PlayStation Plus is a subscription necessary to play online on PS4 , with a periodic fee to pay, so many users consider sharing the account to save money.
We recently saw how much you have to pay to play online on PS4 , with various options, but that at least cost about 60 euros a year . Sharing the bill and expenses with someone else may be an option to spend less in certain cases.
PlayStation Plus is contracted on a specific user account (PlayStation Network or PSN account), which is associated with a player profile, with their trophies, online friends and, of course, with their own password.
Despite this, we are going to see that there are quite interesting subscription sharing options :
Share on the same console
Perhaps your question is whether you need to pay several times for PlayStation Plus if other people play on your PS4, such as brothers, roommates or friends, using their own users.
Well, it is not necessary, it is enough for a person to have PlayStation Plus for the rest of the accounts on the same physical PS4 to enjoy online , and they will also have access to their PlayStation Plus games or digital purchases made.
Now, the account that allows PlayStation Plus to share to others must be marked as main on that PS4. The normal thing is that it is like this by default, but we clarify it because this is an aspect that we will delve into later, in order to share PS Plus on two different physical consoles.
You can check that your account has a main PS4 console in this menu:
Settings -> Account Management -> Activate as your PS4 -> Activate.
Multiple accounts can indicate that the same physical PS4 is their main console. However, a user account can only set a single PS4 as primary, and one as secondary .
This brings us to the second section, to share the PlayStation Plus with a friend or relative who uses it on their own PS4 when playing online, so that they save paying the subscription (or share the expenses).
Buy : PlayStation Plus (Amazon)
Buy : PlayStation Plus (PcComponentes)
Share PS Plus with a friend
First of all, it is important to point out that this system should only be used with a trusted person : family, close friends, co-workers …
And we will be giving you access to our personal data, and even the possibility of making purchases of games in the PlayStation Store that we would pay for.
Once this is cleared up, let’s look at the exact procedure:
On your console
- Log in with your friend’s PSN account, and set it as primary.
- Log in with your PSN account that pays for PlayStation Plus, which will remain as secondary.
On your friend’s console
- Log in with your PSN account that pays for PlayStation Plus, and set it as primary.
- Log in with your friend’s PSN account, which will remain as secondary.
Basically, we have “swapped” the consoles for this system.
The account that PlayStation Plus pays is secondary, you can play online because it is the one that is subscribed, but other people on that PS4 lose that possibility.
The PSN account subscribed to PlayStation Plus is placed on the other console, but not to be used directly. The objective is that, since it is the main one on that PS4, the second account that does not pay for the service can play online.
Also share digital games
Another advantage of this method is sharing the games in digital format , apart from playing online. The purchases we make in the account will be available on the other PS4, and also those titles that they give away on PlayStation Plus.
Therefore, we could reach an agreement with a friend or family member to buy the games on a shared basis . Of course, trust is key again, because the other person could change the password, or disable the link between accounts and the console, leaving us with nothing.
There are some important aspects to consider if we are going to share content:
- Continuous Internet access is necessary, as the secondary accounts check the user license online every 15 minutes.
- To download the games, we must do it from the account that bought them (or has PlayStation Plus), then we can play from the other account.
There is a variant of this system that makes it possible to buy very cheap PS4 games on eBay , using up to 6 subaccounts that serve to share titles.
While sharing PlayStation Plus between two people is something Sony does not pursue, the sale of accounts for commercial purposes does not appeal to him as much. It periodically blocks sellers, so buying these cheap digital games is risky.
Now that you know how to share your PlayStation Plus account, it will be easy for you to play online on PS4 without spending too much. Unfortunately, the price is still higher than other alternatives, because you can get Nintendo Switch Online very cheaply using some tricks.
