A free, open World Anvil alternative
Tiny RPG is a lighter, free campaign manager: an interactive map, a map-linked knowledge base of typed notes, GM tools, free export, an open API, and your own AI assistant. No paid tiers, no lock-in on your data.
World Anvil is a deep worldbuilding and campaign platform — a richly templated wiki plus a broad, configurable campaign manager — with a free tier and paid Guild subscriptions. Tiny RPG is a lighter, free, map-first campaign tracker: an interactive region map plus a map-linked knowledge base of typed entries (locations, NPCs, factions, lore) tied to the map, with place links, place-scoped backlinks, an entry–place relationship graph, tags, and keyword or meaning-based search.
If you want maximum worldbuilding depth, templated articles, and configurability, World Anvil does more. If you'd rather have a free, low-setup way to map a world, keep map-linked notes, and run sessions — with open data access and AI — here's an honest look at where each one is strong.
Tiny RPG vs World Anvil
| Feature | Tiny RPG | World Anvil |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — every feature, no paid tiers, no ads. | Free tier plus several paid Guild subscription tiers; many features scale with tier. |
| Setup & learning curve | Light — drop a pin and start writing in minutes. | Broader and more configurable; the denser authoring interface takes longer to learn. |
| Interactive campaign map | Free and core: markers (15 types), travel paths, a distance/travel-time ruler, drill-down sub-maps, party-location tracking, and player sharing — no tier gating. | Also full-featured — pins, journey lines, sub-maps, layers, and sharing — though some capabilities are tier-gated. |
| Map-linked knowledge base | Typed entries — locations, NPCs, factions, items, lore, sessions — where every map place can own a rich location note and gather what happened there. Link a place inline with [[marker:Name]], see what references each place (backlinks), visualize entry–place connections on a relationship graph, and tag and search everything by keyword or meaning. | A deep, interlinked wiki with article cross-linking, tags, and search. |
| Templated articles & publishing | Notes are rich Markdown, not fixed-field templates, and there's no reader/publishing layer. | Its strength: many richly templated article types (characters, organizations, and more), timeline and family-tree tools, and a polished reading/publishing experience. |
| Campaign management | Session logs, an in-game calendar, pinning, house rules, and DM/player visibility controls. | A broader, more configurable Campaign Manager (plots, players, session reports) plus a Storyteller Screen. |
| Your own AI assistant | First-party OAuth MCP plus an in-app assistant that answers from your own notes with citations; no charge for access. | No official AI or MCP integration as of 2026. |
| Data access & export | Free one-click export (JSON + Markdown), plus an open REST API and MCP to your campaign and journal data — no paid tier required. | Per-article export on the free tier; full-world ZIP (JSON + HTML) export and API tokens on paid Guild tiers. |
| Mobile | Responsive — the map and journal work on a phone at the table. | Has an optimized mobile web experience, though the authoring interface is denser. |
Tiny RPG advantage Comparable World Anvil is stronger
Where World Anvil is the more powerful tool
World Anvil is far more powerful for deep, templated worldbuilding and presentation: many richly templated article types — characters, organizations, and more — timeline and family-tree tools, and a polished reading experience for players and for publishing fiction. Tiny RPG has a real map-linked knowledge base (typed notes, place [[marker:Name]] links, place-scoped backlinks, an entry–place relationship graph, and tags), but it's lighter and has no fixed-field templates or publishing layer.
Its Campaign Manager and Digital Storyteller Screen are also broader and more configurable than Tiny RPG's session logs and journal. If depth, templates, and configurability matter more to you than price or setup time — and a subscription for the full feature set is fine — World Anvil does more. The two can also coexist: build the deep wiki there, run the map-and-notes side here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free World Anvil alternative?
Yes. Tiny RPG is a free campaign manager with an interactive map, session journal, and GM tools, with no paid tiers and no ads. It's lighter and less configurable than World Anvil, so it's a strong fit if you want a low-setup way to map a world and run sessions for free.
Does Tiny RPG do worldbuilding like World Anvil?
It has a real map-linked knowledge base — typed entries for locations, NPCs, factions, items, lore, and sessions, tied to the map. You link a place inline with [[marker:Name]], see what references each place (backlinks), view entry–place connections on a relationship graph, and tag and search everything by keyword or meaning. What it doesn't have is World Anvil's many fixed-field article templates or its reading/publishing layer, which are far deeper for building and presenting a world in detail. If templated worldbuilding and publishing are your main goal, World Anvil does more; if you want map-linked notes tied to a live campaign, Tiny RPG covers that for free.
Can I export or access my campaign data?
Yes. You can export your whole campaign in one click as JSON or Markdown for free, and your campaign and journal data is also reachable through an open REST API and a first-party MCP connection, so your own AI assistant can read and write your journal. For comparison, World Anvil offers per-article export on its free tier and a full ZIP export plus API access on its paid Guild tiers.
Can I use an AI assistant with my campaign?
Yes. Tiny RPG runs a first-party MCP server with OAuth sign-in and doesn't charge for MCP access, so you can point Claude or ChatGPT at your journal (a compatible AI-client plan may be required). World Anvil has no official AI integration as of 2026.
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