Maps & Terrain · 43 generators · 28 free
Terrain and map generators
Terrain and map generators turn real elevation data into a 3D print of a place: a mountain range, an island, your hometown, a race route or a crater on the Moon. You pick the area on a map, set the size and height, and download a file for your slicer.
Quick picks
- Best quick terrain print, no account Terrain2STL Pick a spot on the map and download a relief in seconds.
- Most accurate terrain TouchTerrain Real elevation data from anywhere on Earth, with fine control.
- Best multicolor city map Map2Model Buildings, roads, water and greenery as separate colors.
- Best for a hike or ride you did gpx2stl Your GPX route as a ridge or groove on the real terrain.
The 20 most popular terrain, map and space generators compared
See all 43| Generator | Best for | Price | Account | Exports | Multicolor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrain2STL | Quick mountain and island relief prints | Free | Not needed | STL | No |
| TouchTerrain | Accurate terrain tiles for classrooms and hikers | Free | Not needed | STL, OBJ | No |
| GPXtruder | Race and ride elevation keepsakes | Free | Not needed | STL | No |
| Map2Model | Multicolor city and hometown maps | Free | Not needed | STL, 3MF | Yes |
| OrbitStudio Made by us | Space fans, science gifts and puzzle lovers | Freemium | Needed | STL, 3MF | Yes |
| TerraPrinter | Detailed city and terrain models, and map gifts | Free | Not needed | STL, 3MF, OBJ, GLB, SVG | Yes |
| Touch Mapper | Accessible maps for blind and low-vision users | Free | Not needed | STL | No |
| 3D Moon Map | Printing real lunar craters | Free | Not needed | STL | No |
| 3DCityLoader | Printing your street or hometown as a city model | Freemium | Not needed | STL, OBJ | No |
| GSI Maps 3D (Chiriin Chizu 3D) | Printing Mt Fuji or any other spot in Japan from official survey data | Free | Not needed | STL, OBJ | No |
| Mini Skyline | Multicolor city and terrain models of real places | Free | Not needed | 3MF | Yes |
| Moon2STL | Quick, free Moon crater tiles in gray filament | Free | Not needed | STL | No |
| OrbitStudio Sky Made by us | Anniversary, birth and wedding gifts | Freemium | Not needed | STL, 3MF | Yes |
| PrintPal Minecraft Map to 3D Print | Minecraft players with a multicolor printer | Paid | Needed | 3MF, OBJ, STL | Yes |
| PrintPal Real-World 3D Map Generator | AMS-ready city maps for subscribers | Paid | Needed | 3MF, STL | Yes |
| Star Map Generator (MakerLab) | Date-based sky map gifts | Freemium | Needed | 3MF | Yes |
| Terrain 6 | 3D topographic puzzles of a hike, summit or favorite place | Freemium | Needed | 3MF | Yes |
| The Terrainator | Planetary terrain prints | Paid | Needed | STL | No |
| TopoTrail | Keepsake maps of a favorite hike, ride or run | Free | Not needed | OBJ | Yes |
| TrailMark3D | A multi-color terrain print of a route, with blue water | Freemium | Needed | STL, 3MF | Yes |
The other 42 terrain, map and space generators
Maps & Terrain
TouchTerrain
University-built web app that turns elevation data into printable terrain tiles
Maps & Terrain
Map2Model
Draw an area on a map and export a city or terrain model as STL or multicolor 3MF
Maps & Terrain
TerraPrinter
Terrain of any place on Earth and 22 other worlds, with buildings, puzzles, globes and 18 gift makers
Maps & Terrain
Touch Mapper
Type an address and get a tactile street map for blind and low-vision users
Maps & Terrain
3DCityLoader
Turns a box you draw on a map into a printable city model with buildings and terrain
Maps & Terrain
GSI Maps 3D (Chiriin Chizu 3D)
Japan's official 3D map viewer, which saves any stretch of Japanese terrain as an STL
Maps & Terrain
Mini Skyline
Turns a real city or landscape into a multicolor 3MF relief model in your browser
