Newsroom · ready-to-run angles · 26 October 2026

Data worth a headline

We publish open, recurring, citable numbers on what games, apps and subscriptions really cost by country, and which of those "cheap" prices you can actually pay. Each angle below is computed from the same dated data the site shows (prices as of 26 October 2026), with a link to verify it.

Maintained by the AlternativePrice editorial team · all figures verifiable against the open dataset.

index angle

The same games cost up to 499% more depending on the country

up to 499%: the widest country gap in our basket (Hades)

Our Real Price Index finds a median 43% gap across countries, and that 57% of the headline saving is payable with any card or a free store account; the rest takes an extra step (a local card or a regional gift card).

Across the basket the dearest country runs up to 499% over the cheapest country you can actually buy from (median 43%). The full, open dataset is published under CC BY 4.0.

Local angle: United Kingdom shoppers pay about 51 index points more than India for the same basket.

Local angle: In India the basket is 65.9 vs the US at 100.

Verify: The Real Price Index →

mirage angle

The cheapest game prices are a mirage: for 42 of 59 titles the lowest price takes a local card

57% of the headline saving is payable in one step

The lowest price on the board usually wants a card issued in that country (a Local card price): often still doable with a regional gift card, but an extra step. The gap between the cheapest displayed price and the cheapest you can pay with any card or a free account is our Mirage Gap.

For 42 of 59 titles the cheapest displayed country is a Local card price, so the cheapest price payable without that step is higher, up to 1789% higher. No competitor publishes this honesty metric.

Local angle: How much of the 'cheap region' saving is one step away? The buyability rate is the recurring answer.

Verify: The Real Price Index →

console angle

Console games cost up to 99% less abroad, depending on your country's store

up to 99% off: Don't Starve Together (eShop) in Argentina

Console stores price a game by the country your account is registered in, so the same title swings across regions; the cheap ones are reachable with a regional account and gift card.

Across 142 console titles the cheapest country runs a median 60% below the US, up to 99% on Don't Starve Together ($0.12 in Argentina versus $14.99 in the US). The region is account-based, like Steam, so a VPN helps you sign up but the payment is the gate.

Local angle: Which console games had the biggest country gap in the latest capture? The leaderboard is the answer.

Verify: Cheapest country for console games →

subscription angle

Spotify is listed at $1.21/mo in Nigeria, but paying it from the US takes a local payment method

974%: Spotify's cheapest-listed vs cheapest-payable gap

Streaming bills you in your account's country, so the cheap foreign price needs a local payment method, an extra step, not a one-click saving.

Spotify Premium (Individual) is listed at $1.21/mo in Nigeria versus $12.99 in the US, but paying the cheap price needs a payment method registered there (a regional gift card is the usual route).

Local angle: A VPN helps you sign up for the cheaper storefront; the payment country is the real gate.

Verify: Spotify Premium by country →

title angle

Cheapest country to buy Hades: up to 499% off depending on where you look

$4.99 in Argentina vs $29.88 in Poland

The real, buyable cheapest country for Hades, with the local-card step flagged.

Hades is cheapest-buyable in Argentina at $4.99; the absolute lowest prices often take a local card or a regional gift card, an extra step.

Local angle: [Country] price for Hades vs the US.

Verify: Hades by country →

Press kit

The single thesis: the displayed cross-country saving is not the achievable saving, the cheapest price is often a foreign-card mirage, and we quantify the gap. Everything is reproducible: the Real Price Index + its CC BY 4.0 dataset, the methodology, and the per-title and subscription pages, and the seasonal Black Friday edition. Reactive editions fire on a sharp FX move or a platform repricing. For data, a quote, or a custom country cut, attribute "AlternativePrice".