iRacing free trials, discounts, and promo codes

iRacing has no free trial. There is no “try it free” period and no demo. The closest thing to free is the FIA/ASN promo, which gets you a full 12-month subscription for about $10. Short of that, every new account already gets a permanent 30% discount.

Is there an iRacing free trial?

No. Unlike most subscription games, iRacing never runs a no-cost trial window. What people mean when they ask is usually one of three real things: the standing 30% new-member discount, the FIA promo (12 months for ~$10), or referral credits. The FIA promo is the only path that’s nearly free, so start there if you qualify.

The 30% new-member discount

Every new account is billed at 30% off, shown on the membership page as “NEW MEMBERSHIPS ARE 30% OFF.” This is the default, not a code you have to hunt for.

Term	New-member price	Regular	Per month
1 month	$9.10	$13.00	$9.10
3 months	$23.10	$33.00	$7.70
1 year	$77.00	$110.00	$6.42
2 years	$139.30	$199.00	$5.80

Prices exclude tax/VAT. iRacing has run deeper new-member promos at times (50% off the first month, quarter, or year has appeared), and the membership page has a promo-code field, so check it before you pay. Treat 30% as the reliable floor. The base subscription already includes a usable car and track set (Mazda MX-5, Formula Vee), so a beginner can race without buying a single piece of content — see getting started for the first sessions to run.

The FIA / ASN promo: 12 months + free F4 car for ~$10

This is the single most-asked-about iRacing deal, and it’s real. A small donation to your national FIA Member Club (ASN) gets you a full 12-month subscription, the base content set (30 cars / 27 tracks), plus the FIA Formula 4 car, which is otherwise a paid car.

• New accounts only. It cannot be applied to an existing membership.
• Cost: a donation to your local ASN, commonly cited around $10 (C$10 in Canada via ASN Canada at asncanada.ca/esports).
• How to claim: contact your national FIA club’s esports arm. If you can’t find it, email esports@fia.com.
• Timeline: expect 1–2 weeks of back-and-forth, then they email a promo code you redeem at signup.
• Availability varies by country. It’s confirmed working in the US and Canada. Germany, Poland, and other regions depend on whether the local club runs the program, so ask your ASN directly.

Sign up directly at iracing.com rather than through Steam. The promo code applies cleanly to a direct account, downloads are smaller, and account-name fixes are easier to sort out.

Black Friday and seasonal renewal discounts

The 30% new-member rate does not repeat. Once your cheap first year is up, the main recurring discount is the Black Friday sale, which runs annually into early December: 25% off 1- and 2-year renewals. That puts a 12-month renewal at $82.50 and a 24-month renewal at $149.25. Many veterans renew two years every Black Friday, landing around $75/year.

Participation credits and content discounts

Race 8 of 12 weeks in a season to earn a participation credit, up to about $10 per season, and active members report up to ~$40/year across all activity. Credits offset content purchases and expire 24 months from the grant date. Individual cars run about $11.95 and tracks $11.95–$14.95; buying 6+ items at once triggers a bulk discount, and owning 40+ items unlocks a permanent 20% loyalty discount. The ongoing cost drops the more you race, and the full breakdown lives in the subscription and content cost guide.

Promo codes and referral credits: what’s real vs noise

Three things get conflated in forum posts:

• The official promo-code field at signup — real, used for the FIA code and any active seasonal promo.
• Referral credits — real but not a price cut, and only the referring member benefits. When you sign up, enter the referring member’s email; they get a $10 credit (usable for cars, tracks, or extending their membership). The new member gets nothing extra, and the credit can’t be applied to a membership offer costing $10 or less.
• “Free 3-month subscription code” DM posts — treat these as noise. There is no general-purpose free 3-month code floating around; the legitimate near-free path is the FIA promo.

How to time your signup

The cheapest route, in order:

1. Claim the FIA promo for year one if it’s available in your country — 12 months plus the F4 car for ~$10.
2. If the FIA promo isn’t available, take the 30% new-member 2-year term ($139.30, ~$5.80/mo).
3. After your first term, renew on Black Friday for 25% off a 2-year term (~$75/year).
4. Race 8 of 12 weeks each season to bank participation credits against content.

Once you’re racing, Startlight ($9.99 iOS app, Home Screen widget, and Apple Watch app) shows which session is running now, what’s next, and time-to-green so you don’t miss the series you signed up to race.