Maps & Terrain
Moon2STL
Drag a box across the Moon and download that patch of lunar terrain as an STL
Maps & Terrain
PrintPal Minecraft Map to 3D Print
Turns part of your Minecraft Java world into a full-color 3MF or OBJ, or a plain STL
Maps & Terrain
PrintPal Real-World 3D Map Generator
True-scale terrain and building maps from OSM data, exported as multicolor 3MF
Maps & Terrain
Star Map Generator (MakerLab)
Printable two-color star map of the real sky for any place and date
Maps & Terrain
Terrain 6
Browser generator that turns any trail, summit or place on Earth into a 3D topographic jigsaw puzzle
Maps & Terrain
TrailMark3D
Terrain models of a place or GPX route with water, landcover and jigsaw split, STL or 3MF; free account to download
Maps & Terrain
3D Map Generator
Turns a real place or GPX route into a 3D terrain model, with a paid STL export per map
Maps & Terrain
FrameCraft
Free browser app that turns any OpenStreetMap location into a framed miniature city, with a multicolor Bambu 3MF
Maps & Terrain
GeoFilament
Any place on Earth as a city model at 1:5,000, multicolor or stacked for one spool, from 3 EUR per model
Maps & Terrain
gpx2stl
Free browser tool that turns a GPX track into a terrain relief with the route as a ridge, groove or color inlay
Maps & Terrain
Hypsos
Free 3D map tiles of any place with terrain, streets, water, woods and buildings, as a color 3MF or STL
Maps & Terrain
Make3DMap
Frame a real place and download a mesh-checked, watertight terrain solid as 3MF or STL
Maps & Terrain
map2stl.com
Free terrain STL of any box you draw on a Google map, with height scale, base and water settings, no account
Maps & Terrain
mc-print
Free multicolor 3MF or one STL per filament from a zone of your own Minecraft Java world, no account
Maps & Terrain
MoonToPrint
Free lunar terrain tiles from NASA LOLA data, as one tile or 2x2, 3x3 and round sets with frames, STL
Maps & Terrain
NederPrint
Dutch-language 3D city maps of anywhere in the Netherlands, with a free multicolor 3MF export and no account
Maps & Terrain
Open Ski Model
Free, open-source mountain terrain models with an engraved name plinth, rectangle, circle or hex, STL or STEP
Maps & Terrain
Printed Canyon
Pay-what-you-want terrain models and posters from a place or GPX route, as STL, 3MF or GLB, no account
Maps & Terrain
PrintPal 3D Map Builder
Sculpt, paint and dress made-up tabletop terrain in the browser, then export a multicolor 3MF
Maps & Terrain
Relief Globes (hedin.it)
Free Earth globes with raised land and sunken seafloor, as two STLs for two-color printing, no account
Maps & Terrain
STLmaps
Draw a box on a city map and get its terrain, roads and buildings as STL or 3MF
Maps & Terrain
TopoTile Studio
Free local app that turns an OpenStreetMap area into a printable city and terrain model
Made by us 
Customizers
PrintNexus
Free hub of browser generators for trays, screw-top jars, QR tags, photo reliefs and 3D maps, as STL or 3MF
Image to Relief
QuickSTL Image to STL
Free browser converters for photo lithophanes, relief coins, SVG logos and heightmap terrain
Puzzles & Games
TerraPuzzle
Turn any place on Earth, or 22 other worlds, into a 3D-printable terrain jigsaw puzzle
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About terrain, map and space generators
The tools differ mainly in their data and in what they add on top. Terrain2STL and TouchTerrain print the bare ground and suit mountains, valleys and islands. Map2Model, TerraPrinter and City3DPrint add buildings, roads and water from OpenStreetMap and can split them into separate parts for a multicolor print. GPXtruder and GPXTrack.xyz turn a GPX file from a watch or Strava into a route model, and Touch Mapper makes tactile street maps for blind and low-vision readers.
