How does D&D 5e point buy work?

Every ability starts at 8 and you spend from a pool of 27 points to raise them, with no score going above 15 before racial bonuses. Lower scores cost one point per step, but raising a 13 to 14 and a 14 to 15 each cost two points, which discourages dumping everything into one stat.

What is the point cost table?

The costs are 8 for 0, 9 for 1, 10 for 2, 11 for 3, 12 for 4, 13 for 5, 14 for 7, and 15 for 9 points. The jump at 14 and 15 is why those top scores are expensive to reach.

Why can I only go up to 15?

Point buy caps at 15 so that high starting scores come from racial bonuses, backgrounds, or later Ability Score Improvements rather than the buy itself. This keeps level-1 characters within a balanced range.

How is the ability modifier calculated?

The modifier is the score minus 10, divided by 2, rounded down. So 14 and 15 both give a plus 2 modifier. Because only even scores increase the modifier, spending the last point to reach an odd score is often less efficient.

Do I have to spend all 27 points?

You can stop early, but most players spend the full 27 to maximize their character. The remaining-points counter makes it easy to see whether you have an unspent point that could nudge a key stat up.

D&D 5e Point Buy Calculator

Create a balanced, rules-legal D&D 5e character with the standard point-buy system. Start from all 8s, spend your 27 points, and watch the running total and modifiers update live so you never make an illegal array.

How it works

Point buy gives you a 27-point budget. Every ability starts at 8 (free) and can be raised to at most 15 before racial bonuses. The cost to reach each score is:

Score:  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15
Cost:   0  1   2   3   4   5   7   9

Notice the cost jumps by 2 at 14 and again at 15, which is why pushing a single stat to the cap is expensive. The ability modifier is floor((score − 10) / 2), so 14 and 15 both give a +2.

The tool tracks total points spent, prevents you from going over budget or out of the 8-15 range, and shows each modifier so you can build an efficient array.

Tips and example

A popular balanced array is 15, 15, 15, 8, 8, 8 — that spends exactly 27 points on three primary stats while dumping three others.
Because only even scores raise the modifier, ending a stat on an odd number (like 13) is often wasteful unless you expect a later +1 to make it even.
Put your highest score in your class’s key ability, and avoid dumping Constitution too low — hit points come from it every level.