Obsidian Portal
Free tier
World Anvil
Free tier
Obsidian Portal vs World Anvil: Which Should You Use?
Last updated: 2026
Choose Obsidian Portal if…
GMs who want a shareable, player-friendly campaign website with minimal setup.
Visit Obsidian Portal →Choose World Anvil if…
Dedicated worldbuilders and campaign GMs who want a permanent, deeply-linked lore repository.
Visit World Anvil →Side-by-side comparison
| | | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Free tier | ||
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Game systems | System agnostic | D&D 5e, Pathfinder 2e, System agnostic |
| Self-hosted | ||
| AI-powered | ||
| Open source | ||
| Works offline | ||
| Official content | ||
| Launched | 2008 | 2017 |
Pricing breakdown
Obsidian Portal
Free tier available; Ascendant plan $5.99/mo for CSS customisation, extra storage, and forum features.
World Anvil
Free tier available. Paid plans from $7/mo (Journeyman) up to $15/mo (Master) for more storage, private worlds, and advanced features.
Pros & cons
Obsidian Portal
Pros
- Polished player-facing campaign pages out of the box
- Free tier is usable for ongoing campaigns
- Long history — stable, established platform
Cons
- Dated UI compared to newer tools like Kanka or LegendKeeper
- Limited relationship or entity-linking features
- Development pace is slower than competitors
World Anvil
Pros
- Most feature-complete worldbuilding platform available
- Player portals make sharing lore easy and controlled
- Templates guide consistent, well-structured lore writing
Cons
- Interface is complex and has a steep learning curve
- Free tier is quite limited — advanced features require a subscription
- Can feel over-engineered for simple one-shot campaigns
Frequently asked questions
Is Obsidian Portal or World Anvil cheaper?
Both Obsidian Portal and World Anvil have free tiers, so you can try both at no cost.
Can I use Obsidian Portal and World Anvil together?
Obsidian Portal and World Anvil overlap in the campaign-managers category, so most users pick one or the other rather than using both. That said, some GMs use them for different parts of their workflow if the tools serve genuinely different purposes.