The most powerful D&D 5e point buy calculator on the internet. 50+ races, all 13 classes, 2014 and 2024 rules.
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Browse all 50+ official races. Click 'Use This Race' to apply it to your current build.
The most versatile and widespread race in the multiverse. Humans are adaptable, ambitious, and found in every corner of every world, making them natural leaders and generalists in any adventuring party.
Variant Humans trade the broad stat increases for a flexible +1/+1 and a free feat at 1st level — making them one of the strongest race options in any min-max build. The free feat opens the door to powerful combos from session one.
High elves are graceful, long-lived beings with a deep connection to arcane magic and a keen intellect. Their centuries of learning and natural magical affinity make them exceptional wizards and arcanists.
Wood elves are fleet-footed and stealthy hunters of the deep forest. Their enhanced senses and natural camouflage make them exceptional rangers and scouts, blending into natural environments with ease.
Born in the lightless depths of the Underdark, drow are both feared and fascinating. Their innate magical gifts and superior darkvision come at a steep cost — sunlight sensitivity that can be a serious tactical disadvantage on the surface.
Sea elves have claimed the ocean depths as their home for millennia. Adapted for life underwater, they can breathe both air and water and move effortlessly through aquatic environments that would challenge other races.
Eladrin are elves with a strong connection to the Feywild and the magic that suffuses that plane. Shifting between four seasonal aspects, each eladrin can teleport short distances using their Fey Step ability — making them elusive combatants.
Hill dwarves are known throughout the realms for their incredible endurance and stubborn wisdom. Their extra hit points from Dwarven Toughness stack with Constitution bonuses, making them among the heartiest creatures at the table.
Mountain dwarves are the most physically imposing of their kin, bred in high-altitude fortresses for generations of warfare. Their unusual double ASI to STR and CON makes them exceptional frontline fighters right from level 1.
Duergar are the grim, grey-skinned dwarves of the Underdark, scarred by centuries of enslavement to mind flayers. Their psionic powers — innate enlargement and invisibility — make them surprisingly versatile despite their dour nature.
Lightfoot halflings are the quintessential rogues and wanderers — small, naturally lucky, and adept at hiding behind larger companions. Their Naturally Stealthy trait lets them use Medium creatures as cover, a genuinely powerful tactical ability.
Stout halflings are the hardier branch of their race, showing possible dwarven blood somewhere in the line. Their poison resistance and CON bonus make them surprisingly durable for a Small race, excelling in frontline builds where small size isn't a drawback.
Ghostwise halflings are reclusive and deeply attuned to nature and the whispers of the spiritual world. Unique among halflings, they can communicate telepathically — a rare and valuable trait for coordinating in stealth or bypassing language barriers entirely.
Dragonborn are proud, honor-bound warriors who carry draconic power in their very blood. Their breath weapon provides a reliable AoE damage option from level 1, and their damage resistance complements frontline builds throughout the entire campaign.
Forest gnomes are tiny tricksters who blend curiosity with a natural connection to woodland creatures. Their Minor Illusion cantrip and ability to speak with small animals give them unusual utility and role-play options not found on most other races.
Rock gnomes are the tinkerers and inventors of the gnome world, obsessed with clockwork contraptions and mechanical curiosities. Their Artificer's Lore and Tinker traits give them reliable utility even before they gain class features.
Deep gnomes are the Underdark cousins of surface gnomes — stealthy, resilient survivors adapted to the darkest depths. Stone Camouflage and superior darkvision make them among the most effective stealth-based builds in the game.
Half-elves are the social bridges of the multiverse — charming, adaptable, and welcome in nearly every culture. The unique +2 CHA plus two flexible +1s, combined with two extra skill proficiencies, gives them one of the most versatile stat arrays in 5e.
Half-orcs are survivors, forged in conflict and hardened by a lifetime of overcoming adversity. Relentless Endurance — dropping to 1 HP instead of 0 once per long rest — is one of the most powerful defensive traits in the entire game.
The mark of Asmodeus runs through standard tieflings — hellfire in their veins and infernal charm in their smile. Their innate fire spells scale naturally as they level, providing reliable damage options that supplement any caster's spell slots.
Tiefling variants from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes trace their heritage to different archdevils — Baalzebul, Dispater, Fierna, Glasya, Levistus, Mammon, Mephistopheles, or Zariel — each providing different spell lists and secondary ASIs tailored to specific builds.
