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Fantasy Grounds vs Penly

Professional comparison and analysis to help you choose the right software solution for your needs.

Fantasy Grounds icon
Fantasy Grounds
Penly icon
Penly

Fantasy Grounds vs Penly: The Verdict

⚡ Summary:

Fantasy Grounds: Fantasy Grounds is a virtual tabletop software for pen and paper roleplaying games. It provides tools to play games like Dungeons & Dragons online with built-in dice, character sheets, maps and more. Allows gamemasters to easily manage campaigns.

Penly: Penly is a free and open-source note taking app for Windows, macOS and Linux. It allows users to create rich text documents, add images and attachments, organize notes into notebooks, collaborate with others and sync across devices. Penly has a clean and intuitive interface, supports tagging and search, and integrates with cloud services.

Both tools serve their respective audiences. Compare the features, pricing, and user ratings above to determine which best fits your needs.

Last updated: May 2026 · Comparison by Sugggest Editorial Team

Feature Fantasy Grounds Penly
Sugggest Score
Category Gaming Software Office & Productivity
Pricing Open Source

Product Overview

Fantasy Grounds
Fantasy Grounds

Description: Fantasy Grounds is a virtual tabletop software for pen and paper roleplaying games. It provides tools to play games like Dungeons & Dragons online with built-in dice, character sheets, maps and more. Allows gamemasters to easily manage campaigns.

Type: software

Penly
Penly

Description: Penly is a free and open-source note taking app for Windows, macOS and Linux. It allows users to create rich text documents, add images and attachments, organize notes into notebooks, collaborate with others and sync across devices. Penly has a clean and intuitive interface, supports tagging and search, and integrates with cloud services.

Type: software

Pricing: Open Source

Key Features Comparison

Fantasy Grounds
Fantasy Grounds Features
  • Virtual tabletop
  • Built-in dice roller
  • Character sheets
  • Maps
  • Content marketplace
  • Remote play
  • Ruleset support
Penly
Penly Features
  • Rich text editing
  • Notebooks for organization
  • Collaboration
  • Cross-platform availability
  • Open source
  • Cloud sync
  • Search
  • Tags
  • Attachments
  • Clean and intuitive interface

Pros & Cons Analysis

Fantasy Grounds
Fantasy Grounds

Pros

  • Great UI and UX
  • Active community support
  • Automates tedious tasks
  • Saves time prepping
  • Integrates with D&D Beyond
  • Works on multiple platforms

Cons

  • Steep learning curve
  • Can be expensive with all content
  • Performance issues sometimes
  • Missing some niche features
Penly
Penly

Pros

  • Free and open source
  • Available on Windows, Mac and Linux
  • Supports rich formatting
  • Good organization with notebooks
  • Collaboration capabilities
  • Cloud sync
  • Powerful search and tagging
  • Can attach files
  • Clean and simple interface

Cons

  • Limited compared to proprietary options
  • Formatting not as robust as Word
  • No mobile apps
  • Collaboration could be better
  • Sync relies on third-party services
  • Some features still in development

Pricing Comparison

Fantasy Grounds
Fantasy Grounds
  • Not listed
Penly
Penly
  • Open Source

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