Source-backed analysis9
Review basis
Research-based review: the AppDuo Editorial Team compiled it from official pages, documentation, app stores, press and user feedback, without hands-on testing. Every claim links to a source with the date it was checked.
9 reference sourcesInformation updated Nov 10, 2026
How we review
Garena Review
Publisher of Free Fire and Arena of Valor; free to play, paid via in-game items
By AppDuo Editorial Team · Updated
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
On this page
Decide at a glance
Our verdict
Garena suits players who want popular multiplayer titles such as Free Fire and Arena of Valor with no upfront cost. The trade-offs are a business built on in-game purchases, uneven store ratings across titles and a privacy policy that permits fairly broad data sharing.
Best for: Players who want free-to-download multiplayer mobile games
Skip it if: People who want one-time-purchase games with no in-game spending
Pros
- Main games are free to download and play, on both PC and mobile
- Large scale: Sea's Q2 2026 report says Free Fire averages over 100 million daily active users
- Support center has dedicated sections for parents and for managing minors' accounts
Cons
- Revenue relies on in-game purchases; Garena counted 68.1 million paying users in Q2 2026 (10.2% of players)
- Store ratings are uneven: Arena of Valor (Liên Quân Mobile) sits at 3.4/5 on Google Play Vietnam
All pros and cons · Who is it for?
Pros
- Privacy policy names a data protection contact and sets separate rules for children under 16
Cons
- The privacy policy permits sharing data with ad partners, cross-border transfers and amendments without prior notice
Best for
- Groups of friends who want to play popular titles such as Free Fire or Arena of Valor together
Problems it solves
Experience & key features
What Garena is
Garena is a game developer and publisher founded in Singapore in 2009 and now part of Sea Limited. Its Vietnam homepage says it operates in more than 160 markets. It is not a single app: Garena is both an account system and the publisher of titles such as Free Fire, Arena of Valor (Liên Quân Mobile), FC Online, FC Mobile and Delta Force.
According to Wikipedia, Free Fire was Garena's first self-developed mobile game, launched in 2017, with Free Fire MAX launching globally in 2021. In its Q2 2026 results Sea said Free Fire still averages over 100 million daily active users, while Garena as a whole had 666.3 million quarterly active users and 68.1 million paying users.
Pricing and monetisation
Downloading games and creating an account are free; Garena earns from in-game items. The Free Fire page on the Vietnam App Store lists a 100-Diamond bundle at 25,000-26,000 ₫, level-up packages at 7,000-20,000 ₫ and a Weekly Membership at 62,000 ₫. You can play without buying anything, so what you spend depends on whether you want items at all.
Rules for younger players
Garena Vietnam's privacy policy says it does not collect data on children under 16 without parental or guardian consent and will lock non-compliant accounts. Separately, according to Vietnamnet, Decree 147/2024/NĐ-CP, effective 25 December 2024, limits under-18s to 60 minutes per game per day and requires online accounts to be verified by phone number. These rules apply to all publishers in Vietnam, not only Garena.
More analysis
Compared with alternatives
Garena differs from Steam or Epic Games Store in being a publisher of its own titles rather than a storefront for many studios. For buying PC games one by one, Steam or Epic fit better; to play Free Fire or Arena of Valor with friends, Garena is effectively the only route.
Screenshots
Plans & pricing
Prices last verified Nov 10, 2026
Chơi miễn phí
PersonalFree
The account and the main games such as Free Fire and Arena of Valor (Liên Quân Mobile) are free to download and play. Revenue comes from in-game purchases.
Mua trong game (ví dụ Free Fire)
PersonalContact sales
Per the Free Fire page on the Vietnam App Store: 100-Diamond bundle 25,000-26,000 ₫, level-up packages 7,000-20,000 ₫, Weekly Membership 62,000 ₫, Membership Lite 19,000 ₫. Prices may change.
- Free plan limits
- Free accounts have no locked features; items, skins and perks are bought with real money inside each game.
- Free trial
- No free trial
Cancellation & refunds
Garena Vietnam's support center mentions a refund policy, but the pages reviewed do not spell out the terms. Purchases through the App Store or Google Play also follow each store's own rules.
