Crossing
Genshin Impact or Final Fantasy XIV
Two vast worlds, both playable free to start, funded in opposite ways. Which one treats your time and money better?
| Bearing | Genshin Impact | Final Fantasy XIV |
|---|---|---|
| Newcomer | 8 · Generous from the first minute: a gentle opening, a clear main quest, plenty of free characters and a game that runs on a phone. The download on PC is large. | 7.5 · The trial is huge and free, the sprout icon makes veterans patient with you, and the early game is gentle. The first fifty hours of story are slow, and the account setup is fiddly. |
| Every session | 8.5 · Exploring Teyvat is the point, and it is a joy: climb anything, glide anywhere, solve a puzzle, find a chest. Combat is light and satisfying. Daily chores are optional. | 8 · Dungeons with strangers who are usually kind, a job system that lets one character be everything, and a story that rewards patience. Combat is deliberate rather than thrilling. |
| Staying power | 8 · New regions and chapters arrive every six weeks on a schedule the studio has kept for years. The story has grown into something genuinely ambitious. | 9 · Five expansions with a sixth due in January 2027, a story with a genuine ending and a new beginning, raids, crafting, housing and a community that has stayed for a decade. It does not run out. |
| Wallet | 4 · Everything you need is free, but the shop sells randomised character draws at published odds in a system built around near-misses. Spending to get a specific character can cost hundreds of pounds. | 8 · A subscription is a known amount every month, the shop is cosmetic only, and the trial is generous beyond reason. Expansions and the sub add up over years. |
| Price | Free | Free trial; £9.99 to own |
| Platforms | Windows via the HoYoPlay launcher, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS and Android (PlayStation 4 support ended in April 2026) | Windows via Steam or the Square Enix launcher, macOS, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 |
| PEGI | PEGI 12, with a paid random items notice | PEGI 16 |
| Account | A free HoYoverse account | A free Square Enix account |
Free to start means two different things
Genshin Impact is free forever, funded by a shop where the headline items are randomised character and weapon draws. Final Fantasy XIV is free up to a generous ceiling, then funded by a monthly subscription and paid expansions. Neither model is wrong, but they produce very different pressures, and the Wallet bearing on this chart treats them very differently.
The worlds
Genshin's Teyvat is one of the loveliest open worlds on any platform, and it is genuinely playable start to finish without spending: every region, every story chapter and every puzzle is free. Its combat is a light, satisfying elemental system built around swapping four characters. Final Fantasy XIV's Eorzea is an online world with a decade of story that many players consider the best in the genre, delivered through a long, deliberately paced main scenario. Its combat is slower and more structured, built for group dungeons and raids.
Genshin is best played alone in long sessions of exploration; its co-op is an afterthought. Final Fantasy XIV is a social game at heart, and its community is famously welcoming to new players, with a sprout icon that tells veterans to be patient with you.
The toll
Genshin's free trial is the whole game. What it sells is the chance to draw specific characters, at published odds, in a system designed around near-misses; the chart entry quotes the numbers. You can play for years and never buy a draw, but the game is designed to make that feel like a sacrifice. Final Fantasy XIV's free trial covers the base game and the first two expansions with a level cap and a few social restrictions, which is hundreds of hours. After that it is the base game plus a subscription, and the shop sells only cosmetics.
Our call
Choose Final Fantasy XIV if you want a world to live in with other people and prefer paying a known amount each month. Choose Genshin Impact if you want a beautiful solo adventure and can treat the shop as scenery. If you have a history of spending more than you meant to, the subscription model is the safer road.