There’s no single answer to the question how much does an Xbox cost. In the Czech Republic, where we checked, Microsoft doesn’t publish retail prices, and as of the date we checked, consoles were hardly on sale there at all, so the only numbers you can document are US ones. That’s why the budget is built item by item: the console, an extra controller, a subscription and storage. Three of those four items have a price you can look up in advance, and one doesn’t: the console itself.
Why the Xbox has no single price: the Czech example
It’s not an excuse; it’s the state of the market as of 11 September 2026. We checked four places in the Czech market, and all four came back with the same result.
- The Czech Xbox website shows a placeholder CZK amount (“XX XXX”) instead of a price, plus a link for choosing a retailer.
- The Czech Microsoft Store has no consoles in stock.
- A major Czech electronics retailer didn’t have a single console in stock in its Xbox Series category and showed a price of CZK 0 for the Series X.
- Series X offers on price comparison sites ranged from used units to new ones, a spread of about CZK 10,000.
In a market like that, the price of an Xbox isn’t set by the manufacturer but by a specific retailer on a specific day. So always take any amount together with the retailer and the date, and don’t plan around any of them a month ahead. Which console makes sense technically is covered in our comparison of the Xbox Series X and Series S.
What happened to the price in 2026
On 25 June 2026, Microsoft announced a worldwide price increase effective 1 August 2026 and published only the size of the increase, not the final amounts. The 512 GB models went up by USD 100, the 1 TB models by USD 150. As the reason, the company said memory and storage prices had risen more than 2.5 times and are expected to double again by fall 2027, and it pointed out that consoles are usually sold not at a profit but below manufacturing cost. Along with the price hike, it discontinued the 2 TB model. There’s no way to plan for when a cheaper new generation will ease this pressure, because Microsoft has confirmed only one thing about the new Xbox, as our overview of what we know about the new Xbox sums up.
| Item | Status as of 11 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Price increase effective | 1 August 2026 |
| Increase confirmed by Microsoft | +USD 100 for 512 GB models, +USD 150 for 1 TB models |
| Xbox Series X, 1 TB, US price | USD 799.99 (previously USD 649.99) |
| Xbox Series S, 512 GB, US price | USD 499.99 (previously USD 399.99) |
| 2 TB model | discontinued by Microsoft |
| Recommended price for the Czech market | not published by Microsoft |
Both dollar amounts are US retail prices from two independent sources, and they match the increase confirmed by Microsoft. They aren’t prices for other markets, though: converting them at the exchange rate and adding local VAT gives you a number you won’t see in any store.
Your first-year budget has five items
The console is just the entry ticket. Here’s a list of what gets added on top of it, and above all what can be documented about the price in advance.
| Item | When you need it | What’s known about the price |
|---|---|---|
| Console | always | in the Czech Republic only a specific retailer’s price; in the US USD 499.99 to USD 799.99 |
| Second controller | two-player gaming | Microsoft doesn’t list a price for the Czech market; same situation as with the console |
| Game Pass | online multiplayer in paid games and the catalog | in the Czech Microsoft Store CZK 239 to 499 per month depending on the plan, i.e. CZK 2,868 to 5,988 per year |
| Seagate expansion card | more big games installed at once | Microsoft doesn’t list prices and they vary by retailer; the 4 TB card cost USD 499.99 at launch on 9 June 2025 |
| External USB drive | archive of older games | cheaper than the card, but Series X|S games won’t run from it |
According to Microsoft, the Series X box contains the console, one controller, an Ultra High Speed HDMI cable and a power cable. That cable in particular is required for 4K at 120 Hz; the rest of the requirements are covered in our guide to Xbox TV settings. There are no headphones, second controller or anything else in the box. Microsoft doesn’t list the Series S box contents on the pages we could access, so with the cheaper model you can’t be sure what’s included.
The subscription is the only item you know in advance
For Game Pass, the Czech Microsoft Store catalog lists prices in CZK, so you can work out a full year ahead exactly. Essential comes to CZK 2,868 a year, the console plan to CZK 3,108, Premium to CZK 3,948 and Ultimate to CZK 5,988. With a console costing CZK 20,000, that’s fifteen to thirty percent on top, and again every year.
