articy:draft
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Tiled
Visit Tiled →Tiled is a free and open source, easy to use, and flexible level editor for orthogonal, isometric and hexagonal tile maps, with object layers, rule-based Automapping, infinite maps, JavaScript extensions and exports to JSON, Lua, GameMaker, Defold and more.
Our take
Last updated 4 November 2026
Tiled is a free, open-source level editor for tile-based maps. It handles orthogonal, isometric and hexagonal maps, object layers, infinite maps and rule-based Automapping that places the right tiles for you, and it exports to JSON, Lua, GameMaker, Defold and many other formats. It is not an AI tool, but it pairs well with AI-generated tilesets from tools like PixelLab or Retro Diffusion.
Best for 2D developers building tile-based levels for any engine.
Pros
- Completely free and open source.
- Works with most engines and frameworks.
- Automapping speeds up level building.
Cons
- No built-in AI generation.
- You need your own tilesets.
- Engine import sometimes needs a plugin.
Written from the vendor's official site and docs, not a hands-on benchmark. How we review tools.
| Category | Game Design & Prototyping |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Free and open source; development funded by optional donations and sponsors (also available on itch.io) — official pricing |
| Website | https://www.mapeditor.org/ |
| Last checked | 2026-11-04 |
Description summarized from the official website; free and open source per the official website.
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