If you’re deciding between PlayStation or Xbox, start with something other than the specs. Availability can settle it first: in Czechia, Xbox was effectively not on sale as of 11 September 2026, while the PS5 was routinely in stock at major online stores. The second factor is how each company sells games. Microsoft sells access to a library through Game Pass, while Sony sells individual games and builds its subscription around a catalog of older content. Performance is the least important of those three things.
Specs: a difference you won’t see on screen
| Spec | PlayStation 5 | Xbox Series X |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Zen 2, 8 cores and 16 threads, variable frequency up to 3.5 GHz | AMD Zen 2, 8 cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.6 GHz with SMT) |
| GPU | RDNA 2, 10.3 TFLOPS, variable frequency up to 2.23 GHz | RDNA 2, 12 TFLOPS, 52 CU @ 1.825 GHz |
| Memory | 16 GB GDDR6, 448 GB/s bandwidth | 16 GB GDDR6, 10 GB @ 560 GB/s and 6 GB @ 336 GB/s |
| Storage | 825 GB SSD, 5.5 GB/s | 1 TB NVMe SSD, 2.4 GB/s (4.8 GB/s compressed) |
| Optical drive | Ultra HD Blu-ray, discs up to 100 GB | 4K UHD Blu-ray, disc versions only |
| Video | 4K at 120 Hz, 8K support, VRR via HDMI 2.1 | native 4K, support for up to 8K HDR, up to 120 FPS |
| Audio | Tempest 3D AudioTech | Microsoft doesn’t list a comparable item in its specs |
Specs based on the official Sony and Microsoft specifications, verified 11 September 2026. On paper the Series X has the higher GPU number, but the comparison isn’t as clear-cut as it looks. The GPU frequency is variable on the PS5 and fixed on the Series X, so 10.3 versus 12 TFLOPS is not a performance comparison that holds in every situation. In practice, multiplatform games run similarly on both consoles, and the gap in the table is smaller than the difference between your TV and your neighbor’s.
Both consoles also come in an all-digital version: for Xbox it’s the 1 TB Series X Robot White, for PlayStation the Digital Edition. Within each family, though, the differences are sharper than between the brands; see the Xbox Series X vs Series S comparison and the difference between PS5 and PS5 Pro.
Xbox is effectively not on sale in Czechia
For a buyer in Czechia, this matters more than the whole table above. As of 11 September 2026:
- Microsoft doesn’t publish a price in Czechia. The Czech Xbox Series X page on xbox.com shows a placeholder made of X characters instead of an amount and points you to a list of retailers. The overview of all consoles on the same domain returns “No results found”.
- The Microsoft Store in Czechia doesn’t have the consoles in stock. Searching returns that the item is currently out of stock.
- A major Czech electronics retailer didn’t have a single console in stock in its Xbox Series category. The category reports that no products match the request, and the Series X product page shows “Price incl. VAT: CZK 0” and “Out of stock”.
- The PS5, on the other hand, was easy to buy. Both the disc and digital versions were in stock at major Czech online stores; PS5 Pro availability was worse and offers differed by thousands of crowns.
Prices don’t help Xbox even on paper. From 1 August 2026, Microsoft raised prices worldwide by USD 100 for the 512 GB models and by USD 150 for the 1 TB models, because storage and memory prices have, according to Microsoft, risen more than two and a half times, and it expects them to double again by autumn 2027. Microsoft didn’t publish the resulting prices, only the size of the increase, and it is also discontinuing the 2 TB Galaxy Black edition. Sony adjusted its price list from 2 April 2026 and published the specific amounts, though only in dollars, euros, pounds and yen. Everything that adds to the price of the console is covered in the article on how much the PS5 costs and what’s included.
Game Pass versus Sony’s model
This is where the two platforms are built differently, and it’s a real difference, not marketing.
Microsoft has four Game Pass tiers. With Ultimate, games are available on launch day, including third-party titles, with one exception: the Call of Duty series. With Premium, new Xbox games are added within twelve months of release, and Essential has no day-one games. Microsoft gives the library sizes as more than 50 games for Essential, more than 200 for Premium and more than 400 for Ultimate. The details are in our overview of Game Pass tiers.
Sony’s table of PlayStation Plus benefits has no item about launch-day games. Essential gives you monthly games and online multiplayer, Extra adds a catalog of hundreds of titles and Ubisoft+ Classics, and Premium adds a catalog of PS1, PS2 and PSP classics, game trials and cloud streaming. So new releases are bought separately. The differences between the tiers are covered in the PS Plus overview.
Put simply: on Xbox you subscribe to playing, on PlayStation you subscribe to a service around the games you buy.
