--- {"title": "D&D Beyond vs Open5e in 2026: Tavern Bag Compared", "description": "Maps, openly shared monsters and spells, and a browser library: how D&D Beyond, Open5e and Tavern Bag differ on content and price.", "url": "https://desertislandchallenge.com/dandd-beyond-vs-open5e/", "date": "2026-10-10"} --- Maps, openly shared monsters and spells, and a browser library: how D&D Beyond, Open5e and Tavern Bag differ on content and price. D&D Beyond says Maps is the official D&D virtual tabletop, and it lists a subscription from $2.17 USD per month. [^1] [^2] Open5e says its site and API are open-source, and its API includes monsters and spells plus a search API. [^3] [^3] Tavern Bag searches 18 openly licensed books and builds characters. [^4] [^4] | Option | Own price | Free access | Card fee | |---|---|---|---| | D&D Beyond | Content library tier: from $2.17 USD per month [^2]; virtual tabletops and sharing tier: from $4.58 USD per month [^2] | Maps can be played with a free account [^1] | not published | | Open5e | not published | not published | not published | | Tavern Bag | Tavern Bag Unlimited $3.99 a month [^4] | Free plan keeps 3 characters, no card required [^4] | not published | ## The short answer D&D Beyond says Maps is the official D&D virtual tabletop, an online table where you play your game. [^1] Its Maps tool can be played with a free account. [^1] Open5e says its site and API are open-source, and its API has a search API. [^3] [^3] If you want a virtual tabletop, D&D Beyond's sources say it has one. [^1] If you want openly shared monsters and spells, Open5e's source says it includes them. [^3] If you want to search openly licensed books and build a character in a browser, Tavern Bag searches the books, builds characters and works in a browser. [^4] [^4] [^4] ## What D&D Beyond and Open5e are built for **D&D Beyond.** It says you can choose from premade or custom options, with mobile and tablet support. [^1] It describes Maps as the official D&D virtual tabletop, available to all D&D Beyond users. [^1] A free account is enough to play in Maps. [^1] One of its subscription listings mentions a subscriber content library and unlimited character slots. [^1] Another listing mentions sharing book content and using homebrew content in Maps. [^1] Eberron: Forge of the Artificer is listed at $29.99. [^1] **Open5e.** Open5e says its site and its API are both open-source. [^3] Its API includes all monsters and spells from the SRD and other OGL sources, along with a search API. [^3] It also says some content you may expect was not part of the openly shared rules text released for 5e, so the site is not allowed to include it. [^3] ## What Tavern Bag is built for Tavern Bag is made by the team that publishes this site. [^4] After a free sign-in, you can search 1,817 spells, 3,144 monsters, 2,861 magic items and 175 rules pages from 18 openly licensed books. [^4] The library has 8,381 entries. [^4] You can search all of it at once or filter by book, level and class. [^4] You can build a character step by step: class, background, species, ability scores, subclass, feats and gear. [^4] When you put on a magic item, your sheet's numbers change and a note explains why. [^4] You can make your own items, species, classes and backgrounds, and they work like the published ones. [^4] It runs in any browser on a phone or laptop, and your characters follow your sign-in. [^4] ## Pricing and fees **D&D Beyond.** One subscription is listed from $2.17 USD per month. [^2] Another, for virtual tabletops and content sharing, is listed from $4.58 USD per month. [^2] Maps can be played with a free account. [^1] D&D Beyond lists the D&D: World of Warcraft Ultimate Bundle at $124.99, the Arcana Unleashed Bundle at $99.99 and Eberron: Forge of the Artificer at $29.99. [^1] [^1] [^1] **Open5e.** The pages cited here publish no price, so check the site itself. **Tavern Bag.** The free plan keeps 3 characters, with no trial and no card required. [^4] Tavern Bag Unlimited costs $3.99 a month. [^4] It is the one paid plan, for keeping more characters. [^4] The sources used here state no card fee, so check each site's checkout for one. ## Getting started **D&D Beyond.** The sources say you can play in Maps with a free account. [^1] Its page says you can choose from premade or custom options. [^1] Beyond that, the cited pages give no setup steps, so read its own pages for the rest. **Open5e.** The cited facts describe a site and an API, with a search API for its content. [^3] They give no setup steps for a player, so check the site for how to use it. **Tavern Bag.** You start with a free sign-in, which opens the library. [^4] From there you can search or filter by book, level and class. [^4] You can then build a character step by step. [^4] The free plan keeps 3 characters. [^4] Because your characters follow your sign-in, you can open them in a browser on a phone or laptop. [^4] ## Things to check before you choose Ask these of any tool you are weighing. - Which books and rules does it cover, and is the content you expect actually in it? Open5e says some content was not part of the openly shared rules text released for 5e. [^3] - Do you need a virtual tabletop, or only a sheet and a library? - How many characters can you keep for free, and what does a higher limit cost? - Is the price you see the full price, or a starting price? - Does it work on the device you bring to the table? - Can you make your own homebrew content, and can you share it? - Who can hold an account, and is there an age limit? ## How to choose If you want an online table to play on, D&D Beyond's sources say Maps is available with a free account. [^1] If you want to use homebrew content in Maps, D&D Beyond lists that in one of its subscriptions. [^1] If you want unlimited character slots, D&D Beyond mentions them in a subscription listing. [^1] Tavern Bag Unlimited at $3.99 a month also lets you keep as many characters as you like. [^4] If you want openly shared monsters and spells with a search API, Open5e's source says it provides them. [^3] If you want to build characters from openly licensed books and see why a magic item changes your numbers, Tavern Bag builds characters and explains magic item changes. [^4] [^4] ## Frequently asked questions ### Is D&D Beyond free to use? D&D Beyond says you can play in its Maps virtual tabletop with a free account. [^1] It also lists subscriptions from $2.17 USD per month and from $4.58 USD per month. [^2] [^2] Check its own pages for what the free account covers beyond Maps. ### Is Open5e open-source? Open5e says its site and its API are both open-source. [^3] It also says its API includes all monsters and spells from the SRD and other OGL sources, plus a search API. [^3] It notes that some content was not part of the openly shared rules text released for 5e, so it is not allowed to include it. [^3] ### How much does D&D Beyond cost per month? D&D Beyond lists one subscription from $2.17 USD per month and another from $4.58 USD per month. [^2] [^2] One listing mentions unlimited character slots, and another mentions content sharing and homebrew content in Maps. [^1] [^1] ### How many characters can a free Tavern Bag account keep? The free plan keeps 3 characters, with no trial and no card required. [^4] Tavern Bag Unlimited costs $3.99 a month and lets you keep as many characters as you like. [^4] [^4] It is the one paid plan. [^4] ### What can D&D Beyond's character builder do? D&D Beyond says you can choose from premade or custom options, with mobile and tablet support. [^1] Its listing mentions unlimited character slots, monthly new character options and 150+ cosmetic perks. [^2] The cited pages say little more about the builder, so read its own pages for details. The free plan keeps 3 characters, with no trial and no card required. [^4] - [Visit Tavern Bag](/go/dandd-beyond-vs-open5e) ## Sources [^1]: D&D Beyond, dndbeyond.com, read 2026-10-07 (https://www.dndbeyond.com/) [^2]: D&D Beyond, dndbeyond.com/subscribe, read 2026-10-07 (https://www.dndbeyond.com/subscribe) [^3]: Open5e, open5e.com, read 2026-10-07 (https://open5e.com/) [^4]: Tavern Bag's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher) (/go/dandd-beyond-vs-open5e)