World of Warcraft is now available for Windows 98/ME/2000/XP and Macintosh formats. Players can opt to purchase the World of Warcraft standard edition at a suggested retail price of $49.99 in the United States, or the World of Warcraft collector's edition for a suggested retail price of $79.99. Both versions include a free one-month subscription to the game. The special collector's edition also includes a World of Warcraft behind-the-scenes DVD, an exclusive in-game pet, a cloth map of the game world, a soundtrack CD, an Art of the World of Warcraft coffee-table book, and a commemorative game manual signed by the development team.

After the initial free one-month subscription ends, players of World of Warcraft can continue playing under one of three different subscription plans. The month-to-month subscription plan costs $14.99 per month, the three-month plan costs $13.99 per month, and the six-month plan costs $12.99 per month. World of Warcraft subscription fees can be paid by major credit card, PayPal and pre-paid game cards, which are available in stores where World of Warcraft is sold. World of Warcraft has received a Teen rating from the ESRB.