Sony PlayStation 5 Digital Edition (825GB) vs Sony PlayStation 5 (slim, with disc drive)
Get the PS5 with the disc drive. Same speed, a little more money, more storage, and you can buy cheap second-hand games and sell yours on. Adding a drive to the Digital later costs more than the gap.
Sony PlayStation 5 (slim, with disc drive)
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Which one is for you?
PS5 Digital Edition
Downloads only and mostly PlayStation Plus games: that's the Digital Edition.
Is the Sony PlayStation 5 Digital Edition (825GB) worth it?PS5
Discs or second-hand games, lending and selling games, more storage? Then it's the PS5.
Is the Sony PlayStation 5 (slim, with disc drive) worth it?Key differences
Speed and graphics
Disc drive
Storage
Second-hand games
Price
What owners say
Verified buyers only; every 1–3 star review read by us. How we do this
PS5 Digital Edition
Owners love how easy it is to set up and use, and it's a hit with children. Almost nobody is unhappy; the few low ratings mention account setup and less free storage than expected.
- Easy to set up and use
- A hit with children
- Great graphics
Nothing came up often enough to list.
PS5
Owners are delighted: the graphics, the smaller size and how much of a step up it is from a PS4. Complaints are rare, and most low ratings say nothing.
- Great graphics
- A hit as a present
- A real step up from the PS4
- Froze, restarted or died within weeks
Related pages
How we reached this verdict
We compared independent expert reviews with the manufacturer's specifications, then checked it's sold at a major retailer where you live. We don't test products ourselves.
Sources: TechRadar, Push Square (PS5 Pro reviews), Tom's Guide (Switch Lite), manufacturer specifications.
Owner reports for the PS5 Digital Edition: 226 verified buyer ratings at Currys, Boulanger (France), Harvey Norman (NZ, Australia) and Takealot (South Africa), read November 2026.
Owner reports for the PS5: 1,191 verified buyer ratings at Currys and Takealot (South Africa), read October 2026.