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Best free Minecraft launchers
Launcher, client and mod manager in one: here is how Arctic compares, point by point, with sources.
Which launcher for what
- Free skins, capes, cosmetics and emotes
- Arctic Launcher. Built in, free, and seen by every Arctic player.
- Mods and modpacks from Modrinth
- Arctic Launcher. Fabric, Quilt, NeoForge and Forge, with .mrpack and dependencies handled.
- A client with HUD, Zoom, Freelook and replays
- Arctic Launcher. Arctic Client is built in, with over thirty HUD widgets.
- Friends, chat and voice, with a direct connection
- Arctic Launcher. Add friends by code; Play together needs no port forwarding.
- Coming from another launcher or client
- Arctic Launcher. It imports from nine launchers and the HUD layouts of LabyMod, Lunar, Badlion and Feather.
- Bedrock Edition
- Arctic Launcher. Play Minecraft for Windows, switch its version, and manage worlds, packs and servers.
- Other Mojang games
- The Minecraft Launcher, alongside Arctic, which uses the same account.
Arctic Launcher vs…
- Prism LauncherEverything Prism does for instances, mods and modpacks, plus what it leaves to you: free cosmetics and emotes, a built-in client, replays, friends and voice chat.Compare
- Modrinth AppThe same Modrinth mods and modpacks, plus free cosmetics and emotes, a built-in client and voice chat, in one small native app.Compare
- TLauncherWhat TLauncher is known for (one-click Forge and Fabric, skins, modpacks), but open source, with cosmetics every Arctic player sees and a built-in client.Compare
- Minecraft LauncherThe official launcher plays vanilla. Arctic uses the same Microsoft account and Mojang's game files, then adds mods, cosmetics, a built-in client, profiles and friends.Compare
- CurseForgeA launcher made for Minecraft: free, with no ads or premium tier, open source, with cosmetics, a built-in client and friends.Compare
What Arctic Launcher offers
- Price
- Free, no ads, no premium tier
- Open source
- Yes (GPL-3.0)
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS and Linux
- Mods
- Fabric, Quilt, NeoForge and Forge with Modrinth mods and modpacks (.mrpack too), plus resource packs and shaders
- Cosmetics
- Free skins, capes (animated too), 3D cosmetics and emotes that other Arctic players see in game
- Client
- Arctic Client built in: over thirty HUD widgets, Zoom, Freelook, waypoints, minimap, replays, four menu styles
- Friends
- Friends, chat, screenshots and proximity voice chat
Facts about other launchers were checked October 2026 against their own sites and repositories.