Encounter calculator 5e
Type how many characters are at each level, then the monsters and their challenge ratings. The 5e encounter calculator adds up the XP and tells you whether the fight fits the Low, Moderate or High budget.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Monsters worth 900 XP make a Moderate encounter for 4 characters.
- Monster XP
- 900
- Low budget
- 600
- Moderate budget
- 900
- High budget
- 1,600
- XP left in the budget
- 0
- Characters
- 4
- Creatures
- 5
Difficulty: Moderate. Monsters worth 900 XP make a Moderate encounter for 4 characters.
How to calculate
Rates a 5e combat encounter as Low, Moderate or High difficulty: the party’s XP budget from each character’s level against the total XP of the monsters by challenge rating.
Example with the default inputs (Party [Characters 4, Level 3], Monsters [How many 1, Challenge rating CR 3 (700 XP); How many 4, Challenge rating CR 1/4 (50 XP)]): Monsters worth 900 XP make a Moderate encounter for 4 characters.
Method: Budget = Σ characters × XP Budget per Character (Low, Moderate, High) for their level; monster XP = Σ monsters × XP for their CR; difficulty = the lowest budget the monster XP does not go over.
- The budgets and XP values are those of the 5e System Reference Document 5.2.1 (the 2024 rules), which uses no encounter multiplier for groups of monsters.
- For a party of mixed levels, each character adds the budget for their own level (the SRD table is per character).
- XP is a guide, not a guarantee: terrain, tactics, rest and luck all change how hard a fight is.
- Includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, licensed under CC BY 4.0 (see Sources).
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Party 4 1, Monsters 6 CR 1/8 (25 XP) gives Low budget 200, Moderate budget 300, High budget 400, Monster XP 150, Difficulty Low, XP left in the budget 50, Creatures 6.Source: System Reference Document 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC (CC BY 4.0), Gameplay Toolbox, Combat Encounter Difficulty: XP Budget per Character table and its steps, https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd (Example 1); System Reference Document 5.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC (CC BY 4.0), Monsters, Experience Points by Challenge Rating, https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd (CR 1/8 = 25 XP)
- Party 5 3, Monsters 2 CR 2 (450 XP); 9 CR 1/8 (25 XP) gives Moderate budget 1,125, Monster XP 1,125, Difficulty Moderate, XP left in the budget 0, Low budget 750, Creatures 11.Source: System Reference Document 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC (CC BY 4.0), Gameplay Toolbox, Combat Encounter Difficulty: XP Budget per Character table and its steps, https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd (Example 2); System Reference Document 5.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC (CC BY 4.0), Monsters, Experience Points by Challenge Rating, https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd (CR 2 = 450 XP)
- Party 6 15, Monsters 2 CR 17 (18,000 XP); 2 CR 9 (5,000 XP) gives High budget 46,800, Monster XP 46,000, Difficulty High, XP left in the budget 800.Source: System Reference Document 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC (CC BY 4.0), Gameplay Toolbox, Combat Encounter Difficulty: XP Budget per Character table and its steps, https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd (Example 3); System Reference Document 5.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC (CC BY 4.0), Monsters, Experience Points by Challenge Rating, https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd (CR 17 = 18,000 XP, CR 9 = 5,000 XP)
- Party 2 5; 1 4, Monsters 1 CR 8 (3,900 XP) gives Low budget 1,250, Moderate budget 1,875, High budget 2,700, Monster XP 3,900, Difficulty Above High, Characters 3.Source: System Reference Document 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC (CC BY 4.0), Gameplay Toolbox, Combat Encounter Difficulty: XP Budget per Character table and its steps, https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd; System Reference Document 5.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC (CC BY 4.0), Monsters, Experience Points by Challenge Rating, https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd
How it works
- The budgets. For each row of the party, multiply the number of characters by the XP Budget per Character for their level, separately for Low, Moderate and High, and add the rows.
- The monster XP. For each row of monsters, multiply the number of monsters by the XP for their challenge rating, and add the rows.
- The difficulty is the first of Low, Moderate and High whose budget the monster XP does not go over (monster XP ≤ budget). If it is over the High budget, the page says Above High.
- XP left is that budget minus the monster XP (none for Above High).
- Note. When there are more than two creatures per character, the page repeats the SRD’s advice to include creatures that go down quickly.
