Affordable alternatives to Nintendo's Switch 2 Pro Controller

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The Switch 2 Pro Controller is an excellent gamepad, but it's pretty expensive. To be fair, we thought it was pricey when it hit the market last summer at $85, and the vibes didn't improve when it jumped to $90 just a few months later. At the time, most gaming hardware was rapidly rising in price due to a bout of illegal US tariffs, and even though Nintendo's new controller only increased by $5, it stung to suddenly be charged more money for the same product. The Switch 2 Pro Controller still costs $90 today.

That said, we get it. From the NES to the Wii U to the Switch 2, Nintendo has spent decades perfecting the gamepad, and its latest Pro Controller is its greatest result. With all of the console compatibility features you could want, sleek ergonomics and a calming matte texture, Nintendo's official Switch 2 Pro Controller is absolutely worth its asking price. It's a responsive wireless gamepad with bouncy face buttons, soft-hit thumbsticks, precise haptics, motion controls, mappable rear inputs, an audio jack and other key features, making it the obvious standard by which all other Switch 2 controllers must be judged.

Thankfully, the market is flush with less expensive but still feature-packed Switch 2 wireless gamepads from Turtle Beach, GuliKit and 8BitDo. These controllers play nicely with the Switch 2 console and offer special features like RGB lighting, cute Nintendo designs and Tunneling Magnetoresistance (TMR) analog sticks — things even the Pro Controller doesn't have. Ranging in price from $30 to $70, there's a wireless Switch 2 gamepad out there to fit your play style, aesthetic and budget.

First, let's discuss the standard-setter. The $90 Switch 2 Pro Controller is supremely comfortable, it can wake up the console and it holds up just fine even after 100-plus hours of use. (Yes, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave just came out, why do you ask?). Nintendo is particularly skilled at crafting controllers that fit well in small hands, and the Switch 2 Pro is a peak example of this design ethos. It's a compact and lightweight gamepad, even with built-in HD Rumble 2, motion controls and Amiibo support, and it doesn't feel overwhelmed by the impressive amount of buttons and inputs it holds.

The official Switch 2 Pro Controller has offset analog sticks that glide like butter and barely make any noise when hitting the sides of their enclosures, thanks to a proprietary sound-dampening feature. Nintendo overhauled its thumbstick technology following an expensive drift issue with original Switch accessories, and its improved soft-hit action feels fantastic. Though they don't use Hall effect or TMR technology, the latest in anti-drift hotness, there haven't been widespread reports of drift with the Switch 2 Pro Controller or Joy-Cons. The Switch 2 Pro sticks are reactive, stealthy and well-cushioned, and they seem to stand the test of time.

The face buttons and D-pad are bouncy and responsive. Letters are printed on the face buttons rather than etched in, meaning you won't end up with a little A carved into your thumb while playing Mario Kart World, and they're slightly convex like M&Ms. The triggers and bumpers are positioned tightly together for quick transitions, and the rear buttons are mappable.

An NFC touchpoint for Amiibo connections lives underneath the Switch 2 logo on the front of the controller, above small minus, plus, home and capture buttons, and a dedicated GameChat input by the right thumbstick. The gamepad charges via a USB-C port at the top of the chassis, and there's a 3.5mm audio jack on the bottom for wired headphones. Combine that with the uber-quiet sticks, and this is easily the stealthiest controller of the bunch.

The haptics in the Switch 2 Pro are outstanding. In Resident Evil Requiem, for instance, it offers subtle feedback along the palms with your footsteps, or a barrage of pin-point vibration when bullets start flying. The soft matte texture across the controller turns the whole thing into a giant clickable worry stone, and it just feels lush.

• Haptics: Yes
• NFC support: Yes
• TMR or Hall effect sticks: No
• Motion controls: Yes
• Rear buttons: Yes
• Wake ability: Yes
• Audio jack: Yes

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If any company knows how to make a fantastic and reasonably priced Switch 2 controller, it's 8BitDo, the leader of the third-party gamepad market. The Ultimate 2 by 8BitDo is the controller I personally reach for when sitting down to play Switch 2: cute, remappable, super compact, satisfying to use and pretty to look at. Plus, you can set the gamepad to wake up your console with a quick shake, which is just plain fun.