For space, 3D Moon Map exports any view of the Moon from NASA elevation data, and The Terrainator sells Earth, Moon and Mars models. OrbitStudio (Moon, Mars, Mercury and Venus terrain) and OrbitStudio Sky (star charts) are both made by us, and the MakerLab Star Map Generator draws the sky for a chosen date and place.
Plan on vertical exaggeration: at true scale most landscapes print almost flat, so most terrain tools let you stretch the height.
Maps & Terrain: what to buy
The generator does the design. These materials make the print look as good as the preview.
Matte PLA that hides layer lines
Matte filament hides layer lines and cuts glare, so raised lettering on signs and nameplates stays readable from any angle and a drawer full of bins looks uniform.
- Bambu Lab PLA Matte (affiliate link) Wide color range with AMS-ready RFID, ideal for multi-color signs.
- Polymaker Panchroma Matte PLA (formerly PolyTerra) (affiliate link) The former PolyTerra line under a new name: soft matte look and good value for printing Gridfinity in bulk. In Europe? Buy from 3DJake (affiliate link)
Code gives 15% off your first order at Polymaker.
- SUNLU Matte PLA (affiliate link) Low-cost matte option for large batches of bins and baseplates. In Europe? Buy from 3DJake (affiliate link)
Multicolor PLA and color sets
Dual- and tri-color silks give a single-nozzle printer color shifts with no extra hardware, and a matched color set is what lets HueForge and color lithophanes blend thin layers into a full image.
- Bambu Lab PLA Silk Multi-Color (affiliate link) Co-extruded dual and tri colors that shift with the viewing angle; great for keychains and name tags.
- SUNLU Multi-Color Silk PLA (dual/tri/four-color) (affiliate link) Budget dual-, tri- and four-color silk for colorful prints without an AMS. In Europe? Buy from 3DJake (affiliate link)
- Bambu Lab PLA CMYK Lithophane Bundle (affiliate link) Four 1 kg spools (cyan, magenta, yellow, white) made for color lithophanes and handy for HueForge-style layering.
Large-format printers
A bigger bed prints a full Gridfinity baseplate or a large terrain map in one piece, avoiding seams, glue joints and alignment errors.
- Bambu Lab A2L (affiliate link) 330 x 320 x 325 mm for $469 ($569 with AMS lite): the cheapest easy large-format option, fits 7 x 7 Gridfinity units.
- Creality K2 Plus Combo (affiliate link) Enclosed 350 mm-class build volume with the CFS multicolor system included ($1,199 on sale in Sept 2026).
- Sovol SV08 Max (affiliate link) 500 x 500 x 500 mm CoreXY ($1,099 on sale) for oversized terrain and full-drawer baseplates; more tinkering than a Bambu. In Europe? Buy from the Sovol EU store (affiliate link)
Some of these are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. More about that
Maps & Terrain: common questions
Which terrain generator gives the most detail?
The one with the finest elevation data for your area. Terrain2STL uses SRTM3 data at about 90 m, which suits mountains but softens small hills. TouchTerrain defaults to 10 m USGS data in the contiguous US and 30 m AW3D30 elsewhere, with 1 m data for some areas. CartTerra sells high-resolution US models, with a free preview first.
Which map generators make multicolor 3MF files?
Map2Model and TerraPrinter do it for free. Map2Model exports terrain, buildings, roads, water and greenery as separate colors, and TerraPrinter splits the surface for AMS or MMU printers. City3DPrint (paid per model) and the PrintPal map generator (subscription) also separate the parts. Terrain2STL and TouchTerrain give single-color files instead.
Are terrain and map generators free?
Many are: 28 of the 43 generators here are free, including Terrain2STL, TouchTerrain, TerraPrinter and Map2Model for personal use. CartTerra, City3DPrint and The Terrainator charge per model, OrbitStudio sells download passes, the PrintPal map tool needs a subscription, and a few, such as the MakerLab Star Map Generator, charge only for extra layouts or pre-colored files.
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