TL;DR
- The "Toll Booth" Rule: If your child wants to play games like Call of Duty, Minecraft, or EA Sports FC 25 with their friends online, you must have at least the "Essential" tier.
- The "Free" Exception: Games like Fortnite, Roblox, and Rocket League do not require a subscription for online play.
- Tier Choice: Most families should stick to Essential ($79.99/year) or Extra ($134.99/year). Premium ($159.99/year) is mostly for hardcore nostalgia buffs and isn't worth the extra $25 for most kids.
- Pro Tip: Turn off "Auto-Renew" immediately after purchasing to avoid that surprise $80+ charge next year.
Learn how to set up PlayStation parental controls
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Think of PlayStation Plus (PS Plus) as the "all-access pass" for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Back in the day, you bought a disc, popped it in, and played. Now, Sony has moved to a "service" model.
At its most basic level, PS Plus is the fee you pay Sony so your console can talk to other consoles over the internet. Without it, your child is essentially playing in a digital silo. They can play the "campaign" or "story mode" of a game alone, but they can't join their friends in a lobby to scream about how "Ohio" a certain skin looks.
Sony revamped their subscription model a while back to compete with Xbox Game Pass. They split it into three levels. Here’s the "no-BS" breakdown of what you’re actually getting.
Cost: ~$80/year (or $9.99/month) What it is: The bare minimum. Includes:
- Online Multiplayer: This is the only reason 90% of parents buy this.
- Monthly Games: Sony gives away 2-3 games every month. Once you "claim" them, they stay in your library as long as you have an active sub. Sometimes they are hits like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but often they are niche titles your kid won't touch.
- Cloud Storage: Saves their game progress to the internet so they don't lose 400 hours of progress if the console dies.
Cost: ~$135/year (or $14.99/month) What it is: The "Netflix for Games" tier. Includes: Everything in Essential, plus a massive Game Catalog of hundreds of downloadable games. Is it worth it? If your kid is constantly asking for new $70 games, this is actually a money-saver. It includes heavy hitters like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Ghost of Tsushima, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. If they only play one game (like Minecraft) all year, skip this.
Cost: ~$160/year (or $17.99/month) What it is: The "Hardcore/Nostalgia" tier. Includes: Everything above, plus "Classics" (games from the 90s/early 2000s), game trials (demos), and cloud streaming (playing games without downloading them). Is it worth it? Honestly? Not for most kids. Unless they are dying to play a game from 1998 that you remember fondly but they think looks like "brain rot," save the $25 and stick to Extra.
One of the biggest mistakes parents make is buying a PS Plus subscription because their kid says, "I need it to play with my friends!"
If your child ONLY plays "Free-to-Play" games, you do NOT need PS Plus.
Sony does not require a subscription for games that are free to download. This includes:
If your child spends 99% of their time in Roblox or Fortnite, you are literally donating $80 a year to Sony for no reason.
For kids today, gaming is the new "hanging out at the mall." If they aren't online, they are socially isolated. When everyone at the lunch table is talking about what happened in their Minecraft world last night, and your kid couldn't join because the subscription lapsed, it feels like a genuine social penalty.
Beyond the social aspect, the Extra tier offers a sense of "entrepreneurship" or discovery. They can browse the catalog, try a weird indie game, and learn what genres they actually like without you having to vet a $70 purchase every time. It turns the console into a library rather than a vending machine.
The subscription itself doesn't have an age rating, but the content it unlocks does.
- Ages 6-10: Stick to the Essential tier for Minecraft or Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Be careful with the "Monthly Games," as they are often rated M for Mature.
- Ages 11-14: This is where the Extra tier becomes valuable. They are starting to explore more complex games and having access to a curated catalog prevents them from constantly begging for the latest viral (and expensive) trend.
- Ages 15+: They likely know exactly which tier they want. At this age, the conversation shifts from "what can I play" to "how are we paying for this."
- Sales Tax: The price you see ($79.99) is rarely the price you pay. Depending on your state, digital subscriptions are often taxed. Expect that $80 to look more like $86 on your statement.
- The Auto-Renew Trap: By default, Sony will turn on auto-renew. If you buy a 12-month sub today, they will charge you again on December 31, 2025, at whatever the current price is.
- The Wallet System: To buy a subscription, you often have to "add funds" to a digital wallet. This can lead to "leftover" money (e.g., you add $100 to pay for an $86 sub, and now there's $14 sitting there). Your kid will find that $14 and they will spend it on V-Bucks if you don't have a passcode on purchases.
The best way to handle this is through the PlayStation App on your phone or the website.
- Set a Purchase Passcode: Do this immediately. It ensures that even if they have a subscription, they can't buy more things (like expansion packs or currency) without you typing in a 4-digit code.
- Sub-Accounts: Never give your child the "Master Account." Create a child account for them. You can then share your PS Plus benefits from your main account to theirs. This keeps your credit card one step removed from their itchy trigger fingers.
PlayStation Plus is a "utility bill" for the modern gaming household. If your child plays anything other than Fortnite, you’re probably going to end up paying it.
- Go with Essential if they have one or two "forever games" they play online.
- Go with Extra if they are "variety gamers" who get bored easily.
- Skip Premium unless you really need to play Ape Escape from 1999 for "research purposes."
- Check the "Library": Look at what games your kid actually plays. Are they all free-to-play? If so, cancel the sub.
- Audit the Tier: If you're on Premium, look at the "Classics" usage. If it's zero, downgrade to Extra or Essential at the next renewal.
- Set a Calendar Alert: Put a note in your phone for 11 months from today to "Check PS Plus Renewal." Sony won't remind you until the receipt hits your inbox.
Ask our chatbot for a comparison of PS Plus vs Xbox Game Pass