The Best Cleric Spells by Level [DnD 5e Guide]

Posted on by Matt Zane

Clerics are the undisputed champions of divine magic in Dungeons and Dragons. But that doesn’t mean they’re locked into one category. On the contrary, from your classic healing spells to radiant damaging abilities to darker necromantic powers, Cleric spells run the gamut of applications.

Let’s get into the best Cleric spells for each level in DnD 5e.

Best Cleric Cantrips

Clerics can access three cantrips from 1st level, increasing to four at 4th level and five at 10th level. There are only nine Cleric cantrips in total, so you can pick up almost all the good ones. Even at 1st level, you’ll have a full complement of cantrips to work with (one damage-dealing cantrip and two utility cantrips).

  1. Toll the Dead. 1d8 necrotic damage that scales to 1d12 against an injured target, Toll the Dead is the best and most consistent source of cantrip damage for Clerics. Unless you plan on focusing on melee attacks, this is likely your bread-and-butter ability in combat. I prefer this over Sacred Flame since it has higher upside damage and forces a Wisdom save instead of a Dexterity save (Wisdom is a lower average modifier on creatures than Dexterity).

  2. Guidance. A consistent 1d4 (2.5 on average) boost to your allies’ ability checks is seriously useful. The only downsides are the concentration requirement interfering with long-standing spells and the touch range effect.

  3. Word of Radiance. The only area-of-effect damage cantrip available to Clerics. It’s forces a Constitution saving throw and only 1d6 radiant damage, but if you’re surrounded by enemies (especially undead), it’s the perfect spell to cast. If you don’t expect to be in melee range of enemies very often, I recommend picking up two utility cantrips alongside Toll the Dead and skipping Word of Radiance. But if you’re the party’s tank, WoR becomes much more attractive.

  4. Thaumaturgy. Right up there with Minor Illusion and Prestidigitation among the top-tier utility cantrips. It’s somewhat more limited than either spell, but the divine magic tricks really help define a Cleric’s source of power right from the early levels. I can’t possibly cover all the potential use cases here, but check out my full guide on the spell to learn all the shenanigans you can get up to with Thaumaturgy.

  5. Light. Removes the need to carry a torch in dark places, allowing you (and your allies) to keep your hands free for weapons, shields, arcane foci, etc. It also provides a necessary source of light — even with darkvision, a creature has disadvantage on Perception checks! The value of this spell is heavily dependent on how much of a stickler your DM is about tracking light sources and what your party can see.

Here are the other Cleric cantrips and my X/5 rating for each:

  • Sacred Flame – 4 (pick this instead of Toll the Dead if you want radiant damage on a failed Dex save instead of necrotic damage on a failed Wis save)

  • Mending – 2

  • Resistance – 1

  • Spare the Dying – 1

Best 1st-level Cleric Spells

Clerics have a ton of high-value 1st-level spells worth picking up. Even better, you can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest, so you don’t have to worry about making a permanent “wrong” choice — just consider what your adventuring day looks like to pick up the highest leverage options.

  1. Bless. A 1d4 bonus to all attack rolls and saving throws for three allies for a full minute is very, very strong. I won’t get into how bounded accuracy works, but suffice it to say that small bonuses are more impactful than you might assume at first glance. From 1st- to 20th-level, Bless is useful, especially when you can upcast it to cover the entire party.

  2. Guiding Bolt. As a 4d6 radiant damage ranged spell attack, this spell is the hardest-hitting ranged 1st-level spell in 5e. But it gets better — the next ally to attack your target has attack advantage, so you’re also increasing party-wide damage for the round when you cast it. Especially useful for getting your group’s Paladin or Rogue double the chance to land a critical hit for that sweet, sweet Smite/Sneak Attack damage.

  3. Healing Word. Bonus action, ranged heal that only brings back (2d4 + Wisdom modifier) hit points. But in DnD, this efficient, low-value heal is perfect for bringing back allies with 0 hit points who are making death saves. Its healing value got doubled in the 2024 PHB, making it even more valuable.

  4. Sanctuary. Cast on an ally within 30 feet, Sanctuary forces any creature who targets your ally to succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or lose their attack/spell for up to one minute. Many players avoid this defensive buff spell, as it ends the moment your ally takes an offensive action. But a bonus action casting time and no concentration requirement mean that this is worth casting even if it only protects an ally for a single round of combat. This becomes especially true as 1st-level spell slots become less important.

