Kumu

Kumu is a relationship-mapping tool for organizations working with people, systems, or concepts. It suits teams that need to analyze connections and share maps, not just draw diagrams. Its appeal is the combination of network metrics and interactive presentation; private projects require a paid plan or an eligible student discount.

Overview

Kumu supports stakeholder, systems, social network, community asset, and concept mapping. Teams can build maps manually or import spreadsheet data, including live data from Google Sheets. That flexibility is useful when relationships need to be assembled from existing records or explored visually from scratch. Built-in network analysis and sharing tools make it more capable than a map used only as a static illustration.

The central trade-off is privacy: free projects are visible to everyone and indexed by search engines. That makes the free tier appropriate for public work, but not for sensitive organizational maps.

Key features

Build and analyze maps

Closeness, betweenness, and eigenvector centrality offer different ways to examine network position, while automated community detection and clustering help identify groupings. These features matter when teams need to interpret relationships across a complex network rather than rely on visual inspection alone. Spreadsheet imports, including live Google Sheets data, can also reduce duplicate data entry when information is already maintained in tabular form.

Present and share

A presentation builder and interactive website embeds let teams present maps to audiences beyond their creators. That is useful for communicating relationships in context, though teams should account for project visibility before sharing: free projects are public and searchable.

Security and support

Browser traffic uses HTTPS, projects have separate CouchDB databases, and backups are retained for at least 30 days. Enterprise adds encryption at rest and SAML 2.0 single sign-on. Customers can choose self-hosting or Kumu-managed AWS hosting, including a selected geographic location for managed hosting; the managed option runs each customer on a separate Amazon EC2 instance. Kumu provides help resources and support by email, while Enterprise includes priority support.

Pricing

Kumu has a free tier, a 14-day trial of private projects, and paid plans priced by project or workspace. The free tier is generous on collaborators, maps, and views, but its public-only restriction is decisive for teams handling confidential work.

The two-week private-project trial gives teams a chance to assess paid privacy before committing. Basic private projects are billed per project, while Pro separates the workspace fee from its private-project charge. Enterprise uses annual invoices and per-user pricing.

Platforms

Kumu is available on the web and as self-hosted software. The Enterprise deployment options are particularly relevant to organizations that need to run the system themselves or choose a hosting location for managed AWS service.

Who it's for

Kumu is a strong fit for organizations mapping complex relationships, including social-sector leaders seeking to create impact. Its varied mapping use cases and analysis tools serve teams studying connected people or systems; its presentation and embedding features help those teams communicate what they find. It is a poor fit for confidential work on the free plan, and less compelling when a project needs only a simple static diagram.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Multiple centrality metrics, clustering, and community detection support analysis beyond drawing.
• Pros: Manual creation and spreadsheet imports, including live Google Sheets data, accommodate different ways of maintaining map information.
• Pros: Unlimited collaborators, maps, and views on both the free public tier and the $9/month private-project plan make seat or viewing caps less of a concern.
• Cons: Free projects are public and search-indexed, so private work requires payment or an eligible student discount.
• Cons: Pro charges $20/month per private project on top of its $10/month workspace price, which can raise costs for teams with several private maps.

Alternatives

For a broader set of relationship-intelligence options, see the Relationship Intelligence Software directory.

• Connect The Dots is a freemium option with Android, iOS, web, and API platforms; its free plan caps AI contact searches at 10 per month and lists at two, making it a different choice for readers considering contact-oriented tools.
• Happenstance offers a free plan with usage-limited Happenstance Chat and unlimited connected accounts, friends, and groups. Consider it if those account and group limits better match the intended use.
• Draftboard makes network mapping free with 50 quality paths included, then charges $0.30 per quality path. It is worth considering when a path-based allowance and pay-per-path pricing suit the work.
• Introd offers Google and Microsoft add-ons at $15 a month each for syncing the associated email, contacts, and calendar services. Choose it if that specific sync capability is the priority.
• Polinode has a free web plan for one user with five public networks and six basic metrics, plus a free trial. It may suit an individual whose project fits those caps.
• The Swarm has a free plan with 10 connectors, SaaS features, enriched profiles, and community support, but no API access. Consider it if those connector and profile features fit better than map-centered work.
• Village offers a free-forever plan with 100 credits per month, limited connections, 10 results per AI search, and browser extension, API, and MCP access. Its credit and search limits are relevant if those access options are what you need.
• ExecAtlas is another option to consider.

Verdict

Choose Kumu if your organization needs to map complex relationships, analyze network structure, and present interactive results. Its combination of imports, built-in analysis, and sharing is the case for choosing it; the main reason to look elsewhere is that private projects require payment, with Pro adding a per-project charge on top of its workspace price.