Comparison

Calamus vs Group RPG Dice Roller

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

About

Group RPG Dice Roller

This app allows remote players and Dungeon Masters to share dice rolls in real-time over the internet for tabletop role-playing games. It offers a rich set of features for managing combat, tracking character stats, and customizing dice, functioning both as a shared tool and a standalone dice roller.

Highlights
  • Real-time remote dice rolling
  • Shared initiative tracker
  • Encounter manager
  • Character profile saving
  • Customizable dice and themes
  • Advantage & disadvantage rolling
  • Player turn notifications
Features
Read full description

Remote D&D Role playing game (RPG) die roller app for one or more players. The DM and each player can view rolls of the other players in real-time over the Internet on their mobile devices. Also great as a stand-alone, feature rich die-roller! Choose from a variety of themes. The DM can manage combat initiative. Add and remove monsters. Roll and get combat initiative order for all players and monsters instantly and have it broadcast to each player. The DM can then advance turns. When it is a player's turn, the player can be alerted on their device. During combat, the DM can keep track of monster and player status, like, 'stunned', 'restrained', etc. Features: - Create or join a 'table' to roll with other players - Save multiple character profiles - Default dice d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, d100 - Custom dice, e.g. 2 sided (coin) - Modify dice rolls +/- - Automatic advantage & disadvantage rolling - Player turn notification - Label & save rolls, 'sword attack' - Built-in shared initiative tracker - Encounter manager - Track hit points (DM) - Option to auto-roll hit dice when adding creatures (DM) - Color themes - History

Screenshots

Calamus4 screens
Group RPG Dice Roller4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Group RPG Dice Roller at 4.7 against Calamus's 3.3. Group RPG Dice Roller also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 15) and review sentiment (64% vs 33%). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Calamus sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Group RPG Dice Roller asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Group RPG Dice Roller holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 83 and 77 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Calamus's written reviews are positive against 64% of Group RPG Dice Roller's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Calamus ships an update monthly, Group RPG Dice Roller every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Calamus versus Group RPG Dice Roller: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalamusGroup RPG Dice Roller
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (83 ratings)4.7 (77 ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.5% of reviews63.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings83 — better77
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTrapStreet StudiosAlexis Panagides

Customer experience

Calamus

All ratings83 ratings
Positive51.8%
Neutral16.9%
Negative31.3%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive32.5%
Neutral17.5%
Negative50.0%

Group RPG Dice Roller

All ratings72 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral27.3%
Negative9.1%

Bugs and 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
Show 35 more
  • 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
Show 13 more
  • 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

Group RPG Dice Roller

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

15 purchases

Calamus

Subscriptions5
  • Calamus Player Only$0.991 Month
  • Full Version - Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Calamus Monthly Subscription$3.491 Month
Show 2 more
  • Full Version - Yearly$29.991 Year
  • Calamus Yearly Subscription$39.991 Year
One-time10
  • More Tokens Slots (12)$0.99
  • More Tokens Slots (30)$0.99
  • More Tokens Slots (24)$0.99
Show 7 more
  • 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
None

Group RPG Dice Roller

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Calamus free?
Calamus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Group RPG Dice Roller free?
Group RPG Dice Roller is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Calamus or Group RPG Dice Roller?
Group RPG Dice Roller is rated higher. Calamus averages 3.3 out of 5 from 83 ratings, while Group RPG Dice Roller averages 4.7 from 77 ratings.
Do Calamus or Group RPG Dice Roller have ads?
Neither Calamus nor Group RPG Dice Roller shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Calamus or Group RPG Dice Roller?
Calamus ships an update monthly, and Group RPG Dice Roller every 4 days. Most recently, Calamus was updated on October 24, 2026 and Group RPG Dice Roller on October 24, 2026.

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