Comparison

Campaign Codex vs 5e Buddy

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

Head to head
About

Campaign Codex

This app is a comprehensive campaign manager for Game Masters, designed for iPad. It offers tools for combat tracking, quest management, NPC details, and quick rule references, all accessible offline for seamless live sessions.

Highlights
  • Combat tracking with initiative and HP
  • Campaign journal for notes and prep
  • Quest tracking with status and rewards
  • NPC management and story hooks
  • Party and character reference
  • Loot tracking
  • Quick rules reference
  • Offline-first storage
Features
Read full description

Campaign Codex is an iPad-first campaign manager built for Game Masters who want a serious command center at the table. Designed around the larger iPad screen, Campaign Codex brings combat tracking, campaign notes, quests, NPCs, loot, party details, and quick rules reference into one organized workspace. It is built for live sessions where speed, clarity, and offline access matter. Features include: - Combat tracking with initiative, HP, rounds, and conditions - Campaign journal for session notes, prep, and recap details - Quest tracking for main quests, side quests, status, and rewards - NPC management for relationships, factions, notes, and story hooks - Party and character reference for key player details - Loot tracking for party treasure and character-owned items - Quick reference for common rules during play - Offline-first storage so your campaign stays available at the table Campaign Codex is made for GMs running rich campaigns who need structure without slowing down the game. Whether you are preparing the next session, resolving a combat encounter, checking what happened last week, or tracking the party’s latest treasure, Campaign Codex keeps your campaign information organized and ready. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

5e Buddy

This app serves as a digital companion for tabletop role-playing games, offering interactive character sheets, dice rolling, and campaign management. It allows for the creation and tracking of multiple characters, including homebrewed content, and supports importing and exporting character data.

Highlights
  • Interactive character sheets
  • Character building from scratch
  • Homebrew content support
  • Virtual dice rolling
  • Multiple character organization
  • Import/export character data
Features
Read full description

Hold your adventure in the palm of your hand! 5e Buddy is the ultimate third party companion for 5th Edition champions, homebrew heroes, or average RPG gamers. 5e Buddy replaces a traditional character-sheet with an interactive application that can easily: *Track stats, spells, or equipment *Build characters from scratch *Record character backstory and party data *Roll dice virtually *Accommodate homebrewed species, stats, or equipment *Organize multiple characters for multiple campaigns *Import existing characters from PDF character-sheets *Export character-sheets or character data *And so much more! 5e Buddy is ideal for players of all levels, providing full class, species, and background information in the app. As your character evolves, so does the app! 5e Buddy is perfect for players at every table and allows you to connect with your characters from the palm of your hand. All players are able to use 5e Buddy free of charge. 5e Buddy will automatically allow each user full access to one character of their making. To unlock access to unlimited character creation, a user can pay a small fee. This small fee allows the 5e Buddy team to continue to update and improve the app for all players. 5e Buddy was created by the development team at Magical Duck Studios LLC. Magical Duck Studios is a small software development company dedicated to creating magical tools to improve your daily experiences. For more information about their story or to learn about updates coming to 5e Buddy, please visit their website at https://magicalduckstudiosllc.com. Disclaimer: This app was created by a third party provider and uses SRD for all of its content. Magical Duck Studios is not associated with Wizards of the Coast or any of their official content.

Screenshots

Campaign Codex4 screens
5e Buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Campaign Codex at none against 5e Buddy's shown. 5e Buddy's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Campaign Codex sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and 5e Buddy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Campaign Codex against 5.0 for 5e Buddy. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Campaign Codex ships an update every 2 weeks, 5e Buddy every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Campaign Codex versus 5e Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCampaign Codex5e Buddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings23 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB137 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCommonGroundTech, LLCMagical Duck Studios LLC

Customer experience

Campaign Codex

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

5e Buddy

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Campaign Codex

Subscriptions2
  • Campaign Codex Premium Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Campaign Codex Premium Annual7 Days trial$34.991 Year
1 purchases

5e Buddy

One-time1
  • 5eBuddy Premium$7.99

Questions

Is Campaign Codex free?
Campaign Codex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is 5e Buddy free?
5e Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Campaign Codex or 5e Buddy?
Campaign Codex and 5e Buddy are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Campaign Codex or 5e Buddy have ads?
5e Buddy shows ads; Campaign Codex does not.
Which is updated more often, Campaign Codex or 5e Buddy?
Campaign Codex ships an update every 2 weeks, and 5e Buddy every 5 days. Most recently, Campaign Codex was updated on October 21, 2026 and 5e Buddy on October 22, 2026.

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