general | March 24, 2026

Is it free to play level 20 WoW?

World of Warcraft is always FREE to play up to level 20, but in order to play high level characters you’ll need a subscription.

What happens when you reach level 20 in World of Warcraft?

When you reach level 20, your characters will stop gaining experience. However, you are free to continue playing and exploring Azeroth for as long as you wish – or you can roll an entirely new character to try out a new race or class.

Can you still play World of Warcraft after level 20?

In order to level past 20, you will need to purchase a box level version of the game. Doing so will lift restrictions from the account once the payment has been fully processed. You can continue to play that character at level 20.

Do you have to pay for expansions in WoW?

However, World of Warcraft’s entirety is not free, and players have to pay to access the more major parts of the game, including getting past level 20, by purchasing a subscription.

Is WoW Worth playing 2020?

The level squish is definitely ushering in a new era of WoW, but that probably isn’t enough to will everyone over. For those reasons, it is definitely worth playing Wow in 2020 to see what the early days of Shadowlands are like as the Horde and Alliance both usher in a new era for the iconic MMO.

Is WoW free to play worth?

So answering your question, it is not worth it to keep playing as an F2P after your game time expires. If you instead mean to keep the subscription but not the latest expansion due to the expansion price, though, then yes, you might still have fun there.

How long does it take to level to 20 in WoW?

The good news is that the Battle for Azeroth leveling experience is fairly quick and pretty entertaining. If you really are brand new to the game, you can probably expect to go from 1-50 via the Battle for Azeroth experience in about 20-25 hours.

How far can you play in WoW for free?

Free World of Warcraft accounts can play until reaching level 20 of the overall 120 level cap, and after hitting that limit, they can keep playing, but XP won’t be counted. In-game communication is also restricted with free accounts, guild joining is unavailable, and there’s also a cap of just ten gold applicable.

How long can you play WoW for free?

While there is no free trial of the WoW subscription, you can try out the standard game at no cost. No credit card details are required, and there is no time limit to how long you can play for free. All you need is a Blizzard account and an internet connection.

Should I buy BFA or wait for Shadowlands?

If previous expansions are an indication, then BFA should be included in the base game (and thus freely available to everyone – sans the boost) around the time that Shadowlands goes active. It could be once pre-patch goes live OR it could be once launch happens.

How much can you level in World of Warcraft for free?

But there’s more good news: If you haven’t paid for the game at all, the whole game will be level squishing itself down and the free starter edition accounts can still level up to 20. This means that those accounts will get access to more content and character progression than before, as this would be roughly equal to level 45 right now.

Further, Starter Edition players will not be able to access public chat channels, join a guild, invite players to a party, join parties with characters above level 20, use voice chat, transfer characters, or use Real ID features. Lastly, Blizzard will give preferential treatment to paying WoW subscribers when realms have queues.

Do you have to pay for World of Warcraft?

Now, gamers who try out WoW through its online store will be able to progress their character to level 20–taking as much time as they need–before they must begin to pay a subscription fee. There are some fairly significant restrictions for the Starter Edition, however.

What’s the level cap for World of Warcraft?

After World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the level cap for the MMO was raised to 85. For those who get drawn in by the Starter Edition, Blizzard is also offering some new deals for buying the rest of the game when you’re ready to go past level 20.

But there’s more good news: If you haven’t paid for the game at all, the whole game will be level squishing itself down and the free starter edition accounts can still level up to 20. This means that those accounts will get access to more content and character progression than before, as this would be roughly equal to level 45 right now.

Further, Starter Edition players will not be able to access public chat channels, join a guild, invite players to a party, join parties with characters above level 20, use voice chat, transfer characters, or use Real ID features. Lastly, Blizzard will give preferential treatment to paying WoW subscribers when realms have queues.

Now, gamers who try out WoW through its online store will be able to progress their character to level 20–taking as much time as they need–before they must begin to pay a subscription fee. There are some fairly significant restrictions for the Starter Edition, however.

After World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the level cap for the MMO was raised to 85. For those who get drawn in by the Starter Edition, Blizzard is also offering some new deals for buying the rest of the game when you’re ready to go past level 20.