The $899 PS5 Pro Has No Disc Drive; the $649 PS5 Does

Sony’s PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition differ on its store pages in two lines: the PS5 has a disc drive and 1TB of storage, the Digital Edition has no drive and 825GB, at $649 and $599 on PlayStation Direct. The $899 PS5 Pro is where the hardware changes — a larger GPU, PSSR AI upscaling, 2TB and Wi-Fi 7 — and like the Digital Edition, it has no disc drive.

All three prices are as PlayStation Direct listed them on 9 October 2026. The Pro was marked “Currently Unavailable” there that day.

The three consoles

	PS5 (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)	PS5 Digital Edition (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)	PS5 Pro (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)
PlayStation Direct, 9 Oct 2026	$649	$599	$899 (marked unavailable)
Disc drive	Built in	None; $79 add-on	None; $79 add-on
Storage	1TB	825GB	2TB
AI upscaling	QSSR, in games patched for it	QSSR, in games patched for it	PSSR, plus a system setting for it
Wi-Fi standard on Sony’s page	Not stated	Not stated	Wi-Fi 7
Model group Sony states	CFI-2100 (slim)	CFI-2100 (slim)	Not stated on the Direct page

Direct’s feature lists and box contents for the PS5 and Digital Edition are identical apart from the storage line. Both list 120fps at 120Hz output, ray tracing, 4K and HDR, and both ship with a DualSense controller and Astro’s Playroom pre-installed. One small difference in the box: Direct’s list for the Pro has no USB cable, which the other two include.

Direct also sells a Digital Edition bundle, the Marvel’s Wolverine Battle Yellow Limited Edition, at $649, and certified refurbished slim consoles at $499 (Digital Edition) and $549 (with disc drive).

What the Pro changes

Sony’s announcement of the Pro in September 2024 gave three numbers for the graphics hardware: a GPU with “67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28% faster memory”, for “up to 45% faster rendering”. It said ray tracing runs at “double, and at times triple” the speed of the PS5.

The bigger headline is PSSR, Sony’s AI upscaler, which the Pro page describes as “AI-enhanced resolution” for a 4K TV. The base PS5 now has a lighter version, QSSR, but only in games patched to use it; we set out which games and how it compares in Sony’s AI upscaling on the base PS5. The Pro also has an Enhance PSSR Image Quality setting that applies the newer model to games built for the original PSSR.

Each of these gains depends on the game. Sony’s footnote on the Pro page says the features are available only in “select PS5 games that have been enhanced for PS5 Pro”, and lists over 100 of them. A game without a Pro patch gets the Pro’s Game Boost, which Sony says “may stabilize or improve” performance, not the full set.

The other two changes need no patch: 2TB of built-in storage, and Wi-Fi 7, which the Pro page says needs a compatible router and also works with Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5 routers. Sony’s current PS5 and Digital Edition pages state no Wi-Fi standard; its 2020 FAQ listed IEEE 802.11ax, Wi-Fi 6, for the launch console.

The disc drive, and who needs one

Sony sells one detachable drive, the Disc Drive for PS5 Digital Edition consoles (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab), at $79 on Direct. Its footnote says it is “only for PS5® Pro consoles and PS5 Digital Edition consoles (CFI-2000 model group - slim & CFI-2100 model group – slim)”. The 2020 launch Digital Edition, which is the CFI-1000 group, is not on that list. The drive plays 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD, and needs an internet connection once, to pair with the console at setup.

So the arithmetic, at Direct’s prices: a Digital Edition plus the drive is $678, $29 more than the PS5 that has one built in, and with 825GB rather than 1TB. A Pro with the drive is $978.

Two Sony statements bear on whether you need it at all:

• New games go digital-only from January 2028. Sony’s 1 July post says disc production “for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028”, with no effect on games released on disc before then.
• PS4 disc upgrades need a drive. Sony’s PS5 page says that to upgrade eligible PS4 disc games to their PS5 versions, “you need a PS5™ console with a disc drive”.

If you own a shelf of PS4 or PS5 discs, or watch films on Blu-ray, the drive still has a job after 2028. If you buy everything from PlayStation Store, the Digital Edition saves $50 against the disc model.

Model numbers

Direct’s pages name the CFI-2100 model group for both the PS5 and the Digital Edition, and say it takes accessories made for the CFI-2000 group, including console covers and the disc drive. The Pro’s Direct page states no model number. In November, that number is what a retailer’s price match checks, as we explained in why the model number decides the comparison.

How the prices got here

Sony has raised US console prices twice in eight months. In August 2025 the PS5 went to $549.99, the Digital Edition to $499.99 and the Pro to $749.99. From 2 April 2026, Sony’s recommended prices became $649.99, $599.99 and $899.99. The Pro launched at $699.99 in 2024.

Direct’s prices on 9 October were 99 cents below those recommended prices. The cost does not stop at the box: online play needs PlayStation Plus on any of the three, and what a console costs after you buy it sets that out against Xbox and Switch 2.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between the PS5 and the PS5 Digital Edition?

On Sony’s own store pages, two things: the PS5 has a built-in disc drive and 1TB of storage, and the Digital Edition has no drive and 825GB. Their other listed features match. On 9 October 2026 PlayStation Direct listed them at $649 and $599.

Does the PS5 Pro come with a disc drive?

No. Sony sells the PS5 Pro as a disc-free console. Its Disc Drive for PS5 Digital Edition consoles also fits the Pro, and PlayStation Direct listed it at $79 on 9 October 2026, which takes a Pro with a drive to $978.

How much is a PS5 right now in the US?

PlayStation Direct listed the PS5 at $649, the PS5 Digital Edition at $599 and the PS5 Pro at $899 on 9 October 2026. Sony’s 27 March 2026 post gives recommended prices of $649.99, $599.99 and $899.99 from 2 April.

Can I add a disc drive to a PS5 Digital Edition later?

Yes, on the slim models. Sony’s $79 drive is for Digital Editions in the CFI-2000 and CFI-2100 model groups and for the PS5 Pro. It needs an internet connection once, to pair with the console at setup.

What does the PS5 Pro do that the PS5 does not?

Sony lists a GPU with 67% more compute units, faster ray tracing, PSSR AI upscaling, 2TB of storage and Wi-Fi 7. The graphics gains apply to games enhanced for the Pro; Sony lists over 100, and says the enhancements vary by game.

Is the PS5 Digital Edition worth it if games are going digital?

That depends on the discs you already own. Sony says new games will be digital-only from January 2028, but discs of earlier games keep working. A drive also plays 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD films.