DarkRadiant vs GridCraft
DarkRadiant
darkradiant.net
GridCraft
gridcraft.devSide by side
| Figure | DarkRadiant | GridCraft |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $3.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · Game Level Editors | 8.1 (#7) | 8.5 (#4) |
| Editing tools | Feature highlights include a media browser, surface, patch and light inspectors, layers, grouping, and selection sets. | The editor includes brush, terrain, flood fill, shape, selection, stamp, and object tools. |
| Integrations | The FAQ says users can work with other Doom 3 modifications by specifying the fs_game setting in preferences. | The desktop app supports GitHub and GitLab for committing, pushing, and pulling map files. |
| Purpose | DarkRadiant is an open-source level editor for Doom 3 and The Dark Mod. | GridCraft is a tile map editor for game developers that runs in a browser and as a desktop app. |
Plans
GridCraft
- Web editorFree
- Cloud$3.99 a month
- Team$13.99 a month
- Desktop app$19.99, paid once
In their own words
DarkRadiant
DarkRadiant is a free, open-source level editor for Doom 3 and The Dark Mod, with additional listed support for The Dark Mod 2.0, Quake 4, Quake 3, and XreaL. Its workspace includes a media browser, inspectors for surfaces, patches, and lights, plus layers, grouping, and selection sets. Model and material tools include a particle editor with real-time preview, model scaling, model and skin browsers, and UV editing. It imports classic Quake and idTech map formats and exports to Doom 3, Quake 4, and Quake 3 formats. Plugins for The Dark Mod cover Stim/Response, objectives, difficulty, and conversations, alongside AI and Readable tools. A Python script interface is available, and preferences can specify fs_game for working with other Doom 3 modifications. DarkRadiant runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS, although the FAQ says macOS builds are not fully tested. The editor does not install game resources; users must point it to a supported game before editing maps.
GridCraft
GridCraft is a tile map editor for game developers, available in a browser and as a desktop app. It lets users paint tiles of different sizes from one atlas onto a map. Editing tools include brush, terrain, flood fill, shape, selection, stamp and object tools. GridCraft opens and saves Tiled.tmx and.tmj maps, with export targets including Godot 4, GameMaker, Defold, LDtk, LOVE2D, Lua and CSV. Live collaboration displays teammates’ cursors, selections and edits, synchronized through CRDT. The desktop app supports GitHub and GitLab for map-file commits, pushes and pulls. It can expose an open map to MCP clients for AI-agent access, but the server is off by default, binds to the local machine and does not yet edit infinite chunked maps. The free web editor includes all 19 tools and export formats without an account. Free accounts include three cloud maps, 25 MB total storage, one bound desktop device and collaboration for up to three people per map. Paid options include Cloud at $3.99 a month, Team at $13.99 a month and the desktop app at $19.99, paid once.