Nintendo Switch Online: Pricing, Family Plan, and Everything You Need to Know

In France in 2026, Nintendo Switch Online costs €19.99 per year for the Individual plan and €34.99 per year for the Family plan (8 accounts). The Family plan allows 8 Nintendo accounts to use the service, with no requirement for them to be part of the same household. It is the gaming subscription with the lowest per-person price on the market: €4.37 per year per person on the Family plan. Here are the pricing details, what each tier includes, and how account sharing works across 8 accounts.

Key points to remember

• NSO Standard Individual: €19.99/year. NSO Standard Family: €34.99/year for 8 accounts.
• NSO + Add-on Pack: €39.99/year (individual) or €69.99/year (Family Plan with 8 accounts).
• The Expansion Pack adds N64, GBA, SEGA Mega Drive, Virtual Boy, and GameCube (exclusive to Switch 2).
• No requirement for a single household: Up to 8 Nintendo accounts from different households can share.
• That's €4.37 per year per person with NSO Family—the most affordable gaming subscription per user.

How much will Nintendo Switch Online cost in 2026?

Nintendo is keeping its four-tier annual pricing structure in 2026. The breakdown: Standard or Expansion Pack, available as Individual or Family plans. No monthly plans—only annual ones (with a few quarterly options for Individual plans depending on the time of year).

The 4 NSO plans in detail

• NSO Standard Individual — €19.99/year, a Nintendo Account, online access, and the NES, SNES, and Game Boy retro libraries.
• NSO Standard Family — €34.99/year for up to 8 Nintendo accounts.
• NSO + Individual Add-On Pack — €39.99/year, adds N64, GBA, SEGA Mega Drive, Virtual Boy, GameCube (Switch 2 exclusive), and major DLC.
• NSO + Family Add-on Pack — €69.99/year for 8 accounts, the most comprehensive plan.

Compared to the competition, this is a radically different approach. PS Plus Essential costs €71.99 per year for a single user. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs €251.88 per year. NSO Family costs €34.99 per year for 8 users. The cost per user is unmatched. See our comprehensive guide to 2026 gaming subscriptions for a comparison.

What does Nintendo Switch Online Standard include?

The Standard plan covers the essentials for online gaming on Switch and Switch 2. It is required for multiplayer games (Mario Kart, Splatoon, Smash, Pokémon Online). It also includes useful features and a retro game library that is regularly updated.

Included in NSO Standard

• Multiplayer online gaming on all compatible Switch and Switch 2 games.
• Automatic cloud saves for most games.
• NSO smartphone app for voice chat in certain games.
• NES Library: 95 games + 20 "SP" variants.
• SNES Library: Super Nintendo Classics.
• Game Boy and Game Boy Color Library: 45 games available in February 2026.

The Standard Plan has come a long way since 2018. Nintendo is gradually expanding its retro game libraries with monthly or quarterly updates. At €19.99 per year for online multiplayer plus retro games, it’s the most competitive deal on the market in absolute terms.

Why choose the NSO Add-On Pack?

The Premium Plan costs twice as much as the standard plan (€39.99/year instead of €19.99/year) but includes content that’s hard to find elsewhere. This is the plan to choose if you play Mario Kart 8, Splatoon, or Animal Crossing, or if you’re a fan of classic Nintendo games.

What the Add-On Pack Includes

• N64 Library — Mario 64, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, GoldenEye, Mario Kart 64.
• GBA Library — 31 games available since March 2026.
• SEGA Mega Drive — classic lineup: Sonic, Streets of Rage, Phantasy Star.
• Virtual Boy — 7+ games added in 2026, exclusively on NSO.
• GameCube — Switch 2 exclusive with expansion pack, first official release in 20 years.
• Included DLC: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Race Pass, Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion, Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise, Splatoon 3 Side Order.
• Nintendo Music — an app for streaming Nintendo soundtracks.

To give you an idea: the Mario Kart 8 Booster Race Pass DLC costs €24.99 on its own—which is already more than half the annual price of the Expansion Pack. The math is clear for anyone who owns Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Save up to 70% on Nintendo Switch Online Family with a shared subscription. spliiit verified users so they can legally share the 8 NSO Family accounts. See how it works.

How does the 8-Account Family Plan work?

This is the hidden strength of Nintendo's offering. While Apple limits family groups to 6 people and Google to 5, Nintendo allows up to 8 accounts in a single family group. And most importantly, unlike its competitors, there is no requirement for a shared household or address.

The rules of the Nintendo family group

• One admin over the age of 18 manages the group and invites members.
• Up to 8 Nintendo accounts in total in the group.
• Accounts may come from different households or even different countries (with regional restrictions on certain content).
• Each account retains its progress, saves, and personal game library.
• All members have access to online multiplayer and retro game libraries.
• Please note: if the admin leaves or terminates their account, everyone else will lose access.

This flexibility is a game-changer. In practical terms, up to 8 friends or relatives can legally share a single NSO Family membership. That works out to €4.37 per person per year for the Standard plan, or €8.75 per person per year for the Family Add-On. For more details, check out our step-by-step guide to sharing Nintendo Switch Online.

Is NSO better than PS Plus or Xbox Game Pass?