Aasimar are touched by divine radiance, carrying a sliver of celestial power within their mortal forms. Their healing hands, radiant damage options, and transformative forms make them outstanding for any build wanting a mix of support and burst damage.
Air genasi carry the winds of the Elemental Plane of Air within them. Their ability to hold their breath indefinitely and cast Levitate as a free action makes them excellent mobile skirmishers who can bypass ground-based hazards entirely.
Earth genasi are ponderous and powerful, their skin sometimes resembling stone or iron ore. Pass Without Trace as a free daily spell is surprisingly strong utility for a typically heavy race, and their strength makes them excellent melee combatants.
Fire genasi crackle with barely-contained elemental energy, their body temperatures running unnaturally hot. Darkvision paired with fire resistance and access to the Produce Flame cantrip makes them strong Druid or Sorcerer options.
Water genasi flow between two worlds — equally at home on land and beneath the waves. Their swim speed, water breathing, and cold resistance combine to make them exceptional aquatic combatants and Underdark explorers.
Goliaths are towering mountain-born warriors who view life as a constant competition worth mastering. Stone's Endurance — reducing damage by 1d12+CON once per short rest — gives them exceptional durability that makes them among the toughest frontliners in any party.
Tabaxi are cat-folk driven by insatiable curiosity and wanderlust. Feline Agility — doubling movement speed for a turn — is one of the most burst-movement abilities in 5e, enabling hit-and-run tactics that few enemies can counter effectively.
Firbolgs are gentle giant-kin who prefer the company of forests and animals over civilization. Their powerful utility kit — Speech of Beast and Leaf, Disguise Self, Detect Magic, Hidethemselves, and Powerful Build — makes them the most versatile support race available.
Kenku are flightless, cursed corvids who can only communicate through mimicry. What they lack in original speech, they make up for with Expert Forgery and exceptional skill in Deception and Stealth — making them ideal for intrigue-heavy campaigns.
Tritons are proud guardians of the ocean depths, their civilization ancient and their bearing aristocratic. Their triple +1 ASI in a combat spread, swim speed, and underwater adaptation make them strong across multiple builds, especially in nautical campaigns.
Yuan-ti purebloods appear mostly human while carrying potent serpentine magic within them. Magic Resistance — giving advantage on ALL saving throws against spells — is an extraordinarily powerful defensive trait that remains valuable through every tier of play.
Tortles are nomadic tortoise-folk with natural armor that makes them uniquely suited to classes that normally struggle with AC. A Tortle Monk or Barbarian begins with AC 17 from Shell Defense — without spending a single point on DEX or CON.
Lizardfolk are cold-blooded reptilians who view existence with a detached, survivalist pragmatism. Their Cunning Artisan trait lets them craft weapons and shields from slain enemies, and their natural armor paired with Bite attacks makes them capable unarmored melee builds.
Aarakocra are avian sky warriors from the Elemental Plane of Air, granting them the rare ability to fly at 1st level. A flying speed from level 1 is one of the most powerful racial traits in the game — though many DMs restrict this in dungeon-heavy campaigns.
Bugbears are hulking, hairy goblinoids who favor ambush over honorable combat. Surprise Attack — dealing an extra 2d6 damage when hitting a surprised creature — synergizes powerfully with Rogue's Sneak Attack for devastating first-turn opening strikes.
Goblins are scrappy, cunning opportunists who survive through speed and trickery. Fury of the Small — once per short rest adding your proficiency bonus to damage against a creature larger than you — offers reliable damage scaling at low cost throughout any campaign.
Hobgoblins are disciplined, militaristic goblinoids who excel in organized warfare. Fortune from the Many — adding allies adjacent to your target to your damage once per short rest — rewards party-based tactics and makes them exceptional in coordinated groups.
Kobolds are tiny draconic opportunists who compensate for their small stature with pack tactics and draconic cunning. Draconic Cry gives your whole party advantage on attacks for a round — a powerful action in any group fight situation.
Orcs in 2021's updated lore are fierce but not evil by nature — powerful warriors shaped by Gruumsh's blessing. Adrenaline Rush lets them Dash as a bonus action and gain temporary HP, making them excellent aggressive frontliners who can close distance and stay healthy.
