PlayStation Online Price: Retail, Deals & Price History

Online multiplayer on a PlayStation console requires a paid PlayStation Plus subscription. The entry tier is PlayStation Plus Essential, and the longer the term you pick, the lower the monthly cost works out to be. Free-to-play games are the usual exception to the subscription requirement.

Sony raised some US prices in May 2026, and the changes applied to new subscribers first. Coverage of the announcement said existing members on auto-renewal may keep their old rate for a time, so what you pay may not match the figures here.

Essential comes in one-month, three-month, and twelve-month plans. Sony announced the new one-month and three-month prices in May 2026.

The twelve-month table above compares Essential with Premium, the top tier. For the shorter terms, the one-month Essential plan is priced at $10.99/mo, and the three-month plan is $27.99.

The monthly plan costs the most per month but lets you stop after a single month, which suits someone who wants to play one game online. Longer plans lower the monthly rate in exchange for paying upfront. Compare the one-month price multiplied by twelve against the twelve-month price to see how much the annual plan saves.

If you play online regularly, the twelve-month plan is the sensible comparison. If you only need a month for a new release, the monthly plan avoids paying for months you will not use.

• Essential: The base tier, with online multiplayer and monthly games, according to Sony.
• Premium: The top tier, which adds more content than the lower tiers. Its twelve-month price is in the table above.

Sony also sells a middle tier called Extra. Check the PlayStation Store for its current price, since this page does not list it.

Not every game requires a subscription. Free-to-play games usually do not. Many other games list "PS Plus required for online play" on their store page, which is a good thing to check before buying. Offline single-player play does not need the subscription.

PlayStation Plus is an ongoing subscription that renews automatically, according to the PlayStation Store listing. When you cancel, the membership expires at the end of the period you have already paid for, and there is no refund for time already paid. You can change your plan from your account, and Sony's support page explains how upgrades are calculated.

• Plan length: One month, three months, and twelve months price differently.
• Tier: Essential costs less than Premium.
• Price changes: Sony adjusts subscription prices from time to time.
• Region: US pricing applies to US accounts.

Figures on this page come from PlayStation Store and PlayStation Support.

Some games do not require PlayStation Plus. Free-to-play games usually let you play online without it. For other games, the store page states the requirement near the price, often in the line "PS Plus required for online play". Reading that line before you buy tells you whether you need to budget for the subscription.

Also keep in mind that offline single-player games do not need the subscription at all. If you mostly play single-player, you might not need it. If you play with friends online most weeks, the annual plan is the cheaper way to cover that.

For plan changes, Sony's support page explains that an upgrade fee is calculated by subtracting the price you already paid from the price of the new plan.