Hi,
I am a student and I would like to download this just to play around with it and make a few tech demos to see what UE4 is capable of, and maybe to add to my portfolio. So is there someway I could download this for free, since I am not actually going to release anything, or do I still need to pay?
Yes. You will have to pay the USD19$ for subscription if you wishes to use as far as mass market is concern.
Unless you have a special permissions/licensing from Epic , I dont’ see how that will differ.
Read more here : Frequently Asked Questions - Unreal Engine
Well you can cancel the subscription and you won’t receive any future updates or be able to access to the Marketplace. But you will keep the Engine itself. I’ll be sticking to the payments. And for only $20 for a C++ Engine is a steal. And UE4 is exceeded my expectations. I never though I could do so much without having to do any scripting.
As mentioned, we do not offer a free or trial version of UE4, and it is $19 a month for a user license and subscription with the ability to cancel anytime and continue using the tools you have already acquired. We do offer a deal for educational institutions where they can pay for one license and allow access to all students. You may wish to discuss this with your school.
Cheers