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Contents hide What is PlayStation Stars Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 What is PlayStation Plus PlayStation Plus Essential PlayStation Extra PlayStation Premium PlayStation Stars or PlayStation Plus? Earn more PS Stars points when you have a PS Plus sub

Eyeing up PlayStation Stars vs. PlayStation Plus and aren’t sure which one will suit you best? Whittled down to basics, PlayStation Stars is a free loyalty program with rewards while PlayStation Plus is a paid subscriptions service that grants access to a catalogue of games and multiplayer.

There’s a little more to it, but the main point is that they aren’t mutually exclusive and you can have both or one or the other at any time. Here’s everything you need to know.

Copyright PlayStation

What is PlayStation Stars

PlayStation Stars is a loyalty program set up by Sony in 2022. Anyone with a PlayStation Network account can sign up for free. By completing challenges and tasks (such as playing specific games, ticking off game-specific objectives, and taking on monthly challenges) you earn digital collectibles, but also points that you can redeem for limited-edition digital trophies and games from the PlayStation Stars rewards catalogue, and even PS Store wallet funds.

There are four tiers to PlayStation Stars that grant unique benefits, unlocked for hitting milestones:

Level 1

  • Milestones: Joined PlayStation Stars, started playing and completing campaigns.
  • Benefits: Get access to digital collectibles by completing campaigns. Receive a celebration collectible.

Level 2

  • Milestones: Bought one full game from PlayStation Store, earned one uncommon trophy.
  • Benefits: Receive a Level 2 celebration collectible and access to all collectibles from Level 1.

Level 3

  • Milestones: Bought two full games from PlayStation Store, earned 32 uncommon trophies.
  • Benefits: Receive a Level 3 celebration collectible and a birthday collectible.

Level 4

  • Milestones: Bought four full games from PlayStation Store, earned 128 uncommon trophies.
  • Benefits: Receive a Level 4 celebration collectible, birthday collectible, PSN anniversary collectible and chat priority routing.

For more details, check out our guide explaining to how to get PlayStation Stars points.

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What is PlayStation Plus

PlayStation Plus is a subscription service akin to Xbox Game Pass where users pay a monthly fee for access to one of three tiers along with access to online multiplayer and free monthly games. Here’s how each tier breaks down:

PlayStation Plus Essential

  • Free monthly games – yours to keep and play as long as the subscription is active
  • Online multiplayer – needed to play multiplayer games on PlayStation consoles
  • Exclusive discounts on the PlayStation Store
  • Exclusive content – skins, cosmetics, and weapons for free-to-play games
  • 100 GB cloud storage
  • Share Play sessions with friends
  • Game Help – hints and tips for PS5 games

Here’s a cost breakdown per region:

  • United States
    • $9.99 monthly / $24.99 quarterly / $59.99 yearly
  • Europe
    • €8.99 monthly / €24.99 quarterly / €59.99 yearly
  • United Kingdom
    • £6.99 monthly / £19.99 quarterly / £49.99 yearly 
  • Japan
    • ¥850 monthly / ¥2,150 quarterly / ¥5,143 yearly

PlayStation Extra

  • All PlayStation Plus Essential features and benefits
  • Game Catalogue – library of 400 PS4/PS5 games, including first-party exclusives like Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Ubisoft+ Classics – curated library of games from Ubisoft franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry

Here’s a cost breakdown per region:

  • United States
    • $14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly
  • Europe
    • €13.99 monthly / €39.99 quarterly / €99.99 yearly
  • United Kingdom
    • £10.99 monthly / £31.99 quarterly / £83.99 yearly 
  • Japan
    • ¥1,300 monthly / ¥3,600 quarterly / ¥8,600 yearly

PlayStation Premium

  • All PlayStation Plus Essential features and benefits
  • All PlayStation Plus Extra features and benefits
  • Classics Catalogue – library of classic PlayStation games from the original PlayStation, PS3, PS3, and PSP
  • Game trials – time-limited trials to major games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and God of War Ragnarok
  • Cloud Streaming – streaming access to a selection of Game Catalogue and Classics Catalogue on your PS5, PS4, and PC

Here’s a cost breakdown per region:

  • United States
    • $17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly
  • Europe
    • €16.99 monthly / €49.99 quarterly / €119.99 yearly
  • United Kingdom
    • £13.49 monthly / £39.99 quarterly / £99.99 yearly 
  • Japan
    • ¥1,550 – monthly / ¥4,300 – quarterly / ¥10,250 yearly

PlayStation Stars or PlayStation Plus?

The bottom line is that if you own a PlayStation console, sign up for PlayStation Stars because it’s free and rewards you with the odd PS Store wallet top up (the digital collectibles are give or take depending on how you feel about an effectively worthless digital trophy case).

✓ Tip

Earn more PS Stars points when you have a PS Plus sub

As an added benefit, you’ll earn more PlayStation Stars points if you have a PlayStation Plus account, including for the monthly subscription payment.

As for PlayStation Plus, the answer comes down to whether you want to play multiplayer games online, and then whether you want to play games in the catalogues on offer. If the answer is yes, then PlayStation Plus is the way to go.

About the Author

Tom Bardwell

Tom is guides editor here at VideoGamer.

Related Topics

  • PlayStation Plus
  • PlayStation Stars

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