While Adobe Illustrator is the market leader for Mac vector illustration software, there are several modestly-priced alternatives, such as VectorDesigner or ZeusDraw. MapDiva follows in their footsteps by keeping Ortelius simple, and the price low, but wisely differentiates it with an emphasis on map creation.

Included are fully editable royalty-free vector outline maps of the world, continents, regions and several countries, to get users off to a quick start, although they can also use their own geographic information system (GIS) map data, trace and draw over scanned maps and images or make custom-scaled map graphics, thanks to the program's 20 tools. Every drawing feature supports map attribute information, such as those imported from GIS map data, that can be referenced by Ortelius' text labeling system. Users can create their own styles and symbols or make use of the hundreds supplied with the application. Other functionality includes WYSIWYG drawing and editing; layers and layer groups; and automatic junctions and style transitions.

Ortelius Standard Edition can be purchased on the Mapdiva site for the introductory price of $79 until September 30, 2009.