GridCraft vs NetRadiant

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.

NetRadiant is a free, open-source 3D game level editor that uses brushes to build levels. It has first-class compatibility with Xonotic and Unvanquished and supports about 30 other games, with support varying by game. The project is driven by Xonotic, receives support from Unvanquished, and is maintained by a community of gamers, mappers, modders and game developers. It originated as a fork of Id Software’s GtkRadiant project. Listed downloads include Linux 64-bit, Windows 32-bit and 64-bit, macOS 64-bit and FreeBSD 64-bit builds. The builds include daemonmap for Unvanquished navmesh generation and q3map2 patches for Smokin’ Guns. Released Xonotic files work without an extra mapping support package. Linux use requires a working GTK2 and OpenGL environment. Windows builds offer optional Mesa3D rendering, described as a workaround for some older Intel chips on Windows 10. A 2022 project post described macOS support as new and potentially rough, including possible multi-screen configuration problems. The download page lists version 1.5.0-20220628.