Last Updated on 21 May 2026 by Dan Wilderness
Hello everyone! I’m something of an avid gamer and have switched over the years between all of Playstation, Nintendo and XBox! The game subscription services have become the latest major battleground in how the console wars have begun to shape up, so today I’m looking at the cheapest way to get the Playstation Plus service.
(Note: All prices are correct at the time of writing this article but they’re always subject to change, so do check before making any decisions!)
(Please note: The Financial Wilderness may also receive a small payout if you make a purchase through a link on this site. It won’t affect the service you receive and we recommend only what we honestly believe to be the best available, not what gives us commission. You can read more about our affiliate policy on our disclaimers page.)
Quick Verdict on the Cheapest Way to get PlayStation Plus
We’re highlighting the ability to buy PlayStation Gift Cards from third party sites that buy in bulk and using these to subscribe to Playstation Plus, as whilst it takes a little effort these end up cheaper than a direct subscription.
We also highlight we feel the middle “Extra” Tier of Playstation Plus offers the best value for most users.
What does PlayStation Plus include?
PlayStation Plus is a subscription based service from Sony which allows you to play games online and (with the Extra or Premium plan) also get access to an extensive back catalogue of games. You’ll also get a selection of a couple of free monthly games to download each month,
Let’s run through the different package options PlayStation Plus offers, working from cheapest to most expensive:
Playstation Plus Essential
If you just want to play games online and against your friends, the Playstation Plus Essential Package will get you just that – you just won’t get access to any game library to play new games you don’t already own.
Playstation Plus Extra
We think the middle plan of Playstation Plus in the form of Extra is the package that represents really good value.
The main reason for this is that you also get access to a library of games that you can automatically download and play immediately.
What makes this a killer app is that you’re getting access to a huge catalogue of PS5 and PS4 releases including major titles, such as the Playstation exclusive Spider-Man and God of War series.
And beyond the big names there’s many great games from smaller independent developers as well – I’ve discovered some really interesting games that I wouldn’t otherwise have tried.
You can see all included games with Playstation Plus Extra on the Sony website here
Playstation Plus Premium
For a little bit more you can get PlayStation Plus Premium, which is worth considering in certain circumstances. There are a couple of additional benefits to Premium we’d really call out.
The biggest point is that you can stream games from the cloud with a subscription – what this means is that you can use a device like anPC to play your console games without having the console there, offering some flexibility.
It’s pretty amazing to do this, because you no longer actually really need the physical console to play anything and most games can be streamed. I suspect this will slowly become the direction gaming moves in for better or worse.
The second advantage is you also get access to a PlayStation Classics catalogue. We personally wouldn’t pay for this all the time but if you’d got fond memories of particularly PS1/PS2/PS3 game you play growing up, it’s a really nice way to revisit old favourites.
You can find the full list of the PlayStation Classics right here.
You also get access to a Sony Pictures Film Catalogue for streaming, which has some pretty big movies as a nice little extra.
What Price are the Playstation Plus packages?
These are the official prices from PlayStation for subscribing directly via them.
Whilst this is the easiest way to subscribe and get running, you can get better prices than these (more below), although I’m listing these as a benchmark.
| PS Plus Tier | 1-Month Price | 12-Month Price | Best For… |
| Essential | £6.99 | £59.99 | Online multiplayer and 3 monthly games. |
| Extra | £10.99 | £99.99 | Massive downloadable game catalogue (PS4/PS5). |
| Premium | £13.49 | £119.99 | Cloud streaming to PC, plus retro PS1/PS2/PS3 games. |
Which Playstation Plus Tier offers the best value?
As long as you can find games in the library you want to play (and we’ve found we’ve never run out, my problem is too much of a backlog) we think the Extra tier is the sweet spot for value.
The notable add-on at Premium level is streaming – however in practice I haven’t found a need to use this much. Unless you think it’s a feature you’ll actively use, or have a classic game you particularly want to play there is little point in paying the uplift to Premium.
How can I get PlayStation Plus Cheaply?
Unfortunately sales on Playstation Plus have become very limited, but our ways of getting subscriptions tend to be significantly cheaper than buying direct.
