XP budget per character, 2024 rules
Multiply a level's figure by the number of characters at that level. For a party of mixed levels the calculator adds each character's own figure.
| Level | Low | Moderate | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 XP | 75 XP | 100 XP |
| 2 | 100 XP | 150 XP | 200 XP |
| 3 | 150 XP | 225 XP | 400 XP |
| 4 | 250 XP | 375 XP | 500 XP |
| 5 | 500 XP | 750 XP | 1,100 XP |
| 6 | 600 XP | 1,000 XP | 1,400 XP |
| 7 | 750 XP | 1,300 XP | 1,700 XP |
| 8 | 1,000 XP | 1,700 XP | 2,100 XP |
| 9 | 1,300 XP | 2,000 XP | 2,600 XP |
| 10 | 1,600 XP | 2,300 XP | 3,100 XP |
| 11 | 1,900 XP | 2,900 XP | 4,100 XP |
| 12 | 2,200 XP | 3,700 XP | 4,700 XP |
| 13 | 2,600 XP | 4,200 XP | 5,400 XP |
| 14 | 2,900 XP | 4,900 XP | 6,200 XP |
| 15 | 3,300 XP | 5,400 XP | 7,800 XP |
| 16 | 3,800 XP | 6,100 XP | 9,800 XP |
| 17 | 4,500 XP | 7,200 XP | 11,700 XP |
| 18 | 5,000 XP | 8,700 XP | 14,200 XP |
| 19 | 5,500 XP | 10,700 XP | 17,200 XP |
| 20 | 6,400 XP | 13,200 XP | 22,000 XP |
How the budget works
The SRD 5.2.1 sets out three difficulties. A Low encounter is likely to have one or two scary moments, and the characters should win without anyone dying. A Moderate one could go badly without healing and other resources. A High one could be lethal for one or more characters. Pick the difficulty, multiply the table's figure by the number of characters, and spend that XP on creatures, using the XP printed in each stat block. The SRD says to spend as much of the budget as you can without going over, and a few XP left over is fine.
There are no encounter multipliers in these rules. The SRD's troubleshooting advice covers the same risks instead, and the calculator repeats it when it applies. It flags more than two creatures per character, a creature whose CR is above the party's level, more than two or three stat blocks, and CR 0 creatures that add no XP. The rules on this page are the 2024 ones, read from the SRD 5.2.1 on 1 November 2026. The 2014 thresholds and multipliers were never published in an open SRD, so they are not here.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This calculator is compatible with fifth edition.
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Initiative Tracker: DM Tools, our free app, has the same SRD creatures with full stat blocks. Save the party and the encounter there, roll initiative for everyone at once, and track hit points and conditions with undo for every hit. It works offline, in English and Spanish.
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Once the fight starts, read how initiative works in 5e.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate encounter difficulty in 5e?
Under the 2024 rules, look up each character's level in the XP Budget per Character table and add the figures up for Low, Moderate and High. Then add up the XP of every creature in the fight. The encounter is the lowest difficulty whose budget it doesn't go over. Five level 3 characters have a Moderate budget of 1,125 XP.
What is the XP budget for a 2024 encounter?
It's the table's figure for the party's level times the number of characters. At level 1 that's 50, 75 or 100 XP per character for Low, Moderate or High; at level 5 it's 500, 750 or 1,100; at level 20 it's 6,400, 13,200 or 22,000. The full table is on this page.
Does the 2024 encounter math use multipliers?
No. The 2014 rules multiplied the monsters' XP by a number that grew with how many there were. The 2024 rules in the SRD 5.2.1 add each creature's XP as it is, and warn instead that more than two creatures per character can go badly.
Is there a Deadly difficulty in the 2024 rules?
No. The 2024 rules have three: Low, Moderate and High. The SRD says a High encounter could already be lethal for one or more characters, so this calculator marks anything above High as over the budget rather than naming a fourth level.
How hard is one monster of the party's level?
The SRD says a single monster generally makes a Low difficulty challenge for four characters whose level equals its Challenge Rating. Four level 5 characters against one CR 5 creature is 1,800 XP against a Low budget of 2,000.
What about a dragon in its lair?
Some legendary creatures are worth more XP in their lair, and the stat block gives both figures. The calculator fills in the regular XP; type the lair figure into the XP box instead and it uses that.
Can I add my own monsters?
Yes. Type any name and its XP each. Names that match an SRD 5.2.1 creature fill in their XP by themselves, and you can still change it.