Centaurs are powerful half-human, half-horse beings who charge into battle with devastating force. Their Charge ability deals extra damage when they move at least 30ft before attacking, and they can carry Medium creatures as mounts — a unique tactical advantage.
Loxodons are wise, patient elephant-folk who bring natural armor and remarkable composure to any party. Their powerful trunk provides hands-free utility, and Loxodon Serenity gives them advantage on charm and fear effects — a strong support-caster racial package.
Minotaurs are powerful bull-headed warriors with an innate talent for navigation and labyrinthine combat. Their Goring Rush — a bonus action gore attack after dashing — gives them free additional attacks without spending main action resources.
Simic Hybrids are the result of Ravnica's biomancer experiments, fusing human (or elf/vedalken) forms with animal traits. Their fully customizable Animal Enhancement at levels 1 and 5 makes them perhaps the most adaptable race in the game for optimizing specific builds.
Vedalken are methodical blue-skinned scholars obsessed with the perfection of their craft. Vedalken Dispassion gives them advantage on all INT, WIS, and CHA saving throws — an extraordinarily broad saving throw bonus that includes the most common mental saves in the game.
Warforged are constructs built for war and struggling to find purpose in peace. Integrated Protection — adding a +1 to any worn armor — means they always have marginally better AC than comparable builds, and their immunity to disease plus advantage on poison saves makes them remarkably resilient.
Changelings are natural shapeshifters who can alter their physical form at will, making them extraordinary infiltrators and social manipulators. Shapechanger is among the most roleplay-enabling traits in all of 5e — and it has genuine mechanical applications in investigation and intrigue.
Kalashtar are humans merged with quori spirits, granting them psionic abilities and exceptional mental fortitude. Mind Link provides free telepathy with creatures you touch — valuable utility — and Mental Discipline gives advantage on WIS saves, one of the most important defensive saves in the game.
Shifters are the descendants of lycanthropes who can briefly tap into their bestial nature. Each Shifting type (Beasthide, Longtooth, Swiftstride, Wildhunt) provides different combat benefits for 1 minute per short rest, making them excellent burst-damage or survival characters.
Owlins are owl-humanoids from the Feywild — silent hunters with exceptional senses. Their Flight and Silent Feathers traits combine to create naturally perfect aerial assassins, approaching enemies without sound and launching devastating attacks from above.
Harengon are rabbit-folk from the Feywild, absurdly fast and preternaturally lucky. Rabbit Hop lets them jump as a bonus action, and Lucky Footwork gives them a free d4 on failed DEX saves — a significant defensive boost that doesn't cost any resources.
Leonin are proud lion-folk from the sun-baked plains of Theros, fierce protectors of their prides. Daunting Roar — frightening all enemies within 10ft as a bonus action — is a powerful crowd-control ability that synergizes well with frontline builds.
Satyrs are merry, hedonistic fey of the forests, reveling in music and mischief. Magic Resistance — advantage on ALL saving throws against spells — combined with Ram unarmed attacks makes them surprisingly capable, and their bard-adjacent flavor makes them an ideal Bard race.
Fairies are tiny Feywild spirits with butterfly wings and innate magical gifts. Their flight speed from level 1 (even at Small size) combined with Fairy Magic's Druidcraft, Faerie Fire, and Enlarge/Reduce makes them excellent support casters across a wide range of classes.
Hexbloods are mortals who have made a bargain with a hag, gaining fey-touched supernatural gifts at mysterious cost. Hex Magic provides free Disguise Self and Hex without spell slots, while Eerie Token — a detachable body part — can serve as a communication relay.
Reborn are mortals brought back from death, carrying fragments of their past life and an unnatural resilience. Faded Memories and Knowledge from a Past Life provide extraordinary skill utility, while Deathless Nature grants sleep immunity, disease immunity, and reduced hunger/thirst requirements.
Plasmoids are amorphous ooze-folk from the Astral Plane, able to reshape their bodies at will. Amorphous lets them squeeze through any space large enough for a Tiny creature — making them effectively immune to grapple-by-enclosure — and they can extend pseudopods for reach attacks.
Thri-kreen are insectoid warriors with four arms and natural camouflage abilities. Their Secondary Arms provide extra item-holding capability without using their main hands, and Chameleon Carapace lets them turn invisible as an action once per short rest.
Autognomes are clockwork constructs built in gnomish form, granted a spark of sentience. As construct creatures, they have extraordinary resistances: immunity to disease, no need for food/air/sleep, and advantage on death saves. They can also be repaired with the Mending spell.
