Short answer to "is Minecraft Education Edition free": the download is free for everyone, the demo lessons are free with no account at all, and eligible school accounts get a login-limited free trial — but full, ongoing access requires a paid license. If it feels free to you as a student or teacher, that's because your school is supplying the license. There is no route to unlimited Minecraft Education Edition without someone paying.
The most common surprise: the trial is not time-based. It's counted in logins — 25 for teachers with an Office 365 Education account, 10 for everyone else — and those logins cannot be refreshed. Know that before you burn them. Everything below is based on Microsoft's current pages as of early 2026 (app version 1.21.133).
Who can use it without paying personally
- Students and teachers at a licensed school: free to you — the school pays. Ask IT; per Microsoft's own wording, your school may already be licensed.
- Teachers with an Office 365 Education account: a fully functional trial, capped at 25 logins.
- Anyone else with an eligible organizational Microsoft account: the same trial, capped at 10 logins.
- Everyone, no account needed: free demo lessons (limited — see below).
Personal Microsoft 365 or Office accounts do not qualify for the trial. The trial requires an organizational Microsoft Entra ID — an Office 365 Education or Microsoft 365 organizational account.
What an EDU account actually gives you
An education account does not automatically mean unlimited free access. It gets you the trial (all paid features included, compatible with Classroom Mode), and it lets your school assign you a seat if the school has purchased licenses. The claim that anyone with an EDU account gets it free forever is simply false.
How to check your school account or license
- Ask your school's IT department whether Minecraft Education is already licensed — many schools are, and you may just need to sign in.
- Check eligibility by entering your organization email on Microsoft's Office 365 Education page.
- If your school needs to buy, licenses are purchased through the Microsoft 365 admin center or a volume-licensing partner.
Trial limits: 25 vs 10 logins, and no refresh
Teachers often ask "how long does the trial last?" — the honest answer is that it isn't measured in days at all:
| Account type | Trial logins |
|---|---|
| Teacher with an Office 365 Education account | 25 |
| All other eligible users | 10 |
Logins cannot be refreshed or reset. Once they're used, the only official path forward is a paid license (or a school-supplied one). Microsoft doesn't publicly spell out exactly what counts as a single "login," so treat each sign-in as spending one.
Minecraft Education Edition download: how to get it
The download itself is free from Microsoft's official page (education.minecraft.net → Get Started → Download) for Windows, Chromebook/Android, Mac, and iPhone/iPad. Current app version is 1.21.133; the licensing page lists Windows 10+ and macOS Big Sur 11+ as system requirements. Remember: downloading the app is not the same as having a license — you'll hit the account gate when you sign in.
Demo lessons without an account
If you just want to see what it's like, the free demo lessons need no account at all and are replayable. The trade-offs: you can't save progress, and you can't host or join multiplayer.
Options for teachers, parents, and homeschoolers
- Teachers at eligible institutions: use the 25-login trial to evaluate, then have your school buy academic licenses.
- Parents and homeschoolers: academic licenses are restricted to eligible academic institutions, but non-academic organizations, individuals, and homeschoolers can buy a commercial license.
What it costs after the trial
Current US pricing: academic licenses are US$5.04 per user per year (annual commitment, eligible academic institutions only); commercial licenses are US$36 per user per year. Both include the same game features — they differ only in eligibility, price, purchasing, and management. Non-US pricing and taxes vary; check Microsoft's licensing page for your region.
Is Minecraft Education Edition free? Download vs. license FAQ
Is the download free? Yes, on all supported platforms.
Is the game free? Only via the limited trial or demo lessons. Ongoing access needs a license.
Is the trial time-limited? No — it's login-limited (25 or 10), and logins don't refresh.
Does a personal Microsoft account work? No. Organizational Entra ID accounts only.
Can I get it free with any EDU account? No — but your school may already have licenses. Ask IT before paying.
If you're really just after free Minecraft-style play rather than the classroom edition, see our guides to how to play Minecraft for free and the regular Minecraft free trial — the rules there are different.
Outside the classroom
If what you actually want is a free multiplayer voxel game rather than classroom licensing, Folly is a free-to-play multiplayer voxel game launching August 14, 2026 — every player gets a skyblock-style island with a portal to shared worlds and mini-games. Details in the Folly FAQ.