The best tier list maker is the one that gets out of your way: no login, drag-and-drop for both text and images, and a clean export. This site’s maker is built to that checklist — boards autosave to your browser’s local storage, rows are unlimited, the watermark can be edited or hidden — but the tests below work on any tool.
There are plenty of tier list makers out there. Rather than rank rivals, here’s an honest checklist of the features that actually matter — so you can choose the tool that fits how you rank.
When comparing any tier list maker, check for these:
A few more separators show up once you use a tool for real. Autosave, because a crashed tab shouldn’t eat twenty minutes of ranking — and undo, because everyone mis-drags. Image formats beyond JPG: WebP and GIF support matters more than it sounds once you start pulling pictures from the web. Speed is underrated too; a maker that’s fast on a mid-range phone or tablet beats a prettier one that stutters. Check whether rows are truly unlimited — you should be able to add rows past ten without hitting a cap. A stocked template library saves setup time on popular topics; see the best tier list templates for what good ones look like. And know the ads situation going in: most free makers are ad-supported, and “ad-free” almost always means paid.
Most casual tier-list needs are fully covered by free tools. Be wary of makers that gate basic features — export, image upload, removing a watermark — behind a paywall or an account. For the occasional ranking you should never have to pay.
Pricing models differ where they do exist: some tools sell a premium subscription, others a one-time upgrade, and a few run trials that quietly turn into charges — the closest thing this category has to hidden fees. How the free tiers and paid plans actually compare is covered in free vs paid tier list makers.
We built our tier list maker around that checklist: free forever, no login, both text and image boards, full customization (themes, fonts, logo, watermark, borders, tile shapes), a live preview, and a clean PNG export with no forced watermark. Images are processed locally in your browser. Try it and compare for yourself — there is nothing to sign up for.
A few specifics behind that. Every board is saved locally through autosave — each change lands in your browser’s storage, so closing the tab loses nothing and there’s still no sign up. On mobile the same maker runs in the browser, no app to install. Rows stay unlimited on every board. The site is ad-supported — that’s what keeps it free — but nothing you build is ever behind a paywall.
Broadly, yes. The established tier list sites — TierMaker included — are legit tools, not scams; they’ve been around for years and run in your browser without asking you to install anything. “Safe” still has a few layers worth checking, though, and they differ from tool to tool.
The first is data collection. Most free makers, this one included, show ads and use analytics, which means trackers — a quick read of a site’s privacy policy tells you what’s collected. The bigger question is what happens to your uploads. Some makers store your images on their server; here, boards live in your browser’s local storage and images are read on your device, so there’s no server copy of a board you never chose to publish.
The second is user-generated content. Big community template galleries are largely unmoderated or lightly moderated, so NSFW or edgy templates surface — worth knowing before handing a template gallery to kids. A safer pattern for classrooms: build the board yourself, then share your link instead of browsing.
The third is secure connections — every maker worth using serves over HTTPS. If a ranking site doesn’t, close the tab.
Names you’ll run into while choosing, and what genuinely distinguishes them — no scores, just the shape of each tool:
Some makers also ship a mobile app on Google Play or the App Store; most, ours included, are browser-based on desktop and mobile alike. This page is about what to look for rather than a ranked list — if you’re specifically hunting a TierMaker replacement, the shortlist lives in TierMaker alternatives.
The best one fits your needs: no login, both text and image support, real drag-and-drop, full customization, and a clean watermark-free export. Try a few and see which feels fastest.
Many are, including ours. Watch out for tools that lock export, image upload, or watermark removal behind a paywall.
You shouldn’t have to. Our maker requires no login — you can start ranking immediately.
For most people, a browser-based maker beats a dedicated app — nothing to install, and your board is one link away on any device. Apps on Google Play or the App Store make sense mainly if you rank offline a lot. Judge either kind by the same checklist: no forced login, image support, clean export.
TierMaker is the site that popularized online tier list templates — “tier maker” has since become shorthand for the whole category of ranking tools. This site is a separate, unaffiliated maker that follows the checklist above — no account needed, and boards save locally.
TierMaker is a long-established, widely used site — legit, not malware. Like most free tools it runs ads and analytics, and its huge user-generated template gallery isn’t tightly curated, so browse before sharing it with kids. The same safety questions apply to any maker: check the privacy policy and what happens to your uploads.
Building and downloading a tier list on TierMaker is free at the time of writing, supported by ads — though saving your work there means creating an account. Free is the norm across this category; pay attention only when export or watermark removal gets gated.
Here, every board is private by default — it exists only in your browser until you decide otherwise. A share link reveals it just to people who have the link, and nothing appears in the public community gallery unless you explicitly hit “Make public.”
On this site, yes — autosave writes every change to your browser, and the My Lists page reopens any board on the same device for more editing. Elsewhere it varies: account-based makers let you edit after logging back in.
Browser-based makers, including this one, run on phones and tablets without an install — the upload picker reads straight from your photo library. A few competitors offer dedicated mobile apps instead. Either way, test with your own thumbs: mobile drag-and-drop quality is where tools differ most.
Farasat is an engineer who designs websites and builds practical online tools in his spare time. He created Tier List Maker after using other ranking sites that asked for an account, stamped watermarks on downloads, or simply did not work well on a phone. He is not a professional gamer or a self-described tier-list expert — he builds and maintains this site himself, fixes issues, and adds features based on what visitors actually ask for.