PlayStation Plus Premium vs. Extra vs. Essential (Buying Guide)

The new PS Plus incorporates a large game catalog and also Sony's PS Now cloud gaming service. Subscribers will have access to three tiers: Essential, Extra and Premium.
00:00 Intro
02:06 New Playstation Plus
02:41 Essential
04:53 Extra
06:36 Premium
08:53 Conclusion
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[@divyangvaidya9675]

Miss the times when PSN was completely free.

[@RunawayOrange]

this comment needs to be noticed

[@divyangvaidya9675]

@@RunawayOrange Noticed by you is good for me.

[@dachloemaster]

@@divyangvaidya9675 what about me?

[@abdulkarimsaleh]

was the games free aswell?

[@greedyebk7146]

@@abdulkarimsalehno

[@AeyGee]

A little error in the video. Back in the day, Xbox Live was paid. But, back then Playstation Network (PSN), which was Sony’s equivalent to Xbox Live was TOTALLY FREE, until they launched PS Plus with the PS4.

[@boyohoyo1569]

Well PS Plus existed with PS3. And it existed for the sole purpose of giving games on a subscription service, which XB later copied with "Games with Gold", because before PS Plus XBLG was just an online paywall.

[@AlmightyyCres]

Playstation plus started with ps3. I still see Playstation plus when I play on my ps3. It got more refined after ps4.

[@divyam._.maheshwari]

8:54 start here.

[@SICCWIDIT]

Thank you😅

[@Jay2fa]

Goated.

[@Jay2fa]

This man straight yappin 😂

[@warpigroadkill]

Why should we have to pay to play trials and demos? Back in the day, before the "influencer" movement, we would have demo discs etc. Demo's got us to where we were a few years ago, and this pay wall has stopped that and is holding gaming back.

[@kosmas7713]

Indeed, the premium seems more like an "extra"

[@CymruDragon]

back in the day before your back in the day you did have to pay fo demo's , it was called a 'magazine' with a demo disc on which you had to pay for 😉

[@BigB36024]

Except now a days even a small demo would have to come on a flash drive Edit: and considering the budget to games now vs then, the pay wall is worth it. Aka Crash Bandicoot VS GTA V

[@MARTINRIGGSS]

I remember getting demo discs at Pizza Hunt. That’s how I played Tony Hawk.

[@funkAduckiejunior]

Cuz money

[@kyriegospel]

ive watched this video twice + it’s very thorough and to the point. thank you. just got a PS5-DE today. not a huge gamer like a was years ago, but, the PS online store is running a $79 sale on Premium package until 01/14/23. think ima go with this….at least until 1/13/24. great information. thank you. /Bklyn👑

[@a2c2008]

I don't own any PS console but I love how you broke everything down. I hope Nintendo keeps improving their Online services to compete with PS and Xbox. Thank you!

[@WickedBandzz]

Nintendo keepin up wit consoles? I dont think so bud😂😂

[@user-ey1sf6fy3f]

@@WickedBandzz it's Nintendo. did I say enough?

[@nopityfac8609]

They won’t, it would devalue all their games

[@wake_up_samurai77]

nintendo will keep selling their good ol' 2d plumber simulator cuz ppl like it

[@JoyStickJester_]

I bought 5 years of Playstation + and then one year of Playstation Now both on discount sites and now I have 5 years of Playstation Premium.

[@AA-sw5pb]

Stonks

[@q_ffs1998]

what site

[@Brysen617]

This no longer works. This entices ppl to try it and fail miserably like me

[@nuggetchicken3873]

@@q_ffs1998 I use cdkeys

[@ushipb00]

Thank you for the clear breakdown!

[@JohnSmith-de9mc]

thank you cause I just got a new system and tryna figure this out almost spent a lot on the premium thank you so much.

[@TheArtOfJerry]

A great guide. Going Extra. Thanks

[@richgarland6170]

Well explained mate, thanks 👍

[@paratrooperwife]

Video is a big help. Thank you.

[@benicus18]

For me, the fact that Stray was a day 1 release and was £30 meant I could save money by just upgrading to premium between now and January for £22 so I got all the other games included too, included about 10 new games I still hasn't played yet so I've saved £100s

[@Spartan_83]

Now if only they did that on their first-party games and not third-party indie games... by the time PS puts one of their first-party titles on the service I would have already bought it at a step discount.

