability. Squashing bugs, cleaning up rough edges, and finishing the things that didn't quite make the cut for launch. The stuff that matters but isn't flashy.
Beyond that, it depends on you. I have ideas, sure. But I'd rather hear what you actually need than build what I think you need. Use it, break it, tell me what's missing or annoying. That's what will shape what I work on next.
This is a solo project and I want to be real about that. I'm not going to promise a roadmap full of dates and features I might not hit. What I can promise is that I'll keep showing up, keep shipping, and keep listening.
That's it. No investor slide deck, no growth hacking playbook. Just a tool I built because I needed it, and I think you could benefit from.
Try it. Break it. Tell me what sucks. Let's make it better together.
— The Tectonian team (it's just me right now, but "team" sounds more official)