Hex Map Maker vs Calamus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hex Map Maker
Easily create and print old-school style RPG hex maps for tabletop games. Choose from various symbols and hex types, adjust map size, and save your creations locally. Print your maps to add custom details for your campaigns.
- Pointy-top or flat-top hexes
- Customizable map size
- Seven map symbols
- Pinch-to-zoom and pan
- Print map sections or full map
- Save maps locally
- Offline map creation
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Easily make and print old-school style role-playing game hex maps! Hex Map Maker is designed to make maps similar to those from the old Dungeons & Dragons® Expert set for use in pen and paper role-playing games. Use the symbol picker to choose a symbol and then tap on the hexes to see your map take shape. Make a mistake? Just pick a different symbol and tap the hexes to change. Change hex types or map size without losing your current map! (Though it will look a little different as the rows and columns move around.) Features: * Choose from either pointy-top or flat-top hexes. * Make maps of any size by choosing the number of rows and columns from the menu. * Seven symbols to choose from: Mountains, Hills, Forest, Desert, Grassland, Water, and Blank. * Pinch and zoom or pan with two fingers to see the whole map or zoom in to focus on details. * Print whatever is on the screen -- so you can print the whole map or just a small portion. * Save your maps to local storage so you can carry your entire campaign in your pocket. * Print the map and then draw cities, roads, dungeons, rivers or anything else you need on it -- your imagination is the limit. Design help by Erika Cary (https://erikacary.com/). Dungeons & Dragons® is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast. This app is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC. For more information about Wizards of the Coast and current versions of their games, please visit their website at http://www.wizards.com/ .
Calamus
Create expansive battlemaps with hand-drawn tiles for tabletop RPGs. Design custom character tokens and host real-time games where players can move their own pieces. Engage in robust chat, sending messages as yourself or any in-game token.
- Create large battlemaps
- Dozens of hand-drawn tiles
- Custom PC, NPC, FOE tokens
- Host real-time games
- Player character movement
- Robust in-game chat
- Send messages as tokens
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The Calamus is a companion for tabletop roleplaying games, such as Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder, that allows you to create huge battlemaps utilizing dozens of hand-drawn tiles, create custom PC, NPC, and FOE tokens, and host games in which players can add and move their own characters in real-time. It also features a robust chat, in which you can send messages as yourself or any token you have in play, publicly or privately. You can find our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy here: http://trapstreetstudios.com/theCalamus/tos/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hex Map Maker at none against Calamus's 15. Hex Map Maker also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 33%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Calamus sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Hex Map Maker asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.3 for Hex Map Maker against 3.3 for Calamus. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47 and 83 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Hex Map Maker's written reviews are positive against 33% of Calamus's.
Hex Map Maker ships an update fortnightly, Calamus monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hex Map Maker | Calamus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (47 ratings) | 3.3 (83 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better | 32.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 47 | 83 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 11.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Friedman | TrapStreet Studios |
Customer experience
Hex Map Maker
Calamus
Bugs and requests
Hex Map Maker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Calamus
Reported bugs
40 issues- No undo option
- Walls erase when removing objects
- Rune password login issues
- Water turns light blue when saving/cropping
- App repeatedly asks for password
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- Pop-ups are disruptive
- Download issues
- Support issues
- Map saving issues
- App crashes
- Broken text formatting
- Tabs do not work
- Program freezes while placing tiles
- Login issues after canceling subscription
- Pinch and pull zoom doesn't work
- Erase button in wrong menu
- Forced password system
- Locked out if away from app for too long
- Not designed for mobile user experience
- Maps don't save properly
- App never loads
- Never got to do much of anything
- Non-functional, never makes it past loading screen
- Monetization model kills it
- Forced subscription after idle period
- Limited variety of items
- Cannot download saved maps
- App asks for subscription after payment
- Free app with subscription service
- Too complicated login process
- Freezes when adding players
- Rune password is confusing
- Subscription is a big problem
- Keeps locking, requires frequent passcode entry
- Slowdown on larger maps
- Text is incredibly small
- Menu screen swipe function doesn't work
- Cannot figure out rune password
- Slow learning curve
- No simple tutorial
Requested features
18 requests- Add undo option
- Improve Apple Pencil support
- Add more assets like columns
- Add desert themed items
- Add steering wheel and crows nest
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- Add fungi for underdark maps
- Allow watching ads instead of subscription
- Fix water color issue when saving/cropping
- Improve login process
- Add more variety of items
- Allow downloading saved maps to device
- Implement a one-time purchase option
- Add more content
- Change rune password system to typed password or tap option
- Add more VTT features
- Provide a simple tutorial
- Allow maps to be exported as PDFs
- Allow maps to be printed
In-app purchases
Hex Map Maker
No in-app purchases
Calamus
- Calamus Player Only$0.991 Month
- Full Version - Monthly$2.991 Month
- Calamus Monthly Subscription$3.491 Month
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- Full Version - Yearly$29.991 Year
- Calamus Yearly Subscription$39.991 Year
- More Tokens Slots (12)$0.99
- More Tokens Slots (30)$0.99
- More Tokens Slots (24)$0.99
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- All Epic Token Icons$0.99
- 2x2 Token Ring$0.99
- More Map Slots (6)$0.99
- More Tokens Slots (6)$0.99
- Full Roommaker$1.99
- All Epic Token Rings$2.99
- Player Enhanced Version$2.99
