Comparison

Magwa's Magic Item Compendium vs Monster Compendium

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

Head to head
About

Magwa's Magic Item Compendium

Discover and create thousands of unique magic items for your tabletop RPG adventures. This app offers a vast collection of hand-drawn items, random generation, and the ability to save your favorites. Perfect for dungeon masters and players seeking inspiration.

Highlights
  • Thousands of random magic item generation
  • Create custom magic items
  • Save favorite items
  • Over 30 free hand-drawn sketches
  • Reference ready-to-use items
  • Compatible with D&D 5e SRD
Features
Read full description

Magwa, the most prestigious scholar of arcane antiquities, has spent his life traveling the Vast Kingdom in search of powerful and fascinating magic items. He has explored the darkest dungeons and braved the dens of dragons to bring you a magic item collection like you've never seen. He has finally published a portion of his discoveries in this mobile application for you to use in your next RPG adventure. His work includes over 30 free hand-drawn sketches and the option to buy many more. It even includes the ability to randomly generate items, create your own, and save them for later use. Magic, right? While the compendium is simple to use, it is more than just a random magic item generator. As a dungeon master, you will have the power to generate thousands of random magic items with a single tap. You will also be able to create your own custom magic items or adapt random magic items to fit your game setting. Once you find an item you love, the magic item compendium lets you save it to your phone so you can pull it up quickly the next time you play. To top it all off, the compendium includes a handful of wondrous items that are ready for you to reference and use in your game. The app is compatible with 5e materials and even pulls some of your favorite magic items straight from the D&D Systems Reference Document (SRD) via the Open Gaming License. End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Monster Compendium

This app is a comprehensive resource for Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition players, offering detailed monster entries with stat blocks, lore, and images. It features intuitive navigation, a powerful search function, and the ability to organize monsters into custom folders for campaign management.

Highlights
  • Comprehensive monster entries
  • High-resolution monster images
  • Detailed spell information
  • Powerful search function
  • Customizable monster folders
  • SRD content and custom content support
Features
Read full description

The Monster Compendium app is an excellent resource for players of the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition role-playing game, providing comprehensive information on monsters and spells. The app features: - An intuitive, well-organized compendium, complete with visually appealing images for an engaging user experience. - Easy navigation through the compendium pages, which simulate the feel of paging through a physical book. - Access to default content from the SRD (System's Reference Document) and the ability to add new content to the app. - Comprehensive monster entries that include stat blocks, lore, captivating high-resolution images, and links to related spell details. - Quick access to spell details of the monsters, providing essential information at the user's fingertips. - A powerful search function, enabling users to quickly find specific monsters. - A user-friendly interface that allows users to organize monsters into customizable folders, making it easier to manage campaigns. Enhance your Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition experience today! Terms of use: https://alexandregpereira.github.io/Monster-Compendium/docs/terms_of_use.html

Screenshots

Magwa's Magic Item Compendium4 screens
Monster Compendium4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Monster Compendium at 5.0 against Magwa's Magic Item Compendium's 4.3. Monster Compendium also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Magwa's Magic Item Compendium's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (73 vs 1). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Magwa's Magic Item Compendium sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Monster Compendium sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Monster Compendium holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Magwa's Magic Item Compendium has 73 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Magwa's Magic Item Compendium ships an update every 2 months, Monster Compendium fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Magwa's Magic Item Compendium versus Monster Compendium: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMagwa's Magic Item CompendiumMonster Compendium
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (73 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings73 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.2
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB61 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperKnights of Vasteel LLCAlexandre Gomes Pereira

Customer experience

Magwa's Magic Item Compendium

All ratings71 ratings
Positive83.1%
Neutral7.0%
Negative9.9%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive77.1%
Neutral12.5%
Negative10.4%

Monster Compendium

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Magwa's Magic Item Compendium

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Subscription information missing
  • Purchased images/data not downloading
  • Un-named magic item groups cannot be deleted/edited
  • Saved items lost after updates
  • App crashes
Show 4 more
  • Cannot open on computer or copy-paste text
  • Darkwood wand image not selectable/visible on iOS
  • Download issues after purchase
  • Purchased content inaccessible after update

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add landscape mode for iPad
  • Improve scrolling between items
  • Add a back button for easier navigation
  • Include a 'common' rarity selection
  • Allow users to choose from personal pictures
Show 5 more
  • Add curses as a feature
  • Create a bestiary/creature generator
  • Add more weapon types
  • Discounted option to buy all packs
  • Christmas-themed pack

Monster Compendium

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Magwa's Magic Item Compendium

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
One-time9
  • The Master Collection$0.99
  • Elves of Ilfelin$0.99
  • Mines of Dimlodir$0.99
Show 6 more
  • Gafan's Workshop$0.99
  • The Red Ravens$0.99
  • The Shadow Index$0.99
  • Seas of the Viamaros$0.99
  • Magic Item Hunters$0.99
  • Swords of Vasteel$0.99
1 purchases

Monster Compendium

Subscriptions1
  • Compendium Premium$0.991 Month

Questions

Is Magwa's Magic Item Compendium free?
Magwa's Magic Item Compendium is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Monster Compendium free?
Monster Compendium is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Magwa's Magic Item Compendium or Monster Compendium?
Monster Compendium is rated higher. Magwa's Magic Item Compendium averages 4.3 out of 5 from 73 ratings, while Monster Compendium averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Magwa's Magic Item Compendium or Monster Compendium have ads?
Monster Compendium shows ads; Magwa's Magic Item Compendium does not.
Which is updated more often, Magwa's Magic Item Compendium or Monster Compendium?
Magwa's Magic Item Compendium ships an update every 2 months, and Monster Compendium fortnightly. Most recently, Magwa's Magic Item Compendium was updated on November 2, 2026 and Monster Compendium on October 24, 2026.

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