Comparing NSO to PlayStation and Xbox subscriptions doesn't really make sense: the pricing models are radically different. But when it comes to the price-per-user ratio for the family plan, Nintendo blows the competition out of the water.

• Subscription|Annual price|Max users|Price per user/year
• NSO Standard Family|€34.99|8|€4.37
• NSO + Family Add-on Pack|€69.99|8|€8.75
• Apple Arcade|€83.88 (€6.99/month)|6|€13.98
• Google Play Pass|~€59.88 (~€4.99/month)|5|~€11.98
• PS Plus Essential|€71.99|1|€71.99
• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate|€251.88 (€20.99/month)|1|€251.88

Benefits of the NSO Family

• Unbeatable price per user ($4.37/year).
• Share 8 accounts with no requirement for a shared household.
• A growing retro game catalog (NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, N64, Mega Drive, Virtual Boy, GameCube).
• Cloud backups included.

NSO Limits

• No catalog of recent games (unlike PS Plus Extra/Premium or Xbox Game Pass).
• No cloud gaming.
• Exclusive to Switch and Switch 2.
• If the admin leaves the group, everyone else loses access.

How can I legally share NSO Family?

The NSO Family plan with 8 accounts is officially authorized by Nintendo, with no requirement that users live in the same household. It is arguably the most flexible family plan in the gaming industry.

Three ways to share legally

• Immediate family: The admin invites up to 8 family members (spouse, children, parents).
• Among friends: Up to 8 friends can legally share a single subscription, splitting the cost among themselves.
• Via shared subscription: Use spliiit join or create an NSO Family group with verified users.

Legal subscription sharing through spliiit verified users and handles the cost split. At €34.99 per year divided by 8, the cost comes down to about €4 per person for the year. For other gaming platforms, check out our comparison of sharing platforms.

Want to enjoy Nintendo Switch Online without paying the full price? A shared subscription lets you split the cost by legally sharing your subscription with other verified users. Find out how it works on spliiit.

NSO on Switch 2: What's New?

The release of the Nintendo Switch 2 in June 2025 unlocked new exclusive content on NSO, without changing the pricing structure. The extensive backward compatibility between the Switch 1 and Switch 2 also makes it easy to switch between the two consoles.

• GameCube — Switch 2 exclusive library with Expansion Pack, first official release in 20 years.
• Native GameChat — a Switch 2 feature integrated into NSO for voice and video chat.
• Cloud saves are compatible between Switch 1 and Switch 2.
• Wide backward compatibility with Switch 1 games (except Nintendo Labo VR, Ring Fit Adventure [partially supported], and Switch Sports with accessories).

For Switch 2 hardware and exclusive games, check out our guide to Nintendo Switch 2 prices and release dates in France, as well as the top 10 Switch games. As for third-party apps, Netflix is still available on the Switch.

Which gaming subscription should you choose if NSO isn't enough?

NSO covers Nintendo's online and retro games. For recent AAA titles or a broader selection, you'll need to look elsewhere. The alternatives depend on your budget and the hardware you have available.

Combine NSO with a second subscription

• For recent AAA games: add Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (PC/Xbox) or PS Plus Extra.
• For mobile: Apple Arcade for €6.99/month, ad-free.
• For family cloud gaming: Blacknut Family for €14.99/month for 5 profiles.
• Detailed Comparison: PS Plus vs. Xbox Game Pass.

Frequently asked questions

How much will Nintendo Switch Online cost in 2026?

NSO Standard costs €19.99/year for the Individual plan and €34.99/year for the Family plan (8 accounts). The Additional Pack costs €39.99/year for the Individual plan and €69.99/year for the Family plan. There are no official monthly rates, except for a few quarterly plans for the Individual plan, depending on the time of year.

How many accounts are there on NSO Family?

Up to 8 Nintendo accounts, managed by an administrator who is at least 18 years old. This is the largest family group allowed on a gaming subscription service in France, ahead of Apple Arcade (6 people) and Google Play Pass (5). Unlike many other services, the accounts can be from different households.

Do you have to live in the same household to qualify for NSO Family?

No. Nintendo does not require Family Group accounts to be from the same household. This is a major difference from Netflix or Disney+. The 8 accounts can therefore be from different households, or even different countries (with some regional restrictions on certain retro content).

Is the add-on pack worth the extra €20?

Great news for fans of classic Nintendo games. The Expansion Pack adds N64, GBA, SEGA Mega Drive, Virtual Boy, and GameCube (exclusive to Switch 2). It also includes major DLC for Mario Kart 8, Splatoon 2 and 3, and Animal Crossing. The Race Pass DLC alone costs €24.99 to purchase.

What is the difference between NSO Standard and NSO + Additional Pack?

NSO Standard provides access to online multiplayer and the NES, SNES, and Game Boy libraries. NSO + Expansion Pack adds N64, GBA, SEGA Mega Drive, Virtual Boy, and GameCube (on Switch 2), plus DLC for Mario Kart 8, Splatoon, Animal Crossing, and the Nintendo Music app. The price doubles.

What happens if the family group admin leaves NSO?

If the admin of the Nintendo family group terminates or leaves the group, all other accounts will lose access to NSO features. This is the main consideration when sharing with friends: the admin should be someone you can trust, ideally a long-standing member of the group.