All 13 classes with stat priorities and ideal point buy arrays. 'Optimize' applies the recommended array.
Barbarians are damage-soaking frontliners who rely on raw STR and CON to wade through enemy lines. Unarmored Defense (10 + DEX + CON) means DEX and CON both contribute to AC while raging. Most Barbarians go STR/CON/DEX, leaving INT and CHA as dump stats. Totem/Berserker subclasses have slightly different secondary priorities but STR primary is universal.
Bards are the ultimate party face and jack-of-all-trades. CHA drives all their spellcasting and most social skills. DEX determines AC in light armor. CON matters for concentration saves — any serious caster needs at least 14. WIS helps with Perception (often your highest passive skill). INT can safely dump to 8.
Clerics are divine half-casters (full-casters with martial options) built around WIS for spell DCs and melee clerics want STR for weapon attacks. Heavy armor proficiency from most subclasses removes the need for DEX investment. CON matters greatly for concentration spells and HP longevity. INT and DEX are typically safe dump stats.
Druids are WIS-primary spellcasters with unique Wild Shape utility. Moon Druids can dump STR entirely since they'll be animals anyway. Spore/Stars Druids care more about their own stats since they stay humanoid. DEX is important in light/medium armor since Druids can't wear metal. CON always matters for concentration.
Fighters are the most flexible combat class. STR fighters wear heavy armor and use two-handed or sword-and-board. DEX fighters (finesse) dump STR entirely and rely on light armor. CON is critical regardless — Action Surge puts you in danger longer. Battle Masters want INT/WIS slightly higher for flavor but mechanically it barely matters.
Monks are the most stat-hungry class in 5e — they want DEX, WIS, AND CON all reasonably high. Unarmored Defense (10 + DEX + WIS) means both DEX and WIS contribute to AC. Ki-save DCs scale with WIS. DEX drives attack rolls. CON keeps you alive in your no-armor style. This makes Monks one of the hardest classes to optimize with point buy.
Paladins are dual-primary characters needing both STR for weapon attacks and CHA for spell DCs, Auras, and Divine Smite decision-making. This is a genuinely stat-hungry class. Heavy armor means DEX can safely dump to 8. INT is a true dump stat. The classic Paladin split puts STR 15, CHA 14, CON 13, which just works with a 27-point buy.
Rangers are DEX-based skirmishers with spell casting from WIS. Two-weapon fighting Rangers want DEX maxed hard. Archery Rangers need DEX for attack but can afford slightly lower WIS. CON matters for concentration on the many Hunter's Mark/Zephyr Strike builds. STR can safely dump to 8 for archery builds.
Rogues need DEX above all else — it drives attacks, damage, stealth, and AC. Arcane Tricksters specifically need INT for spells (13+ minimum, 14 recommended). CON provides HP and Uncanny Dodge durability. WIS matters for Perception (Rogues are often scouts). Most Rogues can safely dump STR and CHA to 8.
Sorcerers are glass-cannon blasters built entirely around CHA for spell attack rolls and save DCs. CON is critical for concentration and survivability (d6 hit die is brutal). DEX at 14 gives decent AC in light armor. INT can safely dump. WIS stays around 12 for Perception. The Sorcerer wants maximum CHA and maximum CON — a genuinely expensive ask in point buy.
Warlocks are CHA-dependent pact casters who recover spell slots on short rests. Nearly identical to Sorcerer in stat priority. CON matters for concentration on Hex and other bread-and-butter spells. DEX provides AC. The Hexblade patron specifically uses CHA for weapon attacks via Hex Warrior, making CHA their only combat stat — allowing complete DEX investment into CON instead.
Wizards live and die by INT — it powers their attack rolls, save DCs, and most INT skills they'll need. CON matters enormously: concentration on Concentration spells is often the difference between winning and losing encounters. DEX provides AC in light armor. STR and CHA are near-pure dump stats for most Wizard builds across all subclasses.
Artificers are INT-based half-casters who also serve as healers, buffers, and infusion masters. INT controls infusion and spell DCs. CON matters for concentration. Battle Smith and Armorer sub-specs can use INT for weapon attacks via their level 3 features, making INT the only combat stat. DEX at 14 works with medium armor proficiency for reasonable AC.
