The Best Nintendo Switch for You: Original, Lite, or OLED

Nintendo has three Switch models, all of which share the same basic design and run the same software and games. The “base” model, Nintendo Switch, is a 6.2-inch tablet with an LCD screen and detachable Joy-Con controllers and a dock that connects to your TV. Those Joy-Con controllers are necessary for some of Nintendo’s game experiments, such as Ring Fit Adventure and Switch Sports. They contain vibration motors that provide force feedback when you’re playing games (and occasionally help you find hidden items in some titles). And you can swap or mix and match them with many multicolored replacements. The base model’s main unit has a kickstand of sorts that doubles as a cover for its SD card expansion port, but relying on it to hold the console up during play is more of an act of faith than a reliable exercise in mechanics.

Then there’s the Switch Lite, a model with a 5.5-inch LCD screen and built-in controls around it that’s smaller, cheaper, and made exclusively for portable use. You can’t connect the Switch Lite to a TV, even if you buy a dock separately. It runs almost all of the same software as the regular Switch—just not anything that needs you to remove the Joy-Cons—and the games’ graphics look exactly the same. The buttons also have a softer feel and don’t make as loud a clicking noise, which you might appreciate if you’re playing a game next to someone who’s trying to sleep. But it’s missing a vibration motor, and smaller in-game text can sometimes be harder to read on its smaller screen. The Switch Lite is the cheapest of the Switch models.

Finally, there’s the Nintendo Switch OLED Model, which is designed around a titular OLED display. While this Switch is nearly identical in its dimensions to the base model (the OLED Model is 0.1 inch wider and 0.10 pound heavier), the bezel around the screen is much smaller, and the display itself is 7.0 inches. The screen is probably the best handheld display we’ve ever seen (and to our knowledge, we’ve seen all of them), with clear, strong blacks and great contrast, and good color reproduction. It also has louder, clearer speakers, a proper stand that works well, and its dock supports wired network connections. But you’ll be paying a premium for those nicer things.

Most people should buy the full-size Nintendo Switch, mainly because it works in both handheld and docked mode, whereas the smaller Switch Lite is exclusively handheld. It’s also cheaper than the Switch OLED Model. If you’re doing any kind of multiplayer on the couch, you’ll definitely enjoy doing it on a full-size TV rather than squinting at split-screen mode on the Switch’s display.

Even if you play primarily in handheld mode, we think the regular Switch is the best option for most people. Some dialogue-heavy games designed with a TV in mind use smallish text that is even harder to read on the Switch Lite’s smaller screen. A bigger advantage of the regular Switch: You can swap out the system’s detachable Joy-Con controllers with different colored versions for easy customization.

Those detachable controllers also enable some of the Switch’s strangest gameplay experiments. Each Joy-Con contains a vibration motor, which the Switch Lite lacks. Usually, the vibration just provides force feedback when you’re playing games, but some games employ it to denote the locations of hidden items or to convey other useful information. A few of the Switch’s multiplayer games, such as Super Mario Party and Nintendo Switch Sports, also make use of motion controls, for fans of Wii-style party games. If you’re interested in action-heavy single-player games, Nintendo also offers the more traditional (and excellent) Switch Pro Controller, which you can pair with a Switch Lite but is far more practical if you’re looking at a bigger screen from a few feet away.

The base Switch model now occupies a sort of middle ground, however, where it’s not the most portable or lightest version of the console, and it doesn’t have the nicest or biggest screen of the Switch models. But if you only plan on playing Switch games on a TV at home, it’s an easy choice.

The Nintendo Switch Lite is best for those who only play away from the TV, or as a second Switch for a family member with smaller hands. If you have other consoles and just want something to travel with, the Switch Lite is a good choice. Aside from being smaller and not being able to attach it to a TV, it’s also $100 cheaper than the standard Switch. But don’t buy it just for the savings if you might want to play on a bigger screen at some point.

Although the other Switch models aren’t enormous, the Switch Lite may be a better travel companion if you’re regularly throwing it into a backpack or shoulder bag and carrying it around with you—a Switch Lite in a slim but protective case takes up very little space. And it comes in more colors than the regular Switch, which relies mostly on different-colored Joy-Cons to change its look.

The Nintendo Switch OLED Model provides the best portable experience you can get on a Nintendo handheld, assuming you want the best and biggest screen, loudest and clearest speakers, and the most useful stand you can get on a Switch. It’s also $50 more than the base model Switch, and $150 more than the Switch Lite.

That extra cost is mainly driven by the nicer, bigger screen, and if you play your Switch primarily out in the world or otherwise away from a TV, it’s the nicest way to do that. But if you mostly play on your TV, or don’t care about the screen on your Switch, it’s likely not worth the extra money. And if you’re buying multiple Switch consoles for a family, it’s by far the least cost-effective solution—and the most expensive to replace, if something is broken.

Basic Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions are pretty cheap, and buying a whole year at a time is the best value. But that cost rises sharply with the Expansion Pass feature included.