The Gift Card Voucher method
You can buy a monetary Playstation gift card at a discount from various third party retailers. This is because they buy their cards in enough bulk that they get offer a discount for doing so, and pass on most of that saving to you.
You can then apply the voucher to add the funds to your Playstation account, then use this to buy the subscription.
As long as you buy from a reputable site, you lose nothing by doing this – they send you a code near-instantly so there’s no waiting for a physical voucher.
I’ve found Loaded and ShopTo are consistently sites I get the best deals on for PlayStation vouchers, and I have used both sites myself reliably and without issue.
Let’s look at an example of how we do this.
How to use the Gift Card Method to save 15%:
- Determine your target tier: Look at the annual costs (e.g., £99.99 for PS Plus Extra).
- Buy a discounted PlayStation Store Gift Card: Head to a reputable third-party retailer like ShopTo or CDKeys and purchase a wallet top-up code (e.g., a £100 voucher for roughly £85.85).
- Redeem the digital code: Log into your console or the PlayStation App and apply the voucher code to your wallet balance.
- Purchase your membership: Buy the 12-month subscription directly using your pre-funded digital wallet instead of your debit card.
So for example, at time of writing ShopTo have a £100 Playstation voucher for £85.85 – this covers me for my years subscription whilst also saving me about 15% to put towards something else in my Playstation Wallet.
Important Note: Be sure to make you buy a voucher for the region you are in – they are location specific and not transferable.
Days of Play and Direct Discounts
Particularly if you’re a new subscriber, it’s absolutely worth checking on your Sony dashboard for any special offers they’re offering to you directly. These will be unique to your account.
It’s not always consistent, but when Sony run their annual Days of Play sale (usually around April) there can also be some discounts with PlayStation Plus then. Helpfully, you can combine both this sale and the gift card method above to maximise that discount.
Stacking Playstation Plus
One option that can reduce your long term costs is the ability to stack any PlayStation Plus Subscription.
What stacking in this case means is your redeem multiple subscriptions simultaneously. This has the effect of repeatedly extending your membership.
As an example, if I buy 12 months of Playstation Plus Extra , and then buy 6 more months, PlayStation will consider this an 18 month subscription.
I use this method myself to try and keep the costs down, and have found it very effective.
What are the advantages of stacking Playstation Plus?
Whilst stacking won’t save you money in the short term, it means you’ve already got a subscription and the price rises in future, you’ll be protected from this.
If you get a particularly good deal on an subscription, then is the time to strike and buy up to the maximum if you can afford to and then you’ll keep using the service.
How long can I stack Playstation Plus for?
Only up to 18 months (one and a half years).
Sony used to allow this on a pretty unlimited basis, but have now capped it at 18 months.
Sony implemented this 18-month cap precisely to stop savvy gamers from buying up a decade’s worth of cheap vouchers right before a major inflationary subscription price hike.
Will vouchers from the discounted retailers you mention above work for stacking?
Yes, both the vouchers from Loaded and ShopTo will give you credit that you can use to stack Playstation Plus.
Can you get Playstation Plus for free?
Not really – only on a limited free trial basis for those who’ve never subscribed before.
What Games are included with PlayStation Plus?
You can find a full list of the games included in the games library on the Sony website right here.
Be aware of auto-renewal!
One note I’ll just make is that whenever you activate a subscription auto-renewal at full cost is often the default.
Our advice is always to switch this off at the point of subscription – it’s a reminder to look for a deal at a later point and you can always re-subscribe in the moment if you’re getting cut off.
Any questions?
If you have any questions on Playstation Plus, we’d absolutely love to hear from you! Just drop us a note in the comments below and we’ll be happy to get back to you. (We’d also absolutely love to hear what you’re playing at the moment and any particular recommendations you have).
What about other consoles?
A similar approach works to get cheap XBox Game Pass the and Nintendo consoles – it’s well worth going down the third party voucher method for those consoles as well.
And that’s it!
Thank you for reading! You can sign up below to get our new articles delivered to you on a range of financial topics, or remember you can follow our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
