Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) costs €3.99 for a month, €19.99 for a year and €39.99 a year with the Expansion Pack in the Nintendo eShop for Germany. On Nintendo Switch 2 you also need it for GameChat. Below you will find all prices in euros as of 20 October 2026, what the Expansion Pack adds, when a family membership pays off and how GameChat and GameShare work.
How much Nintendo Switch Online costs
Prices in the German Nintendo eShop as of 20 October 2026:
| Membership | Length | Price (eShop DE) |
|---|---|---|
| NSO individual | 1 month | €3.99 |
| NSO individual | 3 months | €7.99 |
| NSO individual | 12 months | €19.99 |
| NSO + Expansion Pack individual | 12 months | €39.99 |
| NSO family | 12 months | €34.99 |
| NSO + Expansion Pack family | 12 months | €69.99 |
You can check the current offer on the eShop membership page. If you are still choosing a console, prices and where to buy are covered in our Switch 2 price guide.
Family membership: up to 8 accounts
A family membership is shared by up to 8 Nintendo Accounts in one family group. It already pays off for two players: €34.99 for the family is less than two individual yearly memberships at €19.99 each. With the Expansion Pack the gap is bigger, €69.99 for the whole family against €39.99 for a single player.
For one player, the cheapest way to cover a full year is the individual 12-month membership. The 1-month and 3-month options make sense when you only want NSO for a short time, for example over the holidays or to try GameChat.
What the Expansion Pack adds
The Expansion Pack is the higher tier. On top of the standard NSO it adds:
- classics from Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Boy and SEGA Mega Drive,
- on Switch 2, Nintendo GameCube games too, for example The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker or F-ZERO GX,
- the DLC Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass, Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise and Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion,
- the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade packs for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
Two conditions apply to Zelda. You get the upgrade packs at no extra cost only while your membership is active, and you need your own copy of the game. The improvements only run on Switch 2. What Switch 2 editions bring is explained in our guide to Switch 2 games. The full list of what is included is on Nintendo’s website.
Moving from Switch 1? Your membership carries over
A Nintendo Switch Online membership you have on the original Nintendo Switch stays valid on Switch 2, so you do not need to buy it again. If your Switch 2 is already set up and you skipped the system transfer, you can still move save data with Save Data Cloud, which is part of NSO. The full process is in our system transfer guide.
GameChat: what it does and what you need
GameChat is a chat feature built into Switch 2. You start it with the C button on the right Joy-Con 2.
- Voice chat for up to 12 people.
- Screen sharing and video chat for up to 4 people.
- Switch 2 only: GameChat is not available on the original Nintendo Switch.
GameChat is part of the NSO membership. The free welcome offer ran until 31 March 2026. Since then it does not work without a membership.
Before you start, you have to verify the phone number on your Nintendo Account by SMS. You can only chat with friends from your list whom you approve. For video chat you need a compatible USB-C camera, for example the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, sold separately. It has a field of view of about 110° and a privacy shutter, and a green light shows when it is on.
GameChat recordings stay on the console only, for up to 24 hours. Only the last 3 minutes are sent to Nintendo, and only if you report a chat. More details are in Nintendo’s GameChat guide.
GameChat and children
Children need a parent’s consent in the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app to use GameChat. How to set up the app and what a parent can see is covered in our parental controls guide.
GameShare: one game on several consoles
GameShare shares a game from your console with other consoles you play with. The game is always shared by a Switch 2. Locally, another Switch 2 and the original Nintendo Switch can both join, the older console only with compatible games. Online sharing via GameChat only works between Switch 2 consoles. A shared game can only be played during the session.
Join our Discord to find teammates for GameChat and online play, and to ask which plan makes sense for you: GamersTogether Discord.
FAQ
In the German eShop as of 20 October 2026, an individual membership costs €3.99 for 1 month, €7.99 for 3 months and €19.99 for 12 months. A family membership costs €34.99 a year.
NSO + Expansion Pack costs €39.99 for an individual and €69.99 for a family, both for 12 months.
Yes. The free welcome offer ran until 31 March 2026, since then GameChat requires a Nintendo Switch Online membership. You also need to verify your phone number by SMS.
Yes, a Nintendo Switch Online membership from Switch 1 stays valid on Switch 2.
Information verified on 20 October 2026. More guides for the console are in our Switch 2 guides.