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PlayStation Plus is Sony's gaming subscription service - required for most online play on PlayStation 4 and PS5 consoles.

It's split into three tiers, with an Essential plan offering a handful of free games each month, as well as great discounts on games bought through the PlayStation Store.

Two additional tiers - Extra and Premium - are also available. They include additional access to hundreds of PS4 and PS5 games (similar to Xbox Game Pass), plus classic games from throughout PlayStation's history.

Here's everything you need to know about PS Plus, including how much each tier costs and all the benefits.

PlayStation Plus square
PlayStation Plus

Pick up a gift card to get a year of PlayStation Plus Essential.

See at Amazon $30 at Best Buy

PS Plus price rise

In late 2023 PlayStation Plus got more expensive - you can find more about the existing benefits down below, but on 6 September 2023 its prices changed, as follows:

  • PlayStation Plus Essential 12-Month Subscription: From $59.99 / £49.99 / €59.99 to $79.99 / £59.99 / €71.99
  • PlayStation Plus Extra 12-Month Subscription: From $99.99 / £83.99 / €99.99 to $134.99 / £99.99 / €125.99
  • PlayStation Plus Premium 12-Month Subscription: From $119.99 / £99.99 / €119.99 to $159.99 / £119.99 / €151.99

That's a substantial price hike across most regions (and particularly in the US) - and since it's now been fully rolled out, there's no getting around it.

What is PS Plus?

PlayStation Plus is a monthly subscription service that enables online, multiplayer play for PS4 and PS5 games.

It is required to play the vast majority of games online - only some free-to-play titles are exempt.

It started many years ago, with the service launching for PlayStation 3 initially. It was also available for PS Vita users, but both consoles have long since been discontinued and PS Plus is no longer active on either.

As well as online play, it includes cloud storage for game saves, discounts, access to early trials of games, and a few other benefits.

There are three separate tiers - Essential, Extra and Premium - with each including increasingly impressive add-ons. You can read more about them below.

What is PS Plus Extra / Premium and are they available now?

Available in Japan and many other Asian countries, plus the Americas, the UK and Europe, PS Plus has recently split into three different tiers: PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium.

PS Plus Essential offers the same benefits as the previous standard PS Plus service, while Extra and Premium each add 100s of free games delivered either over the cloud (replacing PS Now) or downloadable.

How much does PlayStation Plus cost?

PlayStation Plus starts at £7 / $10 / €9 per month for the Essential tier, but as you get more benefits with each higher tier, so too does the price increase. Here are the prices for the three different options.

PS Plus Essential

The standard tier of PS Plus can be paid for monthly, quarterly or annually.

Monthly membership costs £6.99 / $9.99 / €8.99. It is £19.99 / $24.99 / €24.99 for 3 months, or you can pay for 12 months upfront for £49.99 / $59.99 / €59.99.

You can sign up for PS Plus Essential either through your console or the PlayStation Store online. Physical vouchers have been discontinued but will still generally be redeemable against an Essential plan.

PS Plus Extra

PS Plus Extra is now available in multiple locations (see region details above). It includes all the benefits of the standard plan plus access to a catalogue of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games to play at no extra cost.

It is priced at £10.99 / $14.99 / €13.99 per month, £31.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 for 3 months, or £83.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 if paid for yearly.

PS Plus Premium

The highest tier, PS Plus Premium, incorporates all of the benefits of Essential and Extra, then adds up to 340 additional games on top, from the back catalogue of PS3, PS2, PSP and even original PlayStation games - often via cloud streaming. There are also time-limited trials in this tier.

It costs £13.49 / $17.99 / €16.99 per month, £39.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 for 3 months, or £99.99 / $119.99 / €119.99 if paid for yearly.

PS Plus Deluxe

An additional tier is available in markets that do not offer cloud gaming as an alternative to Premium. PS Plus Deluxe is cheaper than Premium - you should check your regional PlayStation Store for pricing, where applicable.

PlayStation Plus square
PlayStation Plus

Older gift cards still work for PlayStation Plus - they convert to the Essential tier.

See at Amazon $30 at Best Buy

What does PS Plus membership include?

There are a number of benefits included with PS Plus membership. You can read about each blow.

Online play

A PlayStation Plus tier is a requirement for PS4 and PS5 gamers to play each other online. Only some free-to-play games are exempt - the vast majority will only give you access to online multiplayer if you have an active PS Plus subscription.

Free games

Each month, two or three PS4/PS5 games are made available to download and play at no extra cost. They are yours to keep as long as you remain a PS Plus member. You can see the latest free games here.

Exclusive discounts

PS Plus members get exclusive discounts on many digital download games on the PlayStation Store. Traditionally, there are also added discounts for members on sale games during major sales periods.

Cloud storage

All PS Plus members, no matter the tier, get 100GB of cloud storage for game saves, so even if you lose your save data stored on a PS4 or PS5, you will be able to recover it later.

Also, if you own a second console and want to carry on playing the same game, you can transfer save games from machine to machine.

PlayStation Plus Collection

Unique to the PlayStation 5, the PS Plus Collection comprised 19 first and third-party PS4 games to download and play through backward compatibility. Some, including Days Gone, even feature enhancements, such as 60fps and native 4K resolution.

One thing to note though - Sony removed this benefit from 9 May 2023, so it's no longer available to claim.

PlayStation Plus Collection game list

Here are the games that were available in the PlayStation Plus Collection:

Up to 400 downloadable games (PS Plus Extra and Premium only)

Subscribers to the new PS Plus Extra and Premium tiers gain access to a library of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games from Sony and third parties. These are available to download and play as long as you subscribe to the relevant tiers. You can see the current list of titles available below.

Classic games (PS Plus Premium only)

Premium tier members gain access to an additional library of classic PS3, PS2, PlayStation and PSP games that are available to download or stream. You can also see the current list of titles available below.

Cloud gaming (PS Plus Premium only)

Games offered in the Extra benefit are also available via cloud streaming to Premium members. That means you won't have to download them to play. It uses Sony's PS Now technology, with that service now merged into PS Plus. This now includes some PS5 games, too, after PlayStation upgraded its technology in mid-2023.

There are multiple resolutions to choose from as you stream, each with recommended internet speeds to support them:

  • 2160p (4K) - 52 mbps recommended
  • 1440p - 38 mbps recommended
  • 1080p (Full HD) - 23 mbps recommended
  • 720p (HD) - 13 mbps recommended

Time-limited game trials (PS Plus Premium only)

Premium subscribers gain access to time-limited trials of games so you can try them before you buy.

PS Plus Extra and Premium games list

The following games are the titles currently available PS Plus Extra / Premium members in the UK (other regions may differ slightly).

All the main catalogue PlayStation 4 and PS5 games available as part of PS Plus Extra and Premium:

All the classic games (PS1, PSP, PS2, PS3, PS4) available as part of PS Plus Premium only (many cloud streaming):