Hex Map Maker vs Game Master's Toolkit 5e
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/ .
Game Master's Toolkit 5e
This app generates random content for tabletop roleplaying games, including monsters, NPCs, quests, and magic items. It offers tools for combat preparation, puzzles, and a dice simulator. An optional premium upgrade unlocks advanced customization and export features.
- Generate random monsters, NPCs, and cities
- Create quests, treasure, and villains
- Design dungeons and traps
- Generate magic items
- Quick generator for names and rumors
- Party cheat sheet and initiative tracker
- Dice simulator and rule reference
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Game Master’s Toolkit 5e allows GMs to generate random content for their tabletop roleplaying games! Designed for the world's most popular roleplaying game, but highly compatible with other fantasy TTRPG systems. Using this app, you can: – Browse over 2,000 monsters and filter by CR, terrain, creature type, and source book. – Create NPCs and cities to bring your world to life. – Generate random events, quests, treasure, and villains to add danger and adventure to your game. – Challenge your players with fully fleshed-out dungeons, and traps. – Generate random magic items, such as weapons, armor, potions, and scrolls. – Use the Quick Generator to create names, taverns, shops, rumors, and more! – Save all your favorite randomly generated content for later use. All with the click of a button! Game Master’s Toolkit 5e also includes a number of other tools to help you run your game. – Use the Party Cheat Sheet to track your players’ damage and other important stats. Add monsters to your initiative tracker for easy combat prep. – Incorporate puzzles and mini games to challenge and entertain your players. – Includes a simple dice simulator for easy rolling. – Browse through common 5e rules such as conditions and concentration. Upgrade to the premium version for even more control over the items you generate! With the full version, you can: – Sort saved items into different campaigns – Edit and add notes to your saved items. – Edit and add notes to items as you generate them. – Add, remove, edit, and rearrange city elements to make it truly your own. – Add your own homebrew puzzles and mini games for later reference. – Export items to Google Drive, Dropbox, email, notes, iMessage, Discord, social media, and any other apps you have on your phone. This app also includes a built–in library of over 100 sounds and songs for you to incorporate into your game. Browse different song categories including Combat, In a Dungeon, In the City, and more! The music plays in the background, allowing you to use other apps or lock your screen without interrupting the song. Create a list of your favorite songs for easy reference. All completely offline! No ads, no signups, no hassle. Simple and easy to use.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Game Master's Toolkit 5e at 4.8 against Hex Map Maker's 3.3. Game Master's Toolkit 5e also leads on review sentiment (99% vs 67%) and ratings volume (205 vs 47). Hex Map Maker's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads and 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
Both are free to download. Game Master's Toolkit 5e sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Hex Map Maker asks for nothing beyond the download.
Game Master's Toolkit 5e holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47 and 205 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Hex Map Maker's written reviews are positive against 99% of Game Master's Toolkit 5e's.
Hex Map Maker ships an update fortnightly, Game Master's Toolkit 5e every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hex Map Maker | Game Master's Toolkit 5e |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (47 ratings) | 4.8 (205 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 98.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 47 | 205 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 240 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Michael Friedman | Michael Wu |
Customer experience
Hex Map Maker
Game Master's Toolkit 5e
Bugs and requests
Hex Map Maker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Game Master's Toolkit 5e
Reported bugs
2 issues- App crashes when trying to save
- Dice roller feature not working properly
Requested features
5 requests- Add initiative tracking
- Allow editing of generated content
- Implement cloud sync for saved data
- Expand race and NPC options
- Add more puzzle and mini-game options
In-app purchases
Hex Map Maker
No in-app purchases
Game Master's Toolkit 5e
- Premium Version$0.99
Questions
Is Hex Map Maker free?
Is Game Master's Toolkit 5e free?
Which has better reviews, Hex Map Maker or Game Master's Toolkit 5e?
Do Hex Map Maker or Game Master's Toolkit 5e have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hex Map Maker or Game Master's Toolkit 5e?
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