Nintendo Switch Online membership costs $20 per year for the basic plan or $50 per year for the Expansion Pack

Nintendo Switch Online has two tiers. The standard membership runs $20 annually and gives you online multiplayer, cloud saves, and access to a library of classic NES and SNES games. The Expansion Pack costs $50 per year and adds Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games, plus DLC for certain titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

You can also pay monthly: $4 for the basic plan or $11 for the Expansion Pack. The monthly option costs more per month than the annual rate, so if you plan to keep the membership for a full year, buying annually saves you money. Nintendo sometimes runs promotions on annual memberships, particularly around the holidays.

Family memberships are available for $50 per year (basic) or $80 per year (Expansion Pack), and they cover up to eight Nintendo accounts on the same Switch console. If you have multiple people in your household playing, the family plan spreads the cost across everyone.

Key Takeaways

  • Basic Nintendo Switch Online costs $20 per year or $4 per month, and includes online play and cloud saves.
  • The Expansion Pack adds retro games and DLC access for $50 per year or $11 per month.
  • Family memberships cover eight accounts on one console for $50 (basic) or $80 (Expansion Pack) annually.
  • Paying monthly costs more per month than paying annually, so annual membership is cheaper if you plan to stay subscribed.
  • You need an active membership to play online multiplayer games, but single-player games work without it.

What the basic membership includes

The standard $20 annual membership lets you play online multiplayer in games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 3, and Pokémon Sword and Shield. Without it, you can still play the single-player portions of these games, but you cannot join other players' matches or races.

Cloud saves are included, which means your game progress backs up to Nintendo's servers automatically. If your Switch breaks or you get a new one, you can read your saves on the new device. This does not work for all games — Nintendo Switch Sports and some other titles do not support cloud saves — but most games do.

You also get access to the Nintendo Switch Online app, which lets you voice chat and see game-specific features on your phone during multiplayer sessions. For some games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the app shows race results and lets you communicate with other players.

The classic games library includes about 100 NES and SNES titles. These are emulated versions of games like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong Country. You can play them online with other subscribers in certain games, and you can save your progress in most of them.

What the Expansion Pack adds

For an extra $30 per year beyond the basic membership, the Expansion Pack adds Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games. The N64 library includes titles like Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Mario Kart 64. The Genesis collection has Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star IV, and Altered Beast.

The Expansion Pack also includes DLC for specific games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe gets the Booster Course Pass, which adds 48 new tracks over time. Animal Crossing: New Horizons gets the Happy Home Paradise DLC, which lets you design vacation homes. These DLC packs are not free elsewhere — you would pay separately for them without the Expansion Pack.

Game Boy and Game Boy Color games were added to the Expansion Pack in late 2023, with titles like The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and Metroid II. Nintendo continues to add games to the retro library, though the pace varies.

How to know if you need a membership

You need Nintendo Switch Online to play online multiplayer with other people. If you only play single-player games or local multiplayer (where everyone is in the same room), you do not need a membership. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring, and Stardew Valley work fine without it.

Some games require online membership even for features that seem like they should be local. Pokémon Sword and Shield, for example, need the membership to trade with other players or join raids, even though you can catch and battle Pokémon alone without it.

If you want to back up your saves to the cloud, you need the membership. Without it, your saves stay only on your Switch console. If the console is lost, stolen, or breaks, those saves are gone.

Family memberships and sharing across consoles

A family membership covers up to eight Nintendo accounts on a single Switch console. Each person gets their own account, and they can all play online multiplayer and access the classic games library at the same time. The family plan costs $50 per year for basic or $80 per year for the Expansion Pack.

The membership does not transfer to other consoles. If you have two Switch consoles in your house, you need a separate membership for each one. However, if one console is set as your primary console, other accounts on that console can use your membership. This is how some households share one membership across multiple Switches, though it requires specific setup.

Nintendo accounts are free to create, and you can have multiple accounts on one console. Each account can have its own game library and save files, so family members do not have to share their progress.

Comparing the cost to other gaming subscriptions

Nintendo Switch Online is cheaper than PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass. PlayStation Plus Essential costs $60 per year, PlayStation Plus Extra costs $120 per year, and Xbox Game Pass for console costs $180 per year. Nintendo's basic membership at $20 per year is significantly less, though it also includes fewer games and features.

The trade-off is that Nintendo Switch Online gives you a smaller library of games. You get online play and cloud saves, but you do not get access to hundreds of new games the way Game Pass does. The retro games library is a bonus, not a replacement for a modern game library.

If you play mostly Nintendo games and want online multiplayer, the basic membership is the most affordable option among the major platforms. If you want a large library of modern games, you would need to buy games individually or look at a different subscription service.

How billing works and what to watch for

Nintendo charges your payment method on the date your membership renews. If you buy a one-year membership, it renews one year later. If you buy a monthly membership, it renews every month. You can cancel anytime through your Nintendo Account settings, and the membership stays active until the renewal date.

If you buy a membership code from a retailer instead of through Nintendo directly, you enter the code in your account and it adds time to your membership. These codes are often cheaper than buying directly from Nintendo, especially during sales.

Nintendo does not offer refunds for unused membership time. If you buy a year and cancel after three months, you lose the remaining nine months. Check your renewal date before purchasing to avoid accidental charges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need Nintendo Switch Online to play single-player games?

No. Games like Zelda, Elden Ring, and Stardew Valley work without a membership. You only need it for online multiplayer, cloud saves, and access to the retro games library.

Can I use one family membership on two different Switch consoles?

Not directly. A family membership covers eight accounts on one console. To use it on a second console, you would need to set that console as your primary console and use the same Nintendo Account, which lets other accounts on that console access the membership. This setup has limitations and is not officially supported for sharing across households.

What happens to my saves if my membership expires?

Cloud saves stay on Nintendo's servers for six months after your membership ends. You can reactivate the membership within that window and read them. After six months, they are deleted. Local saves on your console are not affected by membership status.

Are the retro games the full versions or are they different?

They are emulated versions of the original games, so they play the same way. Some have added features like save states and online multiplayer that the originals did not have. A few games have minor differences from the original cartridge versions, but the gameplay is the same.

Can I buy a membership as a gift?

Yes. Nintendo sells membership codes through its website and through retailers. You can give someone a code, and they enter it into their account to add time to their membership. This is often cheaper than buying a membership directly.