Players can unlock some skins for free during events or holidays in Fortnite, but most cosmetics cost V-Bucks, which can usually be bought with real money. There are alternative ways to get V-Bucks in Fortnite, however, allowing you to occasionally unlock skins. Even if you have a disposable income and can comfortably purchase V-Bucks, it’s hard to say no to them when they’re offered for free. Growing their skin collection is one of the ultimate goals of most Fortnite players and it can only be achieved by accumulating more V-Bucks.
Are There Legitimate Ways to Get Free V-Bucks?
There are only a few ways to earn free V-Bucks in Fortnite without spending money, so you may need to pay up if you’re looking to unlock many cosmetic items. Here are our tips for earning free V-Bucks in Fortnite.
Stay Away from Sketchy Websites
When players search “free V-Bucks” on Google, they’ll be greeted with many shady websites and YouTube videos that instruct players to download software or direct them to a website where they’ll be required to enter their login details.
There’s no V-Bucks glitch or a way that will guarantee you massive amounts of V-Bucks for free. Don’t download any third-party programs that claim to give away free V-Bucks and never type your login details into websites that you aren’t familiar with. Don’t fall victim to any scam while on your search for free V-Bucks since your account and cyber security will always be more important.
In real life, I generally witness young players fall for these scams on such websites since they also feature videos to convince them that their trick works. If you have a sibling or a younger relative, explain them to keep their distance from such websites to avoid installing shady programs.
Join Tournaments
If you’re a competitive Fortnite player, you may feel drawn to playing ranked in Fortnite. While the game’s arena mode allows players to compete in an equally competitive platform, there are more rewarding ways that players can play the game to earn either cash or V-Bucks.
In-game or third-party tournaments with prize pools will be the perfect places for competitive players to earn either V-Bucks or money. One of the downsides of this method is that there might always be delays when it comes to processing rewards. Even if you win a tournament, it will take a few days before you receive your rewards, which can be annoying at times.
In addition to the in-game tournaments that Epic organizes, players can find various other online tournaments on organizer websites. Most of these tournaments will be hosted by third parties like content creators or sponsors, and each tournament may have different rules. Make sure to read all the terms and conditions before signing up for a tournament since getting disqualified for something you didn’t know will cause your time investment to go down the drain.
Stay Up to Date with Redeem Codes
Though it’s not an everyday occurrence, Epic releases redeem codes for Fortnite, rewarding players with in-game cosmetics once they use them. These redeem codes often come out during big events and players will need to redeem them for their accounts to claim the rewards.
As of April 2024, there are no available redeem codes in Fortnite, but you can check back here since we’ll be updating this article when a new redeem code becomes available.
To redeem item shop codes, you’ll need to:
- Visit the official Fortnite website and log in with your account.
- Click on your profile picture in the top right and then “Redeem Code” in the dropdown menu.
- Enter the code in the provided field.
- Open Fortnite to confirm you received the item.
Expired Fortnite item shop codes include:
| Code | Redeemed |
|---|---|
| PAX7N-79CGE-NMW6T-C9NZG | No |
| FAT6P-PPE2E-4WQKV-UXP95 | No |
| Y2429-69CD3-WMYNS-Y64V2 | No |
| 8Z35X-3ZWAB-BC57H-EQTQZ | No |
| P2XY4-QB7Z8-Y6GVZ-KZZBT | No |
| C64MD-U62R2-2B6ZM-6EQ4L | No |
| YNQJ7-4EVUP-RJDMT-ENRK6 | No |
| Z4A33-NLKR2-V9X34-G3682 | No |
Use a Refund Token
If you’re only wondering how you can earn free V-Bucks because you spent your last one on a skin that you didn’t like, fear not. All Fortnite accounts are granted three refund tokens, which allow them to return the cosmetics they bought and get back their precious V-Bucks.
This method only gives you back the V-Bucks that you spent on the skin that you return, though, and the cap on tokens will limit their usage. It’s still worth using them to get your V-Bucks back for a purchase that you weren’t satisfied with.
Every year, players will be given one refund token. This change was implemented in Patch 18.2. Before that, players would run out of refunds forever after using all of them.
Though accidental purchases happen, a refund system such as this one is necessary to prevent players from abusing the system. If that wasn’t the case, most players would purchase a skin and wear it for a few days only to refund it, which would damage Epic’s revenue stream.
Honorable Mentions
These methods aren’t entirely free, but if you’re already going to spend money on Fortnite, you might as well follow them to get more bang for your buck.
Unlock the V-Bucks rewards in your battle pass. The battle pass itself costs money, but you can earn back your investment and then some. Fortnite has been allowing players to only unlock the tiers that they like in the battle pass, meaning players can unlock the V-Buck rewards immediately if they have enough Battle Stars.
Once you start profiting from your initial battle pass investment, you can save up the additional V-Bucks and use them to purchase other cosmetics that you may like.
Purchase V-Bucks in bulk. If you don’t need your V-Bucks right away, it might be wiser to save your cash to purchase your V-Bucks at a later date when you have more money. The bigger V-Bucks packages reward players with more bonus V-Bucks, and once you start purchasing your V-Bucks in bulk, you’ll get more V-Bucks for your investment.
Check out promotional deals. On rare occasions, Epic teams up with manufacturers or producers for promotion deals. There have been cases where players who purchased specific goods or services received codes that could be used in Fortnite. While this method isn’t entirely free, if you also need the item you purchase, then getting V-Bucks alongside it will be a sweet deal.
