LDtk vs DarkRadiant

LDtk9.0Visit DarkRadiant8.4Visit

Higher score LDtk #3 in Game Level Editors 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit LDtk

vs

DarkRadiant #8 in Game Level Editors 8.4/10 Open source Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit DarkRadiant

• LDtk fits best

  Structured 2D projects with broad engine support

• DarkRadiant fits best

  The Dark Mod and idTech4 level editing

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Side by side

Feature	LDtk 9.0/10 Visit ↗	DarkRadiant 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.4
Ranking	#3 in Game Level Editors	#8 in Game Level Editors
Best for	Structured 2D projects with broad engine support	The Dark Mod and idTech4 level editing
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free	Open source
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market	Solo, Small business
Features LDtk 2/5 · DarkRadiant 2/5
Tilemap tools	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Terrain tools	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Entity placement	✓	✓
Prefab or template tools	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Visual scripting	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Level dimensions	2d	3d
Our review
Pros	Free for commercial use with no hidden fee Tile, entity, auto-layer, and world-layout tools in one editor Documented JSON export with integrations across engines and languages	Combines 3D camera and dockable 2D orthographic views Supports brushes, patches, entities, shaders and reusable prefabs Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux under GPLv2
Cons	Focused on 2D level creation rather than 3D production Desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux Engine workflows may require importers, APIs, or format integration	Its supported game focus is narrower than general-purpose editors Requires resources from a supported game to work with Does not include AI features
Our verdict	LDtk is a free, open-source desktop level editor for developers building 2D games. Its feature set covers tile-based painting, integer grid data, configurable entities with custom fields, automatic tile rendering, and world organization.… Read the review →	DarkRadiant is a desktop level and map editor for The Dark Mod and other idTech4-based games, including Doom 3, Quake 4 and Prey. It is designed for constructing 3D game environments from brushes and patches, placing and editing entities,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• LDtk — where it wins

  • Free for commercial use with no hidden fee
  • Tile, entity, auto-layer, and world-layout tools in one editor
  • Documented JSON export with integrations across engines and languages

  Where it doesn't

  • Focused on 2D level creation rather than 3D production
  • Desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux
  • Engine workflows may require importers, APIs, or format integration

• DarkRadiant — where it wins

  • Combines 3D camera and dockable 2D orthographic views
  • Supports brushes, patches, entities, shaders and reusable prefabs
  • Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux under GPLv2

  Where it doesn't

  • Its supported game focus is narrower than general-purpose editors
  • Requires resources from a supported game to work with
  • Does not include AI features

• LDtk9.0/10 · Free plan

  A capable free editor for structured 2D levels across major engines and desktop platforms.

  Visit LDtkFull verdict →
• DarkRadiant8.4/10 · Open source

  A free editor for building 3D maps in The Dark Mod and idTech4 games.

  Visit DarkRadiantFull verdict →