Today, there are hundreds of websites where you can buy Steam keys.
And while some of them bring real value to players such as offering cheap prices or having a broad assortment of games that aren’t possible to find on Steam anymore; for example, Skyrim Legendary Edition.
The other majority of these websites were created just to trick users into buying Steam keys at a higher price they sometimes don’t even receive.
Therefore, I have decided to gather a list of best places to buy Steam keys in one comprehensive article so that it would be the only guide every beginner needs to read before buying cheap Steam keys on third-party websites.
I have been buying Steam keys for 6 years and came to the conclusion that it is OK to buy them on Steam only if you do this once a year or less. But if you do this frequently, that’s a big deal.
To illustrate, I buy at least 2 games a month and using these websites saved me $362 in the past year.
I know how hard it is to start buying Steam keys online.
Personally, I have spent almost a week researching forums before I made my first purchase. It was very scary, especially in 2014, when the Internet wasn’t the usual place for shopping.
And up until now, I have tested many different places to buy Steam keys online and I can say with certainty where you should do this as well.
First of all, I will share with you my go-to website where I purchase Steam games all the time and then we will go over a ranked list of best places to buy Steam keys from the best to worst that I use in case I haven't found a game in my favorite one or they offer better prices.
So, let’s get started.
What is the Best Place to Buy Steam Keys?
If you want a quick answer, Green Man Gaming is the best place to buy Steam keys.
I have been using the platform for more than 2 years and I never was disappointed.
They always offer generous discounts even for the most-anticipated games of the year on the day they start being available and you don’t have to wait for Steam’s special sale in order to get the game at a reasonable price.
Moreover, if you are looking for a game that wasn’t released recently, you’ll be able to get at least 50% off. For example, right now you can buy Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Siege Deluxe Edition with a 71% discount at $8.71 while its original price is $29.99.
So, if you want to find a secure place to buy Steam keys at the lowest price, go with Green Man Gaming.
But in case you are looking for a very rare game that you weren’t able to find there, make sure to check other platforms I have listed below. Personally, when I was looking for STALKER: Call of Pripyat, the best STALKER game, I managed to find it only on GamersGate, a platform we will overview in this article later.
So now let’s take a closer look at each website where you can buy cheap Steam keys.
Best Places to Buy Steam Keys (Ranked)
1. Green Man Gaming
As has been already mentioned, Green Man Gaming is the best place to buy Steam keys, but let’s review it completely.
First and foremost, I believe that pricing is the most important factor when it comes to choosing the best place to buy Steam keys and Green Man Gaming wins other websites almost all the time in this category.
Their homepage is always filled with delicious deals for the newest games and pre-purchases that are hard to say no to, and you are not likely to find such offers on other platforms.
Secondly, it is worth noting that Green Man Gaming is an official partner of big game publishing companies and that is actually the reason why you always can buy or even pre-purchase games with a discount on the same day they appear on Steam.
Besides that, Green Man Gaming has been doing business for more than 10 years, so you can be sure they won’t deceive you. It can also be proven by tens of thousands of positive reviews on Trustpilot.
Even if you got stuck with the service, their customer support team is available 24/7 and you will be able to deal with any kind of a problem quickly. Moreover, the platform has a very active community where you can discuss whatever you want in the world of gaming.
The only disadvantage I find on Green Man Gaming is that although they have a big assortment of games, sometimes it lacks good old titles released 10+ years ago. At the same time, I can understand them because supplying these products might be unprofitable.
Overall score: 4.9/5
2. CDKeys
Whereas Green Man Gaming is my favorite place to buy Steam keys, CDKeys is almost no different from it.
As well as Green Man Gaming, CDKeys is an official partner of big game publishers and you can be sure that this is a trustworthy company. It can also be proved by their Trustpilot profile which has even more positive feedback than Green Man Gaming.
I use these platforms interchangeably because both of them have great deals and sometimes the discount on CDKeys might be even bigger than on Green Man Gaming.
Moreover, I enjoy using CDKeys more than Green Man Gaming because their website is easier to navigate and its design is very clean.
The next thing I like about CDKeys is their assortment of games. It is one of the biggest among these websites and this is my go-to place in case I don’t find a game on Green Man Gaming.
On the other hand, I don’t understand why they have a different initial price from Green Man Gaming or other platforms. They always offer a discount, but the starting price is way bigger which makes its comparison a little confusing. To illustrate, while CDKeys may have a 75% discount on a certain title, the price on Green Man Gaming is lower with only 60%.
Another drawback of CDKeys is the absence of a place where the community could discuss the platform which makes it a little intimidating for new users to get started using it. However, I have been using it for a long time, and I can assure you that this is a safe place to buy Steam keys.
All in all, CDKeys is one of the best places to buy Steam keys with great deals and the biggest assortment of games available. So, make sure to use it along with Green Man Gaming in order to get the most advantageous deals.
