40 CARROTMaking a 40K battle map: 40 Carrot vs Canva vs Tabletop Simulator
Canva is quick, but everything is drawn by hand and nothing is to scale. Tabletop Simulator is accurate 3D, but it's a download with real setup time. 40 Carrot builds a true-scale 40K board in the browser, imports your actual army, and gives you a clean top-down shot in minutes. Building and capturing are free.
Where each one wins
Canva
- Design freedom. Total control over every shape, arrow, and callout. If the map is a stylized graphic rather than a game state, nothing beats a design tool.
- Brand kits. Your fonts, your colors, your templates, applied in one click across a whole series.
- Thumbnails and overlays. Text effects and layout polish that a game tool won't give you. Many creators screenshot the board elsewhere and finish it in Canva.
Tabletop Simulator
- Full 3D. If you want cinematic angles and physics, and you're willing to invest the setup, it produces shots a top-down tool can't.
- Any game. One purchase on Steam covers a huge library of community-made tabletop content.
40 Carrot
- Runs in the browser. Nothing to install, works on desktop and mobile.
- True scale by default. A 44-inch by 60-inch 11th Edition battlefield with real deployment zones, objectives, and base sizes. The map can't drift from the game.
- Your actual army. Import a list from CSV or pasted text, or use AI import on a datasheet photo (Full Access). Units deploy with correct names and base sizes.
- Fast capture. Zoom top-down and screenshot. High-contrast themes keep the grid legible at thumbnail size.
- The snapshot timeline. Save game slices as you play, then tap through them for a battle report or a re-run (Full Access).
- Free to build and capture. The board costs nothing with a free account.
Which should you pick?
Pick Canva when the deliverable is a designed graphic and accuracy doesn't matter. Pick Tabletop Simulator when you want 3D cinematics and you'll use it enough to justify the setup. Pick 40 Carrot when the map has to be a real game state: correct distances, correct bases, your actual list, captured in minutes and reusable next episode. Plenty of creators combine them, building the board in 40 Carrot and finishing the thumbnail in Canva. It's the only browser tool that builds a true-scale 40K board and imports your actual army.
FAQ
What's the fastest way to make an accurate 40K battle map?
Build it instead of drawing it. 40 Carrot sets up a true-scale board in the browser with terrain, zones, objectives, and real base sizes, and a top-down screenshot is your map. Drawing in Canva is fast too, but every distance is guesswork.
Is 40 Carrot free for making battle maps?
Yes. Building a board and screenshotting it is free with a free account. Full Access ($4 a month or $33 lifetime) adds AI list import, the board-aware AI advisor, share links, the snapshot timeline, and cloud saves.
Are the maps to 11th edition scale?
Yes. Battlefields, mission layouts, deployment zones, and base sizes follow Warhammer 40K 11th Edition, so a 9-inch charge on the map is a 9-inch charge on the table.
Do I need to install anything?
No. 40 Carrot runs in the browser on desktop and mobile. Canva also runs in the browser; Tabletop Simulator is a Steam download.