One of the best things about the Nintendo Switch is its region-free eShop. That means that you can buy or download games from any region, and play them with no issue on your console. It also means that you can access games that are region-specific, or prices and sales in one region but not another, as long as you know how.
But perhaps you've seen pricing in multiple currencies — dollars, Euro, and pounds, for example — and noticed that the prices don't seem to add up at all. It depends on the game and publisher, of course, and some of them are more or less the same across territories. Others, however, can be very different.
The Switch eShops in various regions do have varying prices, then, as well as different sales, different tax levels, and even different ways of buying the game that can lower or raise the price. Here, we have the rundown on how much each region charges for games, plus some of the other differences between them.
Nintendo Switch eShop Regional Price Comparison
Before we jump in, though, here are some general tips and warnings...
Things to note
- Use eshop-prices.com to compare prices!
- It's an absolute lifesaver. We used it to make this article!
- It's an absolute lifesaver. We used it to make this article!
- Sales take place at different times
- There are plenty of occasions where, for example, the US will have a festive sale for a holiday that doesn't exist in other countries. You can shop around to find out when these will be, and which regions they are taking place in, but it's hard work to keep up with all the sales!
- Tax varies
- In countries like the US and Canada, tax is added on at the point of purchase — often adding another few dollars to the price that was advertised. Different states and provinces have different tax levels — we'll go into more detail about this later on.
- Your card won't be accepted everywhere
- Your card will have been issued in a particular country, and other countries may not let you have it on file if it wasn't issued in that region. You can use eShop credit, though — we've got a guide further down.
- You sometimes need an address in that region
- Especially if you're trying to use a credit card!
- Your Gold Points will be tied to that account
- Gold Points are earned each time you buy a digital game, and can be used to get discounts on your next purchase. If you split your purchases across two or more eShops, those Gold Points will be split up as well.
- You will lose access to the games from that eShop if you delete or remove your account
- In order to redownload purchased games, you'll need access to the regional account and eShop where you made that purchase, otherwise they will be inaccessible
- Buying from other regions may affect which languages the game is available in — so you may not be able to get the game in English. Make sure to check at the bottom of the game page!
Okay, with all the caveats out of the way, let's look at the regions themselves...
Regional Switch eShop Price Comparisons
We've picked a popular Nintendo game (Breath of the Wild) and a popular, cheaper indie game (Stardew Valley) as references to compare the price disparities between regions, and it's quite illuminating — Japan is surprisingly cheap for first-party games, it seems, but South Africa and Mexico are ahead for indie games by quite a long way.
Of course, this table also shows that the prices are pretty unpredictable. You're really better off checking on a case-by-case basis, seeing which games are cheaper, and where they're on sale.
Note 1: The Germany price applies to most of Europe (excluding Switzerland, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Czech Republic).
Note 2: You can click on the "USD Equivalent" headings to order the rows from low to high.
| Region | Price for Breath of the Wild | USD Equivalent | Price for Stardew Valley | USD Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | £59.99 | $69.10 | £10.99 | $12.66 |
| Germany | €69.99 | $69.25 | €13.99 | $13.84 |
| Japan | ¥7,678 | $53.79 | ¥1,480 | $10.37 |
| USA | $59.99 | $59.99 | $14.99 | $14.99 |
| Canada | $83.99 | $63.94 | $17.84 | $13.59 |
| Australia | $89.95 | $60.72 | $16.99 | $11.46 |
| South Africa | R1,329.00 | $76.86 | R159.00 | $9.20 |
| Mexico | $1,399.00 | $69.57 | $149.99 | $7.45 |
Game Vouchers
Game Vouchers are a great way to save money on larger games, usually first-party Nintendo games or from series like Xenoblade, Bayonetta, Kirby, and Metroid. You'll need a Nintendo Switch Online membership to buy them, though.
However, not every region has them — here's a list of where you can get them, and what they cost (and again, Germany represents most of Europe, except Switzerland, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Czech Republic):
| Region | Game Voucher x 2 | USD Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £84.00 | $97.00 |
| Germany | €99.00 | $98.25 |
| Japan | ¥9,980 | $69.95 |
| Australia |
$134.95 |
$91.17 |
| South Africa |
R1,859.00 |
$107.70 |
Quite a range of prices here, from Japan to South Africa in particular. UK and Europe are pricey, but will still save you a fair bit if you're looking to buy two £60/€70 games.
Here's the full list of countries that have Game Vouchers:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Germany
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Spain
- Finland
- France
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Latvia
- Malta
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Slovenia
- Slovakia
- South Africa
- UK
Sales Tax
In the US and Canada, you'll pay different amounts in tax at the point of sale, based on which region your zipcode or postcode is in. Here are some examples:
| State/Province | Country | Sales Tax (on digital games) |
|---|---|---|
| New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island | Canada | 15% |
| Ontario | Canada | 13% |
| Alberta, British Colombia, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan | Canada | 5% |
| Arkansas, Colorado | USA | 0% (digital game sales are tax exempt) |
| Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon | USA | 0% |
| All other states | USA | 4-10% |
How to pay for eShop games in other regions
Your credit or debit card will most likely not work in another region, either because the registered address is in another country or because the card itself was issued in another country, but you can still buy games with eShop credit. Just be sure to buy it in the right currency!
You can read our full guide on buying eShop credit here — we often have discounts running for 10% off, so make sure to check regularly and stock up!
Comments 28
I'm 100% sure Nevada, or at least specifically Las Vegas, has 0% digital sales tax as well. My imported 3DS (purchased by a friend in Vegas in fact) is set to that region and I never had to pay any additional tax.
