Final Fantasy XIV sells its newcomer experience three ways, and the differences matter more than the price tags suggest. The Free Trial, the Starter Edition, and the Complete Edition all get you into the same world, but they cap your level differently, gate different chunks of the story, and treat subscriptions in ways that can catch a new player off guard. Here is exactly what each one grants and where the boundaries sit.
Quick answer: Start on the Free Trial. It has no time limit and lets you play through the Shadowbringers story to level 80 for free. Buy the Complete Edition ($59.99) only when you finish that content and want to continue into Endwalker and Dawntrail. The $19.99 Starter Edition adds nothing new to play over the Free Trial except social features, and it forces a subscription after 30 days.
Free Trial vs Starter vs Complete Edition: The core differences
All four purchasable tiers share the same base game and the same character options, so the real split is playable content, level cap, and whether you owe a subscription. The table below lays out the current lineup.
| Edition | Price | Content | Level cap | Jobs | Subscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free | A Realm Reborn through Shadowbringers | 80 | 18 | None |
| Starter Edition | $19.99 | A Realm Reborn through Shadowbringers | 80 | 18 | After 30 days |
| Complete Edition | $59.99 | A Realm Reborn through Dawntrail | 100 | 22 | After 30 days |
| Complete Collector’s Edition | $139.99 | Dawntrail content plus bonus items | 100 | 22 | After 30 days |
What the Free Trial includes and where it stops
The Free Trial is the most generous entry point. It never expires, so you can take months to work through A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers without paying anything. You get all 8 races and 16 tribes, 18 jobs, and a level 80 cap. Its limits are almost entirely social and economic rather than story-based.
One hard rule sits above all others. The Free Trial can only be activated on an account that has never registered any version of Final Fantasy XIV. The moment you buy the Starter or Complete Edition, that account leaves the trial permanently and cannot return to it.
| Restriction | Free Trial limit |
|---|---|
| Story progress | Cannot go past Shadowbringers |
| Gil cap | 300,000 gil |
| Characters | Up to 8 per physical Data Center |
| Chat | No shout, yell, or tell |
| Parties | Can join via Duty Finder or invite, cannot create one or recruit |
| Free Company | Cannot join or create |
| Linkshells | Cannot create; can be invited to join |
| Trading | Cannot trade with players |
| Market Board / Retainers | Cannot use |
| Only moogle deliveries from the Mog Station and Online Store | |
| PvP | No Crystalline Conflict, Rival Wings, or Frontline |
| Ultimate Raids | Unavailable |
| Housing | Unavailable |
| Online Store | Limited items, cannot gift |
| Forums / Companion App | Cannot log in |
If none of those limits bother you yet, there is no reason to pay early. You can download the trial directly from Square Enix.
Starter Edition: The same content with a subscription clock
The $19.99 Starter Edition bundles the exact same expansions as the Free Trial, from A Realm Reborn through Shadowbringers, with the same level 80 cap and 18 jobs. What it removes are the trial’s restrictions. You can create parties, join a Free Company, use the Market Board, hire retainers, trade freely, and post on the official forums.
The catch is the money. The Starter Edition comes with a 30-day free play period, and once that runs out you must subscribe to keep playing. Since a single expansion can take dozens of hours to clear, most players will not finish the included content inside that month, which means recurring subscription payments on top of the purchase price. Buying it does not unlock any story the Free Trial lacks, so the only strong reason to pick it up is playing socially with friends before you would otherwise pay.
Complete Edition: When it is worth buying
The Complete Edition is the version that actually extends the game beyond the free content. For $59.99 it adds Endwalker and Dawntrail on top of everything else, raising the level cap to 100 and the job count to 22. Everything from A Realm Reborn onward is included in one purchase, and it carries the same 30-day free play period.
The most cost-effective plan is to stay on the Free Trial until the Main Scenario runs dry at the end of Shadowbringers, then buy the Complete Edition to continue straight into Endwalker. Because Shadowbringers, Endwalker, and Dawntrail are no longer sold as separate boxed jumps for new accounts, the Complete Edition (or the Starter Edition plus the Dawntrail expansion bought separately) is the route to the current content. Buy earlier only if you want to play with friends and do not mind starting your subscription sooner.
The $139.99 Complete Collector’s Edition adds the same playable content as the Complete Edition along with digital collector’s bonus items. It changes nothing about level caps, jobs, or restrictions.
Subscription costs after the free play period
Every paid edition requires a subscription once its 30-day free play period ends. There are two membership tiers, and the only difference between them is how many characters you can hold per physical Data Center such as Crystal or Aether.
| Tier | Length | Monthly price | Chars per server | Chars per Data Center |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry | 30 days | $12.99 | 8 | 8 |
| Standard | 30 days | $14.99 | 8 | 40 |
| Standard | 90 days | $13.99 | 8 | 40 |
| Standard | 180 days | $12.99 | 8 | 40 |
If you only ever run one or two characters, the Entry tier is enough and there is no reason to pay the extra two dollars for Standard. A Game Time Card cannot be applied to the Entry tier. The 30-day free play period only applies once per platform on a single service account, and it will not apply on a platform where a license is already registered.
Platform rules that change your costs
Before you commit, three platform quirks can affect price and account flexibility.
Steam locks your account
If you buy the game through Steam, that account is permanently tied to Steam. Moving to the standalone client later would require registering an additional account ID, effectively re-buying the game. Steam’s regional pricing and local currencies can, however, make subscriptions cheaper in some countries.
Switch 2 needs its own subscription
Playing on Nintendo Switch 2 requires a subscription like any other platform, but it does not require Nintendo Switch Online. If Switch 2 is your only platform, you pay the standard subscription rate. If you already play on PC or PlayStation and want to add Switch 2, that extra platform costs a reduced $7.50 per month on top of your existing subscription. The Switch 2 shop also uses FFXIV Coins to buy game time and cosmetics.
Xbox requires Game Pass for the paid game
On Xbox, the paid version requires an active Xbox Game Pass plan, and game time is paid with FFXIV Coins bought from the Microsoft Store. The Free Trial on Xbox bypasses the Game Pass requirement entirely, which is another reason new players are better off starting there.
Put simply, the Free Trial is the safest first step for anyone new, because it keeps your account eligible for the trial and costs nothing while you decide. Move to the Complete Edition once you hit the Shadowbringers wall and want the rest of the story, and reserve the Starter Edition for the narrow case where you want the social features early to play alongside friends.
