MapScribe vs Novelist
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Novelist
This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools for authors to write, organize, and plot their novels. It offers features for scene creation, story structuring, goal setting, and manuscript export. The platform is designed to support the entire novel-writing process, from initial ideas to the final draft.
- Plotting with customizable story elements
- Scene writing with rich formatting
- Story organization into acts and chapters
- Word count goals and deadline scheduling
- Manuscript export in EPUB, ODT, HTML
- Autosave and version history
- Companion web app
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Join over 200k authors writing their next masterpiece with Novelist! Novelist is the all-in-one app for writing your novels—completely free with no ads or in-app purchases. We give you the freedom to create without limits. Whether you're plotting, outlining, organizing, or scheduling, Novelist provides powerful tools to help bring your story to life. Key Features: ▪ Plot: Organize your story elements like on a board. Easily edit, move, merge, reorder, and add notes, tags, metadata, or images. Everything is customizable. ▪ Write: Craft scenes directly in the app. Annotate or write with rich formatting tools. ▪ Organize: Structure your story into acts, chapters, or any format you like. ▪ Schedule: Set word count goals or deadlines to stay on track. Advanced Tools: ▪ Autosave, find/replace, add comments, and restore previous versions from history ▪ Mention story items directly in your text for quick reference ▪ Split your screen with reference panels to inspect items while writing ▪ Track your progress daily with detailed stats ▪ Real-time preview without leaving the app ▪ Export and share your manuscript in EPUB, ODT, or HTML formats ▪ Enjoy an interface optimized for large screens ▪ Write on any browser with the companion web app ▪ Create templates for book series to streamline your workflow ▪ Backup and restore locally or with Google Drive ▪ Switch to dark mode for comfortable writing during long sessions Your story, your way—with Novelist.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Novelist at Free against MapScribe's $2.99. Novelist also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.3) and review sentiment (79% vs 50%). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
Novelist is free to download; MapScribe costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Novelist holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 46 and 214 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of MapScribe's written reviews are positive against 79% of Novelist's.
MapScribe ships an update every 3 months, Novelist every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MapScribe | Novelist |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.3 (46 ratings) | 4.4 (214 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 79.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 46 | 214 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Eskridge | Alessandro Riperi |
Customer experience
MapScribe
Novelist
Bugs and requests
MapScribe
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Novelist
Reported bugs
4 issues- Backup/restore process can lead to data loss
- Cursor and text editing issues
- Crashes and freezes on some devices
- Syncing problems between devices
Requested features
7 requests- Ability to import/export in various formats (PDF, Markdown, etc.)
- Improved syncing and cloud integration
- More font and formatting options
- Ability to add images/illustrations to the book
- Collaboration/co-writing features
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- Spell check and grammar tools
- Customizable keyboard in dark mode
In-app purchases
MapScribe
No in-app purchases
Novelist
No in-app purchases









