A rented PlayStation 5 costs €15 to €25 a day or €60 to €90 a week. A Nintendo Switch 2 costs €10 to €20 a day, a Meta Quest 3 headset €15 to €25. Peer to peer, prices are a third lower. Buying all three costs €1,400 to €1,600. For a rainy weekend, a birthday party or a week in a holiday rental, renting costs about two pizzas a head.
What holds everyone back is the account. Can you use your own? What does the owner see? What happens to your saves? The answers are simpler than they seem, and they are below.
Prices
| Item | Rental shop | Peer to peer | New |
|---|---|---|---|
| PS5 with one controller | €20–30/day, €80–110/week | €10–20/day, €50–80/week | €450–550 |
| Second controller | €3–5/day | €2–3/day | €60–75 |
| Nintendo Switch 2 with two Joy-Con | €15–25/day | €8–15/day | €450–500 |
| Meta Quest 3 | €20–30/day | €12–20/day | €500–550 |
| Meta Quest 3S | €15–20/day | €8–15/day | €300–350 |
| Extra physical game | €3–5/day | €2–3/day | €50–80 |
| Racing wheel with pedals | €15–25/day | €10–15/day | €250–500 |
Electronics chains offer long-term rental with a monthly fee and a purchase option. For a month or more it is an option. For a weekend it is not: the minimum is almost always thirty days.
How accounts work
On PS5 and Switch 2 you sign in with your own account, PlayStation Network or Nintendo, as you would on a new console. Your digital games download, your saves come from the cloud if you have the subscription, otherwise they sync when you get home. On return, sign out and delete your user from the console: two minutes in the settings menu. The owner sees nothing of yours.
The owner’s physical games work with any account. Their digital games do not, they are tied to their account, and asking them to leave it signed in is a request you should not make. A serious listing says which physical games are included.
On the Meta Quest the logic is different: the headset has a primary account and up to three additional accounts. Ask the owner to set you up as a secondary user, or use their guest profile. Games bought on the primary account are shared with secondary users, so you generally play what is there.
What to check at pickup
For consoles: it powers on and reaches the menu, the controller is charged and the stick does not move by itself (drift, the most common fault on used controllers), the HDMI cable and power supply are there. The HDMI cable is not a detail: the PS5 needs a 2.1 cable for 4K at 120 Hz, and the old one from the TV is not enough.
For the headset: lenses without scratches, a clean facial interface, battery above 80%. Buy a one-euro disposable face cover: the headset touches your face for hours, and nobody wants someone else’s sweat. You also need a clear 2×2 metre area; if you play in a living room with a coffee table, move it.
For everything: a photo of the serial number and every part at handover, in the chat. It is the proof that everything arrived intact.
When renting beats buying
For a console the rule is the same as for everything else: under ten days of use a year, renting wins. Someone who plays every evening buys one. Someone who wants to finish a game in a week off, try VR before spending €500, or keep ten children busy at a party, rents one.
A special case is the new game everyone is waiting for: release day, a week’s rental with the console, €90, and by the weekend the game is finished. Buying console and game costs €550. Our guide on when renting beats buying explains the maths.
If you own an idle console
PS5 rental searches in Italy grew over the past year, with Rome, Milan and Turin leading, and searches for the Switch 2 and VR headsets started from zero in 2025. Competition among people renting them out is close to nonexistent.
A PS5 bought for €500 and used two evenings a month, rented at €15 a day for eight days a month, makes €120 a month. In the listing: exact model (standard or digital, Slim or Pro), number of controllers, physical games included, HDMI 2.1 cable. Before every handover, sign out of your account and enable the passcode on your profile, so nobody buys games at your expense. On Sharepact every renter is ID-verified and every rental is insured, as our guide on renting out safely explains.
FAQ
Do my saves stay on the owner’s console?
Not if you delete your user on return. With PlayStation Plus or Nintendo Switch Online your saves are in the cloud and you find them anywhere.
Can I rent just the games?
Yes, physical games rent on their own for €2 to €5 a day. It is the cheapest way to try an €80 title.
Does the headset cause motion sickness?
For about one person in three, the first few times. Twenty-minute sessions and stationary games on day one. One more reason to rent before buying.