Nintendo charges you to play games online. The base subscription is cheaper than Sony and Microsoft plans, but the Expansion Pass raises that price considerably. Nintendo sells one-month, three-month, and 12-month subscriptions, and the price per month goes down when you buy more months at once (a 12-month subscription costs less than half of what it costs to buy 12 months individually). Nintendo also offers a family plan, which for $35 a year gives up to eight accounts most of the benefits of an individual Switch Online subscription. Obviously, the deal becomes better as you add more accounts, but it’s still more cost-effective than an individual subscription even if you have only two people in your family. However, a “better” deal doesn’t make Nintendo Switch Online a good one, and that value proposition has gotten more complicated with the introduction of the Online Expansion Pass.

The Nintendo Online Expansion Pass offers two kinds of benefits to subscribers, currently. The first is free additional content for Nintendo’s own online-enabled titles, including an expansion for Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Splatoon 2, and a host of track additions to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The Online Expansion Pass also adds select Sega Genesis, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo 64 games to its library of previous generation software alongside the existing NES, SNES, and Game Boy titles provided with the basic online service. There are currently around a hundred NES and SNES games available to Nintendo Online members, but the current libraries for the Online Expansion Pass–enabled Genesis, Game Boy Advance, and N64 are more limited. The selection of Genesis games is particularly frustrating—most of those games are available via other means on the Switch already, even if some surprising choices have made an appearance in the list.

Current Sega Genesis, N64, and Game Boy Advance games available for Expansion Pass members

You can buy all of these plans directly from Nintendo, but you can also buy codes for three-month, 12-month, and family plan subscriptions to give as gifts. These codes sometimes go on sale, saving you a few extra dollars—if you see a good deal on one and plan to stay subscribed indefinitely, you can buy these subscriptions and add them to your existing account, extending the time remaining on your membership by up to three years. A seven-day free trial is also available.

Remember that these accounts don’t cover each individual Switch you own but individual user accounts. If you have multiple active user accounts on your Switch, each user account needs its own Switch Online subscription to play online and access Switch Online–exclusive downloadable content. A family plan is the best way to cover this scenario.

Members of a family plan generally have access to the same stuff as individual members, including online play and the same downloadable games and other content. But occasionally you’ll come across some exceptions: For example, Nintendo will sell you only four of its replica Super Nintendo controllers per Switch Online subscription, regardless of whether you have an individual or family subscription. There aren’t really any other downsides, though.

For now, we would advise sticking with the base Nintendo Switch Online plan and skipping the Online Expansion unless you want the expansion content for Animal Crossing or Mario Kart—at least until Nintendo can make a more compelling case for the service.

We have a whole guide dedicated to Switch accessories, and it covers all kinds of dongles, controllers, and other odds and ends. But here are the important accessories you should consider walking out of the store with.

microSD card

The 32 GB of storage inside your Switch console will run out quickly—The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, for example, devours 13.4 GB all by itself. We recommend buying the 128 GB SanDisk MicroSDXC card for Nintendo Switch to give yourself more room. That said, any brand-name microSD card with a speed class of at least U1 or better is fast enough for the Switch—Samsung’s Evo Select cards are a bit cheaper than the SanDisk and not much slower, and they’re what we’d recommend if you want a larger, 256 GB card. Because you’re not writing to the card much when you’re playing a game, you won’t notice the speed difference as much as you would with a smartphone or camera. If you see any 128 GB card for much less than $20 (or a 256 GB card for much less than $40), go ahead and buy that card instead.

Screen protector

A screen protector is a good investment for any device with a large touchscreen, and both the Switch and Switch Lite models have plastic screens that scratch surprisingly easily. We like amFilm’s Tempered Glass Screen Protectors for both of them—they cover the entire Switch screen, they’re scratch resistant, and you get multiple screen protectors in each box just in case your first application attempt goes awry.

Switch Pro Controller

The full-size Switch includes a caddy for both Joy-Cons, so you already have a decent full-size controller for when you’re playing on your TV. But if your Switch will be spending lots of time in the dock, the Switch Pro Controller is a wise investment. It’s more comfortable to hold for long periods of time, and anyone used to an Xbox or PlayStation gamepad will appreciate the full-size joysticks and buttons.

Joy-Con grips

Individual Joy-Cons are handy controllers to pass around when you’re playing multiplayer party games, but they can be cramped or hard to hold for extended periods of time. We like FastSnail’s Joy-Con Grips, which add handles and some extra size to each Joy-Con to make it more comfortable to hold. They’re inexpensive, they come in as many colors as the Joy-Cons themselves, and they represent a nice step up from the small plastic rails that Nintendo includes in the box.

Following the Nintendo Direct event on February 8, 2023, Nintendo released a selection of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games for the Switch Online subscription service. Those who subscribe to the basic tier of Nintendo Switch Online can access Game Boy games such as Kirby’s Dream Land, Metroid II: Return of Samus, and Wario Land 3. But only members with the Expansion Pack add-on will be able to play Game Boy Advance titles, which includes The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, and Mario Kart: Super Circuit. So far, the selection for both libraries is limited, but Nintendo is already promising the launch of more games from both platforms soon—though official release dates have not yet been announced.