  5. Protection from Evil and Good. This spell protects an ally by giving many creature types disadvantage when attacking them. And it protects against a number of conditions from those creature types (Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, or Undead). Having this up for 10 minutes is well worth your concentration if you’re up against a big horde or a boss monster that fall into a creature type covered by this spell. Even better if you can reliably force these enemies to target your protected ally.

Here are the other 1st-level Cleric spells and my X/5 rating for each:

Best 2nd-level Cleric Spells

Clerics get access to two 2nd-level spell slots at 3rd level.

  1. Aid. A +5 increase in maximum hit points that stacks with temporary hit points and can also act as an in-combat heal. At lower levels, this can work out to a 15-20% increase in a player’s HP for a full adventuring day. This is even better and more efficient if you can cast it at the end of a long rest, right before you get your spell slots back for the day (if your DM allows for “rest casting” that is). Upcasting increases the hit point boost by +5 for every spell slot level above 2.

  2. Hold Person. A great save-or-suck spell that’ll paralyze an unfortunate humanoid target who fails a Wisdom saving throw. That’s good for limiting your opponent’s movement and actions, but it’s also great for increasing the damage potential of your party’s melee martial characters, who get to enjoy attack advantage AND an automatic critical hit on your target. Note that the value of this spell goes way down if you don’t have many humanoid enemies in your campaign.

  3. Prayer of Healing. Heals up to five allies for 2d8 hit points and gives them the benefits of a short rest (the ability to spend hit dice to regain even more health, and the restoration of certain class abilities that recharge after a short rest). While the heal value has been nerfed in the 2024 edition to not include a bonus heal equal to your spellcasting modifier, this is more than made up for by giving the benefit of a short rest. This is especially valuable if your party has a Warlock, Monk, and/or Fighter.

  4. Enhance Ability. Advantage on ability checks of your choice for an ally for up to one hour. This has too many applications to discuss here, but suffice it to say that advantage never stops being useful in a DnD campaign, keeping this spell relevant into the late game. Plus, you can upcast it to target additional allies, giving each one a different ability score boost.

  5. Silence. Spellcasters are usually the biggest threat in a fight, and this spell prevents spells with verbal components (about 95% of DnD’s spells) from being cast. This is incredible, especially if you can ensure that spellcasters are stuck within the spells’ area.

Here are the other 2nd-level Cleric spells and my X/5 rating for each:

clerics vs. undead minis D&D 5e

Best 3rd-level Cleric Spells

Clerics get access to two 3rd-level spell slots at 5th level.

  1. Spirit Guardians. One of the best damaging spells in a Cleric’s spellbook, this spell can deal incredible area-of-effect damage and battlefield control over a minute-long period. When combined with movement-forcing abilities and/or other slowing effects, this spell becomes even more godlike. It deals 3d8 radiant or necrotic damage whenever a creature enters the 15-foot emanation around you, when the emanation enters their space, or ends its turn within the emanation (maximum trigger once per turn) if it fails a Wisdom saving throw. With the 2024 change to make it deal instant damage upon the emanation entering an enemy’s space, you can more reliably kill off foes before they get a chance to act.

  2. Tongues. The ability to speak and understand any language is as useful in DnD as it is in real life. This isn’t something you always need to have prepared, but if you’re entering into unknown territory where conversation might help avoid a fight or learn more information, it’s a great tool to have.

  3. Aura of Vitality. While not a great in-combat heal most of the time (unless you’re yo-yo’ing an ally from death saves for multiple rounds), this spell is great as an out-of-combat quick-heal. In just one minute, you can distribute 70 average hit points among your party — pretty solid if you can’t risk taking a short rest, but you’re low on HP.

  4. Dispel Magic. Dispelling a magical effect will always be useful, as enemy spells are usually the biggest threat in any given fight. Beyond that, this spell can be used for solving puzzles, ending enemy buffs, and ultimately altering the momentum of an encounter.

  5. Revivify. Your first access to resurrection, albeit with a serious time crunch (one minute from the ally dying). Still, once you have access to this spell and acquire the necessary components to cast it, it’s something that should always be prepared until you’re able to access a better resurrection spell.