Privacy
The Vietnam privacy policy is issued by Vietnam Esports and Entertainment Joint Stock Company and its affiliates. Garena collects data when you register, transact, contact support or link a social account: IP address, device information, play history, and possibly ID documents and precise location via GPS or Wi-Fi. It is used to run services, support, advertising and marketing, and may be shared with partners and service providers inside and outside Vietnam and transferred abroad. You can withdraw consent, request deletion via [email protected] and opt out of personalised ads on your device. Garena says it does not collect data on children under 16 without parental consent. It reserves the right to amend the policy at any time without prior notice, and may refuse deletion where the law requires retention.
Garena alternatives
7.2/10Steam
Valve's PC game store, library and community, partly blocked in Vietnam
7.1/10Roblox
A platform for playing and building community-made games, popular with children
Frequently asked questions
Is Garena free?
Yes. Main games such as Free Fire and Arena of Valor are free to download and play, with optional in-game purchases (per the App Store listing).
Who owns Garena?
Garena belongs to Sea Limited, a Singapore-headquartered group that also runs Shopee and Monee, per Sea's Q2 2026 results release.
Are children limited when playing Garena games?
The privacy policy requires parental consent for children under 16. Under Decree 147/2024/NĐ-CP, under-18s may play each game for at most 60 minutes per day.
How do I request deletion of my data?
The privacy policy says you can email [email protected] with a personal-data deletion request in the subject; Garena may refuse where the law requires retention.
Review evidence & sources9
Scores
- Ease of use
- 7.0
- Features
- 7.5
- Value for money
- 7.0
- Performance
- 6.5
- Support
- 6.5
- Privacy & security
- 5.5
Why this score
Sign-in works with Facebook, Google and Apple accounts, and games install straight from the app stores. There is little independent evidence on day-to-day experience, so the score stays moderate.
Why this score
Per the Garena Vietnam homepage, the catalogue spans Free Fire, Arena of Valor, FC Online, FC Mobile, Delta Force and other titles, plus Garena PC.
Why this score
Free to download and play, but items are priced separately (a 100-Diamond bundle at 25,000-26,000 ₫ on the Vietnam App Store) and total spend is up to the player.
Why this score
Free Fire scores 4.3/5 on Google Play and 4.0/5 on the Vietnam App Store, while Arena of Valor sits at 3.4/5 on Google Play, so the score is mid-range.
Why this score
The support center has FAQs, request forms and a parents' section; no response-time data is available.
Why this score
Wide data collection (including precise location when permitted), sharing with ad partners, overseas transfers and amendments without notice, partly offset by a named data contact and rules for under-16s.
What users say
- App Store (Vietnam) - Free Fire4.0/5 · 1,300,000
- Google Play (Vietnam) - Free Fire4.3/5 · 130,000,000
- Google Play (Vietnam) - Garena Liên Quân Mobile3.4/5 · 6,670,000
Sources
- Vendor-providedGarena Vietnam homepageNov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedGarena Vietnam privacy policyNov 10, 2026
- Vendor-providedGarena Vietnam support centerNov 10, 2026
- storeFree Fire on the App Store (Vietnam)Nov 10, 2026
- storeFree Fire on Google Play (Vietnam)Nov 10, 2026
- storeGarena Liên Quân Mobile on Google Play (Vietnam)Nov 10, 2026
- Community-reportedWikipedia: GarenaNov 10, 2026
- pressSea Limited Q2 2026 results (Barchart)Nov 10, 2026
- pressVietnamnet: Nghị định 147/2024/NĐ-CPNov 10, 2026
Specs & compatibility
- Developer
- Sea Limited (Garena)
- Headquarters
- Singapore
- Launched
- 2009
- Category
- Entertainment
Capabilities
- Mobile app
Platforms
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
Interface languages
- Vietnamese
- English
Integrations
- Apple (đăng nhập)
Support
- Help center
- Live chat
Change history
- Update.Decree 147/2024/NĐ-CP took effect: under-18s limited to 60 minutes per game per day, online accounts verified by phone number.
- Company.The parent company became Sea Ltd after raising US$550 million; Garena kept its name for the gaming arm.
- Launch.Forrest Li founded Garena in Singapore.
About the author
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