If you’ve spent any time scrolling TikTok or hanging out with gaming friends, you’ve probably seen clips of wild Apex Legends clutch plays and chaotic squad matches. If you’re a PC player wondering can you get Apex Legends on PC, the short answer is a resounding yes — and it’s completely free to play, no upfront purchase required. This guide walks you through every step of getting the game set up on your machine, plus useful tips to make your first few matches as smooth as possible.
Can You Get Apex Legends on PC? All Platform Options Explained
First, let’s clear up the most common question: Apex Legends is fully supported on PC, and has been since the game first launched back in 2019. You don’t have to pay a cent to download or play the core game, all monetization is limited to cosmetic skins, battle passes, and optional in-game currency that doesn’t give you any competitive advantage. If you’ve been wondering can you get Apex Legends on PC without paying for any extra content, the answer is still yes — all legends and game modes are available for free, no purchase required.
You can download the game from three major PC launchers: Steam, the EA App, and the Epic Games Store. I’ve used all three over the years, and there’s no real difference in game performance or access to updates across any of them. If you already have a Steam account with all your other games on it, that’s the easiest choice. If you play other EA titles like FIFA or The Sims, the EA App will work just as well.
One huge perk of playing on PC is that you get full access to cross-progression support, so any skins, ranks, or unlocks you’ve earned on console or mobile will carry over automatically when you log into your linked EA account. You don’t have to start from scratch if you’re switching over from PlayStation or Xbox, which saves dozens of hours of grinding for your favorite legend skins.
Step-by-Step Process to Download Apex Legends on Your PC
Downloading Apex Legends takes less than 10 minutes of active work, though total download time will depend on your internet speed. The full game takes up roughly 80GB of storage as of the latest season, so make sure you have enough free space on your chosen drive before you start.
The download process is almost identical across all three launchers, and follows these simple steps:
If you run into issues with the download getting stuck, the easiest fix is to pause and resume the download, or restart your launcher. Very rarely, you might have to verify your game files after installation to fix corrupted data, but most of the time the installation process runs without a hitch.
You’ll also get the option to turn on automatic updates when you install the game. I highly recommend turning this on, since Apex releases new season updates every 3 months, plus regular small patches to fix bugs and balance weapons. Automatic updates mean you won’t have to wait for a huge download right when you want to play with friends.
Minimum and Recommended PC System Requirements for Apex Legends
You don’t need a $2,000 gaming PC to run Apex Legends smoothly. The game is surprisingly well optimized, and runs on most mid-range machines built in the last 5 years, even some lower-end budget laptops if you’re willing to turn down some graphics settings. If you’re unsure if your machine can run the game after asking can you get Apex Legends on PC, you can test the minimum specs by downloading the game and trying it on low settings first — since it’s free, you have nothing to lose.
The official minimum specs to run the game at 30 FPS on low settings are: Intel Core i3 6th Gen or AMD equivalent, 8GB of RAM, NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti or AMD Radeon R7 370, 80GB of available storage, and Windows 10 64-bit. If your machine meets these specs, you’ll be able to play, but you might experience occasional frame drops in busy areas of the map.
For a smooth 60+ FPS experience on medium to high settings, the recommended specs are: Intel Core i5 10th Gen or AMD equivalent, 16GB of RAM, NVIDIA RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, and SSD installation. I can’t overstate how big of a difference an SSD makes: load times drop from 2-3 minutes on a hard drive to 30 seconds or less on an SSD, and you won’t experience texture pop-in mid-match that can throw off your aim.
If you play competitively and want 144+ FPS to get the fastest possible reaction time, you’ll want a mid to high-end GPU like an RTX 3060 or higher, paired with 16GB of RAM and a 144Hz monitor. Even with these specs, most competitive players turn down non-essential graphics settings to prioritize frame rate over visual flair.
For players on Mac, you won’t find a native version of Apex Legends available, but you can run it through Windows emulation software like Boot Camp if you have an Intel-based Mac. Performance will vary a lot depending on your specs, so it’s not ideal for competitive play, but it works for casual matches with friends.
Top Tips to Optimize Your Apex Legends PC Gameplay
Once you have the game installed, there are a few small tweaks you can make to get the best possible performance and gameplay experience, no matter what kind of PC you have. These are all tips I’ve picked up after years of playing on both a budget laptop and a high-end desktop, so I know they work.
First, make sure you have updated graphics drivers installed for your NVIDIA or AMD GPU. Both companies release regular driver updates that include specific optimizations for new Apex Legends seasons, and I’ve seen these updates boost FPS by 10-15% on my old laptop with no other setting changes. You can update drivers directly through the NVIDIA GeForce Experience app or AMD Radeon Software, both of which are free to download.
Next, adjust your in-game settings to match your PC’s capabilities. If you’re on a lower-end machine, turn on performance mode in the graphics settings first. This disables non-essential visual effects like ambient occlusion and motion blur, which have almost no impact on gameplay but eat up a lot of GPU resources. Turn down shadow quality next, since shadows are one of the biggest drains on frame rate, and lowering them doesn’t hurt your visibility of other players.
If you’re worried about controller aim assist from console players, you can turn off crossplay in the game settings to only match with other PC players. That’s a personal preference, though: I keep crossplay on most of the time so I can play with my friends who own Xboxes, and I haven’t noticed a big enough difference in matchmaking to justify turning it off.
Finally, close any unnecessary background apps before you launch the game. Browsers with 20 open tabs, streaming apps, and even Discord can eat up a lot of RAM that would otherwise go to the game. If you only have 8GB of RAM, closing these apps can eliminate most frame drops mid-match without you having to change any graphics settings.
At the end of the day, if you’ve been asking can you get Apex Legends on PC, you don’t have to wait any longer to jump in. The game is free, easy to install, runs on almost any modern PC, and you can bring all your existing progress from other platforms with you. Whether you’re looking for casual matches with friends or a competitive ranked grind, Apex on PC offers the most customizable and responsive experience of any platform. If you run into any snags during setup, a quick verify of your game files will fix 90% of common issues, and you’ll be dropping into Kings Canyon before you know it.