Geforce Now vs Stadia: Which Cloud Gaming Platform Should You Choose?

Let’s finish this before we even start. There are too few reasons why a gamer should pick one over the other, NVidia GeForce Now or Stadia. We hope to convenience any new or prospective cloud gamer of that by the end of this post. To get there, we’ll compare GeForce Now vs Stadia. We’ll go over what makes each cloud gaming platform unique, competitive and worthy of your time. Take a look at how Stadia and GeForce Now compare to each other, PC gaming and console gaming.

Subscription and Game Prices

Both Stadia and GeForce Now offer free membership tiers. While the barriers to entry are low, there are some compromises you have to accept for them:

• GeForce Now – no priority access, meaning you have to wait in line with everyone else to start a gaming session. Sessions are restricted to an hour in length, with a countdown timer warning you will you’ll be booted from the game and forced to queue again. At this tier, there’s also no raytracing.
• Stadia – While GeForce Now lets you play PC games you already own, Stadia asks you to pay a one-time charge for any premium game you want to play on the platform. Free-to-play games and 4k streaming are unavailable to the free tier. However, there are no session restrictions like those of GeForce Now.

The paid tiers for these cloud gaming platforms include Stadia Pro and Founders level for GeForce Now:

• Stadia Pro – costs $9.99 per month. While you’ll be kicked for a prolonged period of inactivity, there are no session restrictions. Stadia Pro includes 4k streaming, HDR, 5.1 surround sound and free games to claim each month. The games are yours to keep, though you can only access them through Stadia Pro. You can still access them after returning from a break from Pro.
• Founders – While currently just $4.99 a month, $24.95 for six months, GeForce Now’s paid tier is preparing to raise the monthly price as the service matures. The Founders tier includes priority access, bumping members closer to the front of the line, and extended sessions. And it also includes RTX raytracing for convincingly simulated lighting, shadows and reflections.

Note: While GeForce Now doesn’t stream in 4k, the NVidia Shield TV platform can now use AI upscaling to enhance GeForce Now games.

Game Prices

It’s important to clarify how purchasing games differs between NVidia and Google’s cloud gaming platforms. GeForce Now lets you stream PC games you already own, while Stadia requires you to buy games from its store. This makes GeForce Now the more affordable option for now, as Stadia, being a newer store, often hasn’t had the deep discounts that PC gaming storefronts have become known for.

While Stadia’s games tend to cost more, Google’s model could help the platform lure more publishers and developers into its storefront. It might even attract some of the heavyweight publishers who pulled their games from GeForce Now, shortly after the platform launched.

Requirements – Internet Speeds, Hardware 

There are other factors that go into the framerates and resolutions you can get from a cloud gaming platform, but we’ll focus on raw speed here.

As for hardware requirements, both GeForce Now and Stadia are available on many devices – and you probably own several that are compatible. Their apps can run on anything capable of running a modern version of the Android OS. And while there has been no official support for iOS devices, both GeForce Now and Stadia offer browser-based solutions.

Game Libraries

Stadia and GeForce Now both have strong libraries that continue to expand as the months roll by. Yet, there are many notable games that are missing in action one platform or both. So instead of focusing on which platforms have the bigger library now, let’s look at some of the noteworthy franchises, publishers and developers who are missing from one or both platforms.

Presentation and Features

For many people, choosing a favorite between GeForce Now and Stadia’s interfaces will come down to personal taste. However, there are some objective strengths and weaknesses of each platform. It’s important to keep in mind though, that these platforms aren’t feature-complete. New features are still being rolled out with plenty more planned.

Both Stadia and GeForce Now employ a tile-based layout, reminiscent of the video streaming services, like Netflix and Hulu, that they’re often compared to and against. Both platforms also include virtual gamepads for mobile devices, though we strongly recommend using a physical controller. Even strategy games can feel hard to navigate, though the virtual controllers are at least serviceable for this genre. Consider a Razer Kishi or Gamesir X2 mobile gamepad if you want comfort and fine control while cloud gaming on your phone.

One of the biggest advantages GeForce Now has over Stadia’s interface, right now, is a search feature – but we know one is coming, someday. GeForce Now has the requisite search bar, along with predictive text to help you track down a game fast. With Stadia, a sort feature is the only tool you’ll have to minimize your search efforts.

Right now, the features category tilts heavily in Stadia’s favor. Here’s a look at some of Stadia’s platform-exclusive features:

• State Share – a player’s progress is saved and linked to a picture or video for other players to jump in and continue from the saved state.
• Crowd Choice – streamers can create a poll that empowers viewers to vote on the streamer’s in-game choices
• Social – you can add friends, chat, start a party, stream and share
• Crowd Play – YouTube viewers can jump into a streamer’s game with just a click
• Google Assistant – offers Google Assistant help in-game
• Stadia Store – you can shop for new games and play a new purchase immediately

Tailored Hardware

Neither platform will require you to use their controller exclusively, as they both support plenty of third-party gamepads. Both platforms, however, have gamepads designed with their service in mind. NVidia’s Shield controller existed before GeForce Now, but has been upgraded to help the cloud gaming platform shine – you can also use it to play Stadia games on your Shield TV.

The Shield TV controller relays input over Bluetooth, while Stadia’s controller does so over WiFi. The use of WiFi allows the controller to relay input direct to Stadia, rather than being routed through a set-top box such as a Chromecast or a Shield TV.

Both controllers are comfortable and feel weighty enough to scream quality build. Before we compare it to a DualShock or Xbox controller, let’s give the Google and NVidia’s controllers a few more iterations to mature.

Head-to-Head 

Stadia and GeForce Now are two healthy, growing young gaming platforms that we hope will continue to see a steady diet of players and things to play. Right now, the best cloud gaming platform to play is one that’s accompanied by another – especially with the number of major games, developers and publishers absent from them.

How many people just have Netflix or just have Peacock, HBO Max or Hulu? Why not get both Stadia and GeForce Now and maybe even Amazon Luna? It’s just as easy to pause a cloud gaming subscription while you spend more time on another, as it is to take a break from Netflix to binge your way through HBO Max.

What?

You still want to know which cloud gaming platform is better? Ok, well here’s one more table to help you weigh your choice. This chart won’t tell the whole story and we’re still couldn’t pick one over the other – some advantages weigh much more or much less than others:

Got a few more minutes left on your break? Check out our list of the Top Role Playing Games on Stadia and Geforce Now or the Top Sports Games in Cloud Gaming.