PRD Characters vs Pathrules 2e
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PRD Characters
Create, level up, and track characters for the Pathfinder gaming system. Get guidance on ability scores, classes, races, and spells. Includes a die roller and iCloud backup.
- Character creation and leveling
- Ability score guidance
- Class and race selection
- Spell slot tracking and preparation
- In-app die roller
- iCloud backup and sync
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PRD Characters allows you to create, level-up, and track characters for the PRD(Pathfinder Reference Document) gaming system. The App will give you choices and guidance for such aspects as ability scores, class selection, race selection, feature choices, spells, and more. Pop-up menus will display exactly how scores are calculated, allowing you to add your own adjustments if there is something else you want taken into account. Spell tracking tells you how many spell slots you have, lets you prepare spells in those slots, and keep track of which ones have been cast. You can back up and sync your characters between devices using Apple's iCloud. In addition, the App provides a die-roller for performing standard die rolls, as well as custom die rolls for any need. The free version allows you to create and level up characters up to level 4 using all the Core Rulebook races and 4 basic classes, Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, and Wizard. Buying a subscription gives you access to all the Core Rulebook and Advanced Player's Guide classes (except for Loremaster and Pathfinder Chronicler) and allows character levels all the way up to 20. PRD Characters now supports races from the Advanced Race guide. See demonstration here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFX52Z751pA There are two Full Functionality Subscriptions, one for 3 months and the other for 1 year. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account after you confirm purchase. These are auto-renewable subscriptions, which means they automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period at the same charge as the initial purchase. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. The Privacy and Terms of Use can be found at: http://shinybuttonsoftware.com/prd-characters/prd-characters-privacy-policy/
Pathrules 2e
This app provides a streamlined reference for Pathfinder 2nd Edition rules, simplifying complex cross-references. It allows players and Game Masters to easily search and filter for actions, spells, feats, and more. The app aims to make navigating the game's extensive trait system more accessible.
- Pathfinder 2e rules reference
- Simplified cross-references
- Search by name
- Filter options
- Actions, spells, feats, skills, attributes, traits, conditions, creature abilities
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Pathrules 2e The Pathfinder 2e rules reference app. Perfect for players and GMs alike. The Pathfinder 2e trait system is great, but it ends up with cross-references, which makes it a bit difficult to read. Pathrules 2e aims to solve this problem by easily showing the references. In addition, the app also allows you to search by name and apply filters, to make it easy to find what you are looking for. For now there are actions, spells, feats, skill, attributes, traits, conditions and creature abilities, but more are to come.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pathrules 2e at 100% against PRD Characters's 56%. Pathrules 2e also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). PRD Characters's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (146 vs 4). 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
Both are free to download. PRD Characters sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per 3 months and Pathrules 2e sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pathrules 2e holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PRD Characters has 146 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of PRD Characters's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pathrules 2e's.
PRD Characters ships an update every 4 months, Pathrules 2e fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on July 17, 2026 and June 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PRD Characters | Pathrules 2e |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (146 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 146 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.3 — better | 12 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 106 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shiny Button Software, LLC | Vitor Abreu Martins |
Customer experience
PRD Characters
Pathrules 2e
In-app purchases
PRD Characters
- 3 Month Subscription$2.493 Months
- 1 Year Subscription$5.491 Year
Pathrules 2e
- Remove Ads Forever$2.99
Questions
Is PRD Characters free?
Is Pathrules 2e free?
Which has better reviews, PRD Characters or Pathrules 2e?
Do PRD Characters or Pathrules 2e have ads?
Which is updated more often, PRD Characters or Pathrules 2e?
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