The first step on your journey to Wizard City is to create an Account. To do this all you have to do is sign up on the Wizard 101 Homepage. and follow the instructions to download the program onto your computer.
There are three different types of account - free to play, subscription and access pass.
Free to play is of course free, however you can only access free to play locations. These will take you some time to finish, and you will get a large range of items as you go.
Access pass works on microtransactions, you purchase the in game premium currency crowns and then use some of those crowns to buy access to a particular location (once you have completed the required quests to enter the location). This method is particularily good if you are only playing a little bit at a time, since once you buy a location it is unlocked for every character on your account forever.
Subscription is where you buy game time, every location is open for access (once you have completed the required quests to enter the location) but you have to pay for the time you play. You can purchase a month, six months or a year. Wizard 101 does provide a family plan as well, which is a reduced cost monthly subscription if you have multiple accounts in the same house. Subscription allows you to access the Arena for Ranked PVP matches.
You can check out the cost of each location or upgrade to a subscription account here.