Map Making Software reviews from Reddit

Summary

We analyzed 242 Reddit reviews across 23 subreddits and 61 posts to rank the best Map Making Software brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/worldbuilding, r/DnD, r/Pathfinder2e, r/mapmaking, r/FoundryVTT. Top-rated brands include Inkarnate (4.1/5), Dungeondraft (4.2/5), Wonderdraft (4.3/5).

Stats

Reviews242

Subreddits23

Posts61

Brands77

Products6

Top communities

r/worldbuilding38 r/DnD34 r/Pathfinder2e31 r/mapmaking25 r/FoundryVTT23

242 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

Inkarnate

4.1

(34)

"Inkarnate just looks SO MUCH better than all the others."

"Inkarnate for me. One-stop shopping for any size map you wanna make."

"Inkarnate blows them all away with an easy learning curve."

"Inkarnate is about to drop a big sci fi update afaik."

"Inkarnate is a great online tool."

"I've had a lot of success with Inkarnate."

"Inkarnate makes regional and world maps."

"My husband uses Inkarnate and I think the art style of the assets is significantly better."

"I prefer the art style of Inkarnate."

"Inkarnate or Wonderdraft if you're happy to settle for a map which looks like everyone else's."

Dungeondraft

4.2

(29)

"Dungeondraft, hands down."

"I'm a noob using Dungeondraft and Droid Cartographer assets."

"Dungeondraft is my go to."

"I really like dungeon draft."

"Dungeondraft is awesome and super easy to use."

"You could also check out Dungeondraft with custom assets"

"Dungeon Draft and then on foundry the module Universal Battlemap Importer."

"DungeonDraft - UVTT files can be directly imported into Foundry."

"I use a mix of Dungeondraft and Talespire."

Wonderdraft

4.3

(26)

"Having moved from Inkarnate to wonderdraft was a revelation to me."

"There is wonderdraft you can do [this] and i'm making [this] and it come with some sci-fi building"

"It's gonna hit all the boxes: Affordable, Easy to use, Look great & professional."

"I've decided on wonderdraft, but thank you all for your suggestions!"

"Wonderdraft is pretty great. $20, and the developer is actively working on updating and getting/using user feedback."

"I second Wonderdraft. It was made by a redditor who was dissatisfied with gimp, adobe, and inkarnate."

"Wonderdraft."

"A recently released program by the name of Wonderdraft can work wonders for anyone wanting to make a beautiful map."

"Wonderdraft/Dungeondraft is my go-to."

"Personally, I tend to find maps made in Wonderdraft more aesthetically pleasing."

QGIS

4.4

(14)

"QGis it is open source and free"

"QGIS is probably your best bet for a free program."

"Qgis - if you want to make a map of the REAL mid-west USA"

"QGIS may be your best bet"

"Qgis"

"Is free and open source. You can build layouts you want and export to pdf or image format."

"Qgis. probably unnecessary for this project but it can be useful if you ever end up wanting to shove data into one of them."

"QGIS"

"I would recommend the LTR version. It can absolutely do everything you want it to do and quite a bit more."

"It has a learning curve but QGIS"

Dungeon Alchemist

4.4

(9)

"Dungeon Alchemist."

"I use dungeon alchemist takes me less than 5mins most of the time."

"Dungeon Alchemist has very good Foundry export."

"Dungeon Alchemist just got a new update for round rooms and diagonal walls."

"Dungeon Alchemist and canvas of kings."

"Dungeon alchemist and inkarnate."

"If I were to do a static map I'd probably go for dungeon alchemist."

"I use a mix of Dungeon Alchemist and Dungeondraft."

"I did have some real success with Dungeon Alchemist."

GIMP

3.9

(10)

"Your best bet is a drawing program like Photoshop or Gimp"

"GIMP if you want to create something unique."

"GIMP is a free Photoshop alternative."

"I have used Gimp and Krita, and it took me an afternoon to learn to use it."

"I use gimp and wonderdraft."

"I have used Gimp and Krita."

"GIMP is a free photoshop alternative."

"Consider GIMP and Inkscape if you want free, open-source options."

"I made a (world) map in gimp for pathfinder a few weeks ago."

"I used GIMP for this because it was free."

DungeonFog

3.9

(7)

"If you want the best, and are happy with a subscription, check out DungeonFog."

"For battlemaps, I love DungeonFog. Costs a bit if you want the full suite but well worth it."

"DungeonFog has a lot of modern/scifi assets."

"Maybe DungeonFog."

"I use Dungeonfog for battlemaps but you can also make worldmaps there."

"Dungeonfog also has this feature."

"There is dungeonfog a browser based map editor."

Inkscape

4.3

(6)

"Inkscape is a good free program."

"I'm a huge advocate for Inkscape as a drawing program."

"Download the software Inkscape, and adapt the map."

"Consider GIMP and Inkscape if you want free, open-source options."

"Inkscape lends itself to tracing and editing images."

