PS5 vs PS5 Pro: Is the PS5 Pro Worth It?

It’s one of the most common questions we hear about PlayStation, and with GTA 6 out soon it’s coming up more than ever. Should you get a standard PS5 or pay extra for the PS5 Pro? The short answer is that the Pro is worth it if you play on a 4K TV and want the sharpest picture and steadiest frame rates in games built to use it. On a 1080p TV, or if you mostly play online and casual games, a standard PS5 gives you the same games for a lot less. Here’s how the two compare, what’s changed in 2026 and which one we’d pick for different players.

The quick verdict

Go for a refurbished PS5 Pro if you’ve got a 4K TV, you play big single-player games where visuals matter, and you’re happy to spend more for the sharpest picture. Go for a standard refurbished PS5 if you play on a 1080p screen, you’re buying for the kids, you mostly play online shooters or sports games, or you’d rather put the difference towards games. If you want to play games on disc, the standard PS5 Disc Edition is the simplest choice, because the Pro doesn’t have a disc drive.

PS5 vs PS5 Pro at a glance

UK prices are Sony’s recommended retail prices from its April 2026 price update. Retailers can and do sell for less.

What’s actually different about the PS5 Pro?

The Pro plays exactly the same library of games as the standard PS5. What changes is how good some of them look and how smoothly they run. When it announced the console, Sony said the Pro’s graphics chip has 67% more compute units than the standard PS5, with 28% faster memory, giving up to 45% faster rendering. It also said ray tracing, the lighting effect behind realistic reflections and shadows, runs at double and sometimes triple the speed.

The other big piece is PSSR, Sony’s AI upscaling. It lets games render at a lower resolution and then rebuilds the image for a 4K TV, so developers can push detail and frame rate at the same time. Sony upgraded PSSR in early 2026, adding a setting that can make some games noticeably crisper.

The catch is that you only get the full benefit in games that have been updated for it. Sony says over 100 PS5 titles are PS5 Pro Enhanced. Plenty of older and smaller games run much the same on both consoles.

The standard PS5 is catching up a little

This is the bit most PS5 vs PS5 Pro comparisons haven’t caught up with yet. On 1 October 2026 Sony announced QSSR, a lighter form of AI upscaling for the standard PS5. It arrived first as an option in Marvel’s Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei, and Sony plans to offer it to all PlayStation developers.

It doesn’t close the gap. Sony itself says PSSR “remains the gold standard on PS5 Pro”. It does mean the standard console has more life left in it than it did a year ago, which makes the case for the cheaper model a bit stronger.

Your TV matters more than the console

If there’s one thing to check before you spend the extra, it’s your screen. Sony pitches PSSR around image clarity on a 4K TV, and that’s where the Pro earns its money. On a 1080p TV you’re paying for detail the screen can’t show, so most of the difference disappears. A 120Hz TV with VRR helps too, because the Pro’s steadier frame rates are easier to notice on a display that can keep up.

So if you’re on a 1080p set and not planning to upgrade it, a standard PS5 is the sensible buy. If you’ve already got a good 4K TV, the Pro is where you’ll see the difference.

The disc drive question

The PS5 Pro doesn’t have a disc drive. If you’ve got a shelf of PS5 or PS4 games on disc, you’ll need to buy Sony’s disc drive add-on, which was selling for roughly £70 to £105 at UK retailers at the time of writing. The same drive works with the slim PS5 Digital Edition.

It’s also worth knowing that physical games are on the way out. Sony has said it’ll stop producing discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028, with games released before then still available on disc. If you’ve got a big disc collection, a disc console still makes sense. If you buy most of your games digitally already, the drive matters less with every year.

How much more does the Pro cost?

At Sony’s UK prices, the PS5 Pro costs £220 more than the standard PS5 with a disc drive and £270 more than the Digital Edition. Add the disc drive to the Pro and the gap over a disc PS5 grows to around £300. Prices went up across the range in April, which we covered in our post on the memory shortage and why tech costs more in 2026.

That’s a big difference, and it’s the main reason we’d point most people towards a standard PS5. The Pro is the better console. It just isn’t £220 to £300 better for everyone.

PS5 vs PS5 Pro for GTA 6

GTA 6 lands on 19 November 2026, and it’s a PS5 game rather than a Pro exclusive, so it’ll run on every PS5. The PlayStation Store lists it as PS5 Pro Enhanced, though neither Rockstar nor Sony has said what that enhancement includes. We’d be wary of anything claiming to know the Pro’s frame rate or resolution for GTA 6 until Rockstar confirms it.

What we can say is that a big open world is exactly the kind of game where the Pro’s extra power tends to show, especially on a 4K TV. If GTA 6 is the reason you’re buying and you’ve got the screen for it, the Pro is a reasonable shout. If not, a standard PS5 will play it just fine. Our guide to the best console for GTA 6 compares the Xbox options too.

So, is the PS5 Pro worth it?

For the right player, yes. If you’ve got a 4K TV, you love big cinematic games, and you want games looking as good as they can on PlayStation, the Pro is a genuine step up and you’ll notice it.

For most people, though, we’d say no. A standard PS5 plays every game, it’s getting AI upscaling of its own, and the money you save buys a lot of games. That’s even more true on a 1080p TV, for younger players, or if you mainly play online.

Upgrading from a standard PS5?

If you already own a PS5, the Pro is a harder sell. You’re paying for sharper visuals in the games that support it, not new games. If you do decide to upgrade, selling your current console helps with the cost. You can get a quote through our sell my PS5 page.

Buying a refurbished PS5

A refurbished console is an easy way to take some of the sting out of this year’s prices. Here at The iOutlet, every console goes through a full check before it’s listed, is graded on its condition from A+ Pristine down to C Average, and comes with a free 12-month warranty. The grade only describes how it looks. It plays the same whatever the grade.

You can browse our full range of refurbished PS5 consoles, including the Pro, or go straight to the PS5 Disc Edition if you want to keep playing your discs, or the PS5 Digital Edition if you buy your games online. Weighing up other options? Have a look at all our refurbished games consoles.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between the PS5 and PS5 Pro?

Both play the same games. The Pro has a more powerful graphics chip, Sony’s PSSR AI upscaling, 2TB of storage and Wi-Fi 7, which gives sharper visuals and steadier frame rates in PS5 Pro Enhanced games. It doesn’t have a disc drive and costs more.

Does the PS5 Pro have a disc drive?

No. The PS5 Pro is digital out of the box. You can add Sony’s disc drive, which is sold separately, if you want to play games on disc.

Does the PS5 Pro come with a stand?

No. The vertical stand is sold separately, so factor it in if you want to stand the console upright.

What does PS5 Pro Enhanced mean?

It’s a label for games that have been updated to make use of the Pro’s extra power, usually with better visuals, higher frame rates or both. Sony says more than 100 games carry it. Games without it still run on the Pro, just without the extra improvements.

How much is a PS5 Pro in the UK?

Sony’s UK recommended price has been £789.99 since April 2026. Retailers sometimes sell it for less, and refurbished models are another option.

When did the PS5 Pro come out?

The PS5 Pro launched on 7 November 2024.

Will GTA 6 be better on the PS5 Pro?

GTA 6 is listed as PS5 Pro Enhanced, but Rockstar hasn’t said what that includes. It’ll play on every PS5 from 19 November 2026.