[@MrCougar214]

@@Spartan_83 not only will first-party games not hit the service till years later when no one is really playing it anymore, they put all the PS3 games on the ultimate tier only which has a lot of titles I actually want to play but I'm not paying that much.

[@BluntSmoke4200]

This Definitely Broke it down for me Thanks 👌🏼

[@TheMaster-zk9sc]

This was really helpful as I’m trying to figure out what to get for my kiddo as I am use to having the 2 subscriptions. I was all about watching this video as the guy in the video was an adult vs some kid telling me what to get.

[@TMcCoy93]

Can you download the games in the classics catalog or are they only available to stream?

[@TheGreatestLewis]

Well it's extra for me, thanks for video they make it confusing on purpose. I've seen people say it should have been called Silver, Gold and platinum tiers and i 100% agree!

[@kevinhernandez4471]

Thank you for your analysis.

[@kaloyankatrev6799]

Thank you for clean explanation of it.

[@Antibot2025]

Thank you, you were a lot of help.

[@nima5398]

Great vid thanks bro

[@jedinova67]

Am I the only one who's more excited about the classics catalog than the game catalog? Yeah, sure I can play them on those original systems, but there are tons that I either never got a chance to play or I no longer have a working copy of those games. This is absolutely a huge selling point for me to get the premium package. But, maybe I'm just the odd one out. Lol

[@vesanius1]

I'm on PS5 and I'm definitely upgrading to extra in December when my essential runs out. I'm always buying the essential anyway so that little extra cost seems very much worth it. I have bought my yearly subscription during the Black Friday for years now though so I really hope that Extra gets a good Black Friday discount as well.

[@saadhq3356]

I have been wondering this do u claim the games that are on the extra catalog? Or do they dissappear from your library after a while. And if u claim said games like essential does then do they dissappear after u go back to essential from extra?

[@vesanius1]

@@saadhq3356 Extra basically the Netflix of games so any game can be removed from the catalogue at any time. You don't claim anything and if your subscription runs out you won't have access to any of those games until you re-sub. You can still claim the free monthly games that you also get with the Essential, but just like before, you can only play them of you have the Essential or better subscription active.

[@poknut69]

do you think theres a black friday discount for PS Plus subcriptions by Nov 25?

[@vesanius1]

@@poknut69 I hope so.

[@3bdullah666]

@@poknut69 ya my essential is 33% discounted i got 3 days after black friday so i might get it extra or even premium if it’s a good deal but otherwise i’m sticking with essential

[@Kor3Gaming_Ghost]

thanks for explaining

[@1Unit_]

So you used to be able to go in just about any local store, including gamestop and purchase a monthly card for ps+, so now it's all digital and you "have" to purchase with a cc separately?

[@Mr_Mack88]

I have a PS4 Slim and I just subbed to PS Plus Extra at the end of last month and for me I think it's worth it because I'm still kind of new to PlayStation, cause the last PS console I had was the first one and I've mainly been Xbox since the OG Xbox. But I have a XSX and a PS4 Slim and I don't know when I will upgrade to a PS5 (I don't even know if I will get one anytime soon) cause I've still been enjoying the combination of Xbox game pass ultimate and PS Plus Extra on my two systems. I'm glad Sony made this game pass like service because it has been awesome for me to be able to have both subscription services.

[@dcode1000]

welcome, playstaytion is awesome. make sure to play all the uncharted games, gran turismo, god of war, spider man, etc

[@Itsnotavailable]

@@dcode1000 doesnt interest me in playing boring games! *Ps4 slim owner here who uses it really just to stream pluto tv* the only game i have for the ps4 is mortal kombat💀

[@christiansantamaria7233]

@@dcode1000 yes dont forget ghost of tsushma or however you spell it but im literally abouta buy a PlayStation for all theese games

[@dcode1000]

@@Itsnotavailable wasn't talking to you lmao, pretty stupid to have a gaming console only to use it to watch some 3rd rate streaming service 🤡

[@hiphopdrama4103]

thank you man❤

[@matthewodonovan5130]

If you by extra for one month can you go back to essential and keep the games from essential

[@FiliSuperDuty]

