Top consoles and gaming handhelds compared

About Top consoles and gaming handhelds compared

For consoles and gaming handhelds, the numbers that decide a purchase are the entry price, the warranty attached to it, the platforms the hardware runs on and the countries it ships to. This ranking covers 22 brands in the category, from dedicated handheld makers to general electronics retailers that stock console gear and controllers alongside laptops and tablets. Entry prices run from €6.96 to €1,226, with a median of €101.08. The main trade-off is cover against cost: a low entry price often comes with a shorter warranty, while the longest warranties in the category sit above the €135.49 price line. Battery life matters for handheld play, and the category median is 30 hours. Reach matters too, since market lists here run from a single market to broad international shipping.

How we picked

Scores here combine cost 40%, offer 40% and trust 20%, all taken from published store data. Cost and offer carry most of the order, so entry price and what the range includes matter as much as the badge on the box. Trust covers warranty length, support channels, the market list and the legal entity behind each storefront. Sources are the retailers own storefronts, their terms and conditions pages, warranty pages, support and FAQ pages, and marketplace legal pages, read alongside the aggregated category figures held for this ranking. Entry prices held for the category run €6.96 to €436.90, and warranty lengths 1 to 2.5 years. Every listed product category is recorded separately, so a general electronics retailer with a console aisle is judged on the same terms as a handheld specialist, and a brand selling in a single market is marked down on reach rather than on missing information. Nothing is adjusted by hand after scoring. Partners that serve your country are listed first in this ranking, then the rest by score. Wireless availability, battery life, market reach and support channels feed the trust side, which is why brands with similar entry prices can sit far apart in the order.

Our top picks

1. B1. Blackview

   Blackview earns a place in this ranking on support rather than on range. Entry pricing of €149.95 sits above the €135.49 upper quartile line, and the 1 year warranty is the shorter end. In exchange, email, phone and chat is the widest channel set of the members listed, and 30 hours of battery matches the 30 median. The range is new phones and rugged phones with standalone as the listed platform, shipping to DE, FR and IT. antonline, ranked next, covers pc, playstation and xbox from a US base.

   • Price from: €149.95
   • Warranty: 12 months
   • Return window: 30 days

   Pros

   • Returns of 30 days rank near the top of the brands tracked, at 2 of 42.
   • Support covers email, phone, chat, the help centre and the community through email, phone and chat, so replies can come by whichever route suits.
   • Store categories span computers, phones and audio, so phones, audio, gaming and computers sit together.
   • Entry price of €149.95 keeps the range within reach for buyers comparing rugged models.
   • Product types list new phones and rugged phones, pairing everyday handsets with rugged ones.

   Cons

   • Entry price of €149.95 sits above Oukitel at $107.99, so it is not the cheapest way in.
   • Warranty of 12 months places Blackview mid-table on cover length, at 12 of 33.
   • Multiroom is a no, so the audio range does not cover whole-home linking.
   • Codec support runs to aac only, narrower than most rivals in the audio category.

2. A2. Anbernic

   Anbernic is in this ranking as the specialist: handheld and controller is the range, pc, switch and mobile the platforms, and $12.99 the entry price, which puts handheld gaming at the cheap end of this list against a median of €101.08. Wireless gear is offered, and battery life of 21 hours sits below the 30 median. Aftercare is the weak side, with a 1 year warranty and support on email, help centre and community. asgoodasnew, ranked next, opens higher at €117 but carries 2.5 years of cover.

   • Price from: $12.99
   • Wireless peripherals: Yes
   • Warranty: 1 year

   Pros

   • The range spans handheld and controller, so a handheld console and a controller come from a single maker.
   • Platform coverage of pc, switch and mobile keeps the gear useful across PC, Switch, mobile and standalone play.
   • Wireless is listed as yes, so the controller works without a cable.
   • Support is offered on email, help centre and community, including a help centre you can read without waiting.

   Cons

   • Warranty cover is 1 year, and Anbernic sits at 17 of 40 brands on warranty length.
   • Support runs on email, help centre and community, with no phone or chat route among the listed options.
   • Battery life of 21 hours is well under 40, the median for gear on the site.
   • The lineup is handheld and controller, and it does not cover the headsets, mice and keyboards that gaming headset, gaming mouse and gaming keyboard covers.

3. 3. Newegg

   Newegg is in this ranking as the catalogue option. laptop, gaming laptop and desktop and pc, playstation and xbox mean console, PC and mobile buyers browse the same shelves, and the wireless gear listed runs 70 hours, the 70 high point here. Support on help centre, phone and chat covers phone and chat, and US, AR and AU is a wide shipping list. The barrier is the entry price: $1,099.99 sits well above the €135.49 line that most members in this ranking stay under. PlayStation Direct, ranked next, opens at $74.

   • Return window: 30 to 90 days
   • Price match: Yes
   • Extended warranty: Yes

   Pros

   • Return windows run 30 to 90 days, long enough to set a machine up properly before deciding to keep it.
   • Categories cover computers, phones and audio, so computers, phones, audio, gaming and refurbished kit come from one account.
   • Price match is offered, so a cheaper listing elsewhere gives you a number to hold the seller to.
   • Trade in is available, so an older phone or laptop can offset part of a new order.
   • Support covers help centre, phone and chat, so help is not limited to reading policy pages.

