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Software · head to head

Nintendo Switch Online vs Xbox Game Pass

N

Nintendo Switch Online

Software

Online play, classic games and more

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
X

Xbox Game Pass

Software

Play together with friends, new games and classic favorites

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Nintendo Switch Online individual plan is $19.99 per year but access to GameCube, N64, Game Boy Advance and SEGA Genesis titles requires the $49.99 per year Expansion Pack tier; Xbox Game Pass day-one access to new Xbox-published games is only included on the Ultimate tier, not on Essential or Premium

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass actually diverge.

Attributes where Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass differ
AttributeNintendo Switch OnlineXbox Game Pass

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Nintendo Switch Online

  • Individual plan is $19.99 per year but access to GameCube, N64, Game Boy Advance and SEGA Genesis titles requires the $49.99 per year Expansion Pack tier
  • Family plan pricing of $34.99 or $79.99 per year caps membership sharing at 8 accounts

Xbox Game Pass

  • Day-one access to new Xbox-published games is only included on the Ultimate tier, not on Essential or Premium
  • Cloud gaming quality is explicitly tiered, with the vendor stating Premium gets improved cloud quality and only Ultimate gets premium cloud gaming

Pricing, plan by plan

Nintendo Switch Online

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Nintendo Switch Online review.

Xbox Game Pass

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Xbox Game Pass review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Nintendo Switch Online if

Nothing in the data separates Nintendo Switch Online from Xbox Game Pass on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Nintendo Switch Online review

Choose Xbox Game Pass if

Nothing in the data separates Xbox Game Pass from Nintendo Switch Online on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Xbox Game Pass review

Questions people ask

Is Nintendo Switch Online or Xbox Game Pass better?
Neither clearly leads. Nintendo Switch Online starts at On request and Xbox Game Pass at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nintendo Switch Online or Xbox Game Pass?
Nintendo Switch Online starts at On request and Xbox Game Pass at On request.
Does Nintendo Switch Online or Xbox Game Pass run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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Related pages

More on Nintendo Switch Online

More on Xbox Game Pass

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