As in other MMORPGs, players must pay the publisher (NCSoft) a monthly fee to continue playing City of Villains. Portions of the subscription costs go to supporting a full-time "live" team, which develops additional content for the game; other portions support the significant server maintenance and bandwidth costs. In addition to paying subscription fees via credit card, another option is pre-paid cards that are available at video game retailers. Once purchased, the player inputs a code from the card and their account is updated to allow as many months of play as the card is good for.
Both City of Heroes and City of Villains are included in the same monthly fee. It does not increase your monthly fee if you buy the version of the game you are missing.
Payment options
US dollars
  1 month for $14.99
  3 months for $41.85 ($13.95 per month)
  6 months for $77.70 ($12.95 per month)
  12 months for $143.40 ($11.95 per month)
Beginning April 5, 2006, NC soft began adding sales tax to the above subscription charges for customers living in the states of California, Texas, Arizona, and Minnesota, due to having a legal business presence in those states.
Euros
  1 month for ?12.99
  3 months for ?34.99 (?11.66 per month)
  6 months for ?64.99 (?10.83 per month)
British pounds Sterling
  1 month for ?8.99
  3 months for ?23.99 (?7.99 per month)
  6 months for ?44.99 (?7.49 per month)