Point buy is one of three official ability score generation methods in D&D 5e — alongside the standard array and rolling dice. Instead of accepting a fixed set of numbers or gambling on random rolls, you receive a budget of 27 points to distribute however you choose across your six ability scores: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
Every score begins at 8. Raising a score costs points, and higher scores cost more per step. Moving a score from 8 to 13 costs 1 point per step — five points total. But pushing from 13 to 14 costs 2 points, and 14 to 15 costs another 2 points. That nonlinear cost is the entire puzzle of point buy optimization: you're deciding whether two 14s are better than one 15 and one 13, and the answer depends entirely on your class.
The maximum base score before racial bonuses is 15. With racial bonuses, you can reach 17 from a single +2 racial bonus on top of a 15 base. Your final score can reach 20 through Ability Score Improvements at levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 19 — but that starts here, at character creation, with your 27 points.
Point buy is the preferred method for Adventurers League and organized play because it produces deterministic, fair results across all players at the table. Unlike rolling, where one player might get three 18s and another get a highest score of 14, point buy guarantees equal budgets. Your character's power comes from how well you allocate those points — and that's where this calculator comes in.
The D&D community on forums like r/3d6 and r/DnDNext has debated point buy optimization for a decade. The consensus: point buy rewards preparation. A player who understands the cost table, their class's primary stats, and the synergy between racial bonuses and base scores will consistently produce stronger characters than someone who rolls — not because rolling is bad, but because point buy lets you plan exactly what you need.
Both the 2014 and 2024 Player's Handbook use the same cost table. The costs are cumulative — a score of 14 costs 7 points total from the baseline of 8, not 7 additional points from 13.
| Score | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Cost | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
| Modifier | -1 | -1 | +0 | +0 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 |
Notice that scores 8 and 9 both give a −1 modifier, and scores 10 and 11 both give +0. This means odd scores are usually inefficient — spending 1 point to go from 9 to 10 gives you no modifier improvement, just a psychological round number. The exception is when you have an odd racial bonus coming: a 13 base + racial +1 = 14 total, which gives +2 modifier. In those cases, buying the 13 is exactly right.
The steepest jump is 13→14 (2 points for +1 modifier improvement) and 14→15 (2 more points for no additional modifier gain over 14, but sets up a +2 racial or ASI to reach 16 for +3). A score of 15 costs 9 points — one-third of your entire budget. Most optimized builds put exactly one or two stats at 15.
The point buy mechanics themselves — 27 points, the same cost table, scores from 8 to 15 — are identical in 2014 and 2024. What changed dramatically is how racial bonuses interact with those scores.
In the 2014 Player's Handbook, your race determines your Ability Score Improvements. A Half-Elf gets +2 CHA and +1 to any two other scores — no exceptions. A Hill Dwarf gets +2 CON and +1 WIS. A Half-Orc gets +2 STR and +1 CON. These fixed bonuses mean choosing a race is directly tied to optimizing your class: if you want to play a CHA-primary Warlock, Half-Elf is often the strongest pick because of that guaranteed +2 CHA.
The 2024 Player's Handbook changed this entirely. Racial ASIs were moved to Backgrounds. Every character gets +2 to one ability score and +1 to a different ability score from their background — and you choose which scores to apply those bonuses to freely. Your species (race) no longer gives any ability score bonuses at all. Instead, species now provide traits, features, and resistances only.
This is the same change Tasha's Cauldron of Everything introduced as an optional rule in 2020, now made the default. Many tables — especially home games — adopted the Tasha's floating ASI rule years ago. Our calculator supports both rule sets: toggle "2014 Rules" or "2024 Rules" at the top of the calculator.
For Adventurers League: AL uses the 2014 core rules for legacy campaigns. For the new campaign content using the 2024 PHB, check your specific AL documentation for the current rules set, as AL policy updates with each new season.
The standard array gives you six fixed values — 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 — assigned to any six stats in any order. Point buy gives you 27 points to build whatever array you want within the constraints. Both are legal in Adventurers League; rolling is not.
The total of the standard array is 72 points worth of stats. A fully optimized 27-point buy array (e.g., 15/15/13/10/8/8 or similar) also sums close to 72 depending on allocation. The difference is flexibility — not raw power.
