Is Xbox Game Pass worth it?

Game Pass is worth it if you play several new games a year, especially day-one releases — at roughly $20/month for Ultimate, you break even after buying about 4 full-price games. If you only play a couple of titles a year, buying cheap keys is usually cheaper.

PS Plus Essential (~$80/yr) pays for itself on online play and monthly free games; Extra and Premium add a large catalogue and are worth it if you play a wide variety of games rather than a handful.

Is Game Pass / PS Plus Worth It?

Subscriptions are great value if you play a lot — but a waste if you only buy a few games a year. Enter your habits below and we'll compare the cost of each service against buying the games outright.

New games you play per yearAverage price you'd pay per game ($)

If you bought those games instead, you'd spend about

$240 / year

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

$240/yr · ~$19.99/mo · 400+ games + day-one releases + cloud

Worth it · save ~$0

PC Game Pass

$144/yr · ~$11.99/mo · PC library + day-one releases

Worth it · save ~$96

PS Plus Essential

$80/yr · monthly free games + online play

Worth it · save ~$160

PS Plus Extra

$135/yr · Essential + a catalogue of 400+ games

Worth it · save ~$105

PS Plus Premium

$160/yr · Extra + classics + game trials

Worth it · save ~$80

EA Play

$40/yr · EA catalogue + early trials

Worth it · save ~$200

Ubisoft+ Classics

$60/yr · Ubisoft catalogue

Worth it · save ~$180

Subscriptions win when you play a lot of different new games — especially day-one releases. If you only buy a few titles a year, a cheap key from a verified store is usually the better deal. Prices are approximate annual costs and vary by region and promotions.

How to decide

The maths is simple: a subscription is worth it when the games you'd actually play cost more than the annual fee. Game Pass Ultimate (~$240/year) breaks even at about 4–5 full-price games; PC Game Pass (~$144/year) at around three. The catch is that you only "own" the games while you subscribe.

If you tend to buy a handful of specific titles and keep them forever, you'll usually save more by grabbing a cheap verified key — keys frequently beat both the store price and the effective subscription cost. Check the next Steam sale too if you can wait.