Comparison

MapScribe vs Fortelling

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MapScribe

Easily create antique-styled maps on your iPad or iPhone. Utilize a variety of "brushes" to paint features like mountains, trees, and towns. Export your creations in multiple resolutions.

Highlights
  • Draw antique-styled maps
  • Finger swipe and tap interface
  • Variety of map feature "brushes"
  • Multiple map resolutions
  • Selectable fonts for text
  • Color brushes for terrain
Features
Read full description

MapScribe is an IOS App that lets you draw maps on your IPad or IPhone. It has an easy to use interface that lets you quickly "paint" antique styled maps with finger swipes and taps using its map feature "brushes", such as mountains and trees. Are you an author who needs to create a map for your fantasy novel? Perhaps you are a video game designer who needs to create a map for players to use to navigate through your game? Or maybe you are an artist looking to create a unique kind of decor? ...AND You want to do it on your IPad or IPhone Then, MapScribe is for you. --Map Resolutions-- MapScribe let's you create maps as jpg files with the following resolutions both vertically(portrait) and horzontally(landscape) oriented: • 500 x 700 • 800 x 1000 • 850 x 1100 • 900 x 1200 • 1100 x 1400 • 1200 x 1600 --Fonts-- MapScribe let's you write on your maps with the following fonts: • Ariel • Bradley Hand • Noteworthy • Papyrus • Snell Roundhand • Zapfino --Brushes-- These brushes allow you to paint features on your map Mountains Hills Trees Fir Trees Palm Trees Dead Trees Bridge Castle Town House Swamp Dunes Water Compass Sea Monster Volcano 3 Kinds of grasses Roads Tower Shop Classic Building Mine Jail Tavern Mill City Hall Church Townhouse Arena - Color Brushes - Green (for grass) Blue (for water) White (for snow) Snow capped Mountains Green Hills Green Trees Green Fir Trees

About

Fortelling

This app helps novelists plot and write their books by organizing story elements like characters, locations, and items. It offers tools for world-building, real-time collaboration, and writing statistics, along with weekly challenges to inspire creativity.

Highlights
  • Advanced plotting tools
  • World-building for fictional universes
  • Story element organization
  • Real-time collaboration
  • In-app novel writing
  • Writing statistics
  • Weekly writing challenges
Features
Read full description

Novelist, are you ready to start writing your next amazing novel? Fortelling provides the tools you need to plot & write your book. Plotting Tools Our advanced plotting tools allow you to organize your book and guide you in writing the best version of your story. World-building Tools Create characters, languages, species & items. Keep everything consistent while writing and plotting. Detailed Plotting Create sublocations and document your unique universe. Remove the overwhelm while plotting your book. Create Drafts for your Novel Keeping your story safe is one of Fortelling's top priorities. You can create multiple draft versions of your book chapters. Create an Overview Link all your story elements together to create one giant board with related items. Describe their relations and keep your plotting elements organized. Write your Novel Make the dream of holding your story as a real book a reality. You can even write your novel within Fortelling. Use our writing statistics and version history to stay in control. Collaborate Working together on a story has never been easier. Through our real-time collaboration feature, you can keep the flow going and plot something amazing together. Weekly Writing Challenges Every Friday, we launch a fresh writing prompt to challenge your imagination. Protect your Book and Story. You retain full ownership of your novel. Create your book securely; data will never be shared with 3rd parties.

Screenshots

MapScribe2 screens
Fortelling4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Fortelling at Free against MapScribe's $2.99. Fortelling also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.3) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months). MapScribe's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ads (none vs shown). On device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Fortelling is free to download; MapScribe costs $2.99 up front. Fortelling sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $7.39 per month. MapScribe asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Fortelling holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fortelling has 1K ratings behind it against 46, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of MapScribe's written reviews are positive against 73% of Fortelling's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MapScribe ships an update every 3 months, Fortelling every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 1 level
MapScribe versus Fortelling: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMapScribeFortelling
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating3.3 (46 ratings)4.5 (1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews72.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings461K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.1 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB117 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperDaniel EskridgeAJP Digital Tools B.V.

Customer experience

MapScribe

All ratings46 ratings
Positive52.2%
Neutral17.4%
Negative30.4%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral21.1%
Negative28.9%

Fortelling

All ratings1,024 ratings
Positive88.5%
Neutral3.5%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews424 reviews
Positive72.6%
Neutral8.5%
Negative18.9%

Bugs and requests

MapScribe

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Fortelling

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Blank screen when trying to delete characters
  • Inability to rearrange timeline events
  • Inconsistent behavior when adding images
  • Disappearing projects and lost progress

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to import/export data
  • More customization options
  • Better organization and navigation
  • Offline mode or autosave functionality
  • Collaborative features and social sharing

In-app purchases

None

MapScribe

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

Fortelling

Subscriptions6
  • Fortelling Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$7.391 Month
  • Fortelling Pro - Monthly$7.491 Month
  • Fortelling Pro - Monthly3 Days trial$7.491 Month
Show 3 more
  • Fortelling Pro - Annually3 Days trial$74.991 Year
  • Fortelling Pro - Annually$74.991 Year
  • Fortelling Pro - Annually7 Days trial$74.991 Year
One-time1
  • Fortelling Pro Lifetime$199.99

Questions

Is MapScribe free?
MapScribe costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Fortelling free?
Fortelling is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MapScribe or Fortelling?
Fortelling is rated higher. MapScribe averages 3.3 out of 5 from 46 ratings, while Fortelling averages 4.5 from 1K ratings.
Do MapScribe or Fortelling have ads?
Fortelling shows ads; MapScribe does not.
Which is updated more often, MapScribe or Fortelling?
MapScribe ships an update every 3 months, and Fortelling every 8 days. Most recently, MapScribe was updated on October 26, 2026 and Fortelling on October 27, 2026.

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