The Ultimate 2 comes with a charging dock, a spare set of neon-dotted key caps and a 2.4G USB-C dongle that establishes a dedicated wireless connection between the console and controller. This dongle works with the original Switch, Switch 2 and Windows hardware, or the gamepad can connect to these devices via Bluetooth. 

The haptics in the Ultimate 2 are smooth and mostly silent with customizable intensity, and you can set the rings of light around the joysticks to your liking. Mirrored metal supports reflect the RGBs at the base of the sticks, creating a second, captivating halo of light. The controller has two extra bumpers (making a total of six), two rear buttons, adjustable Hall effect triggers and TMR thumbsticks, and it's nicely tactile all around. 

Not on sale, it costs $70, but you can often find it for even cheaper.

• Haptics: Yes
• NFC support: No
• TMR or Hall effect sticks: Yes
• Motion controls: Yes
• Rear buttons: Yes
• Wake ability: Yes
• Audio jack: No

Amazon

Read our full review here.

You know who you are — the gamers who want RGB lighting everywhere, all the time, including in your hands. The Switch 2 Afterglow was built just for you, with a crystal-clear chassis lit from within by customizable LEDs. It has four lighting modes, including a reactive setting that changes color as the analog sticks move, turning the gamepad into a handheld lightshow as you play.

The Afterglow is composed of hard, transparent plastic with no additional texture on the grips, but it doesn't get too slippery to hold (even while playing horror games, really). It's a bit clacky overall and it doesn't have any haptics, but the rear buttons are especially fun to press because they're connected by a see-sawing black bridge. The Switch 2 Afterglow costs $65, which certainly isn't a bad price for an interactive crystal.

• Haptics: No
• NFC support: No
• TMR or Hall effect sticks: Yes
• Motion controls: Yes
• Rear buttons: Yes
• Wake ability: No
• Audio jack: No

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The TT Pro by GuliKit represents the first big format shift in our comparison guide, with aligned analog sticks rather than offset, an eight-way D-pad in the upper left quadrant, and a small but notable increase in size and weight. The TT Pro is GuliKit's $60 entry model for Switch 2 play (plus original Switch, PC, iOS and Android), and it comes with a lineup of cool accessories, including a simple hard-plastic case, rear paddles and extra face buttons.

The TT Pro has TMR thumbsticks ringed by lights, four rear buttons and haptic feedback. It also allows for more input customization than the Switch 2 Pro Controller, with adjustable dead zones and vibration intensities. That said, the rumble itself can get slightly noisy when activated, making whooshing and grinding sounds in your palms.

There are rings of customizable RGB lighting around the joysticks, and the standard gray-and-purple colorway is sleek in a SNES kind of way. It takes a little extra work to pair the TT Pro with the Switch 2, but once that's done, you're able to wake up the console by pressing the controller's home button.

• Haptics: Yes
• NFC support: No
• TMR or Hall effect sticks: Yes
• Motion controls: Yes
• Rear buttons: Yes
• Wake ability: Yes
• Audio jack: No

Amazon

Read our full review here.

Sure, the Turtle Beach Rematch is low-latency, lightweight and comfy, but it's also the most adorable Switch 2 gamepad on the market. It comes in a range of officially licensed Nintendo designs, featuring characters like Rosalina, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and KK Slider, and most editions also have customizable RGB lighting. It's pretty much impossible not to smile while holding one of these things, even if you don't care about Mario Kart or Animal Crossing.

The Switch 2 Rematch doesn't have haptics, the ability to wake up the console or Amiibo capabilities, but it does have motion controls and TMR analog sticks that promise to never drift. At $65, that's a fair deal. There's also an all-black model, if that's more your style.

