One draws clean dungeon diagrams for free. One generates fully illustrated scenes from a description. Here’s how to pick.
Choose Dungeon Scrawl when you need a dungeon layout right now at zero cost: it opens in the browser with no signup, draws crisp line-art rooms and corridors, and exports free. Choose NeedAMap when you want the scene fully illustrated: describe it, any genre, and a finished map generates in under a minute, with commercial use on every tier.
| Dungeon Scrawl | NeedAMap | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Free browser dungeon sketcher from the Roll20 family | Scene-to-map tool: you describe the encounter and get a finished map |
| How a map gets made | You draw rooms and corridors; a random dungeon generator can start you off | You write a few sentences, then pick shape, style, and resolution |
| The look | Clean line-art dungeon diagrams, plus 800+ stamp images | Fully illustrated scenes in three styles: painted, gritty, ink |
| Price | Free: unlimited maps, no signup. Pro adds autosave, sharing, and presets, and comes with Roll20 Elite | Free: 5 maps. $4/month for 15 credits that roll over up to 30, or a $3 pack of 10 credits that never expires |
| Commercial use | With the Pro subscription | Allowed on every tier, including free |
| Genres | Dungeon-shaped layouts; stamps extend the look | Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, western, modern, and anything else you can describe |
| Time to a table-ready map | Minutes for a layout sketch | Under a minute |
| Roll20 | Direct integration | Standard image import; at 2K about 146 pixels per grid square, above Roll20’s recommendation |
Dungeon Scrawl is the better fit in three situations. You need a dungeon layout right now for free: it opens in the browser with no signup and exports as many maps as you want. You prefer the crisp diagram look, which reads clearly on any screen. And you play in Roll20: the integration is direct, and a Roll20 Elite subscription includes Pro.
The two tools make different pictures. Dungeon Scrawl draws dungeon diagrams; NeedAMap generates the illustrated scene: the torchlight on the flagstones, the moss in the cracks, the crates worth hiding behind. When the encounter needs atmosphere, or moves to a street, a forest, or a starship corridor, describing it is faster than diagramming it. Full-quality maps start free here too, with commercial use on every tier.
Curious how the described-and-done side works? See how NeedAMap works, compare plans, or see every battle map maker compared.
Yes: unlimited maps in the browser, no signup, free export for VTTs or print. Its Pro subscription adds autosave, sharing, presets, and commercial rights. NeedAMap starts free as well: 5 fully illustrated maps with commercial use included.
They make different pictures. Dungeon Scrawl draws clean dungeon diagrams; NeedAMap generates finished illustrated maps of any scene you describe. Tables that want the diagram keep Scrawl; tables that want the full scene use us; plenty use both.
Dungeon Scrawl integrates with Roll20 directly and comes bundled with Roll20 Elite. NeedAMap maps import into Roll20 as standard images; at 2K that works out to about 146 pixels per grid square, above the recommendation.
