Breaking down the differences between PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now

Best answer: PlayStation Plus is a premium subscription service that grants access to online multiplayer, 100GB of cloud storage, free games, and offers exclusive discounts. PlayStation Now is similar to Netflix in that it delivers access to over 800 games that can be streamed or downloaded on-demand.

What Does PlayStation Plus offer?

PlayStation Plus is essentially the equivalent of Xbox Live Gold. It offers access to online multiplayer in all games that have it, though free-to-play games don’t require PlayStation Plus for their multiplayer portions. PlayStation Plus also dishes out a few free games each month to subscribers along with exclusive discounts on games, 100GB of cloud storage, Game Help, Share Play, and the PlayStation Plus Collection.

This is the best way to enhance your PlayStation experience on PS4 and PS5. Should you decide to cancel your subscription for whatever reason, you lose access to the above benefits.

What does PlayStation Now offer?

PlayStation Now is Sony’s Netflix for games and can be compared to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass. It features a catalog of over 800 PS4, PS3, and PS2 games that can be access on-demand on PS5, PS4, or PC. Over 300 of these games can be downloaded directly to your console. Anyone wishing to play PlayStation Now titles on PC will need to stream them because they can’t be downloaded to your PC.

As an added benefit, online multiplayer is included in all PlayStation Now games, even if you don’t have an active PlayStation Plus membership.

Which systems are they available on?

PlayStation Plus is available on PS3, PS Vita, PS4, and PS5. As far as most people shouldn’t be concerned, it’s mainly a service for the PS4 and PS5 because some support for the PS3 and PS Vita has been dropped.

PlayStation Now is available on PS4, PS5, and PC. It was previously available on PS3 and PS Vita, but that support has since been discontinued.

How much do they cost?

PS Plus and PS Now are offered in 12-month, 3-month, or 1-month intervals and cost the same amount. There is currently no option to bundle the two services together.

PlayStation Plus

• 12-month: $59.99
• 3-month: $24.99
• 1-month: $9.99

PlayStation Now

• 12-month: $59.99
• 3-month: $24.99
• 1-month: $9.99

Subscribe

PlayStation Plus 12-month

$60 at Amazon
$60 at Best Buy

Multiplayer access, free games, and a lot more

PlayStation Plus is your premium subscription service for everything PlayStation. Get access to exclusive discounts, online multiplayer, cloud storage, Game Help, and a whole lot more. Members also get a few free games every month to add to their growing collection.

Unlimited access

PlayStation Now 12-month

$60 at Amazon
$60 at Best Buy
$60 at Walmart

Like Netflix for games

PlayStation Now grants access to a catalog of over 800 games available to stream directly to your PS4, PS5, or PC. Over 300 of these can be downloaded to your consoles. Though it doesn’t feature the same value as Xbox Game Pass, this is your ticket for hundreds of games on demand.