Thanks to an Amazon (US) lottery, I am JUST getting my PS5... two years into this console gen. I have had the Series X since the holidays of 2021, but even getting that was a 100% fluke as Target miraculously had a single unit as a I walked by. As a guy who has been out of the PS ecosystem for a bit, the little catalogue in the Essential tier has a bunch of stuff that I haven't experienced, so that seems like an alright deal to me. I'm sure I'll eventually go up to the "extra" tier after I exhaust the "essential" stuff that interests me, but the top tier doesn't interest me. Although games preservation is indeed important, I don't have an interest in playing PS1 games on my PS5. I understand the appeal for some folks, but it's just not for me. Every time I go back to some of that stuff from my childhood, it just disappoints me as it isn't the same thing that I remember in my head, even if it has been remastered. I would rather just leave my childhood games in the past, and move on to the new stuff. But again, that's just me - games preservation = important. Old games = important.

[@matteboy_2780]

Also playstation extra now has Ubisoft classics if that changes which one you want

[@Chris-gm4hk]

Thanks!

[@LahmedA]

So if i cancel the subscription the games will be gone the next time you subscribe? No matter which subscription you pick?

[@husseinaliabdulzahraal-dul1575]

So the games catalog and classic games catalog are both download and not streaming right?

[@mertbalbal4624]

thanks for the video, it was really informative and easy to understand. If I get a PS5 in the future, then I'll definitely get PS Plus Extra.

[@Christ_died_for_your_sins_777.]

Cant find any ps5's anywhere

[@MarkTomeh]

​@@Christ_died_for_your_sins_777. really? Check PlayStation Direct

[@SINNER6879]

I just got one today from my local GameStop surprisingly but they’re getting easier to find now thank god

[@MarkTomeh]

@@SINNER6879 they're much easier to find now.

[@skywatcher9076]

I just got my PS5 I'm setting up everything now If it wasn't for this video I wouldn't even know about playstation plus premium because it's not really obvious on the dashboard I actually like the series X interface better and it's ultimate gamepass is better then ps5s confusing 3 tier plus and ps now I had to do a search to find ps plus 3 tiers

[@H3LLSTAIN]

im confused, i have a question; before the whole new ps plus came, and you had ps plus before that, you got the old ps plus monthly games. if i choose essential, would that mean i can still play it? or would i have to go extra? because i wanna get arkham knight as i already got it from ps plus but it says the title “EXTRA” on it so im just really confused

[@mezgaming4605]

Same.. Guys I have a question when I subscribe to ps plus extra then get the game for free but what happens when my subscription is finished then I subscribe to ps plus essential because it’s cheaper So can I play stray with ps plus essential or it needs to be ps plus extra??? Pls reply

[@squashua7222]

@@mezgaming4605 Any game that you get through ESSENTIAL, you can still play those games if you upgrade to extra/premium HOWEVER If you get a game that is exclusive to PS Extra/Premium members, and you eventually downgrade to PS Essential, you will not be able to play any games that came with PS Extra/premium

[@char_gards]

I think if it was on essential when you got it you’ll be okay 👍

[@Edashloco]

Im pretty content with the essential version but im wondering if yall who have extra think its worth paying the extra for it?? Can you actually download the games or you stream them? And if u can download them do u keep them even if the game gets removed from the catalog?

[@HoodScents]

I had Extra but recently changed to essential. I don’t think the games coming to the cataloge are worth it, I didn’t play that many games from it. All I want is to be able to play online.

[@mezgaming4605]

Guys I have a question when I subscribe to ps plus extra then get the game for free but what happens when my subscription is finished then I subscribe to ps plus essential because it’s cheaper So can I play stray with ps plus essential or it needs to be ps plus extra??? Pls reply

[@GaryMetz62348]

Does that mean u can buy a lot games if u have Playtation plus Essential Extra or Premium?

[@Xelarax89]

Thank you

[@vfourtitudevfourtitude2910]

I just got a ps5 I had a ps4 and had ps plus deluxe. But now I want to go to the premium, how do I do so? I can’t find anything even saying ps plus premium? I got to change subscription and the best I can get is deluxe Please help I want to play the old ratchet and clanks

[@teacherg28]

I don t want to download. I want to get a subscription on sale. Is Black Friday the only opportunity?