"There is a free alternative to it named InkScape."

Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator

3.7

(6)

"I've also played around with Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator."

"Personally, I love Azgaars- it allows for much better low-fantasy stuff."

"Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator."

"Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator is really cool and quick to use."

"It is not a software and a bit fiddely to use, but I recommend Azgaars Fantasy Generator."

"I use Azgaar's fantasy map generator. It's free and online but looks a little weird."

#10

AutoRealm

3.3

(6)

"It's incredibly useful when you get the hang of it."

"I second the vote for AutoREALM."

"If you follow Carthex's suggestion of AutoREALM, then you might also want a decent tutorial video on it."

"[AutoREALM] is free and quick if you don't much care for looks."

"Autorealm or gimp or eve."

"AutoRealm is very helpful sometimes."

#11

Tiled

4.0

(5)

"Tiled, as mentioned above. Though it's a bit weird to get used to at first."

"One programed I used a while back was a free program called Tiled."

"I've sticked for a long time with Tiled."

"Tiled is working great for me for just the background maps."

"There's an app called 'Tiled' out there that’s great for making tiled maps."

#12

Arkenforge

4.5

(4)

"Check out r/Arkenforge"

"I absolutely love this software for making maps. Been using it for about 4 months now and I can't imagine using anything else."

"I got arkenforge long time ago, and have built my maps with it."

"Arkenforge is a great battlemap making program."

#13

Adobe Photoshop

4.7

(3)

"The best is obviously going to be Photoshop. It does everything."

"Photoshop or GIMP are your best options."

"My suggestions are: 3. Photoshop"

#14

Photoshop

4.0

(3)

"Your best bet is a drawing program like Photoshop or Gimp"

"Photoshop is a good offline tool."

"I use Photoshop for everything."

#15

Dungeon Painter Studio

3.7

(3)

"The original Dungeon Painter Studio can generate a very nice dungeon in less than 3 minutes."

"I use Dungeon Painter Studio. Works pretty good for everything iv needed, and only $15."

"I use Dungeon Painter Studio."

#16

Campaign Cartographer

3.0

(3)

"Personally i use campaign cartographer quite a lot."

"Personally, I use Campaign Cartographer, but I seem to be the only one here."

"Campaign Cartographer does have sci-fi packs available. It is also the most hideously complicated mapping software I have ever seen."

#17

Dungeon Scrawl

4.5

(2)

"Dungeon scrawl (free) is a great option."

"There's also https://probabletrain.itch.io/dungeon-scrawl as a free tool."

#18

Affinity Designer

4.5

(2)

"Affinity designer! The best software I’ve ever tried."

"Much less money than Adobe Illustrator and equally powerful is Affinity Designer."

#19

Krita

4.5

(2)

"Krita is the best open soft for digital painting."

"I use Krita (free Photoshop) and assets scrounged from around the web."

#20

Zombicide

4.0

(2)

"Zombicide has a free map editor software and files to download for making your own maps."

#21

Google Maps API

4.0

(2)

"The Google Map API is open enough that you can import custom images and data into it to create custom maps."

"I think the Google Maps API or Google Charts - GeoCharts would be a good start."

#22

Dungeon Fog

4.0

(2)

"Dungeon fog is a good online option."

"We are working on an easy to use map tool: Dungeon Fog."

#23

RPG Maker

4.0

(2)

"I personally use RPG Maker."

"I prefer using RPG Maker due to its ease of use."

#24

Adobe Illustrator

4.0

(2)

"Adobe Illustrator, very easy and intuitive to learn."

"My suggestions are: 1. Adobe Illustrator"

#25

Pyromancers

4.0

(2)

"[Pyromancers] has a great online encounter map building tool."

"[Pyromancers] has a great online tool for making dungeon maps."

#26

CartoDB

4.0

(2)

"I would recommend cartodb if its meant for the browser."

"Might wanna look int CartoDB, very free, very user friendly, and decently powerful for map making."

#27

ArcGIS

4.0

(2)

"ArcGIS perhaps, but QGIS has most of the same abilities"

"ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator work together seamlessly."

#28

Dungeon Painter

3.5

(2)

"I'm looking for something like Dungeon Painter for sci-fi environment."

"Maybe there are some custom sci-fi item sets for Dungeon Painter?"

#29

AstroSynthesis

3.0

(2)

"Astrosynthesis (though I haven’t used this myself)"

"The main software I know of is AstroSynthesis which is designed for creating fictional 3d starmaps."

#30

Arkenforge Our Master's Toolkit

5.0

(1)

"Our Master's Toolkit software has a huge range of sci fi assets!"

#31

Blender

5.0

(1)

"Blender 3D has an amazing plugin BlenderGIS."

#32

Giraffe Build

5.0

(1)

"Giraffe.build"

#33

Feed the Multiverse

5.0

(1)

"I will always recommend [https://feedthemultiverse.com/] Tiffany is amazing!"