The lack of vouchers in NA drives me nuts.
Love the company as a whole, but NoA sucks.
We actually buy physical games in British Columbia to give to Mexican relatives because it is astronomically cheaper here. The cost of living to wages and electronic taxes in Mexico are beyond insane. And that's from the perspective of someone from Vancouver. For us if a switch game is $80 (first party games are this price) than I'm paying $90 after tax. That is if you can even find the games. I only saw an Xbox Series X for the first time in person last week. We have the $$$ and the supply shortage!!! Yay Canada!
Oregon has tax free also….oh wait, it’s included
Latin America prices are a wild ride. Portal Companion Collection is currently 2290 dollars (8900 soles) in Perú eshop and has been at that price ever since its release date
Can confirm New Zealand has vouchers too
Isn't that tax evasion using another region than the one you live in? Just saying.
Somehow, for this "journalist", the South América do not exist.
Brazil is fantastic value, that's my go-to discount store. You can get credit from Eneba.
i was recently try get Anno in Argentina mutationem which the price is super low , once after pre order it succesful . next day they removing the Game from Eshop Menu. until launch day reaapear but the Price is going high and my Pre order purchase is not work at all.
I’m set up n Delaware and use other regions on occasion for sales
When it comes to eShop in Mexico, first party games cost about 1400 Mexican pesos (about 70 American dollars if we consider the exchange rate is 20 MXN = $1, which is stupidly expensive).
Normally I buy there by adding the necessary funds from my debit card, and my balance reflects the cost, but something happened behind the scenes probably, as now I pay a small fee additional to the cost.
As an example, when I bought Kirby's Dream Buffet, it said it costs 355 MXN on the Mexican eShop, but my card balance says I paid 358 MXN for it.
At least it's not a restocked Byleth amiibo, those things at retail cost 700 pesos (about $35), which is almost triple the launch price of 250 pesos back in 2014.
It doesn't help that everything is getting so expensive nowadays. I mean, last week my mom and I spent about 2100 pesos ($105) in groceries, when we usually spend 1100 pesos ($55) at most. If I can find Switch games for 1000 pesos ($50) or around that price, I'm game.
I've been lucky that the H-E-B near my work has had sales on video games I don't have. Last year I got Paper Mario, Mario U Deluxe and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for 3300 pesos and last week I got Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury and Mario Strikers: Battle League for 2100 pesos from there.
It may not have a huge selection of games, but the convenience of not having to go to the edge of the city makes up for it. Well, thinking about it, I cannot go to the edge of the city to buy games anymore, the Gameplanet and Gamers stores in my city closed last August.
Jeese, wake up, we have to start selling Mexican copies of Stardew Valley!
Brand new full-price AAA Switch games in Canada cost $79.99 CAD or ~$90.39 CAD after tax in Ontario.
And I think the CAD/USD exchange rate more or less overall has weakened over the past decade, but it's not nearly as bad as some other regions and cases.
... Wun can only hope.
I still find FitGirls prices to be the most attractive.
The yen is historically low in value compared to USD right now (lowest in 20-something years), so that explains why Japan's prices are so much lower in these tables. It's not necessarily because Nintendo doesn't like money in Japan.
https://japantoday.com/category/business/update1-japan-warns-of-impacts-of-yen%27s-rapid-depreciation-to-24-yr-low
@HammerGalladeBro ahhh I remember the good old days of an amiibo costing $250 pesos here in Mexico. At least our collection has gone up in value I guess.
So are Game Vouchers not available in US or Canada? I remember hearing about those a while back
Mexican first party games are very expensive in the eShop.
South Africa used to have amazing prices.
I was informed by the local Nintendo distributor here that the reason for the increase was due to so many people from other countries buying through this eshop.
(Possibly true but I'd also blame the exchange rate)
Ah well, at least the double voucher system helps to save a little bit.
I’m in Australia, so I’m gonna use Nintendo Switch Online game vouchers to get splatoon 3 & Breath of the Wild 2 cheaper.
I am from the UK but live in Asia and use the USA shop. USA shop gives me the language I want, no rolled in tax so the price is better than the UK. Most of the time I buy physical because the sales are better.
@wuntyme8 man game prices in Canada are crazy expensive and almost never on special. Before I moved here I'd frequently but new Switch games in Australia for around A$68 (~C$60.31) and that's including tax! Sometimes new games can be as low as A$60 (eg. for some third party titles) and even lower when there's a sale 🤦🏻♂️
Please don’t suggest people to switch their regions to cheaper countries. If anything you should stray people away from that. Its a scummy practice in my opinion.
The reason why games are often cheaper in South American and African regions is because those regions have less consumers with much less disposable income. Prices tend to be lower in those regions to let people from those regions have the possibility to purchase these games, as its tough to justify putting the full US converted retail price.
Purchasing from those regions raises the chances of companies forgoing those lesser regional prices and making playing video games much more inaccessible for an entire region.
There’s such thing as digital sales tax?
I do buy my games in my regional eshop, it seems like too much of a hassle to do it otherwise (im located in Mexico right now and most of the time i find the prices to be Allright, as for 1st party games, those are the ones to buy fisical
Don’t know which one is the cheapest but for sure the most expensive got to be where I live: rip off Switzerland
Well guys~ for easy conversion between region, I use WISE. I just add amount to my WISE acc, linked it to my nintendo account and directly buy from any region without having to worry about conversion. Here are the link: https://wise.com/invite/dic/mohdadiba
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