World Anvil alternatives: free, for writers and D&D campaigns
World Anvil is a huge worldbuilding platform: wiki-style articles, interactive maps, timelines, family trees, campaign management for game masters, and the option to publish your world for readers or players. Its Chronicles feature links timeline events to an interactive map.
Storymapper is much smaller, and it is about the story more than the world. It has a Gantt-style timeline of your scenes, a map that plays them back and a relationships chart for families, factions and chains of command. This page sets the two side by side, so you can tell quickly which one suits you.
Last checked: October 2026. Features and prices change. If anything here is out of date, let me know at hello@storymapper.co.uk and I’ll fix it.
See your story three ways
Why look for a World Anvil alternative?
- World Anvil is built for writing an encyclopedia of your world. If what you need is the plot, with scenes, plotlines and chapters in order, a timeline is a more direct way to see it.
- World Anvil does a great deal, so there is a great deal to learn. Storymapper has three screens: the timeline, the map and the relationships chart.
- In World Anvil’s Chronicles you select an event and the map moves to it. Storymapper works the other way round: you press play, and scenes, journeys and changing territories appear across your map in story order, at the speed you choose.
Storymapper vs World Anvil at a glance
| Storymapper | World Anvil | |
|---|---|---|
| Works in your browser | Yes | Yes |
| Free option | Yes, free forever | Yes, with limits |
| Story timeline | Gantt-style: scenes across lanes for characters, storylines or locations | Timelines |
| Maps | Upload your map; add scenes, journeys, territories, icons and drawings | Interactive maps with markers and layers |
| Maps connected to the timeline | Press play and watch your story unfold across the map, at your chosen speed | Chronicles: select an event and the map moves to it; maps that change over time on higher paid tiers |
| Family trees and relationship charts | Relationships chart for family trees, chains of command and alliances. Press play and it changes with the story | Family trees on paid memberships, plus organisation charts and diplomacy webs |
| Story structure templates | Seven, including the three-act structure and the Hero’s Journey | Plot templates, written as articles |
| Write your manuscript in it | No, it’s for planning | Yes |
| Price | Free. Storymapper Plus is £3 a month or £30 a year | Free with limits. Paid memberships add more |
“—” means I couldn’t find the feature when I last checked.
When World Anvil is the better choice
World Anvil might suit you better if you are building a full encyclopedia of your world, want to publish it as a public site for players or readers or run tabletop campaigns and want everything in one place.
When Storymapper is the better choice
Storymapper might suit you better if you want to plan the story (scenes, plotlines, chapters) rather than build a wiki, want to be up and running in minutes or want to watch journeys, changing territories and shifting alliances animate as the story plays.
What Storymapper doesn’t do
You can’t write your manuscript in it. It doesn’t draw maps, so you need a map image from somewhere else. Story time is a simple left-to-right order, so it won’t work out ages or durations from real dates. It has seven story structure templates and not a whole library. There is no wiki for your world, and no desktop or mobile app, so you need an internet connection. It’s also new and built by one person, so it does less than tools that have been around for years.
Other World Anvil alternatives
Storymapper won’t be the right answer for everyone. These are worth a look too.
- Plottr. Plotting with story structure templates and series planning, with export to Word and Scrivener. Storymapper compared with Plottr.
- Aeon Timeline. Detailed timelines with real dates, ages and durations, synced with Scrivener. Storymapper compared with Aeon Timeline.
- Campfire. All-in-one writing and worldbuilding, sold by the module, with a manuscript editor. Storymapper compared with Campfire.
- LegendKeeper. A worldbuilding tool and campaign manager for game masters, with interactive maps.
- Kanka. A worldbuilding tool and campaign manager with characters, maps and timelines.
For all of them in one table, see how Storymapper compares.
Questions
- Is there a free alternative to World Anvil?
- Yes. Storymapper’s Free plan has no time limit and needs no card. It includes the timeline, map playback, the relationships chart and share links, for up to 4 projects with one map and one relationships chart in each. World Anvil has a free tier too, with limits.
- Is Storymapper a worldbuilding wiki?
- No. Storymapper has no articles or statblocks. It plans what happens, in what order, where, and between whom: its relationships chart draws family trees and factions, and plays them back as the story goes on. If you want a full encyclopedia of your world, World Anvil is the better choice.
- Can I use Storymapper for a D&D campaign?
- Yes. Use lanes for the party and each faction, a header row for sessions, and your campaign map for the party’s route. Storymapper has no dice, tokens or statblocks, so it sits beside your other campaign tools.
- Can I publish my world for players or readers?
- Not as a public site. You can send a read-only link to a project, and anyone with the link can open its timeline, chart and maps with no account. World Anvil is built for publishing a world publicly.
World Anvil and the other product names on this page are trademarks of their respective owners. Storymapper is an independent product and isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.