#34

Esri

4.0

(1)

"Any Esri GIS platform. getting local data is super easy, same with getting georeferenced imagery."

#35

Clip Studio Paint

4.0

(1)

"Best is Clip Studio Paint Pro with Forgotten Adventures assets."

#36

Worldographer

4.0

(1)

"Wonderdraft can function but I've had perhaps most success using Worldographer."

#37

Google Charts

4.0

(1)

"I think the Google Maps API or Google Charts - GeoCharts would be a good start."

#38

Adobe InDesign

4.0

(1)

"My suggestions are: 2. InDesign"

#39

ESRI ArcGIS Pro

4.0

(1)

"Pay the $100/yr subscription and start learning ESRI ArcGIS Pro/AGOL."

#40

Donjon

4.0

(1)

"If you're in a huge hurry, you can have Donjon generate a map for you."

#41

Mapforge

4.0

(1)

"I am using mapforge and it is amazing."

#42

Paint Shop Pro

4.0

(1)

"It's a tremendously good relatively inexpensive software app loaded with good map making tools."

#43

Indiemapper

4.0

(1)

"Indiemapper.com is pretty straightforward."

#44

Canva

4.0

(1)

"I’ve been having a really easy time with Canva."

#45

RPG Engine

4.0

(1)

"For 3d mapping I really enjoy RPG Engine."

#46

Bluebeam Revu

4.0

(1)

"You can do that in Bluebeam Revu or Adobe Acrobat."

#47

PowerPoint

4.0

(1)

"Use PowerPoint... Illustrator and indesign are overkill."

#48

AutoCAD

4.0

(1)

"AutoCAD"

#49

Mipui

4.0

(1)

"Mipui might be a good match for you."

#50

Other World Mapper

4.0

(1)

"Big fan of Other World Mapper, which was designed specifically for creating natural-looking maps."

#51

Photoshop/Gimp

4.0

(1)

"Photoshop/Gimp. Making maps is easier than you think, even with zero artistic skill."

#52

Dundjinni

4.0

(1)

"Dundjinni is superb after a short period of getting used to it."

#53

Obsidian Portal

4.0

(1)

"Here's a big list with little mini-reviews of each one. There's about 40."

#54

Roll for Fantasy

4.0

(1)

"Https://rollforfantasy.com/tools/solar-system-creator.php"

#55

Siterecon.ai

4.0

(1)

"Did you try siterecon.ai"

#56

Starship Geomorphs

4.0

(1)

"I highly recommend starship geomorphs as an excellent free resource."

#57

Snazzy Maps

4.0

(1)

"There's a website called snazzy maps that will do cool overlays as well."

#58

Google SketchUp

4.0

(1)

"It works great for making topographic maps!"

#59

Pyromancer

4.0

(1)

"I always used the (free) pyromancer tool on the website because its very easy to use."

#60

Deepnight

4.0

(1)

"Use [this](https://deepnight.net/tools/rpg-map/) one for tactical. Free and simple."

#61

HumbleBundle

4.0

(1)

"There is a HumbleBundle available right now with Map Software and Assets."

#62

Illwinter

4.0

(1)

"For sheer speed, I can heartily recommend having Illwinter's Floorplan Generator in your toolbox."

#63

DungeonMapDoodler

4.0

(1)

"DungeonMapDoodler is another fast, browser-based tool for dungeon maps."

#64

Clip Studio

4.0

(1)

"Clip Studio with Forgotten Adventures mapmaking pack is amazing."

#65

Dungeon Maker Sketch

4.0

(1)

"Dungeon Maker Sketch is pretty good."

#66

Google Maps

4.0

(1)

"Someone pointed out https://mapstyle.withgoogle.com/ to me."

#67

Dwarf Fortress

4.0

(1)

"Dwarf fortress works quite well."

#68

Hexkit

4.0

(1)

"Hexkit works pretty well for creating sectors."

#69

Mapbox

4.0

(1)

"Just learn Mapbox JS - it’s specialized but not too difficult, and it makes it much easier to distribute and update."

#70

Hexographer

3.0

(1)

"I've never used it but it might be worth checking out?"

#71

MagicMaps

3.0

(1)

"To produce simple choropleth maps, MagicMaps for Mac or Mango Maps."

#72

Cosmographer 3

3.0

(1)

"Looks like Cosmographer 3 is a perfect tool for what I need."

#73

Datawrapper

3.0

(1)

"Datawrapper is a good option as well that is more drag and drop but also more limited"

#74

Solar System Creator

3.0

(1)

"There's some other sci-fi tools on there that could be helpful too."

#75

Deepnight RPG Map Tool

3.0

(1)

"I can't believe nobody mentioned this free tool: [https://deepnight.net/tools/rpg-map/]"

#76

National Geographic

3.0

(1)

"That's one if you need to get a real world place and create a visual."

#77

Campaign Cartographer 3+

3.0

(1)

"Cc3+ is good but has an outdated ui and is not super intuitive."

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