[@deanyt3697]

That PS5 they have doesn’t have the dock attached so it looks weird lol

[@nyta911]

Worth highliting that the games that you get in Essential tier are different from the ones you get in Extra

[@previewreview3655]

To play games on PS Plus Premium, do i need to download it or can i play it from the Pass homepage?

[@Son_Of_Bangoua]

brother looks like Fink thank you for the breakdown..Had to watch it before taking advantage of the Black friday sales. 25% off

[@blueeyedtech1234]

Extra is very tempting

[@beanzthecomedian]

Essential for me

[@Ballinkitty43]

Did they get rid of the ps plus collection for essential

[@Morgansquad]

Bro is that a street fighter arcade behind you I want one so bad !

[@justinoz1526]

So it is basically: PlayStation+ PlayStation++ PlayStation+++ If you need a 10 minute video to explain a video game service, it's too confusing.

[@tommeagher235]

Yeah you've broke it down in seconds and that's all everyone needs to know 😂

[@rapidfire670]

i subscribed

[@natalizagar9743]

Please tell me if i get ps plus essential do i get to keep the games like rd2 and that?

[@anugrahjoel5799]

So there is no cloud gaming for ps4 with the extra ps plus?

[@SavvyMelado]

Thank u

[@shanew7361]

If I pay for a digital download of a game on PS5 and subscribe to their premuim plus plan and decide ro cancel it will any games I've purchased digitally disappear or not enable me to play them online?

[@beasthaven1571]

Stop you from playing it

[@dtroof4936]

How do i find the yearly purchase options? I don't like month to month purchases.

[@joelrodriguez2152]

what they failed to explain is that ps plus 1 year prices wish for essential is 60.00 dollars n extra for the year 100 .dollars n the extra is 120.00 dollars for the year

[@davidjames3259]

Which membership I can find GOD OF WAR REMASTERED ?

[@moneymakinvillain6917]

PlayStation plus was so much simpler you could do all that with one subscription..now you gotta spend almost 30 a month to play something that was 15

[@gorrilaunit99]

*Where is Silent Hill 1-3?*

[@user-fm8xs3hr3w]

Cloud saves are free on Xbox

[@nevalacking_khy7813]

It’s not letting me buy ps+

[@Skymica132]

I would go for extra because you get those games like spider man miles morales mortal combat and stray and all those other type of games

[@samizzleon]

When i had a xbox 360 the trial feature was a feature.I remember when i played the original bandicoot:) for 2 hours unfortualy i dind't finish it

[@hurricane7727]

Same with me. I played L4dead 2 Online.

[@yolandagutierrez7175]

Can I still get the game catalog and the games I get from extra if I get premium

[@hurricane7727]

Yes you can because Premium is a Upgrade of Extra

[@mezgaming4605]

Guys I have a question when I subscribe to ps plus extra then get the game for free but what happens when my subscription is finished then I subscribe to ps plus essential because it’s cheaper So can I play stray with ps plus essential or it needs to be ps plus extra??? Pls reply

[@Yasout]

i got premium for 99.99 for a year so technically 8.25 a month. coz i have my ps4 that will sound like a airplane if i download on it so i can just stream on my pc.

[@trix7296]

If i buy the premium can i get the games from essential amd extra?

[@TheBeatboxHitmanTwo]

Of course you can. You get everything from the lower tiers along with whatever is in premium.

[@YFGMBlogTv]

I feel like extra is better right now

[@frankconrad8561]

Cant believe you have to pay the full premium price just so you can play classic ps1 games and demos…

[@hurricane7727]

Ps3 has Classic Ps1 Games on the Psn Store

[@ThomasTheTankEngine22]

But can I play midnight club!? That's all I care about

[@Marx1684]

I may try premium if the add Einhander & Road Rash. Without either, meh.

[@spicypigeon5771]

3:33 Discounts for playstation plus are not usually that great by the way.

[@skywatcher9076]

So I should get the premium????right

[@KevinLam18]

No

[@Roel93]

Wait so even if you pay for a subscription you still need to buy the games to keep them after you paid like a 1000 euro for a videogame console? I thought you could download games for free?

[@LOLHAXGUN]

there are some free games like warzone, fortnite etc.

[@beasthaven1571]

You keep but if ur plus is down u cant access em no more

[@PWRZAIAH]

Sad that Sony has raised the price on all these tiers, and for what reason?