XP Budget per Character
| Level | Low | Moderate | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 75 | 100 |
| 2 | 100 | 150 | 200 |
| 3 | 150 | 225 | 400 |
| 4 | 250 | 375 | 500 |
| 5 | 500 | 750 | 1,100 |
| 6 | 600 | 1,000 | 1,400 |
| 7 | 750 | 1,300 | 1,700 |
| 8 | 1,000 | 1,700 | 2,100 |
| 9 | 1,300 | 2,000 | 2,600 |
| 10 | 1,600 | 2,300 | 3,100 |
| 11 | 1,900 | 2,900 | 4,100 |
| 12 | 2,200 | 3,700 | 4,700 |
| 13 | 2,600 | 4,200 | 5,400 |
| 14 | 2,900 | 4,900 | 6,200 |
| 15 | 3,300 | 5,400 | 7,800 |
| 16 | 3,800 | 6,100 | 9,800 |
| 17 | 4,500 | 7,200 | 11,700 |
| 18 | 5,000 | 8,700 | 14,200 |
| 19 | 5,500 | 10,700 | 17,200 |
| 20 | 6,400 | 13,200 | 22,000 |
XP by challenge rating
| CR | XP | CR | XP | CR | XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0, or 10 with attacks | 9 | 5,000 | 20 | 25,000 |
| 1/8 | 25 | 10 | 5,900 | 21 | 33,000 |
| 1/4 | 50 | 11 | 7,200 | 22 | 41,000 |
| 1/2 | 100 | 12 | 8,400 | 23 | 50,000 |
| 1 | 200 | 13 | 10,000 | 24 | 62,000 |
| 2 | 450 | 14 | 11,500 | 25 | 75,000 |
| 3 | 700 | 15 | 13,000 | 26 | 90,000 |
| 4 | 1,100 | 16 | 15,000 | 27 | 105,000 |
| 5 | 1,800 | 17 | 18,000 | 28 | 120,000 |
| 6 | 2,300 | 18 | 20,000 | 29 | 135,000 |
| 7 | 2,900 | 19 | 22,000 | 30 | 155,000 |
| 8 | 3,900 |
Rules. The party has 1 to 8 rows, each 1 to 12 characters of level 1 to 20. The monsters have 1 to 12 rows, each 1 to 100 creatures of one challenge rating.
Output format. XP and budgets are whole numbers; the difficulty is one of Low, Moderate, High or Above High.
Assumptions
- The rules are the 2024 rules of SRD 5.2.1: no encounter multiplier for groups.
- For a mixed party each character adds the budget of their own level.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Worked examples by hand
Four level 1 characters, six CR 1/8 creatures (SRD Example 1). Budgets 4 × 50 = 200 (Low), 4 × 75 = 300, 4 × 100 = 400. XP 6 × 25 = 150 ≤ 200: Low, with 50 XP left.
Five level 3 characters, two CR 2 and nine CR 1/8 creatures (SRD Example 2). Budgets 750, 1,125, 2,000. XP 2 × 450 + 9 × 25 = 1,125: over 750, not over 1,125, so Moderate, 0 left. Eleven creatures for five characters is more than two each, so the note shows.
Six level 15 characters, two CR 17 and two CR 9 creatures (SRD Example 3). High budget 6 × 7,800 = 46,800. XP 2 × 18,000 + 2 × 5,000 = 46,000: over the Moderate budget (32,400), so High, 800 left.
Two level 5 characters and one level 4, one CR 8 creature. Low 2 × 500 + 250 = 1,250; Moderate 2 × 750 + 375 = 1,875; High 2 × 1,100 + 500 = 2,700. XP 3,900 > 2,700: Above High.
Other questions people ask
How do I work out encounter difficulty in 5e?
Look up each character’s XP budget for the difficulty you want, add them up, then add the XP of every monster. Four level 1 characters have a Low budget of 4 × 50 = 200 XP; six creatures worth 25 XP each (150 XP) fit within it.
What are the Low, Moderate and High budgets?
The SRD 5.2.1 table gives an XP budget per character for each level. At level 3 it is 150 (Low), 225 (Moderate) and 400 (High); at level 15 it is 3,300, 5,400 and 7,800.
How much XP is each challenge rating worth?
CR 1/8 is 25 XP, CR 1/4 is 50, CR 1/2 is 100, CR 1 is 200, CR 2 is 450, CR 5 is 1,800 and CR 10 is 5,900. A CR 0 creature is 0 XP, or 10 XP if it has an effective attack.
Are there encounter multipliers for groups of monsters?
Not in the 2024 rules in SRD 5.2.1, which this page follows: you add the monsters’ XP as it is. The SRD instead warns that more than two creatures per character can be riskier than the XP suggests.
How do I handle a party of mixed levels?
Add a row for each level. The budget table is per character, so the page adds each character’s own budget: two level 5 characters and one level 4 have a High budget of 2 × 1,100 + 500 = 2,700 XP.
What does Above High mean?
The monsters are worth more XP than the High budget. Such a fight could be lethal for some characters; remove creatures to bring it within a budget.