Steam Deck (OLED) vs PlayStation 5
Deck: The mature handheld. We don't re-rank what ProtonDB and SteamDeckHQ already own — Deck appears here as a comparison baseline and a first-party data source (real measured FPS power 215 game pages).
PS5: The price-per-frame benchmark. Closed console, optimized first-party engines, exclusives — and roughly half the Machine's price.
| Spec | Deck | PS5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $549 | $499 |
| Type | handheld | console |
| Platform | SteamOS | PS5 |
| Release | OLED: November 2023 (LCD: February 2022) | 2020 |
Bars are relative — longer is stronger. For price & power draw, lower is better; power draw is neutral (handhelds trade power for battery).
- $549
- Price
- $499
- AMD RDNA 2, 8 CU (~1.6 TFLOPs)
- GPU
- AMD RDNA 2, 36 CU (~10.3 TFLOPs)
- —
- GPU equivalent
- —
- AMD Zen 2 'Sephiroth' (6 nm) — 4 cores / 8 threads
- CPU
- AMD Zen 2, 8 cores
- shared (16 GB unified)
- VRAM
- shared (16 GB GDDR6)
- 16 GB LPDDR5 (6400 MT/s)
- Memory
- 16 GB GDDR6
- 800p handheld (1280×800)
- Realistic target
- 4K dynamic / 60 fps modes
- SteamOS
- Platform
- PS5
The mature handheld. We don't re-rank what ProtonDB and SteamDeckHQ already own — Deck appears here as a comparison baseline and a first-party data source (real measured FPS power 215 game pages).
The price-per-frame benchmark. Closed console, optimized first-party engines, exclusives — and roughly half the Machine's price.
Frequently asked
What's the difference between the Steam Deck (OLED) and the PlayStation 5?
Steam Deck (OLED): The mature handheld. We don't re-rank what ProtonDB and SteamDeckHQ already own — Deck appears here as a comparison baseline and a first-party data source (real measured FPS power 215 game pages). PlayStation 5: The price-per-frame benchmark. Closed console, optimized first-party engines, exclusives — and roughly half the Machine's price.
Is the Steam Deck (OLED) or the PlayStation 5 cheaper?
The PlayStation 5 is cheaper at $499, versus $549 for the Steam Deck (OLED).
Which should I buy — the Steam Deck (OLED) or the PlayStation 5?
It depends on what you want. The Deck is positioned as: The mature handheld. We don't re-rank what ProtonDB and SteamDeckHQ already own — Deck appears here as a comparison baseline and a first-party data source (real measured FPS power 215 game pages). The PS5 is positioned as: The price-per-frame benchmark. Closed console, optimized first-party engines, exclusives — and roughly half the Machine's price. Take the quiz to match your priorities to a device.
Still deciding? Take the quiz →