Calamus vs MapMe
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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/
MapMe
Design immersive battle maps for Dungeons & Dragons with this intuitive map maker. Optimized for iPad with Apple Pencil support, it allows for offline creation and importing of custom assets. Regular updates and a user-driven roadmap ensure continuous improvement.
- Custom battle map creation
- Designed for Dungeon Masters
- Apple Pencil support
- Import Dungeondraft assets
- User-friendly interface
- Offline mode
- Regular updates
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Create Stunning DnD Battle Maps with MapMe – The Ultimate DnD Map Maker MapMe is the perfect DnD map maker for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters who want to build immersive Dungeons & Dragons battle maps with ease. Whether you’re designing a battlemap for your next session or crafting detailed worlds, MapMe gives you the tools to bring your vision to life. Why Choose MapMe? - Powerful DnD Map Maker – Create custom battle maps effortlessly. - Designed for Dungeon Masters & Game Masters – Build Dungeons & Dragons worlds your way. - Optimized for iPad – Smooth, intuitive experience with Apple Pencil support. - Import Dungeondraft Assets – Use your favorite mapmaker resources. - User-Friendly Interface – Fast, efficient, and easy-to-use map maker tools. - Offline Mode – Design battle maps anytime, anywhere. - Regular Updates – New features based on user feedback. - Interactive Roadmap – Vote for the features you want next. Built for RPG Players & Dungeon Masters As a passionate Dungeon Master, I created MapMe to make DnD map making simple, powerful, and fun. Whether you’re building an epic battlemap or designing a new Dungeons & Dragons setting, MapMe is your go-to map maker. Download MapMe today and start crafting DnD battle maps that bring your adventures to life!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: MapMe at 4.4 against Calamus's 3.3. MapMe also leads on review sentiment (58% vs 33%) and update cadence (every 11 days vs monthly). Calamus's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and MapMe sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
MapMe holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 83 and 35 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Calamus's written reviews are positive against 58% of MapMe's.
Calamus ships an update monthly, MapMe every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Calamus | MapMe |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (83 ratings) | 4.4 (35 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 32.5% of reviews | 58.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 83 — better | 35 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 333 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | TrapStreet Studios | Ferdinand Werner |
Customer experience
Calamus
MapMe
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
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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
MapMe
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
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
- All Epic Token Icons$0.99
- More Tokens Slots (6)$0.99
- Full Roommaker$1.99
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- All Epic Token Rings$2.99
- Player Enhanced Version$2.99
MapMe
- MapMe Plus Monthly$8.991 Month
- MapMe Plus Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- MapMe Plus - Infinity$149.99
