As a writer, you’ve probably heard a lot about different options for world building and writing tools and planning out there. I personally have written a few articles where I talk about the best world building tools and the best tools for writers overall. There’s lots of software to choose from and there’s a lot of services, but two of the most popular ones are definitely Campfire Writing and World Anvil. But which one is right for you and which one provides the best value for your work? Well, today’s post will cover Campfire Writing vs World Anvil and which one is really the best for you and your writing needs.
(affiliate disclaimer: some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you when you purchase something through one of my links)
Campfire Writing
Campfire Writing is a platform that was designed with novelists and writers in mind. So, the primary focus of Campfire Writing is more on creating and managing your stories through a module system. There are features for world building and story-planning in Campfire, which makes it pretty focused on writing-specific things. Campfire Writing has been really popular in the writing community because of its user-friendly options and its easy to learn structure. It’s also really great for writers at any stage in the writing process.
Features of Campfire Writing:
- Character Creator: Campfire offers detailed character creation tools where you can basically build an entire character including the backstory, the arcs, and even relationships between characters using relationship maps.
- Offline Capabilities: Another cool thing about Campfire is that you can write offline using its desktop app, so you can keep your story going without worrying about being connected to the internet.
- Worldbuilding Tools: If you’re an enthusiast for world building, you’ll be pleased to know that Campfire Writing actually includes a ton of world building tools to help you with your story so that you can keep track of your world building all in one place. If you want to learn more about getting started with world building, then check out this post.
There are also other great features like timeline tools and even collaborative features so that you can work with others and get feedback or have other people pitch into your work if you want.
Campfire Writing is a great tool for writers who enjoy organization and need a bit more direction in what they should be working on. If you’re someone that likes a bit more of an independent approach to these things, then check out this post I made about Scrivener, which is the tool that I personally use.
Campfire also added a feature where you can publish your book on their platform, which is definitely an interesting one that I haven’t seen other tools implement. You can host your book and earn money on Campfire Writing, which might be lucrative for people who want to keep everything in one place. You maintain ownership of your work, earn 80% of the royalties on purchases above $2.99 USD and the best part is that it’s not exclusive to their platform, so you can self-publish on any of the other popular self-publishing platforms out there. Check out this post to learn more about the different self-publishing platforms that you can use as a writer.
Pricing
Campfire Writing is a freemium service, which means that there is a free tier and there is also a paid tier. The below image includes the pricing:
Basically, the custom plan is the most interesting one you’ll find in Campfire Writing. This essentially allows you to choose which modules you want to pay for so you can use the ones that you find useful and thus pay less depending on what works for you.
There is also a lifetime purchase and an annual purchase plan. The lifetime purchase allows you to have all the modules without needing to pay any more monthly fees. This might be lucrative if you basically only use Campfire Writing for everything.
Overview of World Anvil
I’ve talked pretty extensively about World Anvil before in another post and I really like World Anvil and what it has to offer. It’s used by writers a lot, but World Anvil provides tools and features for game masters who work with RPG campaigns and more. It’s not just a tool for writers, which is why if you’re a game master, you should definitely look into World Anvil over Campfire Writing. If you’re a writer though, World Anvil is still very valuable as a tool.
Features of World Anvil:
- Wiki-style Articles: World Anvil’s approach to world-building is to let you basically create interconnected wiki entries. You then build your extensive world and connect articles to each other all while having everything housed on a single page as well.
- Interactive Maps: If you have a map that you’ve created using any one of these tools that I’ve mentioned in another blog post, then you can actually make them interactive in World Anvil, which is really cool!
- Character Sheets and Family Trees: You can also create extensive family trees and character sheets so that you can keep track of the more complex societies and families in your story. This is especially great if you have things like noble houses in your story.
- RPG Campaign Manager: This feature may not be the most important to you if you’re not a game master, but if you enjoy gameifying your writing process, you might actually enjoy having a sort of campaign manager for your story. However, you can also just use World Anvil for RPG games and planning.
Pricing
World Anvil is also a freemium service, which means that you can try it for free (with limitations) or you can pay depending on what you want out of it.
You can pay monthly, annually, or make a single lifetime purchase. A lifetime purchase will cost a lot upfront, but it will save you extra money in the long run by not paying a monthly fee. Below is the monthly cost if you pay annually:
If you want to pay the lifetime membership, here are the prices:
I couldn’t find any information on if the Master tier has a lifetime membership price, it wasn’t listed in the infographic on the website.
You can sign up for World Anvil here!
Campfire Writing and World Anvil Comparison
Let’s take a look at some of the key differences between the two platforms:
| Feature | Campfire Writing | World Anvil |
| Ease of Use | Very user-friendly. Focus on simplicity. | Lots of features may seem overwhelming for new users (tutorials from World Anvil are available though) |
| Character Creation | Character profiles and character creation sheets available | Family trees on top of character creation sheets and profiles |
| World Building | Easy-to-use world-building tools for a variety of elements. More focused on the writing-specific world building aspects. | Extensive world-building options, including politics, languages, and religion. More focused on the world building aspects |
| Map Creation/Use | Offers basic map-building functionality. | Highly interactive maps with the ability to link to articles in your page. |
| Collaborative Tools | Allows multiple users to work on a single project. | Full team collaboration, ideal for RPG campaigns or shared worlds. |
| Offline Writing | Yes, through the desktop app. | No offline writing features. |
| Publishing Tools | Direct publishing with royalty options. | Limited; better suited for world-building than direct publishing. |
| Pricing | Free version available, with paid upgrades for more advanced features. | Free and paid tiers, but advanced features may require a subscription. |
Who Should Use Campfire Writing?
Campfire Writing as a platform is best for novelists and writers who want a more straightforward platform for organizing their stories. By focusing on things that are more oriented and specific to writers, Campfire Writing narrows things down in an easy way so that you can focus on the things that you feel matter the most. If you aren’t interested in the more in-depth, RPG-specific tools that World Anvil offers, then Campfire Writing is probably great for you.
Campfire Writing also has a benefit in that you can directly publish through the platform. You can also sell your books with additional world-building content for your fans so that you can offer readers a more in-depth look at your universe outside of the pages of your books.
Who Should Use World Anvil?
World Anvil is definitely the best tool if you want to build expansive and interconnected worlds and write large, expansive series like epic fantasy books. It’s the best platform for sci-fi and fantasy writers where you need a lot of world building details and you have to put more effort into the different, smaller elements of your world. There’s lots of articles available and you can create an almost living world that’s hosted on a sort of website-like wiki that you can make public or private (only available at paid tiers).
If you are a game master and want more RPG-specific tools, then you’ll also want to take a look at World Anvil over Campfire Writing, as it’s best for your needs. However, new users might find it just a tad overwhelming at first.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the choice between Campfire Writing and World Anvil depends on your needs as a writer. If you want something simple and straight-forward, then take a look at Campfire Writing. If you don’t mind taking a bit of extra time to learn about a few features, then World Anvil might be the better option.
If I had to personally recommend a platform, I’d go with World Anvil. I’ve tried both platforms out personally and although I find that both are absolutely amazing, I personally had a more fun time with World Anvil because of how many features are available at my disposal and the fact that I write expansive and extensive series of books, so it helps me to have something large to cover my worlds.
Before you head on out, be sure to check out my series, The Fallen Age Saga, and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so you can get updates on all my latest books, posts, WIPs and more!