Best app for worldbuilding

The best worldbuilding app with maps and family trees

For a novel, Plotiar and Campfire keep maps, family trees and your manuscript in one project. Plotiar includes both free with no limit on how many you make, while Campfire's free plan stops at two of each. World Anvil suits a deep world encyclopedia, but its family trees need a paid plan, and Plottr has a family tree view but no maps.

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At a glance

The options at a glance

  • Plotiar

    Maps and family trees
    Both on every plan, including Free: layered maps with markers, and family trees across generations
    Price (as of 2026-09)
    Free (5 projects); Plus $5/month or $50/year; Pro $12/month or $120/year
    Platforms
    Any web browser on a computer, tablet or phone; desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux

  • Campfire

    Maps and family trees
    Both: interactive maps (2 on Free) and family trees in the Relationships module (2 webs on Free)
    Price (as of 2026-09)
    Free; all modules $12/month (check the current price)
    Platforms
    Browser; Mac and Windows desktop (works offline); iOS and Android

  • World Anvil

    Maps and family trees
    Maps on every plan (2 on Free); family trees from the paid Master plan
    Price (as of 2026-09)
    Free plan; family trees need Master or higher (check current prices)
    Platforms
    Web browser

  • Plottr

    Maps and family trees
    A Family Tree view (added August 2025); no maps
    Price (as of 2026-09)
    From $60/year or $150 lifetime; 30-day free trial (check current prices)
    Platforms
    Windows and Mac apps; browser app on Plottr Pro

How to choose

What matters when you choose

Four questions decide which app fits your world:

  • Are maps and family trees built in, or do you need plugins or a paid plan to get them?
  • Does the world sit next to your manuscript, or in a separate wiki?
  • Can you work where you write: in a browser, offline, or on a phone?
  • What will it cost once your world grows past the free limits?

The options

Each option, honestly

Plotiar

Best for: novelists who want maps and family trees built into the same project as the manuscript.

Plotiar is a writing workspace built around the manuscript. A map starts from a blank canvas or your own map image, with drawing tools, layers and markers. Family trees show lineages across generations, with partners, parents, siblings and divorces, and link to character sheets. Lore, Plotiar's story bible, holds your characters and places, and it is free on every plan too.

Where it falls short: The free plan holds five projects.

See how maps work

An interactive map in Plotiar, with markers on places from your story.

Campfire

Best for: novelists who want many linked worldbuilding modules next to their manuscript, including offline.

Campfire is a writing and worldbuilding suite of linked modules: characters, maps, timelines, cultures, magic systems and a manuscript. Map markers can link to any story element, and the Relationships module draws both relationship webs and family trees.

Where it falls short: The free plan stops at two maps and two relationship webs, and the mobile app leaves out the Relationships module.

See current features and prices for Campfire

World Anvil

Best for: worldbuilders who want a full, linked world encyclopedia and don't mind learning it.

World Anvil is a world wiki: an article for every person, place, nation and religion, all cross-linked, with interactive maps and timelines. Its family trees and diplomacy webs are purpose-built, and Chronicles combine maps with timelines.

Where it falls short: Family trees need a paid plan, and reviewers describe a steep learning curve. It is built mainly as a world encyclopedia, with manuscripts from its Master plan.

See current features and prices for World Anvil

Plottr

Best for: plotters who outline in Plottr and need family trees more than maps.

Plottr is a plotting and outlining app for novelists, with visual timelines, story templates and a series bible. In August 2025 it added a Family Tree view that maps character relationships visually.

Where it falls short: It is built for outlining rather than for writing the manuscript itself, and there is no free plan after the trial.

See current features and prices for Plottr

Beyond writing apps

Other tools people use for this

These are not writing apps. They come up for worldbuilding, especially for tabletop games:

  • LegendKeeper

    A world wiki for game masters and worldbuilders with some of the strongest interactive maps around. Pro costs $9/month or $90/year with a 14-day trial, and family trees can only be drawn by hand on a whiteboard.

  • Kanka

    A campaign manager for tabletop role-playing games. Maps and timelines are free, and family trees need a premium campaign, from $4.99/month ($4.16/month billed yearly).

  • Obsidian

    A free note app. Community plugins add interactive maps (Leaflet, now in maintenance mode) and family trees (Charted Roots), which you set up and maintain yourself.

When to choose something else

When Plotiar is the wrong choice

Pick something else if:

  • You want a large community of worldbuilders to share with and learn from. World Anvil and Campfire have far bigger ones.
  • You often write without an internet connection. Campfire's desktop app and Obsidian are built for offline work.
  • You mainly run tabletop campaigns. Kanka and LegendKeeper are designed around game masters.
  • You only need a beautiful map image. A map-drawing tool such as Inkarnate makes better-looking map art.

Questions

Questions about worldbuilding apps

Short answers, with the facts as of September 2026.

  • Plotiar includes family trees on every plan, with no limit on how many you make, and its free plan covers five projects. Campfire's free plan also includes family trees, within two relationship webs. World Anvil puts family trees behind a paid plan. Plottr has a family tree view but no free plan after its trial. Among the other tools, Kanka needs a premium campaign.

  • Campfire is usually the better fit for a novel, because its modules sit next to a manuscript and its desktop app works offline. World Anvil suits worldbuilders who want a deep, linked encyclopedia and are ready for a learning curve. Plotiar is a third option if you want the world, the family trees and the draft in one project, free to start.

  • In Plotiar, yes: start a map from your own image, then add markers, layers and drawings on top. If you want to draw the map art itself, a map-drawing tool such as Inkarnate is built for that.

  • Plotiar and Campfire both include maps and family trees on their free plans, though Campfire limits you to two of each. Among paid options, a Kanka premium campaign costs from $4.99/month ($4.16/month billed yearly). Prices as of September 2026.

  • Not with Plotiar or Campfire, which keep the manuscript and the world together. World Anvil also offers manuscripts from its Master plan, and Plottr is built for outlining rather than drafting. LegendKeeper and Kanka are world wikis rather than manuscript editors, and in Obsidian you draft in plain Markdown notes.

Build your world next to your story

Maps, family trees and a story bible are free in Plotiar, in the same project as your manuscript.

Start your world free