Encounter XP Budget Calculator
Calculate the XP budget for a D&D 5e encounter based on your party's composition and desired difficulty level.
Fill in the fields above and click Calculate.
Formula
Total XP Budget = XP Threshold per Character (by level & difficulty) × Number of PCs
Raw Monster XP Budget = Total XP Budget ÷ Encounter Multiplier
Encounter Multiplier is based on the number of monsters:
1 monster → ×1 | 2 → ×1.5 | 3–6 → ×2 | 7–10 → ×2.5 | 11–14 → ×3 | 15+ → ×4
(Adjusted up one step for parties <3, down one step for parties ≥6)
Assumptions & References
- XP thresholds are sourced from the Dungeon Master's Guide (5e), Chapter 3, p. 82.
- Encounter multipliers account for the increased difficulty of fighting multiple enemies simultaneously.
- The "Raw Monster XP Budget" is the total XP value of monsters you should select; their adjusted XP (after multiplier) should not exceed the party's total budget for the chosen difficulty.
- All characters are assumed to be the same level. For mixed-level parties, average the levels or calculate per-character thresholds and sum them.
- This calculator does not account for environmental hazards, terrain advantages, or special monster abilities that may alter effective difficulty.
- Easy: unlikely to drain resources. Medium: noticeable resource drain. Hard: serious threat. Deadly: potentially lethal.