Ultimate Doom Builder vs DarkRadiant

UDUltimate Doom Builder8.5Visit DarkRadiant8.4Visit

Higher score UD Ultimate Doom Builder #7 in Game Level Editors 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit the project

vs

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

• Ultimate Doom Builder fits best

  Doom-family mapping with terrain tools

• DarkRadiant fits best

  The Dark Mod and idTech4 level editing

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Side by side

Feature	UDUltimate Doom Builder 8.5/10 Visit ↗	DarkRadiant 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.5	8.4
Ranking	#7 in Game Level Editors	#8 in Game Level Editors
Best for	Doom-family mapping with terrain tools	The Dark Mod and idTech4 level editing
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Open source
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Windows, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business	Solo, Small business
Features Ultimate Doom Builder 2/5 · DarkRadiant 2/5
Tilemap tools	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Terrain tools	✓ (best)	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_and_3d	3d
Our review
Pros	Combines 2D and visual 3D map editing modes Includes terrain, slope, and 3D-floor editing tools Supports scripting, analysis, entity placement, and texture browsing	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	Linux support is described as experimental Focused on Doom-family games rather than broader level-editing needs Its desktop workflow may be more specialized than general-purpose editors	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	Ultimate Doom Builder is a free, open-source desktop map editor for Doom, Heretic, Hexen, Strife, and related ZDoom-family games. It is aimed at creators who need game-specific configuration support alongside classic 2D editing and a… 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

• Ultimate Doom Builder — where it wins

  • Combines 2D and visual 3D map editing modes
  • Includes terrain, slope, and 3D-floor editing tools
  • Supports scripting, analysis, entity placement, and texture browsing

  Where it doesn't

  • Linux support is described as experimental
  • Focused on Doom-family games rather than broader level-editing needs
  • Its desktop workflow may be more specialized than general-purpose editors

• 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

• UDUltimate Doom Builder8.5/10 · Free plan

  A capable free editor for Doom-family maps, with visual 3D, terrain, and scripting tools.

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

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

  Visit DarkRadiantFull verdict →