Final Fantasy XIV is available to absolutely everyone, to an extent. The free trial now includes Stormblood, allowing you to level most jobs to level 70. However, the free trial is limited in terms of features and once it ends, requires a subscription to keep playing.
The free trial of Final Fantasy XIV is great when it comes to telling whether the game is worth purchasing, but it comes with limitations. While on the free trial, players cannot:
- Purchase some items (such as gift items) from the FFXIV Online Store
- Possess more than 300,000 Gil
- Use /shout, /yell, or /tell chat options
- Access the Marketboard
- Trade with other players
- Send in-game letters using the Moogle Delivery Service
- Hire retainers
- Create Linkshells, either on home world or cross-world
- Create or join a Free Company
- Create their own party
- Take part in PvP
- Take part in Ultimate Raids
- Use community content on the Lodestone
- Log in to the official forums or companion app
- Access jobs unlocked at higher levels, such as Dancer and Gunbreaker (level 60), or Sage and Reaper (level 70)
Some of these features are arguably pretty central to experiencing the full Final Fantasy XIV. If you’re ready to commit and begin paying for your subscription, you have two options — Entry level or Standard level subscriptions. Whichever option you choose, you unlock all of the features mentioned above.
Differences between subscription tiers in Final Fantasy XIV
The two tiers are essentially the same, with the biggest differences being the price and the number of characters you can create at any one time:
| Tier | Price | Number of Characters |
| Entry | $12.99 USD per month | 8 characters per Data Center |
| Standard | $14.99 USD per month | 40 characters per Data Center, with a maximum of 8 characters per world |
If you opt for Entry level subscription, you only have the option to pay monthly by either credit card or Crysta payment. However, if you opt for a Standard level subscription, you have the additional option to pay for more time, reducing the price of each month:
| Option | Cost | Price per month |
| 30 days | $14.99 USD | $14.99 USD |
| 90 days | $41.97 USD | $13.99 USD |
| 180 days | $77.94 USD | $12.99 USD |
Using a Game Time Card to pay for subscriptions in Final Fantasy XIV
If you’d rather not pay directly with your credit card, you do have the option to purchase Game Time Cards through Square Enix or other reputable retailers. These cards provide a code that can be entered into the MogStation, providing either 30 or 60 days of game time.
Game Time Cards reward time which follows the same conventions as Standard level subscriptions, as noted above. They cost the same as a regular subscription.
