How to play Minecraft for free: what’s legal and what isn’t
Published on 7 October 2026
The full version of Minecraft isn’t free. You can play for free legally, though: Minecraft Classic in your browser, the free trial of Java and Bedrock of about 100 minutes, and the demo lessons of Minecraft Education. To keep going, you buy the game. On minecraft.net, Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC costs €29.99, as shown from the Netherlands on 7 October 2026.
Below you’ll see what each free option gives you, what the game costs and why a cracked version or a "free account" costs you more than it gives.
What can you play for free?
| Option | What you get | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Minecraft Classic | The 2009 version, in your browser | Building only, with 32 blocks |
| Free trial | The real game in Survival, Java or Bedrock | About 100 minutes, no online servers |
| Education demo | A selection of lessons, no account needed | No saving and no multiplayer |
| Education trial | The full Minecraft Education | School account only, 10 or 25 sign-ins |
Minecraft Classic in your browser
For the game’s tenth anniversary, Mojang put Minecraft Classic online in May 2019, at classic.minecraft.net. It’s Minecraft as it was in 2009: 32 blocks to build with and, in Mojang’s words, all the original bugs. You don’t install anything. You do need a keyboard and a browser with WebGL and WebRTC; without a keyboard, as on most phones, it won’t start. It’s fun to see where it all began, but it’s no substitute for the real game.
The free trial of Java and Bedrock
minecraft.net offers a free trial of both editions. You sign in with a Microsoft account and play the real game in Survival for about 100 minutes. That’s five in-game days. After that, the trial ends.
- Bedrock: for Windows 10 and 11, PlayStation and Android.
- Java: for Windows, Mac and Linux. Sign in to the Minecraft Launcher without owning the game and you get the demo. Commands are disabled. How to install the launcher is in How to download and install Minecraft Java Edition.
- Playing together: you can’t join online servers, because the trial name Player can’t be changed. Your home network (LAN) is allowed. In Java, one demo account is allowed in a LAN game.
Minecraft Education: free for whom?
Minecraft Education is the version for schools. Anyone can play the demo lessons, without an account. You get a selection of lessons, but you can’t save worlds, play together or load your own worlds.
The full trial is only for accounts of an academically verified institution in Microsoft 365, such as your school account. Teachers can sign in 25 times with it, everyone else 10 times. After that a paid licence is needed. If your school uses Microsoft 365, ask whether it already has licences: according to the Minecraft Education site, that’s possible.
Free servers like Aternos
A free server isn’t the same as a free game. On Aternos you create a Minecraft server for Java or Bedrock, and according to Aternos there’s nothing you can pay for. To play on it, though, everyone needs the game; the free trial can’t join online servers. A free server has limits too: it stops when nobody plays and sometimes you wait in a queue. When that starts to pinch, read Aternos alternative: when is a paid server worth it?
Got the game and want a server that’s always on? Your own Minecraft server at CakeHosting starts from €4.95 a month. See the Minecraft plans.
How much does Minecraft cost?
On PC you buy Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC. That gives you both editions and the Minecraft Launcher. These are the prices on minecraft.net as shown from the Netherlands on 7 October 2026; prices can differ per country:
| Edition | Price | What’s included |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Edition | €29.99 | Java, Bedrock and the launcher |
| Deluxe Collection | €39.99 | The same plus 700 Minecoins, three add-ons and three Character Creator items |
| Ultimate Collection | €49.99 | The same plus 1,000 Minecoins, five add-ons and five Character Creator items |
To play, the Standard Edition is enough; the pricier editions add Minecoins and add-ons. According to the store page, the game is also available in Game Pass. For other devices, from Xbox to Android, minecraft.net points to a separate version.
Why not a cracked version or a free account?
Search for "minecraft free" and you’ll also find cracked launchers and sites offering "free accounts". Under Mojang’s licence terms you may play the game once you buy it, and nobody may give copies of the game to others. Even apart from that, they don’t get you far:
- Malware. Between April 2024 and March 2025, Kaspersky counted more than 4.1 million attempts to spread malicious files disguised as Minecraft files. Kaspersky names cheats, cracked versions and mods among the lures. Such a file can steal passwords, give an attacker access to your PC or install ransomware.
- No regular servers. By default, a server checks for every player whether the account is genuine. With a cracked version you only get onto cracked servers, and according to the Minecraft Wiki anyone with a fake account can join those, under any name. Realms only works with a Microsoft account.
- Accounts are often stolen. A free account is someone else’s account. Kaspersky found shops on forums and in Telegram channels selling access to Minecraft accounts. An account whose email address and password you don’t control yourself is easily lost again.
Playing together on a budget
Does one of you already own the game? Then a friend without it can join for a while over LAN with the free trial. If you all own it, there are cheap ways to play together: at home over LAN, on a free server, with Realms or on your own server. Every option is in How to play Minecraft with friends. According to minecraft.net, Realms gives new users a free 30-day trial with a subscription for ten players; how it compares with your own server is in Minecraft Realms vs your own server. What your own server costs per month is in How much does a Minecraft server cost?
