Free Alternatives to Age of Empires
Short answer
0 A.D. is the best free alternative to Age of Empires: a historical real-time strategy game with the same gather-build-tech-attack loop, free and open-source under GPL, with no monetisation of any kind.
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is excellent and it is not free. If you want the villager hum, the resource economy and the massed-army push without paying, one free game targets that formula directly — and it looks considerably better than you would expect.
Our pick: 0 A.D.
0 A.D. is a historical RTS built explicitly in the Age of Empires mould: gather, build, tech up, mass an army. Production values rival commercial releases.
How it differs from Age of Empires: Still formally in alpha, though it has been comfortably playable for years. Fewer civilisations than AoE2's Definitive Edition, and no ranked matchmaking service.
All free Age of Empires alternatives compared
| Game | Genre | Size | Licence | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 A.D. | RTS · Strategy | 3.0 GB | Open Source (GPL-2.0) | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| OpenRA | RTS · Strategy | 350 MB | Open Source (GPL-3.0) | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Warzone 2100 | RTS · Strategy | 550 MB | Open Source (GPL-2.0) | Windows, macOS, Linux |
0 A.D.
0 A.D. is a historical RTS built explicitly in the Age of Empires mould: gather, build, tech up, mass an army. Production values rival commercial releases.
The difference: Still formally in alpha, though it has been comfortably playable for years. Fewer civilisations than AoE2's Definitive Edition, and no ranked matchmaking service.
0 A.D. clears all five. It is formally still in alpha, but it has been comfortably playable and content-complete for years, and its production values match commercial historical strategy games that charge full price.
OpenRA
If what you want is the base-building and army-massing rather than the historical setting, OpenRA delivers the same loop at a much faster tempo.
The difference: No villagers or gathering economy in the AoE sense — resources come from harvesters and refineries. Sharper, shorter matches.
OpenRA clears all five: genuinely free with no monetisation, stable and complete, actively developed, good enough to recommend at full price, and open-source under GPL-3.0 so nothing can take it away.
Warzone 2100
Warzone 2100 scratches the tech-tree itch harder than AoE does, with a research system that unlocks hundreds of components.
The difference: Futuristic setting, no population of civilian workers, much heavier emphasis on research order.
Warzone 2100 clears all five: free with no monetisation, a complete commercial game with a full campaign, still actively maintained after being open-sourced, genuinely good on its own merits, and permanently available under GPL.
Questions
What is the best free alternative to Age of Empires?
0 A.D. is the best free alternative to Age of Empires: a historical real-time strategy game with the same gather-build-tech-attack loop, free and open-source under GPL, with no monetisation of any kind.
Are these Age of Empires alternatives really free?
Yes. Every game listed here is free with no trial, no paywalled content and no pay-to-win purchases. All are open-source, which means they cannot be delisted or shut down. Each has been assessed against PlayBound's five published criteria.
Do I need to pay for multiplayer in these Age of Empires alternatives?
No. None of these games charge for multiplayer. Public servers are community-run and free to join, and there is no subscription of any kind.
How is 0 A.D. different from Age of Empires?
Still formally in alpha, though it has been comfortably playable for years. Fewer civilisations than AoE2's Definitive Edition, and no ranked matchmaking service.
How is OpenRA different from Age of Empires?
No villagers or gathering economy in the AoE sense — resources come from harvesters and refineries. Sharper, shorter matches.
How is Warzone 2100 different from Age of Empires?
Futuristic setting, no population of civilian workers, much heavier emphasis on research order.
Every game here has been assessed against the PlayBound Bar — five published criteria for whether a free game is actually worth your time.