Comparison

Complete Reference for D&D 5 vs ManaBox MTG

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Complete Reference for D&D 5

This app serves as a comprehensive guide for playing tabletop role-playing games, offering quick access to spells, items, and monsters without needing internet. It includes tools for Dungeon Masters and a character sheet manager, with the option to add custom content and print cards.

Highlights
  • Offline access to spells, items, and monsters
  • Searchable SRD 5 content
  • Online Content Creator for custom content
  • Printable spell, monster, and equipment cards
  • DM tools: map, name, loot, encounter generators
  • Character Sheet Manager with export and print
  • Initiative tracker
Features
Read full description

This app is your guide while playing your favorite pen and paper RPG, for both players and DM's. *NOTE: While this app is mainly meant to be used with pen and paper role playing game DnD 5th Edition, it can also be used with different versions. All your spells, items and monsters at hand without Internet or heavy books! Includes all material from the SRD 5, in a searchable handy way. You can add your own content and share content easily by using our Online Content Creator system, check out our forum to find out more details. New! You can also print cards such as spell cards, monster cards and equipment cards directly from the app. Print a complete list at once and customize the card color and icons to your liking. What is in the app: - Over 200 Spells - Over 800 Deities - All base classes - Many monsters completely linked with their spells and skills -1 feat (check our forum) - More than 200 items and even more! The DM section contains a Random dungeon map generator, fantasy name generators, loot and encounter generators, an initiative tracker and much more. If you unlock this section you also remove the adds. The new Character Sheet Manager can be used to manager all your characters. Share and export characters and print characters for a nice overview. Bookmark items, spells, monsters and more to quickly access your favourite items. Internet is not needed to use this application! The internet permission is only used to display some ads in the app. Disclaimer: Deity information is from DnDwiki (homebrew) and wikipedia. All the information provided by the application are bound by the terms of the Open game License v1.1 of Wizards of the Coast. A copy of this license can be downloaded here: http://media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/SRD-OGL_V1.1.pdf We are not affiliated by any way to Wizards of the Coast.

About

ManaBox MTG

This app helps Magic: The Gathering players manage their card collections, build and test decks, and track card prices. It offers offline card searching, deck value analysis, and a trade tool. Easily organize your collection and share decks with friends.

Highlights
  • Offline card search and filters
  • Card scanning with camera
  • Up-to-date card prices
  • Deck building and value analysis
  • Collection organization
  • Deck simulator
  • Trade tool
Features
Read full description

FEATURES: - Powerful search with filters of all cards and sets, all offline - Scan cards with the camera - Up to date prices from the main stores and marketplaces: TCGplayer, Card Kingdom, Star City Games, Cardmarket... - Improve your deck building, check the value of your decks and view multiple stats (Mana Curve, Mana Production...) - Organize your card collection in sorted binders and lists - Powerful deck simulator to test and improve your decks - Complete card information with up to date rules and legalities - Easily share decks with your friends - Track your favorite cards - Feed with multiple Magic: the Gathering articles - Trade tool ManaBox is an unofficial companion tool for Magic: The Gathering (MTG) players. With ManaBox you can search through all cards and sets without exception for FREE. ManaBox allows you to access up to date market data from different stores and marketplaces so you always know the value of your cards or look at the prices of the cards you would like to get. Easily digitalize your collection with the built in card scanner and have it available in your pocket at all times. Keep all your decks organized inside the app and place them in folders if you prefer. You can also share links to them that can be opened in any browser. You can share any card you want with your friends as well as a link to the marketplace of your choice. View any set and any card in MTG history, all in one app. The always up to date database means you will never miss any recently released set or card. ManaBox includes a powerful trade tool that allows you to do better trades, faster and fairer. Search easily between different sets and choose the specific card version you want to trade. We’re continuously working on improving the app, we’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions at manabox@skilldevs.com. All prices in the app come as is from the stores but it's possible that some small differences exist. This is because of the update frequency between what's shown in the app and what you can see in the store's website. Currently ManaBox has support for the following stores and marketplaces: - TCGplayer - Cardmarket - Card Kingdom - Star City Games - Cardhoarder - Mana Pool Magic: The Gathering is copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast and ManaBox is not affiliated in any way with Wizards of the Coast nor Hasbro, Inc. This app offers subscriptions. They're available (in USD) for $2.49 monthly or $22.99 yearly. ManaBox subscriptions will renew within 24 hours of the subscription period ending, and you will be charged through your iTunes account. Manage at any times through Account Settings in iTunes. Terms and Privacy Policy can be found at https://manabox.app/termsofservice and https://manabox.app/privacy, respectively.