Use point buy when: your class needs two stats both at 14 or higher (like a Paladin needing STR and CHA, or a Ranger needing DEX and WIS), or when your racial bonuses line up to push two 13-base scores to 14. The standard array gives you one 15 and one 14; point buy lets you have two 15s if you're willing to dump heavily.
Use standard array when: you're new to the game and don't want to spend session zero doing math, or when your class has a clean single primary stat (Wizard INT, Barbarian STR) where the one 15 is enough. It's also faster — drag the numbers to their spots and you're done.
For the optimization-focused player, point buy is strictly superior in flexibility. You can construct arrays the standard array can't produce: two 15s at the cost of two 8s, three 13s across primary stats, or a deliberately high-floor build (nothing below 10) by investing 22 points into six scores of 11/11/11/11/11/11 and pocketing the remaining 5 for one standout stat. None of these are achievable with the standard array.
Rolling stats (4d6, drop the lowest die, sum the remaining three — for each of six scores) is the most cinematic method. You might roll three 18s and feel like a demigod. You might roll a 6 as your highest stat and question your life choices. That variance is the entire point for tables that choose rolling.
The average roll from 4d6 drop lowest is approximately 12.24 per stat — a total of about 73.5 across six scores. That's slightly better than the standard array's 72. But "average" is the key word. The distribution is wide: some sets come in at 52 total, some at 90+. Point buy produces consistent totals in the 72–78 range depending on allocation.
The optimization argument for point buy: you can guarantee your primary stat is at least 15 before racial bonuses. With rolling, there's a real chance your highest roll is a 13. Point buy removes the floor risk while also removing the ceiling excitement. You'll never have STR 18 at level 1, but you'll never have STR 10 on your Barbarian either.
When rolling makes sense: casual tables where everyone is rolling, because consistency across the party matters more than any individual's results. Rolling becomes problematic when player A rolls 18/16/15/14/13/10 and player B rolls 14/12/11/10/9/8 — they're playing the same game but in fundamentally different power brackets.
Our 4d6 stat roller tool lets you roll stats, compare the result to a comparable point buy array, and see how your rolled stats would perform against the standard array. Most experienced players use it to simulate rolls before committing to the method for a new campaign.
These are the most widely used base arrays before racial bonuses. Apply your racial +2 to your primary stat and +1 to secondary (under 2014 rules) or use your background bonuses (under 2024 rules).
Each class page in our navigation goes deep on these arrays — sample builds, subclass adjustments, best race pairings, and the common mistakes specific to that class. Barbarian through Wizard, all 13 classes covered.
Adventurers League (AL) is the official organized play program for D&D 5e — think of it as competitive/public-table D&D, run at game stores, conventions, and online. AL has its own character creation rules that supersede the standard PHB options in one key area: rolling stats is not allowed.
AL characters must use either point buy (27 points, standard cost table) or the standard array (15/14/13/12/10/8). This policy exists to keep all AL characters on a level playing field — if someone at your table rolled 18/17/16/15/14/13, they're simply a more powerful character than someone who rolled 14/12/11/10/9/8. AL prevents that disparity entirely.
All character options must come from AL-legal sources. Variant Human with a free feat is AL-legal. Custom Lineage from Tasha's is AL-legal. The 2024 PHB backgrounds are AL-legal for newer AL seasons. Our calculator handles all of these — just make sure you're building within the AL rules set for your specific season.
Variant Human (2014 PHB) and Custom Lineage (Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, 2020) are the two races that provide a free feat at character creation. This is a massive advantage in tier 1 play, where most characters don't get their first feat until level 4.
Variant Human gives +1 to two ability scores of your choice (different scores), one skill proficiency, and one feat. You choose which scores to boost, which means it fits into any class — take INT+1/CON+1 as a Wizard, or STR+1/CHA+1 as a Paladin. The two +1 bonuses are less raw ASI power than Half-Elf's +2/+1/+1, but the feat compensates at most tables.
Custom Lineage (Tasha's) is even simpler: +2 to one ability score of your choice, one feat, one skill proficiency, and either darkvision or a language. It's strictly stronger than Variant Human in stats (+2 vs two +1s) and the darkvision option is genuinely useful for dungeon-heavy campaigns. If your table allows Tasha's, Custom Lineage is worth comparing to Variant Human for any feat-centric build.
High-impact feats for point buy builds:
The Feats vs ASI guide covers when to take a feat over an Ability Score Improvement at level 4 and beyond.