NetRadiant-Custom vs TrenchBroom

NetRadiant-Custom is a free, open-source level editor for games based on id Tech, available on Windows, macOS and Linux. Its primary focus is Quake, Quake 3 and Quake Live, while releases include configurations for additional games. Users can create and manipulate brushes and entities in the 3D view, with geometry tools for vertex editing, face extrusion, patch thickening and CSG shell modification. Texture tools support UV alignment, drag painting, copying textures between brush faces and patches, and locking textures during vertex or edge edits. Keyboard shortcuts, interface themes and fonts are customizable. Viewports offer anisotropic texture filtering and optional MSAA. When region mode is enabled, working compilations build only the map section in that region. Bundled Q3Map2 tools include automatic map packaging and BSP import and export as JSON; its Assimp library supports more than 40 model formats. Supported formats include .map, .bsp, .pk3, .dpk, .dpkdir, Valve 220, brush primitives, axial projection, .def, .ent and .fgd. Ready-to-use packages are available in the project's Releases section.

TrenchBroom is a free level editor for brush-based engines such as Quake, Quake 2, and Hexen 2. It provides a 3D workspace alongside up to three 2D views. Brush editing includes vertex changes, clipping, scaling, shearing, and constructive solid geometry operations for merging, subtracting, or hollowing shapes. A UV view handles textures and supports multiple material collections. The entity browser accepts drag-and-drop placement and definitions from FGD, ENT, and DEF files, while model display includes mdl, md2, md3, bsp, and dkm formats. An issue browser filters map problems, helps resolve them, and offers automatic quick fixes. TrenchBroom can call external compilers and launch game engines, but those compilation tools are separate. It supports several Quake, Valve, Hexen 2, and package formats. The 2026.2 requirements list Windows 10 1903+, Linux with glibc 2.33+, or macOS 13+, with OpenGL 2.1 and GLSL 1.2 hardware.