If you are new to CS:GO or just haven’t played in a while, you might be wondering what the difference is between Prime and Non-Prime accounts and how they work. In this article, we will go over everything you need to know about Prime and Non-Prime accounts in CS:GO.
Non-Prime:
A Non-Prime account is a free-to-play account that you can create without any payment. With a Non-Prime account, you can access all game modes in CS:GO, except that you will be playing with Non-Prime players only, and you will be playing unranked for all three competitive game modes (Competitive, Wingman, and Danger Zone). However, you cannot level up your account or have a skill group or rank for any of those competitive game modes. You will also have a big blue button advertising the Prime status in the Profile tab.
The pros of Non-Prime are that you can play CS:GO for free and still have access to all the game modes. You can also do whatever you want with the game and not really have to worry about getting banned or losing any progress. However, the cons of Non-Prime outweigh the pros. You will be paired with Non-Prime players only, which means that you will most of the time be paired with people who are either hacking or smurfing. Additionally, your account will not be able to make any progress, meaning you won’t be able to level up your account, earn in-game drops, or have a skill group.
Prime:
Prime is a paid status that you can purchase for $14.99. Once you have a Prime account, you will be able to earn levels, get in-game drops, and play and earn a rank for any of the competitively ranked game modes. You will also be paired up with only Prime players, meaning that you will only be able to play with Prime players. This may upset some people not being able to switch between those two modes, but playing with Prime players only is pretty much guaranteeing you matchmaking with a lot fewer hackers.
With a Prime account, you will also get a fancy badge stating that you have Prime and that you’re playing with Prime players. You will also have the ability to play ranked or unranked in any of the competitive game modes. This means you could play Competitive, Wingman, or Danger Zone either seriously or just for fun without having to worry about messing up your rank.
Conclusion:
After hearing about both Prime and Non-Prime, you probably know which decision you’re going to make. If you don’t really care about playing the game seriously and just want to have fun without spending any money, Non-Prime is the way to go for you. However, if you want to take the game a little bit more seriously and unlock all those features in CS:GO, we highly recommend buying Prime.
To check if you already have Prime, go to your Profile tab on CS:GO and see if you have a Prime badge. If you don’t have one, you can buy Prime by clicking the Buy Prime button in the same tab.
We hope this article has helped you understand the difference between Prime and Non-Prime accounts in CS:GO. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them down in the comment section below or hit us up on Discord.