Here are the other 3rd-level Cleric spells and my X/5 rating for each:

  • Animate Dead – 4

  • Clairvoyance – 4

  • Sending – 4

  • Bestow Curse – 3

  • Life Transference – 3

  • Mass Healing Word – 3

  • Protection from Energy – 3

  • Remove Curse – 3

  • Create Food and Water – 2

  • Daylight – 2

  • Glyph of Warding – 2

  • Magic Circle – 2

  • Speak with Dead – 2

  • Spirit Shroud – 2

  • Beacon of Hope – 1

  • Feign Death – 1

  • Meld into Stone – 1

  • Water Walk – 1

Best 4th-level Cleric Spells

Clerics get access to one 4th-level spell slot at 7th level. Overall, gaining access to 3rd-level spells is more impactful than 4th-level spells for Clerics, but there are still some really good options at this tier of play.

  1. Death Ward. 8-hour spell that protects a target from falling to 0 hit points one time (falling to 1 HP instead). Also negates instant-kill effects (like Power Word: Kill). A great spell to constantly keep up on the party’s tank.

  2. Banishment. Very powerful for completely eliminating one monster creature from the fight for a minute — or entirely, if they’re from a different plane of existence than you’re currently on.

  3. Divination. Paying 25 gp to get a quick answer to an important plot point in the near future is very powerful. And by the time you have access to 4th-level spells, being able to walk into situations slightly less blind can mean the difference between life and death.

  4. Freedom of Movement. A 1-hour, no-concentration spell that makes an ally immune to the paralyzed and restrained conditions, as well as slow effects, the effects of difficult terrain, and no movement or attack penalties while swimming. The ally can also escape from the grappled condition automatically by spending 5 feet of movement. This is very, very good on allies who require movement to fight effectively (e.g., Rogues, Monks) in fights where they’ll be hindered somehow.

  5. Stone Shape. Making passageways through stone walls is the main power you gain with this spell, and it’s useful as heck for dungeon dives. It can also come in handy for shutting passageways or making stone trinkets, but breaking and entering is the real star here.

Here are the other 4th-level Cleric spells and my X/5 rating for each:

  • Aura of Purity – 3

  • Aura of Life – 2

  • Control Water – 2

  • Guardian of Faith – 2

  • Locate Creature – 2

Best 5th-level Cleric Spells

Clerics get access to one 5th-level spell slot at 9th level.

  1. Holy Weapon. A lit-up weapon, bonus radiant damage, and making a weapon magic are all great consistent perks for an hour-long duration. But my favorite part is the bonus action you can use to dismiss the spell and cause it to blow up, dealing radiant damage and blinding enemies in range.

  2. Summon Celestial. A one-hour flying ally that deals decent damage, provides one modest heal, can hand out temporary hit points, and absorbs damage — very useful to have around.

  3. Greater Restoration. For less serious situations than death, this spell can remove an exhaustion level, end the charmed or petrified condition, remove a curse, or remove a reduction to an ally’s ability score or hit point maximum. This spell is absolutely necessary for one party member to have ready at all times, especially once you reach the tier of play where it becomes available.

  4. Raise Dead. Yay, you can bring the dead back to life. If you’ve got a diamond worth 500 gold, you don’t have to worry about death ever again — as long as your target keeps all their limbs, organs, and head. And you can get to the body with 10 days. They’ll have a -4 penalty to d20 tests (attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws) though, reduced by 1 every time they finish a long rest until the penalty is reduced to 0.

  5. Scrying. If a target on the same plane of existence as you fails a Wisdom saving throw, you can see and hear them for up to 10 minutes. Or you can specify a location and not have to worry about the target passing their save. Getting to sneakily oversee what a BBEG or their henchmen are up to can give you a huge advantage on how to approach an encounter. Or it can move the plot forward much further, much safer than you could otherwise achieve. Having better knowledge or the target and/or having an object depicting the target/a possession body part of them reduces the modifier on their saving throw.

Here are the other 5th-level Cleric spells and my X/5 rating for each:

  • Commune – 4

  • Contagion – 3

  • Insect Plague – 3

  • Mass Cure Wounds – 3

  • Dawn – 2

  • Dispel Evil And Good – 2

  • Flame Strike – 2

  • Geas – 2

  • Hallow – 2

  • Legend Lore – 1

  • Planar Binding – 1

6th- to 9th-level Cleric Spells

At higher levels, it becomes very difficult to properly rate the quality of each spell. My ratings below are based on a simple methodology: the more likely they are to be useful more often, the higher the score they get.

