Foundry VTT: The Power User's Platform
Best features, best modding community, highest setup effort. Worth it for campaigns longer than 6 sessions.
Foundry is the enthusiast's VTT. It has dynamic lighting, walls, sound triggers, animated effects, and a modding community that has built modules for everything from automated combat tracking to 3D dice rolling. System support is excellent: D&D 5e, Pathfinder 2e, Warhammer Fantasy, and dozens of indie systems have dedicated, well-maintained Foundry modules. One-time purchase ($50), no subscription.
The trade-off: Foundry requires setup. You need to host it somewhere (your computer, a Raspberry Pi, or a cloud service like The Forge or Molten Hosting). You need to configure modules. You need to import assets. If you enjoy tinkering with software, this is a feature. If you want to open an app and start playing in five minutes, Foundry is not for you.
Roll20: The Incumbent, for Better and Worse
Largest player base, easiest to find groups, most dated interface. Free tier is genuinely usable.
Roll20's advantage is network effects: more people use it, more games are listed on its LFG tool, and more official content is available for purchase (WotC modules, Paizo Adventure Paths). The free tier gives you everything you need to run a game — dynamic lighting and API access require a Plus ($50/year) or Pro ($100/year) subscription. Its weakness: the interface hasn't changed meaningfully in years, performance degrades with large maps, and the audio/video integration is unreliable enough that most groups use Discord for voice.
Owlbear Rodeo: The Minimalist Alternative
Open a browser tab, drop a map, share a link. That's it. No accounts required.
Owlbear Rodeo is the anti-Foundry. It does three things: shows a map, moves tokens, rolls dice. No character sheets, no rule automation, no mods. For theater-of-the-mind DMs who just need a shared map, or for in-person groups who project a map on a TV, it's perfect. For DMs who want automated saving throws, spell templates, and character sheet integration, it's too simple.
Owlbear Rodeo 2.0 added extensions (smoke and spectre!) that let you add features à la carte — initiative tracker, token status markers, dynamic fog — without turning into Foundry. The community's take: Owlbear Rodeo is the best VTT for one-shots, new online DMs, and groups that want tech to stay out of the way.