What a year of gaming will cost you
| Subscription | Price | Launch-day games |
|---|---|---|
| Game Pass Essential | CZK 239 per month | no |
| Game Pass Premium | CZK 329 per month | no, within 12 months of release |
| Game Pass Ultimate | CZK 499 per month | yes, except the Call of Duty series |
| PS Plus Extra | CZK 3,280 for 12 months | no |
| PS Plus Premium | CZK 4,000 for 12 months | no |
Subscription prices verified 11 September 2026. These are Czech prices: unlike the consoles, subscriptions in Czechia are sold directly in Czech crowns, which is why the table shows CZK here but the hardware section doesn’t.
Here’s how it works out for a hypothetical player who gets through five games a year. On Xbox with Ultimate, you pay just under CZK 6,000 a year, and if those five games are in the library, you have no other costs. There are two catches: the new Call of Duty isn’t included, and you don’t own the games from the subscription. A yearly PS Plus membership is cheaper, but you buy new releases on top of it, so just two big games at full price are enough to tip the total yearly cost in Xbox’s favor. It flips back the moment you want to own your games for good.
Cloud as a way around unavailable hardware
When you can’t get hold of a console, you can reach the games by streaming, and Microsoft is more open here. Xbox Cloud Gaming is part of the Essential, Premium and Ultimate tiers and runs on PCs, phones, tablets, selected Samsung and LG TVs, Amazon Fire TV and in a web browser. Sony offers cloud streaming only in the Premium tier, and its Czech page lists only the PS5 console and the PlayStation Portal for it, so it doesn’t work as a substitute for missing hardware. How to get streaming up and running is explained in the guide to getting started with Xbox Cloud Gaming, and the basics are covered in the article on how cloud gaming works.
One change is on the way, though. On 3 September 2026, Microsoft announced that from November 2026 it will introduce monthly caps on cloud gaming: 5 hours for Essential, 10 for Premium and 15 for Ultimate, with the option to buy more time in the Xbox Store. It describes the current state as unlimited and estimates the change will affect about 4% of subscribers.
Which console is for whom
- Get a PS5 if you want one now and if you want to own your games. It’s in stock at Czech online stores, has a clear price list, and to pick a version, the overview of which PS5 edition to buy is all you need.
- Get an Xbox Series X if you can find one and play a wide range of games. Ultimate with day-one games makes the most sense for someone who rotates through ten titles a year and doesn’t want to own any of them.
- Get an Xbox if you also want older games. Backward compatibility goes back to Xbox One, Xbox 360 and the original Xbox, and the cloud runs on devices you already have at home.
When not to buy:
- Don’t buy an Xbox blindly from an unclear offer. When the manufacturer’s Czech page shows placeholder text instead of a price and major retailers don’t have the console in stock, warranty service and accessory availability are a real risk, not a detail.
- Don’t buy a console for a single game. On both platforms the entry price is high enough that it only pays off if you play regularly.
- Don’t buy either one if you’re waiting for the next generation. In that case it’s worth reading whether to wait for the PS6 or buy a PS5 Pro, because no release date has been confirmed.
FAQ
On paper it has higher raw GPU performance, 12 versus 10.3 TFLOPS. But the GPU frequency is variable on the PS5 and fixed on the Series X, so it’s not a performance comparison that holds in every situation. Multiplatform games run similarly on both consoles, and the difference is smaller than the impact of your TV.
As of 11 September 2026, it was difficult. Microsoft’s Czech page shows placeholder text instead of a price, the Microsoft Store doesn’t have the console in stock and a major Czech electronics retailer didn’t have a single unit in its Xbox Series category. You can find it at smaller sellers and on the second-hand market, but with a wide spread of prices.
For a player who rotates through lots of titles, Game Pass Ultimate, because it includes launch-day games except the Call of Duty series. For a player who buys a few games a year and wants to own them, a yearly PS Plus Extra or Premium membership comes out cheaper, because Sony’s subscription doesn’t replace buying games, it only complements it.
Yes, but only the disc versions. The PS5 has an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive, the Xbox Series X a 4K UHD Blu-ray drive. Both platforms also sell an all-digital version; for PlayStation you can buy a drive separately, for the digital Xbox Series X you can’t.
The one they play on. On both platforms, paid games require a subscription for online multiplayer, and PlayStation and Xbox players can only play together in games that support it. In Czechia, hardware availability often makes the choice for you anyway.
So the choice between platforms comes down to three things: what you can get, how you want to pay for games and what the people around you play. On top of that, Xbox is changing its model from November 2026 by introducing caps on cloud hours, so if you’re buying mainly for streaming, check the limits on the day you buy. You’ll find more articles in the PlayStation and Xbox sections on Gamers Together. Information verified as of 11 September 2026.
Featured image photo: Der. Bellemer, CC BY 4.0.