• Haptics: No
• NFC support: No
• TMR or Hall effect sticks: Yes
• Motion controls: Yes
• Rear buttons: Yes
• Wake ability: No
• Audio jack: No

Amazon

For just $10 more than the TT Pro, you can snag the GuliKit TT Max — the heftiest Switch 2 gamepad of the lot. The TT Max has more flexibility than the Pro, including adjustable joystick sensitivity, a manual AB-XY swap, a switchable eight- or four-way D-pad and three total pairs of stick caps. Especially with the rear paddles on, it feels far more substantial than the Switch 2 Pro Controller, like a mix between a DualSense and an Xbox controller, but still lightweight. And, hey, take a look at those RGBs around the sticks.

The TT Max is nice and responsive, and it has haptic feedback. It's worth noting that the rumble generates the same mechanical grinding noises as the TT Pro, though the intensity is similarly adjustable. One of the benefits of the GuliKit controllers is that they're compatible with original Switch, PC, iOS and Android platforms, as well.

• Haptics: Yes
• NFC support: No
• TMR or Hall effect sticks: Yes
• Motion controls: Yes
• Rear buttons: Yes
• Wake ability: Yes
• Audio jack: No

Amazon

Smack in the middle of the pack in terms of price and functionality is the EasySMX S10C Lite, which costs $40. It comes with a quick-start card in the box that makes pairing to the console a seamless process, and it has swappable magnetic faceplates so you can accessorize according to the seasons. Its offset thumbsticks have a lovely soft-hit feel, and its grips are extra deep with a diamond texture on the back for a clean hold. The S10 Lite has supremely clicky buttons, including the shoulders and triggers, and a strong rumble that doesn't get too loud in your hands.

The S10 Lite has Hall effect sticks, two programmable rear buttons, nine-axis motion control and the ability to wake up the Switch 2. It comes in ice blue or pastel pink, both of which are super sweet.

• Haptics: Yes
• NFC support: No
• TMR or Hall effect sticks: Yes
• Motion controls: Yes
• Rear buttons: Yes
• Wake ability: Yes
• Audio jack: No

Amazon

The Ultimate 2C from 8BitDo really has no business being as great as it is, considering it costs just $30. It's a lot like the Ultimate 2, if you delete the RGB lighting around the sticks and remove the rear buttons along the grips. The Ultimate 2C features haptic feedback, six-axis motion control, six total bumpers, Hall effect triggers and Hall effect joysticks. This is compared with TMR sticks in the Ultimate 2, but neither type of stick technology in Nintendo's Switch 2 Pro Controller.

The Ultimate 2C is composed of textured plastic, it has a sturdy yet light body, and it comes in pink, baby blue or dark blue colorways. It is a tiny, fabulous controller and the price simply can't be beat.

• Haptics: Yes
• NFC support: No
• TMR or Hall effect sticks: Yes
• Motion controls: Yes
• Rear buttons: No
• Wake ability: Yes
• Audio jack: No

Amazon

• Switch Pro Controller: The Pro Controller is louder and less elegant than its successor, with clicky buttons and stick sounds, less precise rumble, slightly rubberized grips and a semi-transparent plastic face. It does have Amiibo functionality, but it doesn't have Hall effect or TMR sticks, and there are no rear buttons here. For just $10 less than the Switch 2 Pro Controller, it's not quite worth the buy.

When Engadget compiles buyer's guides like these, we initially draw on our decades of product review expertise. Throughout each year, we review well over 100 new devices, which gives us a solid foundation for selecting the best products that fit any given criteria. For this guide specifically, I tested each controller for a minimum of three hours, spending at least 30 minutes with the Switch 2 Pro Controller at the start of each session. Battery life claims are similar across the gamepads that I tested, so while we are unable to verify individual accuracy, I haven't encountered an issue in keeping any controller charged (even with RGBs and haptics turned up to max). As the head of Engadget's video game beat, I regularly review console accessories and hardware, and I composed this list based on extensive experience with the Switch 2 and its controllers.

We may update our selections as needed, after new products are announced and reviewed.