Open Gate's launch pages for the first time and something snags: some activities say you can claim for free, while others ask you to enter an amount and pay. These are two ways of playing that used to sit together under Startup and now live in different products, and mixing them up is where new people trip. Put it plainly — the free airdrop zone doesn't cost you anything and splits tokens by holding; the subscription zone asks you to place an order and pay for a share. Confuse them and you either skip the free stuff or commit money before you understand the rules. This piece pulls the two zones apart, then lays a table over them. For the bigger picture on launches first, read it alongside the complete guide to Gate launches.
The old Startup address now redirects to HODLer Airdrop, and Gate's help centre has no separate Startup category. The free-airdrop side is handled by HODLer Airdrop: hold at least 1 GT to sign up, and rewards follow your average holding over the project, with no draw. On the paid side, Gate's subscription-model token sales run through Launchpad. Read "free airdrop zone" and "subscription zone" below with that mapping in mind, and treat the current activity page as the rule.
01Tell the two zones apart in one line
Gate runs several kinds of launch activity, and the pair beginners mix up most are the "free airdrop zone" and the "subscription zone." The names sound like cousins, but the machinery is nothing alike:
- Free airdrop zone (now HODLer Airdrop): signing up is free, you're charged nothing, and tokens are distributed by your average GT holding over the project.
- Subscription zone (e.g. Launchpad): you place a real order and pay; how funds are charged and held is set by the current activity page.
In short, one is holding GT and waiting for your share, the other is queuing to buy. Get that straight and a lot of the later confusion sorts itself out.
02Free airdrop zone: no cost, split by holding
The best thing about the free airdrop zone is that "free" isn't a gimmick — signing up genuinely costs nothing, and when the round ends nothing is taken from your account.
HODLer Airdrop requires completed KYC and at least 1 GT held. That is an eligibility condition; regional restrictions and any project-specific conditions are set by the specific round. Confirm them before using the participation control shown on that page. If you don't have a Gate account yet, the register-to-first-launch walkthrough covers sign-up, verification and funding in order.
HODLer Airdrop distributes by holding snapshots: the system takes several random snapshots of your GT holding each hour and splits by your average over the project against all participants; an average below 1 GT gets nothing, and there is no draw. VIP level affects the personal cap on VIP-tagged projects. The "level² × 10" figure in old Startup material is a subscription formula, not how HODLer Airdrop splits. The current activity page is authoritative.
GT-holder airdrops moved from Startup to HODLer Airdrop in February 2025. Holding thresholds, calculation and entry points have changed, so an older requirement should not be treated as permanent; check the current activity announcement.
So the free airdrop zone boils down to: hold GT, sign up, get a share by average holding. Signing up costs nothing, but the GT you hold moves in price, and that risk belongs in the sum.
03Subscription zone: you order and pay
The subscription zone is a different face entirely. "Subscribing" here means placing an order and paying — you pay for however many new tokens you want, so at its core you're buying a share.
Start with how the money moves. When you order, the matching amount may be frozen: not necessarily taken outright, but unavailable during the window defined by the activity. Balance requirements and lock duration come from the current activity page; moving required assets after ordering can cause the subscription to fail.
At settlement it generally splits two ways: the filled portion is genuinely paid out and becomes new tokens; how the unfilled or over-subscribed portion comes back is set by the current activity page, and in the old Startup days it was usually unfrozen and returned to your spot wallet. How long the refund takes and how to check it is covered in more detail in do you get a refund if a subscription doesn't fill, so I won't repeat it here.
The risks need spelling out. The subscription zone is real money, and at least two risks come with it: one, funds are tied up — during that window the money is locked and you can't put it to other use; two, the new listing can trade below offer, meaning the opening price drops under your subscription cost and real money shrinks. So there's no "guaranteed win" in the subscription zone. Before you join, weigh whether you could stomach losing that money.
