> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rafflex.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rafflex.io/helpful-info/creating-a-free-entry-competition.md).

# Creating a Free Entry Competition

Free entry competitions are great for building your email list or just keeping active players loyal to your site.

A free entry competition is one that costs nothing to enter online. Customers add tickets to their basket and check out as normal, but no payment is taken. You set one up in exactly the same way as any other competition, with a ticket price of zero and a few extra points to bear in mind.

If you have not built a competition before, read [Create a Competition](/create-your-first-raffle/create-a-competition.md) first. It explains every field on the form in detail.

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### Step by Step

1. In the **admin panel**, click **Competitions** in the left-hand menu.
2. Click **New Competition**.
3. Fill in the title, description, images, dates and prize details as you normally would.
4. Set **Price** to **0**. Leave **Sale Price** empty.
5. Enter a number in **Max per user**. This is required on a free competition and can be no higher than **25** (see below).
6. Optionally, set **Game Type** to **Sequential Tickets**.
7. Optionally, turn on **Active Players Only** to keep the competition for your recent paying customers (see below).
8. Turn on **Active** when you are ready for the competition to appear on your site.
9. Click **Create**.

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### Max per user Is Required (Up to 25)

As soon as the price is zero, the **Max per user** field becomes required and its helper text changes to **Free products are limited to a maximum of 25 tickets per customer.**

* Enter any number from 1 to 25. This is the total number of free tickets one customer can claim in this competition across all of their orders.
* If you enter a higher number, the form will not save and shows **Free products cannot have more than 25 tickets per customer.** Lower the number and click **Create** again.

Because **Max per user** is always set on a free competition, customers need to be logged in to their account before they can add tickets to their basket. This lets the system check how many free tickets they already have.

{% hint style="info" %}
Not sure how **Max Tickets**, **Max per user** and **Max per order** work together? [How Ticket Limits Work](/create-your-first-raffle/create-a-competition/ticket-limits-explained.md) explains all of the limits, with worked examples.
{% endhint %}

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### Choosing a Game Type

Any game type works, but **Sequential Tickets** is a popular choice for free competitions. Tickets are handed out in order (1, 2, 3 and so on) rather than at random, which keeps things simple for a giveaway. See the **Choose a Game Type** section of [Create a Competition](/create-your-first-raffle/create-a-competition.md) for all the options.

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### What Customers Experience

* Customers log in, choose their tickets and add them to the basket like any other competition.
* They check out as normal, but because the total is zero, no payment is taken.
* Their tickets are allocated straight away, and they receive your usual order confirmation email.

{% hint style="success" %}
**Note:** there are no transaction charges for free entry competitions on [Rafflex](https://rafflex.io).
{% endhint %}

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### Free Competitions and Postal Entries

A free competition is different from the free postal entry route that sits alongside your paid competitions. To learn how the free entry tab works and how to add postal entries to a competition, see the [Free Entry](/additional-settings/free-entry.md) setting.