Final Fantasy XIV Subscription Guide: Standard vs Entry Differences Explained

Final Fantasy XIV follows the standard MMO practice of charging a monthly subscription to play the game after buying the base game and expansions. Since MMOs are constantly updated and maintained with content for free most of the time, this fee is seen as more akin to paying for Netflix by most players. However, when picking up your subscription for Final Fantasy XIV you may notice that there are two options. A standard subscription for the regular $15 a month, and an entry-level subscription for $13 a month. Let’s go over each subscription type and which one is right for you.

Final Fantasy XIV Entry Level and Standard Subscription Differences

Just like picking your character species, picking your subscription type for Final Fantasy XIV can seem quite confusing at first. However, the two different subscriptions are quite simple once you understand how they work.

A standard subscription for Final Fantasy XIV is what you might expect from an MMO. You are allowed to make eight characters per world with 40 characters total across different worlds. This subscription type costs $15 a month and you are able to pay for multiple months at a time to receive a discount.

This subscription type is more in line with what other MMOs charge for their service and what most players will buy just because they will buy in bulk and save a bit of money. The entry subscription on the other hand is a bit different.

This one charges you $13 dollars a month which seems like a bit of a deal if you are only buying month to month. With this subscription, you can only have one character per world with eight characters total. For your average player, this will be more than enough. However, you can’t buy this subscription in bulk. You can only get this subscription on a monthly basis. That means every month you will have to pay $13 and you can’t buy multiple months at a time.

An entry subscription is better for someone that doesn’t plan on playing for more than a month or two or someone that is trying out the game for the month. That way if you don’t like the game and don’t want to continue playing after your month is up, you only spent $13 instead of $15. For your average player that will play fairly regularly, the standard subscription is the best option. If you plan on playing for a long time, you can buy a longer subscription to save a bit of money.

Overall, it’s nice of Square Enix to offer a cheaper subscription for people that just want to try the game beyond the free trial period. However, for anyone that plans on playing the game long-term the standard subscription is the best option. If you need any more help with Final Fantasy XIV make sure to check out our other guides.

Final Fantasy XIV is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.