Overall score: 4.8/5
3. Fanatical
The next best place to buy Steam keys that I want to share with you is Fanatical.
I have discovered it pretty much recently, and I have a feeling that it may be even better than previously mentioned CDKeys and Green Man Gaming.
Fanatical is also an authorized Steam key reseller which works only with game developers and publishers directly. Even though, as a brand, Fanatical is new to the industry, the company behind it seems to be one of the most experienced in the business as they have been selling video games since 1995. And if you remember Bundle Stars, a website that was focused primarily on selling packages of Steam games at unbelievably low prices, it was their creation too.
Actually, Fanatical is the good old Bundle Stars and in addition to Steam keys, they still sell unbelievably cheap bundles. For example, at the moment of writing this article, I could get a package of games worth $197.90 only for $3.99 which includes the following titles:
- Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter ($49.99)
- Tropico 4: Collectors Bundle ($24.99)
- Niffelheim ($19.99)
- Gray Dawn ($19.99)
- Windscape ($19.99)
- Lifeless Planet Premier Edition ($19.99)
- Sorcery! Parts 1 and 2 ($12.99)
- Sorcery! Part 3 ($9.99)
- Sorcery! Part 4 ($9.99)
- Internet Cafe Simulator ($9.99)
And if I hadn’t already owned the Sherlock Holmes and Tropico 4, I would have bought it immediately.
When it comes to separate Steam keys, Fanatical is no worse than Green Man Gaming or CDKeys. Oftentimes, their prices are way better; therefore, I highly encourage you to always check this place to buy Steam keys before making your final decision.
My favorite part about this store is special sales that allow saving up to 97% for amazing AAA titles. Fanatical updates offers every week, and if you want to get a cool game on Steam almost for free, make sure to visit their sales page from time to time.
In addition to this, you can find a featured deal on the homepage which sells a limited amount of keys for a popular game at a really low price.
Now let’s talk about how well Fanatical is doing their job.
From my personal experience of using this website to buy Steam keys for about half a year, I can assure you that it’s totally safe. I have made 14 purchases and all of them went well.
I understand that it’s not enough data to make any conclusions, so I have also checked what the Internet is saying about them.
I was impressed to see their rating on Trustpilot. It turns out that Fanatical has better TrustScore than CDKeys and Green Man Gaming. And it’s not due to the low number of reviews; in fact, they have even more comments on the profile.
In conclusion, it is fair to say that Fanatical also deserves the title of the best place to buy Steam keys and I recommend comparing the price for your game here as well. Moreover, if you’re a fan of sudden purchases, you must add this website to the bookmarks and constantly check it, because they put new games on sale every day, offer incredibly cheap bundles with really cool titles, and hold interesting events, especially during holidays.
Overall score: 4.7/5
4. IndieGala
Another great place where you can buy cheap Steam keys is IndieGala.
IndieGala is an authorized Steam keys reseller and if you’re looking for the best deals on new games, you should keep an eye on it as well.
The thing I like the most about this platform is its special sales. Here, you can find awesome collections of games, usually sorted by a developer or genre, at unbelievably cheap prices, which also helps to find new titles in case you’re not sure what to play.
On top of that, if you buy games a lot and there aren’t enough AAA titles for you, IndieGala is the best place to discover deals for indie games.
Overall score: 4.5/5
5. GamersGate
On the fifth place of my list is GamersGate.
This is another secure reseller which gets keys only from official distributors.
Sometimes, they have pretty much decent pricing for new gaming releases and pre-purchases that even better than on my favorite platforms, CDKeys and Green Man Gaming. And if you don’t mind the disadvantages I will talk a bit later, that’s an amazing website where you can buy Steam keys as well.
Besides the cheap prices, GamersGate also offers a broad assortment of games which includes even very rare titles such as STALKER: Call of Pripyat which I wasn’t able to find anywhere else.
Now let’s consider its drawbacks.
First of all, I dislike their website design.
You may feel differently, but in my opinion, it looks like the platform hasn’t been renovated since 2009. I also believe this scares away a lot of new customers because they simply think that it doesn’t work any longer.
And the second big problem with GamersGate is a terrible service to their customers.
As they stated:
In order to prevent fraudulent activities, your purchase may be put on hold for the next 24 hours.
And boy, this happens very frequently, especially if you use VPN, buying many games within a short period of time, having multiple accounts on the platform, or performing any other type of activity which may seem suspicious (it is very bad that even they cannot define clearly what it means).
All in all, GamersGate is also a good service that provides one of the cheapest pricing and sometimes their deals are way better than on Green Man Gaming or CDKeys, so if a sudden 24-hour hold is not a problem for you, feel free to buy Steam keys here.
