How Much it Costs to Start Playing Axie Infinity

Before you can actually start playing and earning in Axie Infinity, there is a barrier to entry for new players: you need to invest first on a starter team of 3 Axies by buying them on the marketplace.

But how much do you really need to spend to start playing Axie Infinity? This is the most commonly asked question by people who are interested in joining the play-to-earn game.

In this guide, we will tell you how much it costs to start playing Axie Infinity.

In addition, since market prices are very volatile, we will also teach you how to estimate this starting cost by yourself.

Contents

What you need to start playing Axie Infinity

To start playing Axie Infinity, you will need to create an Axie Infinity account and buy a starter team of 3 Axies.

(Related Guide: Best Starter Team for Beginners)

You can buy Axies from the official Axie Marketplace. Here, you can use search filters to find stats and traits of your desired Axie.

Players can also trade Axies peer-to-peer, meaning you can purchase directly from other players, or your friends can give you Axies for free (lucky you!)

How much does an Axie starter team cost?

At the time of writing, the cheapest Axies cost around $350 on average.

Since you need a team of three Axies, the initial cost of starting an Axie Infinity team is around $1050.

However, if you are reading this weeks or months away from when we wrote this article, these numbers will definitely change a lot!

As with other cryptocurrencies, the prices of Axies are very volatile and will fluctuate a lot due to several factors.

So instead, in the next section we will teach you how to find out for yourself the estimated cost of a starter team in Axie Infinity.

How much do you need to spend to start playing Axie Infinity?

To check how much starter Axies cost, simply go to the Axie Marketplace by clicking on this link.

On the sorting options, sort the Axies by “Lowest Price.” Make sure the “Adult” checkbox is ticked on the search filters.

You can also add more filters if you have decided on what Axies you want to purchase.

The results should give you an idea of you much the cheapest Axies cost in ETH and in USD.

Since you need a team of three to start, multiply the average Axie cost by three and you now get how much initial investment you need to start playing.

Should you invest on more expensive Axies?

The cheapest Axies, sometimes called “floor” Axies, are cheap for a reason. They are usually the ones with a bad combination of stats and body parts that do not have good synergy.

In most cases, Axies that are more expensive than the base price tend to have better body parts, stats and abilities.

Investing on a more expensive team will definitely get you ahead of others.

Having a more powerful team from the beginning means you will get to farm SLPs faster in Adventure and Arena mode.

(Related Guide: How to Earn SLP in Axie Infinity)

So, if you are able to save up a bit before purchasing your first team, we highly recommend avoiding floor Axies for your starter team.

Regardless, as long as you are able to find Axies that give you the best value, even budget starter teams should be enough to get you started.

Don’t worry, you should be able to recoup your initial investment very soon and your future self will thank you later!

What affects Axie prices?

Here are some of the main factors that affect the price of an Axie:

1. Axie’s Body Parts

The “purer” an Axie is—meaning it has more body parts that are the same type as its class—the more valuable it is.

Here’s an example. This Plant class Axie has a pureness of 5/6, meaning 5 out of 6 of its body parts are also Plant type.

This Axie is in most cases better than a Plant Axie with a pureness of 1/6 or only one Plant body part.

A pure Axie will also have higher stat values for its appropriate class. This 5/6 pureness Plant Axie has 58 Health points which is very near to the highest possible value of 61.

At $400, it is significantly more expensive than floor Axies that cost $350 at the time of writing.

2. Axie’s Breed Count

Another factor that affects an Axie’s price is its breed count. This is the number of times the Axie has given birth to an offspring Axie.

(Full Guide: What is Breed Count? How to Breed Axies)

Axies can only breed up to 7 times, so the higher the breed count is, the cheaper the Axie becomes.

An Axie with a 0/7 breed count is called a Virgin Axie and they are more valuable.

For players who simply want to just start playing, you can look out for Axies with a few breed count. You can increase the breed count filter in the Axie Marketplace to look for cheaper Axies who have already bred a few times.

3. Ether Price

Axies are bought using ETH, so one factor that affects Axie prices is the current price of Ethereum.

You can wait for a dip in ETH before buying Axies to save up on a couple of bucks.

In summary, while these are the main factors that affect an Axie’s price, the market is very volatile especially right now where we are seeing an influx of new players.

There will be so many more factors that may drive Axie prices up or down and that will be beyond the scope of this list!

Can I play Axie Infinity for free?

With the sharp increase of Axie prices in recent weeks, new players are looking for ways to start playing Axie Infinity without breaking the bank.

Because of this, Axie Scholarships have been gaining popularity within the community.

(Full Guide: What are Axie Infinity Scholarships and How to Apply as a Scholar)

A Scholarship program, or sometimes called lending programs, is when a player lends his extra Axies to other trusted players or community members.

The Axie lendors, or more commonly known as “managers,” will then take a cut from the borrower/scholar’s earnings for passive income.

Axie Scholarship programs are a win-win situation for both the manager and the scholar because:

It allows new players to start playing the game without spending a single cent
It allows players with extra Axies to earn additional passive income

Conclusion

Aside from scholarships, the developers did mention that they are still looking for ways to let new players play the game for free.

Hopefully these features will go live soon so that the Axie community will grow even more rapidly.

In the meantime however, players who are looking to start playing and earning in Axie Infinity are left with no choice but to either invest on a good starter team, or look for a scholarship manager to start playing for free.

Here are a couple more guides we’ve prepared for your Axie Infinity journey. Good luck!