Screenshots

Complete Reference for D&D 54 screens
ManaBox MTG4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ManaBox MTG at 4.6 against Complete Reference for D&D 5's 3.7. ManaBox MTG also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 50%) and update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). Complete Reference for D&D 5's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and iOS requirement (11.2 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Complete Reference for D&D 5 sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and ManaBox MTG sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ManaBox MTG holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ManaBox MTG has 1.7K ratings behind it against 273, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Complete Reference for D&D 5's written reviews are positive against 78% of ManaBox MTG's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Complete Reference for D&D 5 ships an update fortnightly, ManaBox MTG every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Complete Reference for D&D 5 versus ManaBox MTG: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterComplete Reference for D&D 5ManaBox MTG
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (273 ratings)4.6 (1.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.5% of reviews78.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2731.7K — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank—#170 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.2 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB167 MB
Age rating9+12+
Developervan Stein en GroentjesSkillDevs S.C.

Customer experience

Complete Reference for D&D 5

All ratings272 ratings
Positive65.1%
Neutral12.1%
Negative22.8%
Written reviews105 reviews
Positive50.5%
Neutral23.8%
Negative25.7%

ManaBox MTG

All ratings1,718 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral2.6%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews487 reviews
Positive78.0%
Neutral7.2%
Negative14.8%

User reviews

Complete Reference for D&D 5

From 273 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful reference for D&D players
  • 🚀 Convenient and easy to use
  • 💡 Useful for DMs and new players
  • 🚀 Great for quick lookup of information

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes when trying to access custom content
  • 🐛 Deletes user-created content
  • 🐛 Glitchy character sheet and DM tools
  • 🐛 Missing important information (spells, classes, etc.)

ManaBox MTG

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast scanning and organization
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 💰 Reasonable subscription price
  • 🔍 Comprehensive card database and search
  • 📊 Detailed deck analytics and statistics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent scanning performance
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding specific card versions
  • 🔒 Limited access to features without subscription
  • 🔗 Lack of cross-device sync and desktop support
  • 🔍 Challenges with borderless/alternate card scanning

Bugs and requests

Complete Reference for D&D 5

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when trying to access custom content
  • Deletes user-created content
  • Issues with character sheet and DM tools
  • Incomplete information compared to official sources

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more official content (spells, classes, races, etc.)
  • Improve search functionality and organization
  • Allow backing up and restoring user-created content
  • Provide better instructions and tutorials for features

ManaBox MTG

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Camera not working on newer devices
  • Scanning issues with certain card types
  • Deck list not updating automatically

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to track sealed product inventory
  • Integration with other deck building platforms
  • Improved search filters (e.g. mana cost, card type)
  • Automatic detection of infinite combos
  • Option to view cards in a list format
Show 2 more
  • Sync decks and collection across devices
  • Desktop app or web-based version

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Complete Reference for D&D 5

One-time2
  • Character Manager$3.99
  • DM Tools$3.99
6 purchases

ManaBox MTG

Subscriptions2
  • ManaBox PRO$2.491 Month
  • ManaBox PRO$22.991 Year
One-time4
  • Dark theme$0.99
  • Orange theme$0.99
  • Dark(er) theme$0.99
Show 1 more
  • Remove ads$1.99

Questions

Is Complete Reference for D&D 5 free?
Complete Reference for D&D 5 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ManaBox MTG free?
ManaBox MTG is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Complete Reference for D&D 5 or ManaBox MTG?
ManaBox MTG is rated higher. Complete Reference for D&D 5 averages 3.7 out of 5 from 273 ratings, while ManaBox MTG averages 4.6 from 1.7K ratings.
Do Complete Reference for D&D 5 or ManaBox MTG have ads?
Both Complete Reference for D&D 5 and ManaBox MTG show ads.
Which is updated more often, Complete Reference for D&D 5 or ManaBox MTG?
Complete Reference for D&D 5 ships an update fortnightly, and ManaBox MTG every 5 days. Most recently, Complete Reference for D&D 5 was updated on October 29, 2026 and ManaBox MTG on October 29, 2026.

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