Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus both give you a big library of games for a monthly fee, but they're organised differently and the price depends a lot on how you pay. Here's how they compare for UK players, and how to pay less for either.
Official prices change from time to time, so check Microsoft's and Sony's own pages for the current monthly prices. Our gift cards and subscriptions page shows today's lowest prices for membership codes, updated at least twice a day.
The tiers at a glance
Xbox Game Pass
- Game Pass Core: online multiplayer on Xbox, plus a smaller collection of games.
- Game Pass Standard: online multiplayer plus a large library of console games.
- PC Game Pass: a large library of PC games, including new releases from Xbox's own studios on day one, plus EA Play on PC.
- Game Pass Ultimate: the top tier: console and PC libraries, day-one releases from Xbox studios, cloud gaming, online multiplayer and EA Play.
PlayStation Plus
- Essential: online multiplayer on PS5 and PS4, monthly games to claim, cloud saves and member discounts.
- Extra: everything in Essential plus a catalogue of hundreds of PS5 and PS4 games.
- Premium (called Deluxe in some countries): everything in Extra plus classic PlayStation games, game trials and cloud streaming.
Which is better value?
It depends on what you play:
- If you want new big releases on day one, Game Pass Ultimate (on Xbox) or PC Game Pass (on PC) is hard to beat, because Xbox's own games join on launch day.
- If you mostly want online multiplayer, the cheapest tiers (Game Pass Core or PlayStation Plus Essential) do the job.
- If you like working through a big back catalogue, Game Pass Standard and PlayStation Plus Extra are the sweet spots.
- If you play on both PC and Xbox, Ultimate covers both.
How to pay less
The biggest saving usually comes from how you pay, not which service you pick:
- Buy longer memberships. 12-month memberships almost always work out cheaper per month than paying monthly.
- Buy membership codes from key stores. Code sellers often sell 1, 3 and 12-month codes below the official price. Make sure the code is for a UK account (or Global), and the right tier.
- Check stacking rules. Codes usually add time to your existing membership, but there are limits on how much time you can stack, and converting between tiers follows the platform's own rules. Read the code's product page before buying several.
- Watch for sales. Both Microsoft and Sony run occasional discounts on memberships.
Compare today's prices
Zemly compares membership codes from several stores, by plan length, and only shows codes that work in the UK:
- Xbox Game Pass (Ultimate, PC and the other plans)
- PlayStation Plus (Essential, Extra and Premium)
Or see everything on our gift cards and subscriptions page.