   Cons

   • Refurbished phones are graded excellent, very good and good, so a lower price can mean fair rather than excellent condition.
   • The refurb warranty runs 3 months, shorter than the usual 12 months for the sites in this group.
   • Support runs on help centre, phone and chat only, with email absent from the listed channels.

4. 4. PlayStation Direct

   PlayStation Direct is in this ranking as the store run by the platform holder. console, controller and gaming headset covers console, controller, gaming headset and VR headset, AT, BE and FR is a solid shipping list from a US base, and the $74 entry price sits around the €101.08 median. The 1 year warranty only matches the 1 median, pc, mobile and standalone is the narrowest platform list here, and support runs on help centre and chat only. refurbished, ranked next, is a marketplace reaching AT, BE and BG.

   • Price from: $74
   • Wireless peripherals: Yes
   • Warranty: 1 year

5. 5. ShopTo.net

   ShopTo.net earns its place in this ranking as the broadest console and accessory seller at a low entry figure. Handhelds, consoles, controllers, gaming headsets and VR headsets all appear in console, handheld and controller, priced from £24.99, and pc, playstation and xbox covers PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch. Headset battery claims sit at 30 hours with wireless confirmed, and email, chat and phone gives buyers email, chat, phone and a help centre. What it does not carry is PC kit. There is no entry for a gaming laptop or desktop in console, handheld and controller, so a buyer pairing a handheld with a new machine buys the console here and the computer elsewhere. Warranty is 1 years, and GB, US and AT covers a wide run of European and US shipping. Trading as TradeTo Ltd and founded in 2006, it outbids Back Market on new stock and on support.

   • Free delivery threshold: £0
   • Return window: 14 days
   • Markets: GB, DE, FR, and 8 more

   Pros

   • gaming, computers and tv covers gaming, computers and televisions, so a controller, a headset and a new PC can come from a single seller.
   • The catalog spans console, handheld and controller, so handhelds, VR headsets and controllers sit beside consoles rather than a separate store.
   • Support runs on help centre, chat and phone, so a help centre, chat and a phone line are all listed.
   • Delivery reaches GB, DE and FR, further than a single market.

   Cons

   • Returns run 14 days, which places ShopTo.net at 58 of the 80 brands compared on that measure.
   • The warranty on products runs 1 year, sitting at the 1 median for stores in the comparison rather than above it.
   • Email is not among help centre, chat and phone, so queries run through a help centre, chat and phone.
   • Store categories stay at gaming, computers and tv, while computers, phones and audio also covers phones, audio, cameras and appliances.

6. 7. MoreThisWay: best for top-pick

   MoreThisWay opens this ranking on price. Handhelds start at £5.99 and the shop runs on GB, so a British buyer sees one figure with no conversion. Support is unusually open for a small specialist, reaching you on email, phone and chat, which covers phone and chat as well as a help centre. The trade-off is focus. handheld means the catalogue holds handhelds and little else, so there is no console, controller or headset sitting next to the device, and no gaming PC to pair it with. Founded in 2023 and run by Lumean Ltd, it is the newest name listed here. That narrowness is why it sits above Scan, which opens at £48.98 but carries 3 years of cover and a far broader mix of hardware. Pay less for the device here, or pay more elsewhere for warranty length and choice.

   • Free delivery threshold: £60
   • Return window: 30 days
   • Markets: GB

   Pros

   • A 30 day returns window is the most generous of this store's headline terms.
   • Free delivery starts at £60, a basket size most audio and gaming orders clear easily.
   • Handhelds start at £5.99, so a portable console is a cheap entry into the range.
   • Support runs on email, chat and phone, more ways in than a single channel store.

   Cons

   • Its range covers only audio, gaming and refurbished, a narrow set beside computers, phones and audio at Akkuk.hu.
   • Within consoles, handheld is the only product type listed, so anyone after a full console setup has little to choose from here.
   • It sells in GB only, so shoppers outside the UK fall outside the 30 day returns window.
   • The 30 day window places it 3 of 80 stores compared on returns.

7. G10. GAME: best for GAME

   GAME is a UK games retailer selling video games, consoles, accessories and pre-orders.

   • Markets: GB, US

What to look for

Entry price

Category entry prices cluster around a median of €101.08, with the lower quartile at €44.46 and the upper quartile at €135.49. Anything above the upper quartile line needs a reason, usually a longer warranty.

Warranty length

The median warranty here is 1 years, the same cover expressed as 12 months. Brands fall anywhere between 0.02 and 3 years, so length is the clearest thing a buyer can trade money for.

Battery life on handhelds

Battery figures run from 8 to 70 hours, with a median of 30 hours and an upper quartile of 65 hours. The spread matters most for portable play.

Support that answers

A help centre appears for 100% of the category, phone help for 57.1% and email for 61.9%. Live chat is the extra that separates the higher entries, and community boards are the rarest at 33.3%.

Platform and category reach

PC appears for 80% of brands, Switch for 65% and standalone hardware for 50%. Gaming is the core category for 100%, with refurbished stock at 66.7%.

Wireless gear

Wireless products are listed across 100% of the category, so wireless support is the norm rather than a differentiator. Platform and battery choices are where the variation sits.

Frequently asked questions

Top consoles and gaming handhelds compared by country

• Australia
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV