When comparing Insane Bump vs ShaderMap 4, the Slant community recommends Insane Bump for most people. In the question“What are the best programs for making height maps, normal maps, and/or other maps?” Insane Bump is ranked 7th while ShaderMap 4 is ranked 10th.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Node-driven map generation
Shadermap specializes in generating multiple maps using nodes. Changes to one node can then be propagated to other nodes.
Pro Bake texture maps from 3d models
This program can bake texture maps from 3d models from a high poly to low poly. Not many similar software has this feature.
Cons
Con You get what you pay for
No tutorials on the website. No intuitive way to export images. The program has to be opened in the same folder as the textures you want to use.
Con Expensive compared to similar software
While the software is great at what it does, it comes at a higher cost than most software that does similar things when it comes to generating normal maps.