Protagonist vs D&D Characters
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Protagonist
Manage your RPG characters with customizable sheets for various gaming systems. Assign portraits, back up your data, and choose between light and dark themes. Supports multiple popular tabletop RPGs.
- Customizable character sheets
- Support for multiple RPG systems
- Assign character portraits
- Backup and restore save files
- Light and dark themes
- Import support for specific systems
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Need a place to keep your characters for a variety of RPGs? We've got you covered! Protagonist lets you keep any number of character sheets for multiple gaming systems. You can assign character portraits, backup and restore your save files, and choose between light and dark themes. Most systems contain no content from their respective game. In those cases, the user must input all the values they want to keep track of, like is done with a traditional pen & paper character sheet. Systems: • Call of Cthulhu 7e (The Dhole's House import support) • Dungeons and Dragons 5e • Dungeon World (Character Builder & Content Support) • Gaslands 1e & 2e • HeroQuest • Legend of the Five Rings 1e • Necromunda 1e & 2e • Pathfinder 2e Protagonist makes no claims of any of the system publishers, on behalf of them, and is not endorsed by them. Use of the system name is solely for the purpose to inform that Protagonist is suitable for use with that product.
D&D Characters
This app simplifies D&D gameplay by automatically calculating hit points, spell slots, and class features. It also allows DMs to track initiative and view basic character stats for easier game management.
- Automatic HP calculation
- Spell slot and spell point tracking
- Class feature resource management
- DM initiative tracking
- Basic character stat overview for DMs
- Quick character entry
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Look, I like to roll dice. It's fun, especially during in-person games. But I hate all the arithmetic you have to do as a result – especially hit points, and especially when you have multiple sources of hit point boosts (eg temp hp, the spell Aid increasing your normal hp, and/or for example an arcane ward for abj wizards). So, this app does that for you. Originally, I created this to make using Spell Points (as opposed to Spell Slots – see DMG pg 288) easier. So if you're using spell points in your campaign, this'll help with that. Otherwise it keeps track of spell slots, which is fine I guess. Oh yeah, and it keeps track of some of your class features, like Metamagic Sorcery Points, Lay on Hands, Bardic Inspiration, Action Surge, Rages, and that sort of thing. That way when it's been months since you last played in person (arg) you can have all your resources up to date. Finally, if your DM has this app, they can host a game, and get the basics about your character (like passive perception, AC, and/or save DC). They can also keep track of initiative, which is nice. Entering a character into the app is easy and quick, because it doesn't need everything – just your class levels, and some scores/feats to help calculate your natural HP, passive perception, and so on. So look, this isn't going to allow you to completely run the game. It doesn't have every spell, item, and ability. But it's free, you don't need to sign up for anything, and it helps keep track of the basics while leaving the rolling to you. Give it a shot!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: D&D Characters at Free against Protagonist's $2.99. D&D Characters also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%). Protagonist's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 7 months) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On 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
D&D Characters is free to download; Protagonist costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Protagonist ships an update fortnightly, D&D Characters every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Protagonist | D&D Characters |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ahimsa Software LLC | Thryv Inc |
Customer experience
Protagonist
D&D Characters
In-app purchases
Protagonist
No in-app purchases
D&D Characters
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Protagonist free?
Is D&D Characters free?
Do Protagonist or D&D Characters have ads?
Which is updated more often, Protagonist or D&D Characters?
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