Gaming · pricing
Minecraft pricing
Minecraft publishes 4 tiers. Below is each one, what it adds over the tier beneath it, and where the ladder stops being worth climbing for most people.
As of 1 September 2026, Minecraft pricing is $29.99/one-time across 4 published tiers. Figures are the vendor's list prices as recorded on this page's last check; the vendor's site is the final word.
- Entry price
- $29.99/one-time
- Model
- One-time purchase, optional Realms subscription
- Tiers
- 4
- Free tier
- Not on record
Minecraft plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minecraft (Mobile) | $6.99/one-time | 1 | Entry tier |
| Realms | $7.99/month | 1 | +$1/month, 1 more feature |
| PC Game Pass access | $9.99/month | 1 | +$2/month, 1 more feature |
| Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition (PC) | $29.99/one-time | 1 | +$20/one-time, 1 more feature |
What each tier adds
The set difference between each tier's feature list and the one beneath it. Where a tier lists nothing new, the vendor has either stopped repeating the inherited list or the tier raises limits rather than adding capability, the record does not distinguish the two, so this page does not either.
Minecraft (Mobile)
$6.99/one-timeThe entry tier. It covers one-time purchase on ios, priced separately on android at a similar level.
Realms
$7.99/monthOver Minecraft (Mobile), this tier adds:
- Small hosted private multiplayer server, price varies by player count and platform
PC Game Pass access
$9.99/monthOver Realms, this tier adds:
- Subscription route that includes Minecraft access alongside other Xbox titles
Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition (PC)
$29.99/one-timeOver PC Game Pass access, this tier adds:
- Includes both Java and Bedrock editions on Windows
What the product covers
The full Minecraft feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Other
- Java and Bedrock bundle
- Realms
- Marketplace
- Creative and Survival modes
- Cross-play
- Mod support
People bring Minecraft in for a parent wanting a one-time purchase rather than a free game with recurring in-app purchase prompts, a group of friends wanting an easy, low-maintenance private multiplayer server through realms rather than self-hosting, a player who bought minecraft years ago under an old mojang account needing to migrate to a microsoft account to keep playing, a player choosing between java for mod support and bedrock for cross-platform play with console or mobile friends. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to Minecraft are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in Gaming
Too few gaming tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minecraft (this page) | $29.99/one-time | One-time purchase, optional Realms subscription | - | |
| Winio | Free | subscription | - | vs Minecraft |
| Roblox | Free | Free to play, Robux currency packs and a subscription | - | vs Minecraft |
| Fortnite | Free | Free to play with in-app purchases | - | vs Minecraft |
| Humble Bundle | $11.99/month | Pay what you want per bundle, or a monthly subscription | - | vs Minecraft |
| Amazon Luna | $9.99/month | Per user per month | - | vs Minecraft |
| Lutris | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs Minecraft |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the Minecraft badges page.
Before you pay for Minecraft
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: 4 tiers between $6.99/one-time and $29.99/one-time, with the jump itemised above. With no free tier on record, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to compare Minecraft against the tools that do have one before committing.
Minecraft runs on windows, macos, linux, ios, android, xbox, playstation, nintendo switch, and is published by Mojang Studios (Microsoft) of Stockholm, Sweden. The full record is on the Minecraft review, and the rest of the category is under best gaming tools.
Minecraft pricing questions
- How much does Minecraft cost?
- Minecraft publishes 4 tiers, from $6.99/one-time for Minecraft (Mobile) up to $29.99/one-time for Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition (PC). The cheapest paid tier is $6.99/one-time.
- Does Minecraft have a free plan?
- Not on the record we hold: Minecraft is listed as One-time purchase, optional Realms subscription. Whether a free trial is offered is not something this record captures, so check the vendor's site.
- What is the difference between Minecraft (Mobile) and Realms on Minecraft?
- Realms costs $7.99/month against $6.99/one-time, and adds small hosted private multiplayer server, price varies by player count and platform.
- Is the Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition (PC) plan on Minecraft worth it?
- That depends entirely on whether you need what it adds, which on the published record is includes both java and bedrock editions on windows. It costs $29.99/one-time against $6.99/one-time for Minecraft (Mobile). Softwr has not used either tier, so this page can tell you what changes, not whether it is worth the difference to you.
- Which gaming tools can I use without paying?
- 6 of the 8 gaming tools listed alongside Minecraft have a free tier: Winio, Roblox, Fortnite, Lutris, RetroArch.
- What am I actually paying for with Minecraft?
- The record lists 6 features across 1 area: other. In practice it is brought in for a parent wanting a one-time purchase rather than a free game with recurring in-app purchase prompts, a group of friends wanting an easy, low-maintenance private multiplayer server through realms rather than self-hosting, a player who bought minecraft years ago under an old mojang account needing to migrate to a microsoft account to keep playing.
- Does Minecraft charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 4 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these Minecraft prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare Minecraft against before paying?
- The closest gaming tools in this directory are Winio, Roblox, Fortnite, Humble Bundle. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Minecraft covering price, platforms and features.