6th-level Cleric Spells

  • Heal – 5

  • Heroes’ Feast – 5

  • Word Of Recall – 5

  • Blade Barrier – 4

  • Harm – 4

  • True Seeing – 4

  • Forbiddance – 3

  • Sunbeam – 3

  • Create Undead – 2

  • Find The Path – 2

  • Planar Ally – 2

7th-level Cleric Spells

  • Divine Word – 5

  • Etherealness – 4

  • Plane Shift – 4

  • Conjure Celestial – 3

  • Fire Storm – 3

  • Resurrection – 3

  • Regenerate – 2

  • Symbol – 2

  • Temple of the Gods – 1

8th-level Cleric Spells

  • Antimagic Field – 5

  • Holy Aura – 5

  • Sunburst – 4

  • Earthquake – 2

  • Control Weather – 1

9th-level Cleric Spells

  • Mass Heal – 5

  • Power Word: Heal – 5

  • Astral Projection – 3

  • Gate – 3

  • True Resurrection – 3 (expensive and not always necessary)

Cleric Spell Rating Methodology

How good a spell is depends on a number of factors:

  • Damage value

  • Heal value

  • Synergy with party composition

  • Versatility

  • Concentration requirement

  • Range

  • Casting time (action vs. bonus action)

  • Utility

  • Area of effect

I take all of these into consideration when giving my recommendations above. Ultimately, here’s my creed for determining the best spells for any given class:

The best spells are those that are the most likely to be the most optimal in the most common conditions.

Cleric Spells FAQ

  • What spells do Clerics start with in 5e?

    A Cleric starts with three cantrips and all of their 1st-level spells. However, they can only prepare a number of spells equal to their Cleric level + their Wisdom modifier. So a level 1 Cleric with a +3 Wisdom modifier can prepare four 1st-level spells of their choice. These spells can be changed at the end of a long rest.

  • How many spells can a Cleric have in 5e?

    A Cleric has access to all Cleric spells for its level. For example, a 5th-level Cleric has access to all 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-level Cleric spells. From those, they can only prepare a limited number of spells each day, however.

    The number of spells a Cleric can prepare is equal to their Cleric level + their Wisdom modifier. So a 5th-level Cleric with a +4 Wisdom modifier can prepare nine total spells, choosing as they like between 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-level Cleric spells.

  • Can Clerics cast spells without preparing them in 5e?

    No, Clerics must prepare their spells each day from the full list of Cleric spells available to them. However, spells granted by their Divine Domain (such as a Life Cleric’s Aid, Bless, Cure Wounds, and Lesser Restoration) are always prepared and do not count against their daily limit.

  • Do Clerics need a holy symbol to cast spells in 5e?

    Yes, most Cleric spells with material (M) components require a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus (such as an amulet (worn), Emblem (borne on fabric or a shield), or Reliquary (held)). A Cleric must either hold their holy symbol or wear it visibly on their shield to cast these spells. However, spells without a material component do not require a holy symbol. And spells with a material cost component (like Revivify requiring a diamond worth 300+ gp) require that exact component, not a holy symbol, to cast.

  • Can a Cleric change their spells in 5e?

    Yes, a Cleric can change their prepared spells at the end of every long rest. This makes them highly versatile, allowing them to adjust their spell list based on the needs of their party or the challenges they expect to face.

  • Do Clerics get ritual casting in 5e?

    Yes, Clerics can cast any spell with the ritual tag as a ritual, as long as it is currently prepared. Casting a spell as a ritual takes 10 extra minutes but does not consume a spell slot. This is particularly useful for spells like Detect Magic and Augury.

  • What ability do Clerics use for spellcasting in 5e?

    Clerics use Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. Their spell attack rolls and spell save DC are calculated as follows:

    • Spell Attack Bonus = Proficiency Bonus + Wisdom Modifier

    • Spell Save DC = 8 + Proficiency Bonus + Wisdom Modifier

    A higher Wisdom score means stronger spells that are more likely to hit, better healing, and harder-to-resist debuffs.

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