04Every difference in one table
That's a lot of prose; it's clearer side by side. The table below lines up the key points of each zone, with all figures deferring to the official activity page for the round:
| Point | Free airdrop zone (HODLer Airdrop) | Subscription zone (e.g. Launchpad) |
|---|---|---|
| Does it cost money | No — free to sign up, nothing charged at the end | Yes — you pay per the current activity page's subscription rules |
| Entry threshold | KYC + at least 1 GT held (per the activity page) | Spot balance sufficient for the order and maintained until the settlement point stated on the activity page |
| Funds frozen / tied up | No — GT stays in your account, unlocked | Yes — the order amount is frozen while it runs |
| If you get nothing | An average below 1 GT gets nothing; balance never moved | The unfilled portion comes back per the current activity page |
| Main risk | No subscription principal; the risk is in the GT you hold | Funds tied up + a listing that can trade below offer |
| Who it suits | Beginners starting out who already hold GT | People who know the rules, can ride volatility, and commit within reason |
The word "launch" makes people picture a listing that only ever goes up. The subscription zone doesn't work that way. The money you commit really goes out, and a new token opening below offer is far from rare — the price slips under your subscription cost and you're down on paper immediately. Nobody can promise a win, let alone a pump. Treat it as a bet that can go either way, and only put in what you can afford to lose.
05Don't confuse the "staking" type
Beyond those two, there is a "staking-to-mine" type (now Launchpool; some places called it Startup Mining): you stake assets like GT or USDT and mine new tokens over time. It's neither a free draw nor a paid subscription — it's a third mechanism, with different thresholds and a different way of earning. I won't unpack it here; just one reminder — when you see a staking-to-mine activity, don't apply your free-airdrop or subscription instincts to it, and go by the official activity page for the round.
06Which zone a beginner should start with
If this is your first brush with Gate launches, the answer is clear: start with HODLer Airdrop. No subscription principal is spent, and as long as you hold GT it's a good way to run the whole sign-up-to-payout flow once and get used to the interface and pace. Just remember GT itself moves in price, so don't load up on it only to qualify.
Once the mechanics feel familiar, then consider the subscription zone. The share it hands you is usually more substantial, but the price is tied-up funds plus below-offer risk — squarely in "within your means" territory. Work out whether you could stand that money locked for a stretch, or even losing part of it, before you decide how much to put in. Don't get carried away by other people's screenshots of gains; what you don't see are the ones who opened below offer and cut their losses.
For a more systematic look at how allocation is calculated, see how VIP allocation works; to weigh whether launches actually pay and where the losses come from, see can you actually make money on launches.
Public rules show that a free-airdrop round is mainly a check of eligibility, allocation method and result timing. A paid subscription also requires checking frozen funds, fill rules, refunds and post-listing price risk. This article has no verifiable operating record or screenshot, so it does not present the comparison as a first-hand test. A beginner can learn the no-purchase activity mechanics first, then separately decide whether the capital lock and loss risk of a paid subscription fit.
·FAQ
What's the difference between the free airdrop zone and the subscription zone?
The biggest difference is whether you pay. The free airdrop zone (now HODLer Airdrop) is free to sign up for and takes nothing from your account; tokens are split by your average GT holding over the project. The subscription zone means placing a real order and paying, with fund freezes set by the current activity page. The actual rules are set on Gate's activity page each round.
Will the free airdrop zone charge my account?
HODLer Airdrop requires no subscription principal, but it does require KYC and at least 1 GT held, and the GT you hold still carries price risk. Distribution, charges and eligibility come from the specific activity page; do not treat a fixed amount in an old screenshot as the current rule.
In the subscription zone, is my money refunded if the order isn't filled?
Usually, but the current activity page decides. In the old Startup subscription zone, funds were frozen when you ordered; the filled portion became new tokens and the unfilled or excess portion was unfrozen and returned to your spot wallet. For current subscriptions, check that round's refund rules. Arrival details follow the official rules; see our own piece on whether you get a refund if a subscription doesn't fill.
The thresholds, allocation caps, freeze windows and GT holding requirements for the free airdrop zone and subscription zone are all set by Gate in each round's activity terms and can change between rounds. Before joining, open Gate's official activity page and help centre to confirm the current notes, and treat the official announcement as the final word. The current-state notes follow the FAQ on Gate's HODLer Airdrop page, the help articles “How to Participate in Gate HODLer Airdrop” (2025-04-22) and “What is Launchpad?” (2025-04-02), and the 2025-02-24 migration announcement, checked on 2026-09-25.