Overall score: 4.3/5
6. ENEBA
Relatively to other stores, ENEBA has the biggest stock of Steam keys and the cheapest price almost all the time. However, this isn’t a reseller, but a marketplace. And in addition to game developers and publishers, they also work with big Steam key distributors. This is the reason why their price is competitive and the assortment is always filled with all kinds of games.
But if ENEBA has the biggest amount of games and the lowest price, why isn’t it the best place to buy Steam keys? Why don’t I put it on the first place?
Well, as I mentioned earlier, this is a marketplace, not a reseller which means that ENEBA can’t ensure that all of the transactions on their platform will go smoothly and there is a little chance that you may receive a code to another game or the one that is already in use.
However, according to reviews, this happens very rarely; and personally, this has never happened to me despite the fact that I have started to make more and more purchases here since their prices are really astonishing and although there is a small probability to receive not what I ordered, I mind it because I still save a lot of money even if I buy the same game twice.
Moreover, they have customer support which will solve your problem fast by providing a replacement or issuing a refund in case this happens.
With that said, ENEBA is the best place to buy Steam keys at the lowest price and if you haven’t managed to find your game on the previously mentioned websites, you are likely to succeed here because they have the biggest assortment as well.
But if your game is actually available on one of them and its price is almost no different, I would suggest spending a couple of cents more in order to avoid even the slightest chance that something will go wrong and you will have to waste your precious time contacting the support.
Overall score: 4.1/5
7. Voidu
Voidu is another official online key distribution platform which I recommend only for checking out their special deals.
When it comes to the new games, it is not the best place to buy Steam keys.
Also, sometimes you can get an old game with a huge discount but due to their small assortment, the chances of this are low.
Another disadvantage of this website is bad navigation.
Thus, if you want to buy a game you don’t know the name of; you’d better find it somewhere else in advance.
So, make sure to check it out from time to time, but don’t treat it as the main place to buy Steam keys.
Overall score: 3.6/5
8. Kinguin
And the last website on my list of the best places to buy Steam keys is Kinguin.
I have never recommended using this one before because after reading many negative reviews, I thought that being scammed is the only thing you can get here.
But when I saw a game I wanted for less than $4, while on other websites it was at least $20, I had finally decided to try this platform. And you know what? Everything went fine. Then, I bought a couple of keys again and, to my surprise, they worked too. Now I use it quite often; nevertheless, if the game on another platform is more expensive for up to $1, I still prefer not to risk and pay additional fees for complete safety.
But what’s the problem with Kinguin and why many people leave so much negative feedback about it?
Let’s begin with the fact that as well as ENEBA, Kinguin is a marketplace; but at the same time, there is a big difference between them. In addition to verified distributors, Kinguin also allows selling Steam keys to everyone. Like literally everyone, even you, can set up a seller account and start trading games on their platform. Therefore, there are many people who want to take advantage of the system and sell keys that don’t work or already in use from newly created accounts in order to trick others and make some quick cash.
And my guess is that people who were scammed on Kinguin have bought games exactly from these merchants.
Can you protect yourself from this? Easily! Let me show you how.
All you need to do is to make sure you’re buying a Steam key from a verified seller.
Firstly, take a look at whether the seller has a badge such as “Recommended Seller”, “Trusted Seller”, “Super Seller”, or “Official Publisher”.
Secondly, check their rating and number of completed deals. From my experience, they should have at least 10,000 deals and most of them must be positively rated.
If any of these criteria doesn’t match, don’t buy from this seller. Scroll down to see more offers and check other distributors the same way.
Another way to keep yourself safe from being scammed is by buying Steam keys under Kinguin Buyer Protection.
Even though it requires some extra costs, 12-20% from the initial game price, you can be sure that you will receive what you’ve ordered.
So, if the price of a game you are looking for is still cheaper with the Buyer Protection fee than in any other place to buy Steam keys, feel free to get it here.
In conclusion, Kinguin is also a great website to buy Steam keys which offers one of the lowest prices on the market and has an almost as big assortment of games as ENEBA, even those that are impossible to find anywhere else. For example, here you can find Anno 1602 A.D at an incredibly cheap price. It is not the best Anno game, but that’s great news for old fans of the franchise who don’t want to pay a full price for the game they will play only a couple of times.
Nonetheless, if you want to protect yourself from a potential scam, make sure to buy games only from reputable sellers and use the Buyer Protection in case you need a 100% guarantee.
Overall score: 3.4/5
Conclusion
To sum up, in this article we have gone through all the best places where you can buy Steam keys for cheap and now you know everything you need in order to make the first purchase.
The last piece of knowledge I want to share with you is to not be attached to one single website and monitor all of them in order to get the best deal for your game. So, make sure to add this page to the bookmarks and come back whenever you want a new game on Steam.
Now, this is your turn.
Check out these platforms and buy the Steam key you want at the best price.
I recommend starting from Green Man Gaming.