You can also cut it. Since 21 April 2021, free-to-play games on Xbox haven’t required any subscription for online multiplayer, so if you play only those, you can run the console without a recurring fee. Whether a subscription pays off in your case is worked out in the model calculation in our article on whether Game Pass is worth it, and the differences between plans are covered in our overview of Game Pass plans.
Storage can add half the console’s price
Neither console gives you its full nominal capacity; part of it goes to the system and to Quick Resume, the feature that keeps games you’re in the middle of suspended in memory. According to media measurements, roughly 800 GB of the terabyte is left on the Series X and roughly 360 GB of the 512 GB on the Series S. Microsoft doesn’t publish these numbers itself, so treat them as a ballpark estimate.
There are two ways to expand it, and there’s a fundamental difference between them. The official Seagate card in 1, 2 and 4 TB capacities keeps the same speed as the internal SSD, and you play directly from it, including titles labeled Optimized for Xbox Series X|S. An external USB drive is cheaper, but current-gen games can’t be launched from it and have to be moved back before you play. The 4 TB card cost USD 499.99 at launch in June 2025, the same as a whole Series S after the price increase. If you rotate through a lot of catalog games, count this item right alongside the console.
Where you can save and where you can’t
- Save on the model, not on storage. The cheaper 512GB Series S ends up costing more once you add a card, as soon as you play several games at once.
- Cut the subscription if you only play free-to-play. It’s the only recurring item on the list, and Microsoft doesn’t require it for these games.
- Don’t convert the dollar price into your currency. The US amount doesn’t include tax and has nothing to do with prices in other markets.
- Don’t buy a console for games you can stream. With a decent connection, streaming is the cheaper route; the steps are in our guide to Xbox Cloud Gaming, and an alternative outside Xbox is Boosteroid.
- Don’t rely on a gift card from another country. Xbox codes and gift cards are tied to a country and Microsoft doesn’t transfer them between regions, as described in our guide on how to redeem a code on Xbox.
If you’re still choosing between platforms, the item-by-item budget for the other side is in our article on how much a PS5 costs and what’s included, and the gaming differences are covered in our comparison PS5 or Xbox Series X.
FAQ
In the US, after the 1 August 2026 price increase, the 1 TB Series X costs USD 799.99 and the 512 GB Series S USD 499.99. Microsoft doesn’t publish a recommended price in CZK, and its Czech page shows placeholder text instead of an amount. So for the Czech price, always go by a specific retailer on a specific date.
There’s no single valid number. The Xbox One is a previous-generation console and Microsoft’s current lineup is the Series X and Series S, so no price for new units is published anywhere and the price is set on the second-hand market. Game Pass works on the Xbox One, but games made for Series X|S reach it only via streaming.
Microsoft cited memory and storage prices, which it says have risen more than 2.5 times, and it expects them to double again by fall 2027. It also pointed out that consoles are usually sold not at a profit but below manufacturing cost. The price increase applies worldwide from 1 August 2026.
According to the Czech Microsoft Store catalog, Essential comes to CZK 2,868, the console plan to CZK 3,108 with annual payment, Premium to CZK 3,948 and Ultimate to CZK 5,988 a year. Prices are valid as of 11 September 2026. Free-to-play games don’t need a subscription; their online multiplayer runs without a membership.
It’s worth it if you have three or more big games installed at once. Series X|S games launch directly only from the official Seagate card; an external USB drive serves as an archive, and current-gen titles have to be moved back from it. The 4 TB card cost USD 499.99 at launch, the same as a whole Series S.
Microsoft itself has signaled that pressure on memory prices will last until fall 2027, so further price moves are more likely than a discount, and you should check the amount again before buying. How to keep an eye on the catalog so extra games don’t creep into your budget is covered in our article on what’s in Game Pass and how to track it, and more comparisons are in the Xbox section at Gamers Together. Information verified as of 14 August 2026.
Thumbnail photo: Der. Bellemer, CC BY 4.0.