[@derekosgood3230]

For nothing lol

[@GlueGuy20]

I hate that I have to force myself to subscribe just because I love Online Play for NBA 2K. 😒 With Nintendo Switch online membership is separate, and I can choose the games I like to play.

[@mtjoleolkaelle]

Does the extra has MK9?

[@Mr_Mack88]

No but it has MK11 though.

[@Leo12919]

Essential is good enough I think

[@LinuxManPlayzCOD]

This guy deserves 10 million subs

[@JayPatrol]

Microsoft and Sony have these game subscriptions for targeted audiences to have the casual gamer and people that don't buy games or alot of games on a regular basis. Not as much for hardcore gamers at least. Not to say hardcore gamers couldn't enjoy those subscriptions. But they won't be worth as much to them that already played those games or don't want to go back to them for nostalgia

[@lalosdope]

I wish U could play Need For Speed Underground 2 again😢

[@nygeek6471]

Really should only be two tiers, too confusing

[@MikeNovelli]

That wasn't what happened... Xbox had been charging for their Live online service while Playstation did not, and then Playstation saw the revenue they were missing out on and finally made their online service a paid service also.... Some basic research would have prevented that mistake.... Credibility lost. Yap tap tap. Blah blah blah. Video made. Post it. Who cares whether it's based in fact

[@itzXvatty]

So if i buy ps plus extra and i download gta do i keep it forever?

[@JosephG1604]

No when you subscription ends the game will be locked

[@zzack9242]

I'm confused I wanna play wild arms 1...the game has the +Premium mark on it. But I also have a choice to add to cart for 9.99 €... If I buy it , could i play the game without the premium subscription?

[@user-sf9od7ok4r]

damn playstation plus collection would’ve been so cool to bad it’s gone now

[@stevestars2966]

There is really no difference from extra or premium everything you want is on extra the premium is so you can stream the PS3 PS1 games that’s it has no first party games not worth upgrading to

[@alexanderholguin4696]

I was taking this guy seriously until he said his pick of the year was Guardians of the Galaxy, wow🤣

[@geraldnichols8714]

If you already purchased the Essential, can you upgrade to Premium??

[@HeyThatsAlex855]

Yes!

[@BluEx22329]

He brought up Xbox a lot

[@Suhadisgood]

Plus premium isn’t worth it it’s streaming PS3 games and playing trials that’s it you don’t get quests like ultimate game pass gives no EA access it’s better you subscribe to plus extra

[@franklopez399]

What's up peeps my advice is to all of you that have PlayStation 5 or Playstation 4 consoles if you guys have any advice for me right now because I'm just like right now I see the PlayStation Plus what I'm trying to say is to upgrade I get the PlayStation Plus premium but the cost is $10.19 95 or $15.28 for 12 months but cost is 119.99 there you go please give me like I said give me an advice so do I get that because it's saying the next charge it's going to charge me $119:99 every 12 months If I do get the 119.99 whats let's say $15.28 a month for 12 months so it's going to be like $15.28 every month or do they take it out automatically 119:99 dollars a month please let me know ASAP

[@d.diggler9936]

So, I get to buy my ps5 every year. Great.

[@fahadsa3565]

the new ps plus actually better than gamepass a lot of Quality games on ps+

[@goofy8066]

extra is the only worth to buy

[@crispycrunchycooking]

Very beautiful ❤️❤️

[@trashew]

Gardians of the galaxy GoTY lol

[@CymruDragon]

Hey 75% of Game Pass on Xbox you won't play either!

[@JKJK-lw8rm]

Why can't Xbox put competent games on the Xbox game pass?

[@karthik_mv]

Competent games? It’s a good catalogue imo

[@JoeHoeDoesSomething]

@@karthik_mv And better worth your money compared to Ps Plus since you get access to PC, Xbox, Xbox live gold, EA play, Xcloud, and small benefits using Ultimate

[@alexitopro9635]

LMFAO haven’t you seen their catalog?

[@JoeHoeDoesSomething]

@Michael Yeah but with game pass ultimate you get more benefits like I got Spotify for free for 3 months with game pass ultimate and it gives me pc games

[@JoeHoeDoesSomething]

@Michael Wait they're removing the 360 games like Banjo?